Gravity (Greenford #2) - Romeo Alexander Page 0,30

it would take much. A few hints, a sob story or three, and a whole novel’s worth could have been intuited by other people. The fact that Caleb was tall and stony-faced, not prone to socializing very often and keeping to himself, and Nick had been small, cheerful, and a friend to everyone probably hadn’t helped.

“He got you fired,” Sam said.

“Not right away. I think some people were going to bat for me, holding off the inevitable,” Caleb said, unable to keep the bitterness out of his voice. “In the divorce, Nick got...Jesus, he got everything. The apartment, the car, most of the stuff we’d bought together, and then when it was all said and done, he took my job.”

And had done so with apparently not one iota of regret. In Nick’s eyes, Caleb had lost the right to everything when he’d lost Nick. Personally, Caleb knew it was just sheer spite that had driven his ex to such extremes, but that only made it hurt all the worse. Once, Nick had been a man who loved him dearly, who smiled at the sight of Caleb across the room. When it was all said and done, Caleb had been left to stare at a furious, spiteful stranger that he no longer recognized, even as he felt his heart break over and over again.

Sam reached across the table, taking Caleb’s hand in his fingers and holding it firmly. “I’m so sorry, Caleb.”

He cleared his throat roughly, shaking his head. “It’s not your fault or your problem.”

Sam scowled at him. “Don’t be like that. Despite our...weird history, I still give a shit about you, and it hurts my heart to know you went through all of that. You deserve better.”

Caleb gave him a weak smile. “I appreciate it.”

“You better, I’m over here being mushy and genuine at the same time. It’s weird,” Sam told him with a chuckle.

“True, I should enjoy it while it lasts,” Caleb said, feeling there was more than just a sliver of truth to that statement.

“Damn right,” Sam grinned.

Caleb took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. He was surprised to find the tension in his shoulders and back slowly leaking out of him. Whether because he had spilled his guts to someone or because it had been Sam and the man was now holding his hand, he didn’t know. Either way, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt such a sense of ease, and he was more than happy to take it while it lasted.

Caleb grabbed his drink and held it up. “Well, here’s to good drinks with good friends, and hopefully, a good night.”

Sam laughed, grabbing his own drink and knocking it against Caleb’s gently. “Here’s to all of the above, and a night that we only regret when we wake up with hangovers.”

“This is such a bad idea, but I’ll drink to it anyway,” Caleb said, tipping his glass back in a promise to keep enjoying himself for however long they had.

Samuel

After his long night at Nations with Lucas the previous week and then spending hours with Caleb as well, Samuel was beginning to think the place was enchanted. By the time he and Caleb managed to extract themselves from their booth, ordering several more drinks and a couple more appetizers to go with the excess of alcohol, Samuel was feeling more than a little drunk.

From the way Caleb stumbled slightly as he stepped out onto the sidewalk, Samuel guessed he wasn’t the only one who’d gone a tad overboard. That was perfectly fine by Samuel, he was enjoying himself, and he’d always enjoyed the few times he’d seen Caleb get drunk enough to show it.

Caleb drunk was a playful drunk, which vibed well with Samuel’s giddiness when the alcohol was strong enough in his system. The other man also became far more sociable and extroverted, as though the alcohol washed all the words and thoughts Caleb kept to himself straight out of his mouth.

Which was precisely what Caleb had been doing when he’d nearly tripped. He righted himself immediately with an amused chuckle, turning to make sure Samuel was with him.

“What was I saying?” Caleb wondered.

Samuel snickered. “You were telling me about the sex seminar you had to go to.”

“Oh, right. It was honestly ridiculously embarrassing,” Caleb said as they stood on the sidewalk, waiting for their Uber to get to them.

“Since when do you get embarrassed about sex?” Samuel asked. The other man had always been pretty liberal when it came to