Monday

GABE LEFT LATE, which was a great way to start a Monday. So late that traffic was nonexistent. It was first time Gabe had ever longed for a traffic jam.

He spotted a black car that might have been a Lexus pretty far ahead of him. Did Lexus make SUVs? Should he be checking out black SUVs too?

It didn’t matter. He made it all the way to work in near record time, no Lexuses in sight and no pings from his phone to let him know he had a message.

He turned notifications for Cruised back on, just in case. SilverFoxxx had Gabe in his contacts now. They didn’t need to be near each other to message anymore.

Or Gabe could step up and message SilverFoxxx first. That wouldn’t be weird. But if he sent a message now and SilverFoxxx wasn’t the type to mix business with pleasure, he might be waiting all day for a response. He’d think about it nonstop.

He should have caved and messaged over the weekend.

Gabe cradled his head in his hands. He’d been at work for ten minutes and already wanted to leave. This was why he shouldn’t be allowed on hookup apps.

He’d just have to throw himself at work. He’d forget about it then.

That worked a bit.

 

THE FAST-FOOD burger was okay. Better than the sad dinner he’d have cobbled together from whatever was in his fridge when he finally got home.

Getting to work late meant leaving late. His brain was fried, he was tired, and it was nearly 6:30 p.m. Not that Gabe had anything else to do, but every minute spent at work past 5:00 p.m. was torture.

The restaurant was busy enough that no one looked twice at him but not so busy that he couldn’t score the back corner booth. He didn’t want to talk to anyone or have to make funny faces at someone’s toddler. He wanted to eat his burger and then go home and do something completely un-stressful. Maybe go right to sleep.

He flipped open Cruised anyway.

It beeped immediately with a proximity notification for SilverFoxxx. Turning on those notifications hadn’t been stalkerish at all. Nope.

Gabe put his phone to the side and took another bite of his burger but didn’t close the app. He watched the green dot pulse on his screen, keeping his eyes on it through half of his fries and a couple more bites of burger.

He was back to debating if he should message first or not. He didn’t really have anything to say, and he felt dumb for not messaging during their normal morning traffic flirting time.

Fuck it. He was going to do it anyway. Worst-case scenario was this guy thought he was a weirdo and stopped talking to him. But they weren’t talking now, so there was nothing to lose.

He swiped over to his messages, opened the chat he had going with SilverFoxxx, and stared at it. He pecked out the beginning of a message, deleted, and tried again. He deleted it again just as quickly.

Gabe typed out hello and hit Send before he could regret it.

The regret kicked in exactly three seconds later. Gabe stared at what was left of his burger and fries with no appetite left at all. He thought about balling it all up in the tin foil wrapper and throwing it away.

His phone pinged before he got the chance.

Hello. Missed you this morning.

Something about that warmed Gabe’s heart and chased his embarrassment away. It was only text, so it was impossible to interpret tone, but it didn’t feel like SilverFoxxx was being sarcastic or mean about it. It sounded as if the guy genuinely missed him.

Or Gabe was projecting because he definitely missed flirting with SilverFoxxx that morning.

Coming out and saying you missed flirting with someone seemed corny, even if SilverFoxxx had done the same, but Gabe didn’t want to let it go completely.

yeah my drive was boring without u

There. That was flirty and sweet and didn’t admit that Gabe had missed looking for SilverFoxxx’s black Lexus because he’d overslept.

I’d hate for you to be bored in traffic. You should invest in a good audio book.

That was definitely teasing, and Gabe liked it.

i’d rather flirt with you

Is that what this is? Flirting?

Gabe’s heart beat faster, and he totally forgot about his fries. Flirting was one thing, but openly admitting you were flirting was more serious. It implied intent. Something beyond just fun without follow-up.

i’m flirting are u flirting?

No point in denying it. Gabe was definitely flirting, and he wanted to keep flirting. He was starting to think more seriously about what the follow-up might be too. He wasn’t supposed to do this anymore, but could one more meetup hurt? This guy was probably gorgeous, and he would be the one Gabe passed on.

Yes.

Gabe shivered. The period was so final looking. Like A Statement had been made. And now it was on him.

your replying too fast to be driving already home?

That was a cop-out, and Gabe knew it. The anticipation bubbling in his stomach made him giddy, but not giddy enough to be stupid. Not yet. He was slipping that way though. Any push from SilverFoxxx, and Gabe would be dropping to his knees to meet him.

Still at work. Unfortunately.

Gabe’s own long Monday had been awful. If SilverFoxxx had gotten to work at a normal hour and was still working… Well, his Lexus didn’t pay for itself.

long hrs?

Not always. Just have a lot to get done today.

Gabe made himself put his phone on the table and eat a few fries. They were replying to each other too quickly. It was almost an actual conversation.

If this were a real conversation, if they’d met in a bar or wherever the hell people met gorgeous strangers, this is where Gabe would ask what SilverFoxxx did for a living. They’d swap office horror stories and have a second drink, then exchange numbers or jump straight to going back to SilverFoxxx’s place. Even in a fantasy, Gabe wasn’t going to invite this guy back to his shitty apartment.

It’d been more than a minute. He could respond now without looking too thirsty.

hope your getting overtime

SilverFoxxx’s response was immediate. Not exactly. But it’s good work. Worth the extra time.

He was leaving Gabe every opening to ask what he did. To make the conversation more personal. At this point, Gabe wasn’t sure how to keep this going without asking for more details or sending the guy a picture of his dick.

what good work do u do

Gabe was able to finish his burger and fries without his phone pinging. Unease grew to panic and clawed its way into his throat. Had he misread SilverFoxxx’s signals? He should have known better. A nice impersonal dick pic would have been the way to go.

Panic tightened in his chest. What if he had screwed this up and SilverFoxxx was never going to respond?

He sucked his drink down to nothing but annoying slurping noises and ice before he gathered up his trash. He made it all the way to his car before his phone pinged again.

And he fumbled it trying to get it out of his pocket.

I run the business end of an R&D firm. The researchers do a lot of good work. I just keep the lights on while they do.

That was really…sweet. And didn’t give too much away. There were a ton of research companies around. It could be any one of a dozen places.

But SilverFoxxx sounded important.

that’s good i bet you do more good than you think

What do you do, if you feel comfortable saying?

This was a real conversation. Gabe sat in the driver’s seat of his car and cracked the window.

just push papers nothign exciting

I bet you’re more exciting than you think.

Gabe wished there had been an emoji there. A winky face or something. Anything to give him an idea of the tone.

It was probably more harmless flirting, but reading it again makes Gabe’s chest tighten.

is that what your looking for on here? someone exciting?

That was pushing the conversation more toward dick pic territory and farther away from soppy confessions. Gabe was falling back on old habits, and he knew it. It was less frightening than a real emotional connection.

Less frightening and less affecting.

Not really. I’m not very exciting myself.

Gabe could argue that. These conversations and the flutter of nerves in Gabe’s belly were building up a picture of SilverFoxxx in his mind. Older—obviously—and sophisticated. Confident. A great fuck. And very exciting, but in a calm sort of way. Like, he would whisk you off to a Caribbean island but you’d stay in bed at a luxury hotel the whole time.

He was being stupid. This guy was probably a boring-as-hell troll. Netflix and chill was probably a wild night for him.

That didn’t make Gabe want to talk to him any less.

i bet you are. those three xxxs give it away

Gabe was going to get himself in so much trouble.

I’m not tonight. Too much work to do.

Or SilverFoxxx was going to shut down Gabe’s attempt at making trouble before it got started. Good. That was good. He’d go back to thinking with his brain instead of his cock.

Leave my Xs alone. They do their job.

I can be more exciting some other time. If you’re interested?

So much for thinking with his brain.

yes