Page 5 of Good Friends
Kent pulled out a chair and sat. “You know, far be it from me to intrude on someone else’s pity party, but maybe you should try calling the fucking guy.”
“I’m a masochist, but I’m notthatkind of masochist.”
Around them, about twenty-five horny guys were involved in a variety of sexy activities.
A year ago, Gavin might have been eager to dive head-first into the pile and have himself some fun, mostly because he knew Porter would be having fun right there with him.
Or—even better and far more likely—the two of them would’ve been having fun with each other while watching the other guys getting it on.
“It’s my own fault,” Gavin said. “I left the freaking country without telling him how I really feel. He’s obviously had no trouble moving on without me. That’s not his fault. I didn’t give him a reason to wait for me.”
“You don’t think he might like to hear this straight from you?”
“I think he’s made his position clear. I asked him before I even signed the contract if he wanted me to not take the job.”
Kent leaned in. “Yeah, but you also said the deal was you moved in with him when you get back. That doesn’t sound like a guy disinterested.”
“But meanwhile, he’s had no trouble hooking up with people.”
“You told me you guys were open.”
“We are. Sort of. But for over six months before I left, neither of us slept with anyone else.”
“Sooo…you wanted to close things up and he…didn’t?” Kent asked.
“We never really settled that.”
“Never settled it, or never discussed it in the first place?”
Gavin shrugged and sat back, taking a sip of his rum and Coke. “Same thing.”
“Not exactly.”
“Besides, it’s irrelevant now. Jayce told me he’s been hooking up with Porter on the regular for the past several months, and Porter didn’t even bother to tell me. If I can’t trust the guy to tell me something like that, especially this close to my return date, what difference does it make anyway?”
Kent sighed. “Look. All I know about relationships comes from my own experience with dumbassery, okay? Not communicating—clearlycommunicating—nearly cost me my damnlife. Five minutes later, I would’ve been alone at home and died, all because I was too chickenshit to admit to my guys how I felt about them. Thank god they didn’t leave immediately after our fight. And look at us now.”
Gavin slowly shook his head. “But Porter’s known me for ten years and knows what a damn trigger lying is for me. An omission like that is the same as a lie.”
“So, what, you’re going to hope you never run into him again?”
Gavin shrugged. “I’ll send him a message in a week or so and tell him I’ve got another job and have already found a place to live. Wish him well, tell him no hard feelings. Maybe at some point we can be friends again, but I just can’t right now, especially knowing he’s kept this back from me. With Jayce, of all fucking people! The guy’s a goddamned slut, and I don’t even mean the fun kind. I mean the disgusting kind you’d never want to invite to one of your parties.”
Kent snorted.
“What?”
“Talk about a lie of omission. You don’t tell him you’ve been back for two weeks already and living in Sarasota now? That you’ve already been working at your new job for a week?”
Gavin shrugged again. “Fuck it.”
“Reeeeallly?” Kent drawled as he pointed at the sliding glass doors. “And instead of trying to chuck it in the fuck-it bucket by picking any one of those eligible guys in there or out here, you’re going to sit outherewith your buddies Coke and Captain Morgan?” He tapped the glass-topped table with his finger.
“I thought I could,” Gavin quietly said. “I really thought tonight would be exactly what I needed to get him out of my system, but I can’t. I know he’s at the Toucan this weekend, probably fucking and spanking his way through half the twinks there.”
“I thought you said he wasn’t a manwhore?”
“Who the hell knows what he is? I thought I knew him. Been good friends for ten years. Best friends, I thought. Closer than that. I love the fucking guy. Thought he loved me.”
