He gives me a shit eating grin and my hand twitches. Fuck, I’d love to give him the punch in the nose.
“Why? Does that bother you?” he taunts. “Is that why you’re back in California? Because you’ve been pining for Bishop and thought you’d come here and sweep him off his feet?”
Yes, Bishop was part of the reason I wanted to come back here, but the way he says it with so much mocking like Bishop is just another thing I could never be good enough to have for myself, makes me see red.
“Not everything can be owned, you self-absorbed, spoiled asshole,” I snap. Hudson blinks in surprise at my words, which only makes me angrier. “I’m sorry, is it news to you that people exist outside of you?”
“Look, I’m sor—”
“No,” I cut him off. An apology won’t fix what he did, and I’m not going to give him the satisfaction of thinking it will.
He slams his fist down on the counter, his easy going smile turning into a glare for the first time. “I get that you hate me, but you can’t just move back here out of nowhere and think you have a right to keep me out of Bishop’s life. You’re the reason he dumped me, right? You told him he had to choose?”
“I didn’t even know you were dating him, asshole,” I bite back. “And I wouldn’t put B in the middle of this. I never even told him why I hate your selfish ass so much.”
“Yeah,” he mutters. “Well, I’m not going anywhere. Bishop is my best friend in the world, and I’m not letting him go.”
“Too bad you didn’t feel so strongly about our friendship,” I scoff.
“I do. You’re the one who won’t let me apologize and make things right.”
“You can’t make things right,” I say flatly.
“Right,” he huffs. “Well, coffee is brewing, tell Bish I’ll text him later.”
“I’m not telling him shit,” I counter childishly. Fuck, I’m pretty sure I’m the one being a dick right now, but goddamn if Hudson doesn’t bring this asshole side out in me.
“Whatever, I guess I’ll see you around.”
The sound of the front door slamming shut echoes through the apartment, and I wince.
A few minutes later, Bishop appears in the kitchen, freshly showered and dressed in clean clothes.
“Hudson left?” he guesses. I open the cabinet behind my head and grab a coffee mug.
“Yup, he started coffee, then took off,” I answer. “So, not to be all judgy or anything, but Hudson and that hot punk looking dude?”
“His name is Riot,” Bishop corrects. “And...kind of, not really, I don’t know.”
“What don’t you know?” I ask, pouring a cup of coffee and handing it to Bishop.
He sighs, taking the mug and walking over to the cupboard to pull out a container of powdered creamer. He focuses on his cup while he doctors the drink, not looking back in my direction.
“I told you last night, I cooled things off with Hudson.”
“It didn’t seem that cool when I walked in on you two all cozy in bed.” My voice holds more accusation than I intend, and I’m not quite sure who I’m indignant for, myself or Riot. Not like I know the guy, I’ve only met him once, but he seemed cool.
“Look, if I do decide to pick things back up with Hudson, Riot’s fine with it anyway, so relax.”
“You guys aren’t very serious?” Now I’m just fishing, but sue me, I’m curious.
“Not yet, but also we’re...um...we’re both polyamorous.” He straightens his shoulders when he says the last word.
“You are? I didn’t know that.” I frown. He came out to me as gay when we were fourteen, and aside from the fact that he was hiding sleeping with Hudson, we’ve always talked about our relationships and sex lives. Why didn’t he tell me this? Did he think I would have a problem with it?
“I just figured it out,” he explains, and my hackles go down. “So, there’s nothing for you to worry about. I’m not a cheater, and I’m not hiding anything from Riot.”
I nod, taking a sip from my coffee, watching my best friend with curiosity.
“So, you could date...anybody?” I ask, inching closer and leaning against the counter beside him.
“Why?” He finally looks up from stirring his coffee, meeting my gaze. There’s something so open and vulnerable about his expression for a split second that it hits me square in the chest. When he brought Riot home the other day, I thought my chances to make him more than my friend were gone.
I stare at him, my heart pounding in my ears as I let myself feel the full weight of the crush I’ve been harboring for him. I told myself he was only one small reason I wanted to move back to California, but that’s a lie. It got to the point that his calls and texts were all I looked forward to all week in New York. I didn’t want to keep going about my life, wondering if there was something more here. Yet, here I am in his kitchen, living in his apartment, and I still haven’t gotten the courage to find out.
“Leo what are you—”
I press my lips to his, cutting off his question. Bishop makes a surprised noise against my mouth, the sound vibrating against my lips. The scent of sweetened coffee and clean skin fills my nose, the feeling of his soft lips under mine making my cock instantly hard.
I move in closer, boxing Bishop in against the counter as I deepen the kiss, hungry for more of him. His hand presses against my chest, and it only takes me a few seconds to realize he’s not pulling me closer; he’s pushing me away.
“Fuck, sorry,” I mutter, pulling away with my heart in my throat. He’s still clutching his coffee mug in one hand, his lips puffy and wet from the brief kiss, his cheeks flushed.
“I’ve gotta go,” he mutters. “I have work.” He dumps his full mug of coffee into the sink, dropping the mug in next with a loud clatter, and then walking out of the kitchen without a backward glance.
“Fuck,” I groan to myself as the front door opens and slams closed noisily. As much as I’d love to stand in the kitchen and wonder how I got things so wrong, I’m going to be late for work if I don’t haul ass too.
Chapter 8
Bishop
I can hardly focus on my work all morning, the essence of Leo’s mouth still lingering on mine. I love my job as special projects manager—which basically means I do whatever I want as long as I can justify that what I’m doing is good for employee productivity or the company in general—and normally it’s more than enough to distract me when my head is a mess, but not today.
I bounce my knee under my desk, running my tongue absently over my lips, searching for the ghost of Leo’s kiss. How long have I dreamed he might want me back? Fuck, life is cruel sometimes. A short, chaste kiss when I want him so badly is the worst kind of tease I can imagine.
I glance at the time, and my stomach growls as if on cue the second I realize it’s way past the time I usually break for lunch. I stand up and stretch, rolling my neck to work out the kinks. If things weren’t so weird with Hudson right now, I’d text him to meet me for lunch. I need someone to talk to, but I can’t imagine discussing Leo kissing me with Hudson would lead anywhere productive. I stare at my phone, considering my options for a few seconds. I could text Seph, but she can’t usually get away for lunch. Pax is likely out of town for work like he is most weeks. Fuck, I don’t have nearly enough friends.