Page 24 of B is for Beg

I cup his jaw in my hand so I can kiss him. Before our lips touch, someone taps my shoulder.

“Mind if I cut in?” Gabe asks. “I need to apologise too.”

“Actually, I do.” I’m pissed off my so-called friend would pick this precise moment to interrupt me. Then again, I can’t swear I wouldn’t do the same.

“How about we let Blake decide?” Gabe says.

I guess that’s all we can do. As Gabe said earlier, he’s not a prize to be won. He’ll choose one of us or neither of us, as he sees fit. We look at him.

He stares between us. “What’s happening?” he murmurs before wiping his hand over his face. “Sure? Why not? I’ll hear what you’ve got to say.”

I chuckle as I move away, giving Gabe space. I settle on a sofa, watching them. It’s clear Blake has never been in this position before, but I’m quietly confident he’ll come back to me before the night is over.

6

Gabe

It was probably a dick move to cut in when he was about to kiss Blake, but I want a chance to apologise before Cal and Blake get lost in each other for the rest of the night.

“I screwed up,” I say once Cal has moved away. “But I’m not going to get on my knees to show you I’m sorry.”

Blake looks at me, his expression unreadable.

“I—we—should have told you that we’d figured out Hamish is head over heels in lust with your brother.”

“Why didn’t you?” Blake asks.

I shrug. “Honestly? I don’t know. Clearly, I—we—didn’t think it through.”

“No,” Blake agrees. “You didn’t.” He sighs. “I understand what you were trying to do, but didn’t either of you think to just be open and honest with me?”

There’s nothing I can say to that.

“I trusted you completely last night,” Blake says. “Iwantto trust you like that again.”

I blink. “You do?”

“Yes!” He wipes his hands over his face. “This is such a mess.”

It is.

“I’ll do anything to make my error of judgement up to you,” I say. “I’ll even temporarily give you power over me if you want.”

Blake shakes his head. “I don’t need you to do that, and I didn’t need Calvin to get on his knees in front of everyone.”

I stroke my knuckles down his arm. “Then what do you need, Blake? What will help you trust me like you did last night?”

He sighs and scuffs the floor with his boot. “You’ve done enough.”

“I have?”

“Yeah. Being willing to make yourself vulnerable is huge.”

To be honest, I’m a little relieved. “Do you want to play?” I ask tentatively.

Blake shifts his weight from foot to foot. “I’m so confused right now.”

“Confused?”