by Rowe, Nicki
“Chocolate chip cookie and a coffee.”
“I'll pay for it, Jodes,” A voice said behind him. “Give me a Devil's cupcake.”
Gabe turned and looked at Lorenzo. His cheeks were flushed from the cold; the temperature had really dropped since the afternoon. Gabe was pretty sure it was going to snow again.
“Thanks,” Gabe said. He walked along the counter to where Diego already had his cookie and coffee waiting. “What are you doing here?”
“Same as you.”
“Your horny roommate is boning some rando on your dining room table?” Gabe asked, smirking at the heat that rose to Diego's face.
“What?” Lorenzo said, laughing. “I meant enjoying a delicious treat.”
Gabe had so many lines he could have used to hit on Lorenzo following that comment, but he kept them all to himself. See, he was learning out to filter the shit that came out of his mouth.
“No crazy comment?” Lorenzo asked, he actually sounded disappointed. “I thought for sure you would come back with a sarcastic line at least.”
“I'm trying this new thing where I think about things before I say them.”
Lorenzo walked over to one of the tables and sat. He pulled a piece of the dark chocolate cupcake apart and popped into his mouth. “I like that you say whatever you want without regard.”
Lorenzo flicked his tongue across his full bottom lip to catch a crumb that had stuck there. Gabe groaned.
“Are you okay?” Lorenzo asked, looking concerned.
“You like that I speak my mind?” Gabe replied. “What if I told you that I was finding it really distracting watching you eat that cupcake?”
Lorenzo blushed. “I'm sorry.”
Gabe looked at him earnestly. “Don't apologize. It's a good thing.”
Lorenzo smiled sheepishly, but before he could say anything the theme to Star Wars emitted from Gabe's pocket. He pulled out his phone and answered.
“Horny bastard,” Gabe said in greeting.
Dustin chuckled in his ear. “We're finished, G. You can come back.”
“Did you burn the table?”
Even though his attention was on Dustin, his eyes never left Lorenzo's. Lorenzo was smiling at him, and there was some unreadable expression on his face. He looked adorable and sweet.
“I disinfected it, asshole.”
“We have to buy a new one,” Gabe said, only partially joking.
“So, buy a new one,” Dustin quipped. “You can afford it.”
“Mom can afford it.”
“Same thing.”
He called Dustin a dick and hung up. He turned his full attention back to Lorenzo. “It seems my apartment is now free of random dudes.”
“You're leaving?” Lorenzo's face fell. He looked like a sad puppy.
“Not if you don't want me to,” Gabe said quickly.
“I don't want you to.”
It seemed like Gabe wasn't the only one who knew how to get his way.
Chapter Four
Lorenzo
Lorenzo and Gabe had texted back and forth everyday since they had ran into each other in the bakery on Monday. On Thursday Gabe texted him telling him that he was looking forward to seeing Lorenzo at lunch. Lorenzo had replied with a smile and hamburger emoji.
At twelve Lorenzo heard the door to the office open. He looked up to see Gabe standing in front of his desk. Lorenzo had just finished putting together a classified ad about a woman looking for a roommate.
August cleared his throat from his desk. “Hello, little brother.”
Gabe turned to August and scowled. Lorenzo suspected he didn't like being called little brother. “Gus. Are you writing out your own engagement announcement?”
August flipped him off.
“Ooh, don't let the boss catch you doing that.”
Lorenzo stood and pushed Gabe toward the door. After everything he had learned about the Marks brothers in the past week of watching them interact, Lorenzo learned that they could rib each other for hours if no one broke them up.
“Where are we going?” Lorenzo asked, pulling on his gloves. It had started to snow slightly, but the ground was too wet for it to stick. “Mario's?”
Gabe threw his head back and laughed. The sound was loud and deep, it did funny things to Lorenzo's blood—like make it flow to his groin.
“That's where Jayson and August had their first date, so definitely not.”
“Then where?”
Gabe led him down the street and Lorenzo fell in step beside him. They walked two blocks until they reached a luxurious apartment complex. Every car in the lot costed more than Lorenzo made in a year.
“Where are we?”
“My house.”
Gabe led him up a set of stairs and into an aparment that was bigger than the house Lorenzo had grown up in. On the table was a spread of cheese, crackers, pastrami, grapes and apples. There was sparkling cider chilling in a bucket, and there was even wine. Lorenzo knew that Gabe didn't drink, but he was touched that Gabe thought Lorenzo would want wine.
“This is amazing,” Lorenzo said, stepping to the apartment. “This isn't the same table Dustin was having sex on, is it?”
Gabe scoffed and made a sour face. “No. I threw that out. This table is brand new and Dustin swore to me he would never fuck in the same space we ate again.”
Lorenzo sat at the table and plucked a grape from the vine. He looked up at Gabe who was still standing and watching him.
“What?” Lorenzo asked around the grape in his mouth.
“I know we said we would be friends, and I know that this may seem like some romantic gesture, and maybe it is—I'm extremely attracted to you, but if friendship is all you want then that's what I will give you.”
Lorenzo held up a finger to make Gabe be quiet. “Let's see how this goes,” he replied. “I'm extremely attracted to you too, and I know I just got out of a relationship, but I can't help but feel like there is something special about you.”
“Well, fuck.”
Gabe sat and poured them some sparkling cider.
They talked about everything and nothing. Lorenzo learned that Gabe had played football and basketball in high school. He learned that Gabe loved sci-fi movies, especially anything with superheros. Lorenzo loved them too.
Lorenzo told Gabe about growing up poor in L.A. He told him about his mother and how she died, and how he had grown up with his Abuela. He told Gabe about his brief stint in college where he couldn't deicde what to major in and dropped out.
Gabe told him about the time he was fired from an ice cream parlor for punching a man who had called August a faggot.
“I can't believe he said that,” Lorenzo said.
“I know. I wasn't out then, but I knew I was gay, and his words hurt me as much as they hurt August,” Gabe said. “Even if I wasn't gay I still would have laid that asshole out. No one hurts my brother and gets away with it.”
“August is lucky to have you stand up for him.”
“He's done the same for me. We look out for each other.” Gabe looked at the clock. “Our lunch hour is up. You have to get back to work.”
“It's been an hour already?” Lorenzo felt like he and Gabe had barely spent anytime together. “Can we do this again?”
“Just name a time and place,” Gabe said with a wink.
~ ~ ~
It had been two days since Lorenzo had lunch with Gabe, but they had talked for hours on the phone since. It was Saturday, which meant Lorenzo had the day off. He was cleaning the apartment when his phone rang.
“Hey, man,” A gruff voice said on the other end. “It's Dustin.”
Lorenzo pulled the phone from his ear and looked down at it. Why the heck was Dustin Locke calling him?
“Um, hi?”
“Hey. So, G's birthday is comin' up and we're havin' a party,” Dustin said, he sounded weird, like he was nervous. Lorenzo suspected it wasn't Dustin's idea to call him. “August wanted to know if you wanted to come?”
“Next Saturday.”
“I'll be there.”
Dustin grunted a good-bye and hung up. It wasn't even five minutes later until Gabe was calling him.
“I think my dumbass brothers are throwing me a surprise party,” Gabe said instead of a greeting. “Did they say anything to you?”
“Haven't heard a thing,” Lorenzo lied, he sat in his overstuffed chair.
“You're not a very good liar, Zo.”
“Zo?” Lorenzo felt butterflies flutter up in his belly. “Is that what you're going to call me?”
“Do you hate it?” Gabe asked, he sounded amused. Lorenzo could hear the sound of video games coming through the phone. “I kinda like it.”
“I do too,” Lorenzo answered honestly. The only other person outside of his family who had given him a nickname was Max, he had called him Enzo, and everytime Max called him that it made feel like a small child. But when Gabe had called him Zo just now, it felt like Gabe had caressed his cheek. He liked the idea of Gabe sitting up at night trying to think of nicknames for him.
“Are you coming to my surprise party that I am supposed to know nothing about?”
“Maybe,” Gabe replied. “What do you want for your birthday.”
Gabe hesitated, and Lorenzo could almost hear him working through what he really wanted to say and what he should say. “Nothing.”
“That's not what you were really going to say, was it?”
“No,” Gabe confessed. “But if I said what I really wanted to say than we would cross the line of friendship, and I am trying really hard to just be your friend.”
Lorenzo blushed. He wanted to cross that line of friendship with Gabe—he wanted to know what it would be like to be with Gabriel Marks—but the pain of losing Max was still too new.
“I'm going to go,” Gabe said. “I didn't mean to make things awkward.”
Lorenzo cleared his throat. “You didn't.”
“See you Saturday,” Gabe said and hung up.
Gabe
He shouldn't have said that. He was trying really, really hard to just be friends with Lorenzo, but whenever he saw the other man Gabe had to fight hard to keep from kissing him. When ever heard Lorenzo speak he had to keep himself from imagining what that voice would sound like whispering dirty things in his ear. Shit, whenever Lorenzo even breathed Gabe's cock stood at attention.
He had wanted to tell Lorenzo that all he wanted for his brithday was the other man gift wrapped for him and waiting on his bed. He couldn't. Gabe had to keep reminding himself that Lorenzo just got out of relationship. He didn't need some horny fuck chasing after him.
It would probably be best if he stayed away from Lorenzo all together, but that was not an option. The thought of not having Lorenzo in his life at all made Gabe feel clammy and weird. He hated whatever feelings were going on in his head. This was all very new to him. Gabe was used to cruising guys, fucking, and moving on. No strings attached.
Gabe played video games and stewed until Dustin came home. Dustin looked irritated. He was carrying a six pack of beer which he promptly set on the table and popped the top on one.
“Fuck this day, man.”
Gabe paused his game and looked up at his best friend. Gabe was working as a mechanic at Lennie's garage. He had always been good with cars. He could just look at a car and know what's wrong with it.
“What happened?”
“Just a shit day,” Dustin said, never one to talk about his feelings. “Did you call your boy?”
“He's not my boy,” Gabe replied, causing Dustin to shrug. “But, yeah. We talked for a bit.”
Dustin smirked. “You're gonna get blue balls if you keep tryin' to just be friends with him. You gotta find someone to occupy your time, G.”
Gabe had thought about that. He thought about going to the club in Seattle and picking up some random hook-up to relieve his sexual tension, the problem was that the only person Gabe wanted to fuck was Lorenzo.
“I'm going to take a shower,” Gabe grumbled.
Gabe stood and headed to the bathroom with Dustin's laughter trailing behind him. He stepped in under the spray and immediately wrapped his fist around his throbbing cock. He pumped himself to the image of Lorenzo in his head. He tugged hard and fast, the need for release was intense. He came with a grunt. He put his head against the shower stall door. He still felt tense and sexually frustrated.
~ ~ ~
The week passed in a blur. He had finished two papers for school, got scratched by one of the kids at daycare. Everyone kept wishing him an happy early birthday. It was Saturday, the day his asshole brothers had planned a party for him; his actual birthday wasn't until Wednesday, but he promised Billy that he could celebrate on the actual day, and Gabe would celebrate early.
August had told Gabe to meet him at their mother's house, pretending that their mother needed help with something. Gabe knew better. He knew when someone was trying to pull a fast one on him. Everyone had been acting weird all week. Even his mother hadn't called or stopped by to see him since Monday, and that was unheard of.
He pulled up to their mother's house and wasn't at all surprised to see half a dozen cars in the driveway. The house was dark, but he could hear the clamoring of voices in the backyard. It seemed his brothers weren't very good at surprises.
Gabe followed the sound of chatter and music to the backyard. The backyard opened up to a lake, it was too cold to swim, but people were fishing and some were sitting on the dock.
“Oh, he's here!” his mother exclaimed, sauntering over with her much younger boy-toy, Alejandro. August and Jayson followed behind. His mother wrapped him in a hug. “Hello, darling.”
“I thought this was supposed to be a surprise party,” Gabe commented, hugging his brother.
“You ruined that when you kept questioning everyone. What's the use in a surprise party if you already know about it?”
Gabe laughed. He walked away from his family to greet the rest of the guests. He saw Danika with her husband Phil and their two kids; Viola and Gigi; Dustin and some guy he met in Seattle (not the same one he had been fucking on the dining room table); Greta, and over by the water talking to Dustin and his guest was Lorenzo. Gabe made a beeline towards them.
“Hey!” Lorenzo said, raising his cup. “You're finally here!”
“Hi, Zo,” Gabe greeted, hugging Lorenzo. He lingered a moment too long which made Lorenzo clear his throat. Gabe turned to Dustin. “Thanks for the party.”
Dustin raised his beer. “Anytime.” He walked away, tugging his guest behind him.
“Happy birthday,” Lorenzo said, he took a sip of his drink. “Do you feel twenty-one?”
“My birthday isn't until Wednesday. Maybe I'll start to feel older then.”
Lorenzo looked out at the water. “My birthday is in November.”
“I know,” Gabe said. He had overheard August talking about it last fall. There had been an office party at Glen's Gazette to celebrate Lorenzo turning twenty-one.
Lorenzo looked back at him. He pushed his glasses up his nose. “I got you something.” Lorenzo reached into his pocket and pulled out a thick red braided leather bracelet. It looked like the type of thing someone had hand made. “I asked Viola to make this for you. She said the color is supposed to be for luck.” Lorenzo tied the bracelet around Gabe's wrist. “Do you like it?”
Gabe was speechless. He brought the bracelet up to look at it. It was the best gift he had ever received. Before he even knew what he was doing. He balled his fists in the material of Lorenzo's sweatshirt and pulled him in for a kiss.
Gabe's lips clashed against Lorenzo's. His tongue flicked along the seam of Lorenzo's lips, begging him to invite Gabe in. Lorenzo hesitated. Gabe could feel his body stiffen.
Shit. This is a bad idea.
Gabe was just about to pull away when he felt Lorenzo's body relax and his arms wound around Gabe's neck. Lorenzo parted his lips, allowing Gabe access to explore Lorenzo's mo
uth with his tongue. Lorenzo moaned. Gabe pulled him tighter against his body. Gabe felt like he couldn't breathe, but he didn't want to let Lorenzo go.
From somewhere to his left he heard someone clear their throat.
Gabe pulled himself from Lorenzo and looked to see who had dared interupt the best kiss of his life. Dustin stood just to their left, arms crossed and eyebrows raised with an amused expression. Gabe looked around, everyone was watching them. He looked back to Lorenzo; his hands were still fisted in his sweatshirt.
“What?” Gabe asked.
“It's time ta cut the cake,” Jayson said, he too looked amused. “Unless ya'll wanna make out some more.”
Lorenzo blushed. He pulled himself from Gabe's grasp. He smoothed out the front of his clothes. “Cake sounds good,” he said, already composing himself.
He gave Gabe a hungry look that suggested he wanted more than cake, but he cut through the throng of people up to the patio where Gabe's mother and Billy were waiting by a table with a large cake in the center. Gabe pulled himself together and followed behind Lorenzo.
Fuck. He really messed up now. He had wanted Lorenzo before, but after that kiss—Gabe felt like he needed to fuck Lorenzo. It felt like his life depended on it.
Chapter Five
Lorenzo
He was in trouble. That kiss had been hot. It had been the best kiss he ever had. He could still feel Gabe's lips against his, and it had been three days. He dreamed about Gabe at night, and he wanted Gabe so much he was filled to the brim with need. He had almost forgotten about Max. Almost.
He knew now that he and Max were not meant to be together. Their relationship had been toxic. Max had always wondered where Lorenzo was, who he was with and if he was cheating on him. He never had, Lorenzo had always been faithful, but that didn't stop Max from being jealous. Max had treated him like a child. He had always ordered for Lorenzo at restaurants, he told him what to wear and who to hang out with. Lorenzo hated it, but he thought he had loved Max so he went along with it without complaint. And maybe he did love Max in the beginning.