Page 30 of All Night Long

“He was being friendly because he wants a tip.”

“He wants more than a tip.” Gray waggled his eyebrows, causing Henry to snort. “He wants the length, too.”

“And you had to glare him out of it.”

“You’re mine,” Gray growled. “No one touches you but me, which reminds me, have you told him that he’s single?” Oh yeah. The boyfriend Henry was in an open relationship with, the one he’d cheated on Gray with. He was purposely ignoring the fact they were in a relationship before Gray mated him and the fact Gray hadn’t told Henry he’d mated him.

“I can’t remember if I have or haven’t spoken to Jess about us. I mean, is there an ‘us’ or is this a fuck and run relationship? Yeah, you seem more open-minded about it all, but how long before the fact you’re mated to me makes you insane with anger and you leave?”

“Such a high opinion of me,” Gray muttered darkly.

“I’m speaking the truth,” Henry spoke quietly as he fiddled with his cutlery. “I’m the one who feels the loss when you’re not around. I have to take care of my health and we’re stuck. It doesn’t matter whether we like it or not, but we’re tied together for life now and I want a good, healthy life. I don’t want to be walking on eggshells around you and I don’t want to be…” Henry paused. “Stuck. I don’t want to be the one waiting around until you decide to turn up when the need becomes too much for you. I might be human, but I’m a man and I have needs, and wants, and desires.”

Gray straightened in his chair and leaned on the table. “I can give them to you. Why do you have to force me to answer? Why can’t you let me go at my pace?”

“Because I’m the one who ends up sick.” Henry’s quietly spoken words had Gray sitting back in his chair. He rubbed his hand over his chin, watching Henry watch him. “I don’t want to be in this yo-yo situation where I’m sick and then you turn up and we fuck, then you disappear again until I’m sick and round and round we go. We need to find common ground where we can build something from this. This is for life, isn’t it? Neither one of us can walk away.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” Gray snapped out louder than he meant to going by the number of heads that turned in their direction. He inhaled swiftly and slowly exhaled.

“Two beers?”

“Thank you,” Henry responded before Gray could open his mouth, and he watched Henry take a large mouthful of beer. “I’m ready to order, are you?”

Gray grunted and picked up the menu, then put it down without looking at it. He wanted to leave, and he knew Henry could pick that up from the way he was behaving. “Burger and fries.”

“Hmm. I’ll have the same.”

“Good.”

“Yeah.”

Gray glanced around the restaurant, ignoring Henry, and wondered what the fuck he was doing. When Kelvin had suggested a meal out, he’d agreed, thinking it was a good place to start to get to know his mate, and now that he was here, he was so over it. He wanted out. He wanted to be at home on his own and away from humans.

“You don’t want to be here. Too many H people?”

“H people?” What the fuck was Henry talking about?

“Humans,” Henry whispered. “Too much too soon?”

“Huh?” Maybe Henry had a point. Maybe this was why he felt like scratching his skin off. Too many humans. It felt like Gray had jumped straight in at the deep end and he couldn’t swim.

“We can get our food to go.”

“No,” Gray snapped, then winced.

“Okay,” Henry drew out the word. “I’m so excited.”

That was it. He was done. Gray stood and stormed out, leaving Henry at the table, and paced outside the restaurant. Several minutes later, Henry came out and walked past him. “Hey!”

“Fuck you.” Gray jogged to catch up to Henry, grabbing his arm and spinning him around. Henry snatched his arm away and jabbed Gray in the chest. “Fuck. You.”

“No chance. I do the fucking between us.”

“No chance,” Henry smirked, “because there’ll be no more fucking between us. I would rather be dead than have you touch me again. We are done. Time after time, I’ve let you treat me like shit, but no more. I have far too much self-respect to put up with your stupid speciesist shit any more. Or whatever the fucking word is to describe how you despise my species, which includes me. You’re either in or you’re out, but this stops now because I’m done.”

Henry spun and stormed away, and Gray let him go. What was the point? Kelvin and Key worked, but he and Henry didn’t, and they never would. He needed to work out how many days he could go before he had to be close to Henry. He’d push to the max, too.

Disappearing, he appeared in his apartment and opened the fridge, grabbing a can of beer. Fuck it, he needed a drink, and he didn’t get the one he wanted at the restaurant. He cracked it open and took a long drink before sighing and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

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