Page 11 of The Laughing Game

Distraction was also effective. I kept typing.

I hope Gideon’s making lots of little sandwiches. I can’t wait to try some.

I hit send and waited with breathless anticipation.

The typing bubble popped up and the three dots danced for a few seconds.

Hmm. Is there something you’d like to tell me, Angel?

Fuck. No, no, no. I wasn’t ready for this. I hadn’t even had coffee.

He knew. He had to know. Everyone suspected. But I wasn’t in the least bit prepared for this conversation.

See you at two. Waving hand.

Oh my God, I was such a coward. And my life had been a lie.

See you later. Face with a monocle.

Then a face with sunglasses. Then a…face with a birthday hat blowing a party favor?

Ha ha. It’s not my birthday?

I know.

Wait. He knew. I knew he knew. Without even talking to Sebastian.

But…he didn’tknowI knew he knew. So, I would simply remain oblivious until he said something. And I’d facethatwhen it happened.

Chapter Three

I had no idea what to wear.

Sure, it was afternoon tea, but I wasn’t a fifty-year-old woman. I decided on a pair of dark-wash jeans, and a navy-blue button-down shirt, tucked in—more formal—with the top two buttons undone. I grabbed the leather choker that I wore to the clubs off my dresser, and fastened it around my neck.

I might as well look pretty.

I moisturized my face and put some gel in my hair, feeling like someone waking up to a new world. Getting ready to visit Vihaal and Gideon was a completely different experience from heading out to try to meet women. I felt so much more vulnerable, and at a loss as to what might impress them. And I wanted to make an impression.

I knew what women liked, but I had no idea how to make myself attractive for two men. As I gazed at my face in the mirror, seeing the faint freckles that spanned my pale nose and cheeks, and the reddish hair that curled in a neglected shag around my ears, I wondered what they saw in me to draw them in. I was nowhere near as hot as they were. My eyes were a boring brown color and I’d never been able to grow a respectable beard.

And I had so many questions. Did they romance other men frequently? Did they have an open relationship? Did they have other men over all the time to share their bedroom or their playroom? Wait, Vihaal had said they didn’t have a ‘dungeon’ intheir home, and that was why they used the Bordello frequently. Did they take other men there, or just each other?

Fuck, I was getting ahead of myself. It was entirely possible that I would only be offered a cup of tea and some teeny tiny sandwiches.

My car made troublesome sounds the entire way to their place. I had an irrational attachment to my silver Honda Civic. It had been with me a long time, but maybe it was a good idea to move on.

I turned left onto Cameron Avenue from Riverdale, then took an immediate right onto Bellwood. The picturesque street spanned out under what would be lots of tree cover in the summer but at present were bare branches and snowy bushes. Number fifty-seven was a charming three-story Victorian-style home about three quarters of the way down, with red brick walls and a porch with white railings and a balcony directly above it. There was space on the street to park nearby. I noticed a small red Mazda in the drive.

My car made a rattle and a sigh as I turned it off with the manual ignition and I prayed it might still have a few weeks left. Like I’d said, it had been a stressful and busy few years, and I hadn’t maintained it properly.

I sat there for a moment, taking in the view out the windshield. Old Ottawa South was a beautiful but pricey area to live and I wondered how rich Vihaal actually was. Sebastian had implied that he had family money, and I knew he owned the antique store, which he had other people managing. They could obviously afford to live here.

I took a deep breath and got out of my car. Maybe I could pretend that nothing had changed, and we were only good friends who enjoyed hanging out together in a socially approved way. But what the hell was the fun of that? If my parents had taught me anything, it was to take some risks and find out whatyou really wanted. Now that I had some breathing room, maybe it was time I took that advice.

Gideon answered the door wearing tiny cut-off jean shorts and a mesh crop top, and holding a black feather duster. If there had still been any question that I might be a little bit gay, it left me in a spike of desire as I gazed at him, noticing the curves of muscle in his thighs and calves and the slight pooch of his belly under the see-through shirt. I couldn’t help staring at him, in blatant desire and with some confusion, since it was quite chilly out here.

“Angel!”

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