“Well, your track record with guys so far doesn’t give me the best confidence for how this night is about to go. You don’t seem to make the best dating decisions.”
Miguel’s mouth dropped open in shock and anger. He couldn’t believe Hector would say that to him.
“You know what? You can go fuck yourself,” he snapped. Miguel didn’t care that he had another ten minutes before his Uber arrived. He grabbed his wallet and keys and stormed out of the apartment without speaking to Hector again.
Chapter 9
Hector cursed and dropped onto the couch when Miguel slammed out the door. He’d deserved Miguel telling him to go fuck himself after the trash he’d said to him. And the insult was fitting. He wasn’t fucking anybody else, hadn’t since before Miguel had landed on his couch. The reason for that was without a doubt Miguel Antonio Delgado. Hector wanted him. Wanted to feel him in his arms when he wasn’t hurt. Wanted to experience more with him than a quick and unexpected blow job. He wanted to remove the self-imposed restraints that had always kept his relationship with Miguel limited to friend and protector.
The past two weeks he’d spent time thinking things through like Ryan and Clay had suggested. Entering into a relationship with a man for the first time in his life wasn’t a decision to be taken lightly. Adding in the facts that Miguel was his friend and their families were so close meant even more precaution needed to be taken. Hector hoped the time he’d taken to consider everything didn’t mean he’d missed his shot.
Hector had been on the verge of starting the conversation Friday evening. But Miguel had been preparing to go out with his friend, and Hector didn’t want to have that conversation in a rush, minutes before Miguel had to leave. Saturday Hector had been called out with the rest of his SWAT team for an emergency, and Sunday, Miguel had spent the day at his mother’s house. By now, Hector was frustrated that they hadn’t had a chance to talk.
He was aware there would be awkward moments, and he would have a lot to get used to, but he wanted to be with Miguel. That, he was clear on. So to come home to find him getting ready to go out with someone else had set him off.
Of course, that didn’t excuse his behavior. Being a jealous asshole wasn’t going to get him what he wanted. He pulled out his phone to send Miguel a text and apologize. But before he even pulled up the text screen, he decided against it. Cursing again in frustration, he shoved the phone back in his pocket. It would be a bitch move to interrupt his date. Besides, he’d rather apologize in person when Miguel came home. If he came home tonight. Hector groaned. Nope, he wasn’t even going to go there. Imagining Miguel spending the night with another man would make him crazy.
He rubbed the heels of his hands over his eyes. He needed to apologize, but he also needed to come clean. And he needed to do it in a way that would make sense to Miguel. So instead of sitting there brooding, his time would be better spent getting his thoughts in order for what he wanted to say. He just hoped Miguel would be willing to listen.
***
Miguel met Paul at a Starbucks near Hector’s apartment. The Uber ride over was just long enough for him to calm down after that scene with Hector. Paul was standing outside, waiting for him, and Miguel smiled as he went up to him.
“Hello again.”
“Hi, how are you?”
They gave each other the awkward, one-armed side hug you did when it was too soon for a full hug but a handshake was too impersonal. Paul politely held the door open for him, and they went inside. Miguel ordered the latest confection of coffee, sugar, and whipped cream that everyone was raving about. When their drinks arrived, he thanked Paul for treating him and took a sip as they walked to a corner table.
“You know you shouldn’t drink that stuff. It’s loaded with sugar.”
Miguel paused mid-sip to cut his eyes at his date. Was this guy serious? Policing his drink choice wasn’t exactly the best way to win him over. But he’d give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he was just teasing. They sat down and Miguel nodded at Paul’s drink. “I think everything in here is loaded with sugar. Including their chai.”
“Yes, but tea has health benefits.”
Miguel barely refrained from rolling his eyes. He decided to change the subject since this one was going nowhere. “Tell me about yourself. What do you do when you’re not buying guys sugar bombs on coffee dates?”
“I spend my days imparting knowledge to eager young minds.”
Miguel smiled, ready for Paul to crack a joke about using the clichéd phrase. Unfortunately, he didn’t. He went right into explaining his day as a college professor.
Twenty minutes later, Miguel realized this was going to be a one-side conversation. He’d barely gotten a word in. But he knew everything about this guy. While Paul was talking, Miguel let his mind drift back to the spat he’d had with Hector. Maybe he’d overreacted, but he’d been surprised and angry and hurt Hector had said those things to him. Did Hector really think of him that way? A loser who only made poor life and dating choices? Miguel admitted he’d messed up with Santos, but he was trying to do better.
He looked at the man across from him. He was clean-cut, good-looking and had a stable career as a business law professor. Going by the pics Paul had shown of his remodeling projects—that Miguel hadn’t asked to see—he had a beautiful home. Unfortunately, Miguel was bored listening to him drone on about himself.
Miguel sneaked a peek at the clock out of the corner of his eye, wondering when he could put an end to this torture. His shoulders slumped when he saw it hadn’t even been an hour yet. Paul noticed and paused.
“You look tired. Long day at work?”
“Yeah.” Miguel straightened, thinking he’d finally have his turn to contribute to the conversation.
He was wrong.
“I remember my worst dentist experience,” Paul started.
Miguel didn’t let him finish. He was done. “Actually, Paul, I need to get going. I have to be up early for work.” To Miguel’s relief, Paul stopped his story.
“Of course.”