Living in downtown Toronto can be expensive and frustrating, but Leo is willing to deal with the traffic and working the overtime in order to experience everything else the city has to offer. Or would be, if he had any energy left to do so. The fact that his upstairs neighbour is making more noise that a herd of elephants isn't helping things either. Tired, irritated, and on the verge of losing his patience, Leo knows that things have got to change.<br><br>Gordy is one of the most attractive young men that Leo has ever met, and Leo has no doubt in his mind that Gordy has been using those good looks to get whatever he wants for a very long time. So when Gordy starts turning on the charm, Leo can't help but wonder if it's actual interest or merely appeasement.<br><br>Together they're going to try and figure out just what can be done with Gordy's new roommate -- an energetic, excitable, and very noisy young goat whose visit comes with a deathbed promise and a tight family bond. What Leo doesn't realise is that she also comes with an ability to make him understand more about himself than he could have ever imagined he needed to learn.

Gordy's Got a Problem

“Okay,” Leo said, for what felt like the hundredth time. He crouched in front of Gordy and tried to secure eye contact. Now that the dam had broken, the waters raged, and Gordy’s face was soaked. His cheeks were rose-red.


“I’m not going to tell you to stop crying, but I am going to ask you to breathe.” Leo took a deep breath through his nose, and slowly blew it out through his mouth, demonstrating. While he did that, he tried to put the puzzle pieces of Gordy’s story together. “Belinda is your mother’s animal?”


Gordy didn’t reply. Instead, he dropped onto his side and put an arm over his face.


“Wasyour mother’s animal?” Leo tried, doing his best to keep his voice gentle, and his tone non-committal. He really did want to reach out to Gordy—rub his back, wipe the tears off his face, hold his head, or offer whatever comforting gesture might help—but the last thing Leo, the goat, or Gordy needed to do was have Gordy lose his mind over non-consensual intimacy.


Chapter 13