Hector sighed as he remembered the attraction he’d felt for his friend. It’d been fleeting, squashed before it had a chance to grow into anything, but it had been there. And now here he was thirteen years later, hiding in a fast food parking lot because he couldn’t face Miguel after a very generously given blow job. He cursed yet again as he realized he’d ghosted without even attempting to reciprocate that pleasure or reassuring Miguel that he wasn’t angry with him. He’d left like he was disgusted, when that wasn’t the case at all.
Again Hector sighed, letting his head drop down until his forehead thumped the steering wheel. He’d really screwed that up. Miguel was his friend; he didn’t deserve that kind of treatment. The only reason he was sitting here right now was because he was too scared to face what came next. Hector lifted his head, staring out the windshield. He wasn’t a coward, and he wasn’t going to sit there in that parking lot hiding like one. He put the cup of soda down in the cup holder, popped the truck into drive, and drove back home.
When he made it back to his apartment and opened the door, Miguel was no longer awake. The TV was off, and Miguel was curled up under his blanket, eyes closed, chest slowly rising and falling with the relaxed breath of sleep. Maybe Hector was a bit of a coward, because he exhaled a soft sigh of relief that he didn’t have to talk to Miguel tonight. Hector quietly went into his bedroom and closed the door.
Fuck.
Chapter 4
The next morning, Miguel got up early to make Hector breakfast. He was tired, he’d laid on the couch all night, but he hadn’t gotten much rest. He’d still been wide awake when Hector had returned from his drive, but figuring the other man needed his space after what happened between them, he’d pretended to be asleep. After Hector had gone to his room, Miguel had tossed and turned for hours. He hoped that this morning the two of them could talk before Hector left for work.
The bedroom door opened. Miguel nervously tightened his grip on the spatula as he listened to Hector’s footsteps approach the kitchen. When the muted thud of boots on carpet changed to the louder clap of boots on tile, Miguel took a deep breath and turned to face Hector with a bright smile on his face.
“Good morning! I made pancakes. And uh, I wanted to apologize for last night.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Hector didn’t even look at Miguel as he went over to the cabinet and took down his stainless-steel travel mug.
Miguel watched as he filled his cup from the pot of hot coffee. After a moment, he tried again. “Do you think we should talk about what happened?”
A muscle jumped in Hector’s jaw. “Just leave it for right now, okay?”
Miguel immediately nodded and backed off. “Okay. I made bacon too,” he said unnecessarily. The bacon was there on the table, plain as day.
“No time for breakfast. I’m running late. Call me if you need anything.”
Hector left without once looking at Miguel.
Miguel held his breath as Hector walked across the apartment. Once the door snapped closed behind him, Miguel let out the breath he was holding and slumped against the counter. What in the hell had possessed him to give Hector a blow job? That was about the dumbest thing he could have done. Yeah, Hector had obviously been turned on and gotten off, but as far as Miguel knew, he’d lived his entire life as a straight man. Having his dick in the mouth of another dude was going to fuck with his head. By putting him in that situation, Miguel had probably ruined the friendship they’d been rebuilding. More than likely, Hector was going to come home and tell him to get his shit and get out of there.
Miguel turned off the stove and drifted over to the table to try to eat a piece of bacon. But he didn’t really have any appetite. The taste of fear and regret on his tongue blocked the familiar crisp saltiness of the bacon. He might as well have been chewing on tasteless Styrofoam. With a disgusted sigh, he got up to wrap up the food and put it in the fridge. Maybe it would be good for a late-night snack.
He couldn’t help but brood as he cleaned the kitchen. All the excitement from getting his job was pushed to the back of his mind as he wondered if he should pack up his stuff in preparation for getting kicked out. He was going to have to leave the safe, friendly haven he’d found, all because he couldn’t keep his stupid hands and mouth to himself.
***
Hector walked into the station, his duffel bag over his shoulder. He kept his head down and didn’t greet his fellow officers as he usually did. He didn’t bother to speak at all until he reached the Pen and Ryan spoke to him directly.
“Good morning. I heard through the grapevine that Miguel got that job my cousin referred him to.”
“Yeah, he was really excited when I got home last night,” Hector said without looking up. So excited he’d ended up giving me a blow job, Hector thought. “Thanks for putting a word in for him.”
“No problem. I’m glad it worked out.”
“I’m sure you were just as happy,” Clay said, joining the conversation. “Once he gets a few paychecks, he can get off your couch and you can reclaim your bachelor pad.”
“Yeah.” Hector felt a twinge of disappointment at the thought of Miguel leaving, but he ignored it. He didn’t need that on top of the other jumbled mass of thoughts in his head.
“You all right?” Ryan asked.
Hector swore under his breath. He needed to be a little less obviously emo. “I’m fine. I woke up late and had to skip breakfast.”
Clay barked a laugh. “You might as well start getting used to that. Once Miguel is gone, you won’t have breakfast made for your ass anymore.”
Hector forced a grin. “I know. I’m in mourning for all the migas I’ll never get to eat.” He looked back at Ryan. “On second thought, Bennett, I ought to kick your ass for helping him get that job. Now I’ve got to go back to cold cereal.”
“Sorry. I’ll get you a gift certificate to Taco Cabana to make up for it,” the blond officer said with a grin.
“Keep it. Taco Cabana isn’t even close to being as good as Miguel’s cooking.”