would that be too creepy? He cringed, deciding against it just as his phone vibrated with a new message.
Question for you.
Ben’s eyebrows twitched as he wondered what could have lingered in Gabriel’s mind after they had called it a night.
Be honest. Did you take a screenshot of me?
A flood of heat surged up Ben’s neck and to his face. He was, literally, going to die from the amount of heat rising through his body. Or so he thought until his phone vibrated with another video call. Shit! There wasn’t a chance he was answering. A new message notification popped up on his phone.
Answer the call, Ben.
His ears were on fire. Shit, shit, shit, shit. He wanted to crawl into a deep dark hole and hide. His finger tapped at the screen, accidentally hitting the green answer button instead of the red to ignore the call. Holding the phone in one hand, he covered his face with the other. He wasn’t looking. No. Hell no.
Funny how the no came so easily when arguing with himself.
He could feel that brown gaze on him. Dammit. When his face cooled, Ben let his hand slip away. He peeked up at his screen, narrowing his eyes at Gabriel’s smiling face.
“I like making you blush.”
His heartbeat kicked up a bit. He typed out a quick message and hit send. Are you flirting with me?
Gabriel looked away for a moment, likely reading the message. He returned his full attention to Ben and smiled. “Is it working?”
Ben bit his lip, trying to hold back a smile as he nodded and thought to himself… Oh yeah, it’s definitely working.
“Good night, Ben. I had fun tonight.”
He held his right hand up with the “Y” sign and moved his hand toward himself, then outward toward the man staring at him with a big smile and tempting dimple. Me too. After disconnecting the call, he tucked his phone under the pillow.
He pushed his head into the soft material as the smile lingered and the flood of memory puzzles filled his mind.
Ben slid his hand under the pillow and silenced the vibration of the alarm on his phone. Barely three hours’ worth of sleep, but he wouldn’t have given up his time chatting with Gabriel. He stretched his arms out and yawned. Maybe he would grab a short nap after breakfast to catch up on the lost sleep. After double-checking the time, he quickly got out of bed, made a bathroom run, and then dressed. Pocketing his phone, he headed downstairs with a pep in his step.
“Good morning,” Julian signed when he entered the kitchen.
He smiled and peeked over at Matt, waving to him when he looked over. They worked together to set the table and lay out the banquet Matt had prepared. Just as quickly, they each served themselves a plateful and dug into their breakfast. He sipped his juice while Calvin stared at him from across the table, narrowing his eyes.
“You look happy.”
Thoughts of Gabriel and last night’s texting swirled in his mind. With the distraction, he hadn’t noticed Calvin’s work clothes. He grabbed his phone and typed out a quick note, holding it up to Calvin.
“Yeah, I’ve got to go into work today. There’s a meeting next week for some big company. People are coming into town early and picking up their cars today.” He shrugged. “I guess they’re making a vacation out of their trip.”
Ben typed out another short message. With Calvin’s theft on record, his options were limited in the work program. He didn’t mind washing and detailing cars for a rental company, but his fair skin was going to take one heck of a beating with today’s forecast.
Calvin leaned in to read the note. “Already on it. Hat’s by the door so I don’t forget.”
Ben nodded and downed another forkful of breakfast, enjoying the mix of flavors hitting his tongue. He reached for his juice and noticed Calvin staring at him again. He cocked his head, questioning.
“Why did your friends screw you over?”
That was the same question he had asked himself multiple times. He shrugged and pushed the food around in his plate.
Calvin reached across the table and tapped his forearm. Ben glanced up. “I know why they did it.”
Because I’m too gullible and trusting? He wasn’t sure he wanted to hear Calvin’s response.
“Because they were assholes.” He gave Julian the side-eye, refusing to turn away from Ben. “Yeah, Julian, I said that. You can ground me later.” He returned his firm gaze to Ben. “They were