“Pity party?” Gabriel shrugs, and Ellis remembers Jordan saying how bummed and sad he looked when he thought Ellis wasn’t coming back. “I’m sorry.”
Gabriel shakes his head. “It’s okay, Ellis. I get it. I do.”
Why does he have to be so understanding all the fucking time? Why can’t he just yell at Ellis and tell him to shove his excuses where the sun doesn’t shine? It would be so much easier.
“Is the offer still on the table? Because I’d like to take you out for dinner,” he says quicky before he can lose his nerve.
Doubt and panic creep in when Gabriel is quiet for a few very long seconds, staring at Ellis as if he spoke a different language.
“No can do,” he says, and Ellis’ heart plummets. “If anyone is taking anyone to dinner, it’s me. I believe I asked first.”
Ellis lets out a relieved breath. He’d call Gabriel out on scaring him like that, but he kinda deserved it, so…
“You did ask first,” he admits, chuckling. “Well, then…I’d like to have dinner with you. Or lunch. Breakfast. I don’t care.”
“I don’t care either.”
“Cool.”
“Cool.”
They laugh, neither of them giving any indication of going anywhere.
“Do you wanna go now?” Ellis asks, feeling a little lost. Now that the hard part is over, he’s not sure what to actually do.
Gabriel brightens at the idea, then pauses. “What about Jordan?”
“What about him?”
“I thought he’s visiting this weekend.”
“Oh. Yeah. He manages the Sydney office for me now. He’s flying back tomorrow.”
Gabriel gives a decisive nod. “You should spend time with your friend while you can.”
“It’s fine. Jordan doesn’t mind.” In fact, he was the one to push Ellis to do this.
“Maybe not. But you should still be with your friend.”
“Really, it’s not—”
“Ellis,” Gabriel says, managing to sound both incredibly patient and mildly exasperated. “I’m not going anywhere. There’s no expiration date on how I feel about you.” He speaks slowly, as if to make sure the words are making it through Ellis' thick skull. “Go be with your friend. I think you both need it.”
Ellis opens his mouth, but nothing comes out. Hedoeswant to spend time with Jordan, as aggravating as he can be. Having him back in his life has lifted a certain weight off Ellis' shoulders. Moving to the GC, despite having family here, has made him feel more isolated than ever. It’s been so easy to forget that there is, in fact, a person out there who cares about him and misses him.
“Plus,” Gabriel goes on, “I don’t have a change of clothes. I’m all sweaty and probably smell gross.”
“You smell nice,” comes out of Ellis’ mouth without going through his brain filter first. Good god, Gabriel must be rubbing off on him.
You’d like that, wouldn’t you?
Shocked at his own thoughts, he scrambles for something to say. “Tomorrow, then? Dinner?”
Looking a little stunned, probably by Ellis’ comment, Gabriel gives a firm nod. “Tomorrow it is. Unless you’ll be socially tired?”
“Normally, I would be, but you kind of have the opposite effect on me,” Ellis admits sheepishly, wondering when he’ll stop saying such sappy shit. He’s starting to worry that with Gabriel around, his self-control is destined to be pretty much non-existent.
Gabriel drops his gaze briefly, then lifts it back up. “Cool.”
