Chapter 5 - Nate

I could feel my cheeks warm up as I blushed. Gabe was just staring at me intently waiting for me to speak, but I had no idea what to say. 

When I decided to get some air, I hadn't planned on coming here. I just wanted to get away from my computer and the endless folders of paperwork that I desperately needed to look through. 

"Nate?" 

I jumped at his voice and looked up at him. His eyes looked concerned and I was lost in them. 

"Sorry Gabe, it's nothing. I've been cooped up for the week working, I needed some air and a drink. I love being a teacher but doing the lesson plans can be a real pain at times," I chuckled trying to hide my nervousness. 

Like hell could I say, I felt guilty so I came here without thinking and overheard you mention you are in love with someone who sounds a lot like me. 

Gabe nodded and thankfully didn't press me for more. If he asked me if I'd overheard anything, I wouldn't know what to say. Never had I thought that someone like Gabe would be interested in someone like me. 

I shook my head of the thoughts. He most likely meant someone else. I bet there were plenty of people in his life he annoyed, who scowled at him, who he talked to about his favourite bands and books as well as who wore oversized clothes. I scoffed in my head at how stupid I sounded. 

"Nate?" 

"Oh! Sorry, did you say something?" I asked, my face heating up. 

Gabe smiled at me and I could tell he was trying to resist laughing out loud. 

"I said, shall we go down to the bar and have that drink you wanted?"

I smiled and nodded. He led me to the smaller bar on the second level. We sat at the end of it whilst one of his staff waited on us. He was drinking whiskey whilst I just had a beer, I wasn't a very big drinker, you can imagine why. 

We chatted about mundane things, my lesson plans, Matt and Mia and his bar. Not hitting on anything important which made me feel at ease. Then Gabe was called away to deal with something and I was left alone. 

As I was waiting for him to come back a petite blonde took his seat next to me and smiled flirtatiously. She was smaller than me, with a slim figure and large breasts that were almost pouring out of her skin-tight dress.

'A miniature Christie,' I thought.

"Hey, handsome!"

I rolled my eyes. 

No one has ever called me handsome, cute sure in a nerdy, bookworm sort of way but never handsome. Instantly, I knew she wanted something from me. 

"Hello," I responded politely before taking a swig of my beer. 

"I'm Bianca, haven't seen you here before, is this your first time?" she asked, stroking a long, manicured nail up my arm which made me feel uneasy. 

"No, I've been here before just not recently," I told her in a cold tone hoping she would take the hint. 

"Oh really! No wonder I haven't seen you then, I've only just started coming this past month," she asked, clearly not taking the hint. 

I nodded, not caring or wanting to respond. 

"Yeah, my friend told me about this place. She said the bar, food and atmosphere were really good and the owner was good-looking too," she cooed. 

Inwardly, I groaned and rolled my eyes. So, that was her game. She had seen me with Gabe and most likely wanted me to introduce her. 

"Really?" I asked, feigning interest. 

"Yeah, I've seen him around but never been able to pluck up the courage to approach him."

"Ok," I knew where she was heading and for some reason, I didn't like it. 

"I saw you go up to his office and then come down for a drink with him, that means you're friends, right?" she asked, inching closer and gripping my arm. "Does he have a girlfriend? If not, could you introduce me to him?"

I sighed and took a long drink of my beer before turning to her and pulling my arm away. The coldness of my gaze didn't deter her as she looked at me hopefully. Her hands clapped together like in a prayer. 

"No, he doesn't have a girlfriend," I started and planned to stop there but for some reason, my mouth and brain weren't in sync at that very moment.

"He has a boyfriend," I finished. 

Her face beamed when I'd started but the last part made her smile falter. 

"What?" she asked as if she didn't quite believe it. 

"Yeah, he has a boyfriend and they've been together for a long time now," again my mouth wasn't cooperating with my brain. 

Bianca went pale for a few seconds before nervously giggling at me. She playfully pushed my chest. 

"You're funny," she giggled. "Who is this boyfriend then?" she asked, making quotation marks with her fingers when she said, boyfriend. 

I was about to describe some hot stud that was over six feet tall and built like a brick house when Gabe chose that moment to come back. To my horror, he must have heard what we were talking about because he moved behind me, and wrapped his arms around my shoulders and chest before affectionately kissing my neck. 

"Hey babe, sorry I took so long. Who's your new friend?" he asked, smirking at her. 

Bianca's mouth hung wide open as her eyes bulged out. Mine would have been no better. 

"You were serious?" she, eventually, stammered out. 

"Hi, I'm Gabe, I see you've already met my boyfriend Nate and you are?" he asked as he held his hand out to the stunned woman. 

"Bianca," she said quietly, taking his hand. 

"Are you two really together?" she asked after a few minutes. 

I was frozen to the spot, with no idea what to do or say. I did say he was seeing someone but I never intended to say it was me. No one in their right mind would believe that we were together.

"Yeah of course we are! Why? Are you trying to hit on my boyfriend? I agree, he's very cute but he's all mine and I get very jealous," he chuckled. 

Gabe placed two fingers on my chin and moved my head so I was facing him. To my utmost surprise, he leaned down and kissed me. I felt his breath as he moved passed my nose before kissing my lips. 

His soft full lips pushed against mine briefly and I almost whimpered at the loss of contact. No one had ever sent a shock of electricity through me like that with just a simple kiss, not that I'd been kissed a lot. 

I could feel my erection slowly growing harder. I was grateful the lights were too dark and the counter too wide to see anything clearly. 

Bianca pouted as she leaned forward and practically pushed her breast out even more. I was surprised they didn't fall out. 

"Oh I wasn't hitting on him, he is cute but not my type. You, on the other hand, are! Have you been with a woman before? Maybe you haven't found the right one to tempt you back to the light side."

I knew she probably meant it as a joke but that last bit had my hackles raised. From the way, Gabe's body stiffened behind me and his arms tightened on my shoulders, he was just as annoyed. 

"Bianca was it?" he asked, his voice ice-cold as she nodded. "Are you insinuating that being in a gay relationship is akin to the dark side? To something purely evil?"

"No...No I…" she stammered, her eyes wide and her mouth couldn't form any more words.

Gabe finally released me and moved around getting closer to her. I could tell his body was still tense.

"If you don't mind, my boyfriend and I were on a date," he said and she practically jumped off his seat like an ant on a hot plate. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't …" she stammered as she stepped away but didn't leave.

Gabe took back his seat, turned his back to her and took my hand. He winked at me and I knew he could see my blush. Bianca moved around so she stood almost in between us. 

"I really am sorry, I didn't mean it that way. It was just a joke," she smiled whilst placing her hand on his arm. "Let me apologise by buying you a drink." 

Though I knew this was all a lie, that action had my blood boiling. She'd been told he had a boyfriend and was on a date and she was still flirting with him.

He eyed her hand on his arm for a moment before looking up at her face. She seemed to take that as an incentive to lean forward. 

"Well, since I own the bar I don't need you to buy me anything. Plus, why would I get a drink from a random woman, who makes jokes about gay relationships, when my boyfriend could get me one. Also, I'd rather have this."

Gabe then did something I wasn't expecting. He kissed me again. He shrugged off her hand, leaned forward, put his hand on the back of my neck and pulled me in.

His hot lips touched mine and I gasped. My shock allowed his tongue to enter my mouth and his taste drove me insane. Gabe tasted like the whiskey he had been drinking and something else, something intoxicating. 

No one had ever kissed me like that. He was consuming my mind, body and soul and I was hard, achingly hard. I knew I had to stop this before I embarrassed myself even more than I already had.