Page 20 of A Little More Forgiveness

I wondered what he meant by his answer. “Well, you were right.” I didn’t want him getting any funny ideas, and hopefully I’d made the situation clear. He nodded again and set about making up the sofa bed, attaching the bottom sheet before placing both pillows on the mattress.

“You two sharing?” I struggled to understand why the idea of them sleeping so close together made my heart thump erratically.

“We are. It didn’t sit right with me, him sleeping in a chair. I would have offered to, but I’d end up throwing my back out.” He shrugged. “Old sports injury from college. I need to lay flat, or I’m in agony for days.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Anyway, we talked, and both agreed we’d manage bunking for a few days. The couch is big enough for both of us not to be on top of each other, so why not.”

On top of each other.

The idea of Leo on top of Gabe, together, naked, almost had me hyperventilating.

I needed to go.

“Well, if you’ve got everything you need?”

“Yeah, yeah, we’ll be fine.”

“Night, then.”

“Night, Mitch.”

Once in my bedroom, door firmly closed behind me, I leaned against the wood, breathing heavily. Why couldn’t I stop thinking about them that way? I shouldn’t be. Deliberately bringing the image of Katie to the forefront of my mind, I tried to block out the two men only a few feet away. Welcoming the much-needed dose of reality the stab of guilt induced, I clung to the sensation for dear life. I had to keep my distance from them both, starting tomorrow morning. Working around the cabin was hard and monotonous but emptied my mind and gave me focus, allowing me to get one step closer to fulfilling my promises of turning our land into the dreams we’d both shared. Me and Katie.

Yet, as I undressed and lay in bed staring at the ceiling hours later, unable to sleep, the only thing filling my head was the vision of the two men nearly naked and laying in a bed, inches apart, in the room beyond my bedroom door.

Chapter Nine

Leo

Gabe returned five minutes after Mitch disappeared into his bedroom, sat on the opposite side of the sofa bed, and removed his shoes and socks, the scenario so domestic and everyday as if this was our regular nighttime routine.

Grabbing the toiletries from my duffel, I hurried to the small bathroom-cum-mudroom at the rear of the house and locked myself in. Never had I been more grateful for remembering the bag in the trunk of my vehicle packed for what should have been a pre-Christmas break this weekend with friends, though given my current situation, obviously wasn’t going to happen.

After a quick brush of my teeth and splash of cold water on my heated face, I took a leak and made my way through the kitchen, turning the lights off on my way. In the living room, a single lamp remained on atop the small side table on my side of the sofa bed. The low light gave an atmosphere of intimacy to the room as I undressed, causing me to shiver while removing my clothes. Gabe faced away from me toward the fire, but I still felt as if he silently registered my every move. Shoes and socks gone, I unbuttoned my shirt and removed it along with my T-shirt, the action so commonplace I didn’t think anything of it until I stopped abruptly, being uncertain what to do next when I realized what baring my chest may imply.

I glanced over at Gabe, who had his T-shirt on. Should I put mine on again too? If I did, would I feel foolish? Irritable, I stood and undid my belt, the jangle of the metal loud in the quiet room. As was the unmistakable sound of the zipper on my pants as I lowered it, and the rustle of material as the pants slid down my legs. Oh, and don’t let me forget the noises of my hopping on one foot as I removed them from around my ankles. I mean, come on, could I be any more awkward?

Fucking, finally, I got into bed, only pulling the covers up to my waist as, despite being tamped down and on the other side of the sofa bed, the fireplace continued to give off a fair amount of heat. Switching off the lamp, my eyes adjusted to the dark, the orange glimmer of the embers a dull light in the room.

Gabe shifted onto his back and our shoulders brushed together, the touch of his soft cotton T-shirt against my bare skin sending prickles of awareness through my body, making me shiver.

“You cold?” he asked quietly.

“No,” I half squeaked, cleared my throat, and tried again. “No, not cold.”

He exhaled a heavy sigh, reminding me of when I’d been left in the cabin while Mitch went to apologize to Gabe. “Did you two sort everything out?” I hoped they had because I was fed up being on tenterhooks around them both.

He sighed again. “I guess.”

“You don’t sound too sure.”

“It’s complicated.”

“Oh?” I turned on my side to face him, interested in hearing his side of the story. Having spent a good part of the afternoon chatting with Mitch, I was a bit closer to understanding him, but Gabe remained something of an enigma.

I waited, having worked out this happened to be the best way to get him to talk. He didn’t like a lot of silence I’d noticed. Oh, he’d tried the tactic initially when we’d first met in my office, and he’d succeeded then, mostly because I’d been distracted by his stunning looks and the magnitude of my failure if things didn’t work out. But I’d been watching him for a while now and okay, yes, he was good at keeping quiet, but nowhere near as good as me. I’d had years of training from my stepfather to rely on, after all.

---