Page 97 of Should Our Hearts Catch Fire

He refrains from giving Gabriel a lecture, not wanting to sound like a concerned parent.

Ellis:How did you know where to go?

Gabriel:I asked Cal. He was very helpful.

The fact that Gabriel knew Cal and Dawson before he knew Ellis still feels a little weird. Good on one hand—Ellis won’t have to make introductions—but weird on the other.

Ellis:Thank you. You shouldn’t have bothered, but thank you.

Gabriel:Nonsense. I couldn’t possibly leave you uncaffeinated. It’s in your employees’ best interest.

Gabriel:And you can’t live on takeout. I mean, you can. But I won’t let you.

Dammit, Ellis is too old to get butterflies in his stomach. He’s probably just hungry.

Ellis:My employees are very grateful.

Ellis:You should have told Amanda to let you in.

Gabriel:I figured you had a meeting or something. Didn’t wanna intrude.

Ellis puts the phone down for a second in case he types something likeI always want to see you.He’s been too sappy lately, he needs to slow down. One sappy confession every other day should suffice.

When he’s confident his fingers won’t betray him, he picks up the phone again.

Ellis:Are you free tonight? We could go to the movies. Or something.

He can’t remember the last time he’s been to a movie, but that’s what people do on a date, right?

Gabriel:I’m down! But only if you’re not too tired after work.

Ellis:You can give me a magical boost.

Gabriel:Oh, I can do more than that ;) ;)

The butterflies move lower, wreaking utter havoc and making his pants uncomfortably tight.

Gabriel:You still there? Are we on?

Checking the time between the texts, it looks like Ellis zoned out for a good three minutes. He takes a deep breath, willing the butterflies to calm the fuck down.

Ellis:We’re on.

Gabriel:xx

Aaand they’re back. So is mild performance anxiety, because for all intents and purposes Ellis is still pretty much a virginwhen it comes to gay sex. He kind of regrets not taking Jordan up on his offer to ‘teach him stuff’. How desperate is he?

Obviously, Sunday night was amazing. As was Monday and Tuesday night when Ellis lay in bed, a hand on his cock and Gabriel in his thoughts as he stroked himself to the memory of Gabriel’s mouth, and the weight of his body on top of him as he pressed Ellis into the sofa. What pushed him over the edge each time was the phantom feeling of Gabriel’s come splashing across his skin, his cock pulsing in Ellis’ hand.

Great. Now he’s hard again.

Shooting his dick a betrayed look—even though technically it’s Gabriel’s fault—he tries to focus on the document glaring at him judgingly from the file in front of him. He lasts all of ten minutes before his thoughts wander again, the anxiety tickling the back of his mind.

They’re just going to the movies, that doesn’t mean anything is going to happen.

But if it does…

He heaves a sigh, slumping in his chair. Well, one thing is certain—he’s not going to call Jordan to ask for pointers. He does have some dignity, after all. Which only leaves one option.