Page 24 of Unexpectedly You (Boston Boys Bozok #1)

Chapter Fifteen

Bentley

I’m a fucking wreck when I walk into work an hour later.

After showering at the gym I dressed and drove here, only to sit in the parking lot for another ten minutes trying to gather myself.

I feel so fucking stupid being this upset about Alex going on a date, but I can’t help it.

I knew he would get back out there at some point, I just never expected it to be with a guy.

And the worst part is, I’m already upset at whoever this guy is for taking my Alex time away.

If they keep dating and it gets serious he’ll have far less time to spend with me than he does now, and as it is we only see each other a few times a week.

I know that’s fucking selfish, and that he deserves to go on dates and enjoy himself.

I just wish I could be the one making him happy, sitting with him at a restaurant, or a movie, or wherever the fuck he wants to go, because I’d do anything with him just to get to spend more time together.

But now, it’s my job to support him while he dates someone else, and I will, because I care about him, but fuck if it’s not going to hurt something awful.

I suppose it’s a good thing I won’t see him for a few days because that will give me some time to wrap my brain around all of this and hopefully be a supportive friend when he talks about how his date went.

“Morning, bestie,” Peyton chirps when I walk through the door. My gaze doesn’t meet hers right away but when it does, the tears start all over again, and she jumps up from her seat behind the receptionist desk.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” she asks, and I’m sobbing as her arms come around me. I pull away when I realize I’m getting tears and probably snot on her fancy blouse.

“Sorry,” I say, sniffling. “This is so unprofessional.”

She snorts and then grabs a tissue off the box on the desk and hands it to me.

“Hon, you know I will lock this place down and cancel every single one of your appointments if I have to. You don’t have anyone for half an hour anyway, and you know better than to think you have to be professional with me. What happened?”

I wipe my nose with the tissue and then my eyes with my fingers, sucking in a breath. “Alex has a date tonight.”

She frowns. “What?”

I nod. “With a guy. Apparently he’s into guys, just not me. If he was dating a girl I wouldn’t be so upset. I mean it would still suck, but fuck, him dating a guy hurts so much worse.”

She sighs. “I am not wrong about this. He’s probably doing it because he thinks you don’t have feelings for him. You need to say something.”

“It’s too late now, Pey, I’d just make a fool of myself. He’s letting me down easy, I guess. Not telling me to my face that I don’t stand a chance. And at least he’s keeping me in the friend zone.”

She sighs again. “You want me to cancel your appointments and we can play hooky? ”

I shake my head. “No, I can’t afford to do that. Besides, it'll be a good distraction.”

I manage not to sob onto my clients while I’m massaging them, or tell them all about how broken hearted I am.

It only makes things worse when I run into Alex leaving for his date as I’m unlocking the door to my apartment.

“Hey,” he says, smiling at me. “How do I look?” He spreads his arms and spins, and it's all I can do not to start crying all over again. He’s wearing chinos, and he has a blazer on over a plain white shirt. His hair is perfectly tousled and I ache to run my fingers through it.

“Amazing,” I tell him, managing to force a small smile.

His grin turns to a frown. “You okay?” he asks, stepping closer.

“Yeah, of course,” I lie, plastering another smile on my face. “Just tired. Long day. Have a good time.”

He bites his lip but nods. “See you later.”

I turn and stumble into my apartment before he sees me fall apart.

I want to cuddle with Marble but I feel weird about going into Alex’s apartment now for some reason.

And that makes me realize that if he’s got a steady boyfriend I probably won’t have the same “walk in whenever you want to” privileges.

Things are going to change a lot, I think, and it makes my chest ache and more tears spring to my eyes.

I don’t feel very hungry so I just eat a protein bar for dinner. I try to watch some Supernatural because it’s always been my comfort show, but I can’t because it only makes me think of Alex.

I have a sick feeling in my stomach the entire evening, thinking about him being on a date with someone, flirting with them, kissing them, maybe even getting fucked by them.

Shit, I don’t know how to accept this, and I know I’m the worst friend in the world for even thinking for a second that maybe his date will suck, and he’ll be mine again, even if it’s just for a little while.

Alex

I take a deep breath and let it out. I’m sitting in the parking lot of the restaurant where Greg said he would meet me.

And all I can think about is that I’m missing out on time with Bentley.

I could be sitting on his couch right now, watching Supernatural while he knits something and Marble snoozes between us.

I could be in sweats and a T-shirt instead of chinos and a dress shirt.

I could be surrounded by his smell, his laugh, his smile.

But I told myself I was going to do this so I could let these feelings for Bentley go, so even though I don’t want to, I climb out of the car and head inside.

I told Greg on Grindr that I was new to dating guys, so he isn’t blindsided by me, and he didn’t seem to mind.

He was very polite and sweet when we talked, and said he wasn’t interested in one night stands either, so there was no pressure for sex. Just getting to know each other.

It’s warming up, and there’s a pleasant breeze in the air as I make my way inside. I spot who I’m pretty sure is Greg sitting at a table sipping on wine, and inform the hostess that I’m here with him.

He smiles when he sees me approaching and stands. “You must be Alex?” he says, and I nod. He waits for me to sit before he does. “You look nice.”

I flush and try for a smile but I’m not sure it’s convincing.

“Thank you. So do you.” He’s dressed similar to me, his pants and blazer different colors, and his shirt a button up.

His dark hair is styled to perfection. He has glasses over his deep brown eyes and he smiles at me again.

It really is a nice smile. Everything about him is nice, really.

He’s a bit older than me, mid thirties I think, and he said he was an architect, which is pretty cool. He’s honestly perfect on paper.

Our waiter comes by and I order some wine for myself. I think I need it.

We order our meals once the waiter returns with my drink. We talk for a bit, about ourselves, the typical get to know you stuff that we haven’t already talked about over Grindr. Work, families, hobbies. I tell him about Johnny’s and that my family owns it, and he smiles.

I find he loves to read as much as I do, though he’s more interested in science fiction and fantasy, that he loves animals, and has two cats of his own.

He grew up in Massachusetts just like I did.

He enjoys being outdoors. He tells me his family isn’t the most supportive of him being gay and he’s had to cut ties with most of them but has a sister he’s close to.

When our food comes we eat, and talk a bit more, and I feel like the world’s worst date because all I can think about is how perfect Greg is, the ideal guy, really, but not the guy I want.

He doesn’t smell right, he doesn’t have the sexy southern drawl that makes me weak in the knees.

He doesn’t blush like crazy when I give him the slightest compliment.

He doesn’t have a smile that melts my heart and turns my brain to mush.

“You’re not enjoying this, are you?” he says, and I stare at him, blinking. He doesn’t even look upset, just knowing.

“No, I am,” I tell him.

He shakes his head. “Alex, it’s okay if you’re not. I’ve been on enough dates to know when someone isn’t having a good time. You’ve barely touched your food. You’re clearly distracted.”

I sigh. “I’m so sorry. It’s not you, I swear. ”

He gives a small smile. “So who is it, then?”

“Huh?”

“The guy you’re pining over?”

I flush. “It doesn’t matter. He isn’t interested.”

“Is this your way of trying to forget about your feelings?”

I blink and he laughs softly.

“It won’t work. Trust me.”

I groan.

“Tell him how you feel, Alex.”

I shake my head. “I can’t. He’s my best friend and he’s straight.”

“Are you sure? I thought you said you thought you were straight until a couple of months ago. I’m guessing he’s the reason you’re even on a date with a guy right now?”

I nod.

“Look, if he’s as good of a friend as you say he is, it will be okay.

I’m not saying he for sure has feelings for you, too, but he won’t hate you for saying something, and you’ll know for sure how he feels for you one way or the other.

That might make it easier to move on if he doesn’t feel the same.

And if he does…” he trails off. “You don’t want to live the rest of your life wondering what would have happened if you had said something. ”

I sigh and bite my lip.

“Is he worth taking a chance on?” Greg asks.

Okay, I can do this , I tell myself as I climb out of my car and head into the apartment building. I’ve been talking myself up since I left the restaurant, feeling horrible for being such a lousy date, but thankful my date was so understanding .

I’m telling Bentley how I feel. Tonight.

Right now. I’m sure he’s up. It’s not that late.

But when I stop outside his door I hesitate.

I take a deep breath and I’m just about to knock when I remember our rule and reach for the door knob.

I hear a moan from the other side of the door, and then a curse as I step inside.

“Fuck!”

I stop dead in my tracks when I see Bentley sprawled out on his couch, naked and fisting himself, obscene amounts of precum coating his hand and cock, his skin flushed and damp with sweat, that beautiful golden hair pooled on top of the pillow his head is resting on.

Holy fuck. I’ve never seen anything this erotic before.

Not even the porn I watched compares to this.

His eyes are wide when he meets my gaze, and it registers in my brain that I should be looking away, or shutting the door and running away, but I don’t.

I can’t. My name pours from his lips as his dick pulses and load after load of cum shoots out all over his stomach and chest. God, I don’t think I’ll forget that O face for as long as I live.

My brain is short circuiting, and I don’t know what to do. “Shit,” I say. “Sorry, I’ll go.” I step back and shut the door, before hightailing it over to my apartment.

My heart is racing as I shut the door behind me and lean against it. That really just happened, didn’t it? I actually heard and saw him jerking off to me. It was my name on his lips while he came so fucking hard.

I pace, shaking my hands out as I do, my body filled with nervous energy. Do I go back over there? Do I wait? Shit, I don’t know. Is he going to hate me for walking in on him? Jesus, I hope not.

Marble perches on the top of the sofa and meows at me.

“Quiet, I’m thinking,” I tell her. In the end I decide to wait for the morning.

I’ll go over there before he leaves for work and talk to him.

With that sorted out I move to Marble and scratch behind her ears.

I’m too riled up to sleep just yet, so I change and go for a run.

I think about knocking on Bentley’s door when I get back, but decide to stick to my original plan. He might need some time.

I head inside again, shower, and fall into bed.