“Wow. Thanks.”
“No problem.” He saluted and disappeared.
Gideon took a tentative step forward. “Alex—”
Alex pointed at the papers in Gideon’s hand, not meeting his eyes. “Hey, is that for me?”
“Oh. Sure.” Jeez, had Alex gotten in trouble with his boss? Where had all his bravado gone? The flirty teasing? The heated gaze? Had he changed his mind about the dates? Gideon’s stomach curled in on itself, but he conjured up a facsimile of his usual attitude. “An hour of uninterrupted time and voilà. C’est la network diagram.” He presented it with a flourish.
“Thanks. Better get right on this. Wouldn’t want you to default on your contract.” He turned and headed toward the door.
What the effing eff? “Alex. Exactly where do you think you’re going?”
He paused, one foot over the threshold. “Told you. Have to get started.”
“I think you can spare me two minutes to discuss the little scene we so recently played out in this very room.”
Alex stared at his feet, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. “I . . . I’m sorry about that. You hadn’t done anything to deserve it.”
Gideon blinked. He didn’t deserve what? The kiss? The blowjob? Alex? “I don’t understand.” His voice sounded small to himself. Uncertain.
“Yeah. I know. My fault. If I—”
“Alex!” The foreman’s voice echoed in the hall. “Where the fuck are you? We need help with this scaffolding.”
“Gotta go.” He brandished the papers. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep you posted on the progress.” Then he was gone.
Gideon stared at the empty doorway for a full thirty seconds. Was this a fiendishly clever ploy of Alex’s, an about-face to keep Gideon off-balance? Was he backing off from their deal? What was he sorry about?
He fisted his hands in his hair. “Gah!”
One way or another, before the night was over, he was getting some freaking answers.
When Alex returned to the server room with a pair of stacked sawhorses, Gideon was fussing with his printer, his back to Alex, shoulders about level with his ears.
Yeah, if that doesn’t tell you that you made a big fucking mistake, don’t know what will.
He needed to level the playing field. Let Gideon know he wasn’t on the block anymore. They could just be a couple of dudes on the job. Helping each other out, same as anyone else on the crew.
Yeah. In a pig’s fucking eye. He unstacked the sawhorses. “Hey.”
Gideon jumped at the sound of his voice. Great. “Um . . . yeah?”
Alex nodded at the sawhorses. “Help me lift that plywood up here?” Alex could do it himself, of course, but— Ah, why deny it. He wanted to talk. Maybe convince Gideon that he wasn’t so bad. Yeah, and someday those blind pigs will learn to fly.
“Uh . . . sure.” Gideon wiped his hands on his jeans—don’t think about what’s under those jeans—and walked over to take the other end of the plywood sheet, helping Alex settle it on top of the sawhorses. “What’s this for?”
“Temporary worktable. Now that I’ve got your diagram, I’ll run your cable tonight.” Alex took his cut list out of his pocket and slapped it on the plywood. “Sorry I’ll be in your space.”
“No. No, it’s fine. Besides, I’ll be, you know, over there.” He nodded at the staging area. “Thanks for that. It really helps. I’ve got half the stuff put together already.”
“Good job.” Alex winced. Bad choice of words. “I’ll try to stay out of your way.”
Gideon crossed his arms. With his hard hat tilted over one eye and his tool belt hitched over one hip, he looked like a promo for construction porn. Alex’s dick punched at his fly. He turned away so Gideon wouldn’t see it, but Jesus.
“What is wrong with you? You blow me and—”
“Maybe keep your voice down? Unless you want everyone to know about that.” Alex picked up his list and pretended to study it, but Gideon stomped over to stand at his elbow.
“Fine. But you know, it happened. Whether you pretend like it didn’t or not.”
“Yeah. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—”
“Apology so not accepted. If you think—”
“Listen. I was wrong, okay? I shouldn’t have forced you into dating me. Let’s just . . . call it good.”
Gideon blinked at him. “God, did my dick taste that bad?”
“You know it didn’t. But you don’t have to put out for me to help you. That’s not how this should work.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Is that so? Exactly how is this—whatever this is—supposed to work, then?”
Alex sighed. “The way it should have been in the first place: You ask me for help; I give it. No strings.”
“But what if I want strings?”
“You?” Alex forced a chuckle. “You don’t. You never want strings, remember? Two dates and done, that’s your rule. My bad that I tried to force you to break it.”
“No, it wasn’t.” Gideon lifted his chin in that killer princess attitude. “I’ve decided it’s a stupid rule that’s outlived its usefulness. I’m making a new rule: No nonreciprocal blowjobs. Violations are subject to a two-for-one penalty.”
This time, Alex’s grin was spontaneous. “I’m not seeing a real deterrent there.”
“It’s not supposed to be a deterrent, damn it.” Gideon planted his hands on his hips and glared. “That’s the whole point.”
Did this mean Gideon didn’t resent him? That he might be okay with dating Alex for real? Don’t jump the gun, Henning. But it deserved a conversation, right? For the first time since the blowjob, Alex was able to meet Gideon’s gaze dead-on.
“Listen, we’ll talk after the shift’s over, okay? Meet me by the service elevator and we’ll ride down together.” Alex tossed the list back on the table. “But at the moment, I’ve gotta get busy. If I don’t get this done tonight, Manny’ll have my balls for doughnuts.”
Geekspeak: Focal Point
Definition: The most dominant element on a web page, where the eye is naturally drawn.
It was truly amazing what Gideon could accomplish with the proper incentive. Every freaking one of those stupid racks was assembled—and the boxes broken down, thank you very much—and the shift was nowhere near done. He had ages before he could claim that incentive and ambush Alex on the trip down in the service elevator.
“We agreed to three dates, and we’re having three dates, Mr. God’s Gift to BJs, so there,” he muttered as he stalked across the server room.
He studied the list of cable lengths on the list Alex had left on his worktable. Picking up the discarded mat knife, Gideon extended and retracted the blade a couple of times. How hard could cutting cable be? If Gideon could speed up Alex’s process a little, maybe they’d get to that service elevator half an hour sooner.
He’d convince Alex to stop for a drink. At Gideon’s apartment. In Gideon’s bedroom.
With Alex’s sister down the hallway. God. Awkward.
But in the last couple of days, Lindsay had started staying with her mom until Alex got home.
Oh, right. Alex had to go home. Where he lives with his parents. And was Gideon a total douche because that still freaked him out? Did it freak him out more than the thought of Lindsay knowing what her brother was doing behind closed doors in the corner turret?
Why was his life suddenly so goddamned complicated? He measured the first cable length, slapped it down on the plywood faux-table and gave it an extra vicious slice with the mat knife.
“Oh.”
The knife slipped out of his hand and landed on the floor next to his purple high-top. Shouldn’t it have made a noise? But how could he hear anything over the roaring in his ears? He blinked at the table. The blue cable was bleeding, curled in a pool of red as if he’d cut the vein of some giant digital dragon. Gideon wanted to giggle but couldn’t force any air past his diaphragm.
He should wrap that splice before the poor network bled out. It had
enough trouble already. Instead his knees buckled, and he landed on his ass on a pile of cardboard.
“Gideon, have you seen— Jesus!” Alex must be far away; his voice sounded like he was inside a barrel. Or maybe Gideon was inside the barrel, because the edges of his vision were dark as if he were looking down a long tunnel. Or a barrel. Or what-the-hell-ever. Maybe he should lie down. Was there room in the barrel for that?
“G, talk to me.”
Right. Alex had asked him a question. He knew the answer. He loved knowing the answer! “No, I haven’t seen Jesus.” He blinked at Alex’s square chin and shivered. “Did they turn the air conditioning on?”
Alex gazed at him. God, his eyes were gorgeous. So dark. A guy could get lost in those eyes and wander around for days. Alex’s lips moved, but that annoying roar in Gideon’s ears muffled the words. Something about cold?
“Not cold.” Every time Alex looked at him, his temperature shot up another degree, he’d swear. “Never cold with those eyes on me.”
Alex’s grin flashed before it disappeared behind compressed lips. “Glad to know that, but we’ve got a little problem here. I need you to focus.”
“I can focus.” He focused on Alex’s lips. So full. And God, they were soft. They’d been soft yet firm around his dick. He wanted them on his mouth again, to taste Alex again. He leaned forward because that helped him focus. Alex’s lips were getting blurry, and that would never do.
Alex’s chest quivered under Gideon’s palm. When had he put his hand there? He should remember. The first time he put his hand on Alex’s chest should be an occasion. Something to remember and celebrate every year with cake and confetti.
He closed his eyes, just for a second, so he could picture the party.
Alex’s heart galloped like he was racing for the last stage out of Dodge. Jesus, the blood: on the table, on the floor, on Gideon, who was sitting dazed on a pile of those fricking empty server boxes. Gideon sighed and tilted his head.
And kept tilting.
“Jesus!” Alex caught him before he hit the floor, and hauled him to his feet with an arm firmly around that slender waist. “Come on, baby. Let’s get you patched up.”
Gideon squinted at the scary-big pool of blood on the table. “D’you see that? The network is bleeding.”
“It ain’t the network, babe. That’s all you.”
If Alex knew anything about construction injuries—and between him and his dad, they’d had a fuck-ton of them—this wasn’t something a couple of Band-Aids would fix. But he needed to get a closer look in someplace more sterile than this.
Gideon sagged in his arm, so Alex adjusted his hold and half-carried him down the hall and into the washroom.
“Hunh,” Gideon murmured. “I knew I hated cabling.”
Alex positioned Gideon with his hips against the sink. Gideon promptly slid down. Alex caught him and propped him in place with his own body, leaving his hands free to tend the wound. He turned on the water, testing the temperature on his wrist.
“You’re not licensed for this shit, G. What were you thinking?”
“I wanted to help you out. You helped me.” His head lolled on Alex’s shoulder. “You helped me a lot.”
Even after an evening of mucking around in the dust of the construction site, Gideon still smelled like his fancy cologne. Like incense, with a light sex-sweat chaser that Alex took full credit for. He cupped Gideon’s hand in his palm and eased it under the water. With his groin pressed against Gideon’s ass to hold him up, Alex felt his dick start to respond. Gideon didn’t help matters when he wiggled a bit and leaned back on Alex’s chest, his sigh warm against Alex’s jaw.
Then Alex saw the length of the gash across the three middle fingers of Gideon’s right hand and forgot all his X-rated thoughts.
Shit. He needs stitches.
Alex pulled out his phone and called Manny. “Hey, I’m in the john with the IT guy. He had a run-in with a box knife, and I’m clocking out to take him to the ER.”
“Doesn’t he have a work partner?” Manny’s three-pack-a-day voice rasped over the phone.
“Nah. Cheap bastards won’t spring for more than one guy. Spent all their dough on that consultant.”
Manny muttered a curse in Chinese. “Consultants. SOBs’ll borrow your watch—”
“To tell you the time,” they finished together.
“Okay, but get back ASAP. Damn network won’t wire itself.”
Kim, the ER nurse, remembered Alex’s mom. She’ll love that. He wondered if she missed the community and interaction here. The only people she saw these days were the immediate family. His dad. Lin. Him. Aunt Ivy, unfortunately.
Kim beckoned him from the ER door, and he thankfully abandoned the molded plastic chair made for someone half his size.
“Your friend will be fine,” she said.
“Stitches?”
She nodded and pressed a plastic bag full of folded papers into his hand. “Here are the home-care instructions. He needs to see his primary physician in five to seven days to have the sutures removed.” She smiled at him. “I’m sure you know the drill.”
“Yeah. Been down that road too many times myself.”
“I remember. You can see him now. He’ll be ready to go as soon as the doctor signs the discharge paperwork.” She led him into a room sectioned off with flimsy blue-flowered curtains.
She gestured for him to enter the first cubicle. Inside, Gideon was lying on a gurney, eyes closed, eyelashes dark against pale cheeks. Alex’s gut tightened with the need to gather him up. Keep him safe.
Yeah, because you’re so fucking good at that. It’s your fault he’s here.
Kim handed Alex another bag. “His effects: glasses, cell phone, wallet. You’ll drive him home, right?”
“Absolutely.”
She typed a few notes on the laptop on the counter and then moved to Gideon’s side. “Mr. Wallace. Your friend is here to take you home.”
Gideon’s eyelashes fluttered open. When his unfocused gaze finally landed on Alex, a huge goofy grin spread across his face.
Alex couldn’t help but return it, but . . . “Kim, he looks completely stoned.”
“We gave him some painkillers. Don’t let him operate any heavy machinery.”
“I don’t think he’ll be able to operate his feet.”
She collected her laptop with a chuckle. “I’m sure you can help him with that.” Then she walked out, sliding the curtain closed in a rattle of metal rings.
Alex moved closer and touched Gideon’s arm, his stomach clenching at the swath of gauze wrapped around his poor right hand. “Hey. How you doing?”
Gideon sighed hugely and held up his injured hand. “Spoiled all my plans.”
“You had plans?”
“Yup. Was intending to proposition you in the service elevator.”
Alex raised his eyebrows. “Really?” Despite the sour churn of guilt in his belly, he grinned.
Gideon sighed again, but this time it sounded happy, not disappointed. “I love the contrast.”
“Contrast?”
“The darkness of your skin. The brightness of your smile.”
“If you say so.”
“Don’t mock. Contrast is very important in web design.” He blinked, his pupils blown so wide they crowded out all but a narrow rim of his warm brown irises. “In other places too.”
Jesus. No way could Gideon be on his own tonight. But no way could Alex bail on his shift, not if it meant squeezing in a couple more hours of paid time and justifying Manny’s trust in him. He pulled out his phone and dialed his sister. “Lin? Hey, babe. Are you at home?”
“Yeah. I’m with Mom now.”
Ah shit. “Is Charlie at your apartment?”
“No. She’s at Daniel’s again. Why?”
“I’m at the Emanuel ER—”
“Oh my god, Alex. What happened?” Lindsay’s voice rose to near Minnie Mouse levels, and he heard his mother in the background in soothing-nurse mo
de. “Are you hurt? Should I—”
“Chill, babe. It’s not me. It’s Gideon.”
A beat. He could hear her breath shuddering, little gasps into the phone. “Gideon?”
“He’s okay. Cut his hand and needed a few stitches, and now he’s kinda loopy on the pain meds. I don’t want him to be alone, but Manny expects me back on the job ASAP.”
“I can’t leave Mom. Dad’s a little fractious tonight.”
Alex ran a hand across his jaw. “Shit.”
“Call Charlie. She’ll figure something out.”
“She will?”
“It’s what she does.” A glass shattered somewhere in the background.
“Lin, is everything okay? Do I need to—”
“It’s fine, but I’ve got to go. You have Charlie’s number?”
“No, but it’s on Gideon’s cell. I’ve got this. You take care of Mom and Dad.”
He glanced at Gideon, who was stretched out on the gurney, picking at the edge of his bandages. Gideon noticed Alex’s attention, and that loopy smile bloomed again. Alex’s heart melted into a puddle in his chest.
And one way or another, I’ll take care of you.
Geekspeak: Link Rot
Definition: When hyperlinks on a website point to internet resources that have been permanently moved or deleted.
When Gideon opened his eyes, he was momentarily disoriented. Not my room. Not my apartment. He glanced around blearily, then quickly shut his eyes. God, it was as if he’d suddenly been transported onto the set of a gay-porn video, the kind with the guys overcompensating in their quest to appear straight. Because seriously? How much plaid could one room take?
A knock sounded at the dark-wood door, and Charlie poked her head in. “Hey, G. You with the day yet?”
“Charles, have I died and descended to heteronormative hell?”
“No, idiot. You’re in Daniel’s guest room.”
“Why exactly would that be?”
“Alex brought you over here because he didn’t want you to be alone last night after your one-on-one with the box knife.”
Gideon’s hand throbbed to remind him of that little excursion into stupidity. “For pity’s sake, I didn’t have a freaking concussion. I can be trusted to sleep in my own bed without endangering life and limb.”
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