On a Roll by Beth Bolden (free ebook novel .txt) 📗

“It’s the secrets that really bother you, isn’t it?” Sean challenged.

“Well, yeah,” Gabriel said. “I had your tongue down my throat last night. I think I deserve a little fucking consideration.”

“Except you said that had nothing to do with changing the name on your truck,” Sean argued. “You even went out of your way to prove it, if I remember correctly.”

Gabriel glared at him, and this felt . . . well, not better, but at least more normal. Like always, like they hadn’t figured out last night that the heat between them was actually sexual.

It’s not, Sean told himself, you still really don’t like him. He threw a freaking meatball at you.

“So that’s it, then, I just have to change my name, no cooperation and no compromise from you? Just because you say so?”

Sean wasn’t normally an unreasonable person, but after being shoved between a rock and a hard place by his own stubbornness, what else was he supposed to say? No, I’m sorry, this is about something you’ll never understand. A love that transcends time and space and life and death.

He didn’t usually make a habit of saying nothing, but he kept his mouth shut again, and that made for the second time today.

“Yes,” Sean said.

Gabriel threw up his hands. “You are fucking unreasonable, you know? I’m trying here, and you’re just trying to tie me up in knots.”

He felt a pulse of guilt, but pushed it away. “There’s an easy way to untie yourself,” Sean said. “Give in.”

Gabriel actually glowered at him. “No way. Not like this. Not just because you want me to.”

“See, this is actually how I thought last night’s ‘discussion’ would go,” Sean said. He glanced down at his watch. “I’m sorry, I’ve actually got important stuff to do. More important than having a pointless argument with you, anyway.”

Gabriel opened his mouth, and then snapped it shut again. “Fine. Fine. But just so you know, I’m definitely not the only stubborn asshole here.”

As Sean watched him march off, temper rolling off him in nearly visible waves, Sean found that he couldn’t disagree. He was being both ridiculously stubborn and kind of an asshole.

He should go apologize. There was a part of him that knew he should. He should sit Gabriel down, even though the lunch crowd would show up in less than an hour, and explain all about Milo and the plans they’d made when they were still so young and naive and starry-eyed.

He should. But he didn’t.

Instead, he went back to his truck, and instead of starting the veggie prep like he needed to, he went straight to where the aprons were hung up, and grabbed the one with the stain, the one that Gabriel had branded, two years before.

Sean could still feel the weight of that stupid meatball, smacking him right in the chest. And maybe it didn’t excuse every shitty thing he’d done and said to Gabriel in the past, but it sure made it easier to ignore them.

Chapter Three

Gabriel hadn’t known this when they’d first met, two years ago, but Sean was undeniably one of the most particular, meticulous people he’d ever known. His truck, now over two years old, was practically as shiny and perfect as it had been the day he’d opened.

So when he spotted Sean, approaching the group of them gathering near the central circle of picnic tables, wearing an apron with a telltale red blotch across the chest, Gabriel knew something was up.

“You have an accident today?” Lucas asked Sean, as he lounged between his boyfriend’s legs. Tony was halfheartedly sifting Lucas’ hair between his fingers, and Gabriel felt that all-too-familiar sting of jealousy. Tony and Lucas were so casually, so flawlessly yet imperfectly happy. They didn’t always see eye to eye, but that didn’t matter, because they always had each other’s backs.

And the love? You’d have to be blind to miss it.

What did Gabriel have?

A frenemy who refused to confess his secrets, wouldn’t tell him the truth, and now had pulled out evidence of his worst behavior and was displaying it for all their friends to see.

It hurt, even though by now Gabriel should have been used to it.

“This?” Sean asked, pointing to the telltale stain on the center of his white apron. “Oh, this is old. Just an old stain.”

“An old stain from where Gabe beaned him with a meatball,” Tony said with a chuckle.

“Ah,” Lucas said, shooting Gabriel a sympathetic look. “Makes sense.”

If he left now, went back to the truck and grabbed his stuff and went home, everyone would know that he was bothered by Sean wearing it.

Sean would know that he was bothered.

“Really?” The voice was low and incredulous.

Gabriel glanced back and saw Ren approaching, holding two bottles of beer by their long necks. He passed one to Gabe. “What?” Gabriel said, gulping his beer. It didn’t really help. Last night had proved that booze was not the solution to the problems he had with Sean—but at least he’d take those solutions over these.

“He’s really going to pull that out now?” Ren shook his head. “He kind of sucks, doesn’t he?”

Gabriel sighed. “If only that was actually the case.”

Ren’s gaze turned calculating. “Oh, so you finally acknowledged that you want him to suck?”

“You’re the worst,” Gabriel said.

“Unfair, considering we’ve already established who actually is the worst,” Ren said lightly. He tipped his beer bottle in Sean’s direction. He’d gotten drawn into a conversation with Lucas and Tony and was thankfully ignoring Gabe.

Gabriel wasn’t under any stupid assumption that would continue, but for right now, he’d take it.

“I just wish . . . I wish he’d tell me why,” Gabriel said under his breath.

Ren shrugged. “If he hasn’t by now, he probably won’t. You should just change the name and get it over with. He’s never going to give that up.”

“How do you know?” Gabriel had always believed that over time he could wear Sean down. That belief had wavered over the last few days, but he