Chapter 11

~Justin

Going back to work after what happened is so weird, and I"m still trying to figure out why I wanted Gabe to fuck me. I can"t deny that I felt freer after, like he took something painful from me. It doesn"t make any sense.

He stayed with me all night. Finding him there every time I woke up was unexpectedly comforting. Then at dawn he was gone. I just had enough time to get ready for work and go in.

Gabe is in his office when I arrive, and I don"t go over to ask if he wants anything, just start coffee. Maybe it"s the smell of coffee brewing, but Gabe comes out of his office. As he comes over, I take a deep breath and meet his eyes. I"m not going to act all ashamed and stuff.

Gabe looks grim and I wonder if he"s going to fire me. What he says is more unexpected than that. "I want to talk to you about your apartment."

"OK," I say, confused.

"It"s unacceptable for you to keep living there," he states.

"Unacceptable? It"s where I live."

"Not any more," he says.

"Not your decision," I point out. This guy fucks me once and he thinks he"s in charge of my whole life.

"The place is unlivable," he says.

"Is it? Or are you just being a snob?" I ask him.

"There"s a leak, a hole in your floor and mold growing freely. It"s unhealthy," he says getting mad like he has to live there.

"It"s fine," I tell him. "It hasn"t killed me yet."

"You"re moving. I"ll pay for you to get a new place until you can afford the rent. Do you have someplace to stay until you find a new place?" he asks like it"s all decided. I just stare at him blankly and he huffs. "Then you can stay in a hotel. I"ll pay for it."

"I"m not moving," I tell him.

He gives me a superior look. "You don"t have a choice. I just bought the building. I"ll probably be tearing it down."

I want to call him a liar, but a guy like him can buy a run down old building with a snap of his fingers. That doesn"t mean that he should. "And where are all those people supposed to live?"

"I think it"s commendable that you care," he says. "Nothing will be done until the tenants have been situated. But you should worry about yourself, Justin. Unlike the other tenants, you"re being evicted immediately. Someone will pack up your things and bring them here."

"You"re insane," I tell him then the reality of this hits me. "That place might be gross to you, but it"s mine. It"s all I have."

Gabe looks startled and I turn away. I didn"t mean to get all emotional. And I wish I hadn"t.

"I can look into getting the place fixed up, but sometimes old buildings have too many issues," he says. "You still have to move out though."

"So I"d still be homeless," I say.

"I"ll pay for you to stay in a hotel," he tells me, and I can hear the pity in his voice. I shake my head. His tone changes, becomes sharp, uncompromising. "Then you can stay here with me. Let"s go look at your new room."

He takes me by the elbow and marches me down the hall. Is he for real or is this his way of pushing me to stay in a hotel? "You"re the one who would hate me being here," I point out.

"Would I?" he says arrogantly and that makes me want to call his bluff.

"Fine. You"re on, " I say just as he opens a door to a guest room that"s all made up and ready. It has it"s own bathroom and a nice view.

"Then you"re staying in here. You can put your things away once they arrive. For now, bring me my coffee." With that he"s gone.

I stare after him then look inside the room. It"s impersonal, dark, angular furniture, dark gray bedding. The bed is nice and big and for some reason that makes me think of Gabe climbing in there with me. Maybe that"s why he wants me to move in.

I take him his coffee and eye him with suspicion, but he keeps his eyes glued to one of the extra monitors on his desk. My head is spinning with everything that just happened, like the two of us fucking wasn"t enough.

Instead of just setting down his coffee, I tell him, "You"re paying me enough to get a motel room, you know."

"I"m the one who evicted you. It"s my responsibility to pay for your room. Have you changed your mind about taking a hotel room?" he asks and looks away from the monitor so he can stare me down.

I take it as a challenge and tell him, "That room is like an expensive hotel room, so I might as well stay."

"Good. Then it"s settled."

Nothing is settled as far as I"m concerned, but my stuff gets delivered. It"s all neatly packed up in boxes. Some of it is from the kitchen, I don"t bother unpacking that. I put away my clothes and have plenty of room left over in the closet and the drawers. My clothes look out of place, except for the stuff Martin insisted I buy.

Even with everything that"s happened, it"s not so bad being here while I"m supposed to be working. But after I"m supposed to be on my own time, I realize I shouldn"t be here. I end up pacing the living room, thinking that I have to go somewhere, get out of here.

Gabe catches me pacing, sees how anxious I am and takes my elbow and says, "You need some fresh air."

He leads me out to the terrace, and I take in the view. The wind coming off the river is kind of strong up here. The air is fresh. The colorful rooftops of the old side of town stretch out to the north and the rest of the view is the rocky hills to the south and evergreen woods to the west. Behind it all is the sunset and it"s so beautiful, for a moment it makes me forget why I"m here. In the west, the sky which had been gray and gloomy for days looks like it"s on fire and the steel gray water of the river has taken on some of its hues. It"s a pretty incredible sight.

Next to me, Gabe gives me time to take it all in then points me to one of the chairs. "Have a seat," he tells me and takes the one on the other side with a small table separating us. "As long as you"re staying here, you can come out here to relax. It seems to have a good effect on you."

"Rooftops do that," I say but don"t tell him what I usually do on the rooftop of my building, how close I came to stepping off the edge and that one of day I probably will.

When we go back in, I see that the dining table is set for dinner and food is laid out. This must have been done while we were outside. Gabe must have arranged for it himself or maybe his real assistant did.

"I guess you have a guest coming." I wish he had told me. If this is a date, I need to make myself scarce. Or even if it isn"t. "When will your guest be here?"

"My guest is already here," Gabe says. I look around and Gabe shakes his head at me. "No one is going to jump out from behind the furniture. The dinner is for the two of us."

I stand there frozen. I have no idea what Gabe is up to. Why is he doing this? Without figuring anything out, I end up sitting down and eating a fancy dinner with Gabe. It"s tempting, amazing food and I eat more than I usually do.

Gabe doesn"t seem to eat as much of this delicious food as he does when I serve him something like a sandwich or some frozen meal. Or am I just imagining it?

When his phone sounds, he silences it without checking who it is. "You"d normally answer that, wouldn"t you?" I say.

"I"m my own boss. I don"t answer to anyone. I don"t have to jump every time the phone rings," Gabe says.

"Must be nice," I say and think how anxious I"ve been trying to figure out what he wants from me.

"What"s on your mind?" Gabe asks.

I didn"t try very hard to hide how unsettled I am by all this weirdness, but now I wish I had. I shrug and tell him the truth. "I"m wondering what you want from me, why you"re doing all this."

"If you"re expecting or maybe hoping for a repeat of what happened yesterday, don"t. That was a lapse in judgment," he says coldly with a look of superiority. Then he adds, "I should have never crossed that line. We"re stepbrothers."