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Joq felt uneasy again. The man doth protest too much…
“Babe,” he said gently, “I know.”
George nodded, a sharp jerk of his head.
“So, what about you then? Another suit?” George was forcing calm and interest into his voice. Joq recognised it for the peace offering it was.
He didn’t know why he lied. “Yeah,” he replied and carefully did not think about the young guy he’d fucked until the early hours of this morning.
“Any good?”
Joq smiled over at him. “Meh, he was alright…”
George laughed and Joq felt them settle back onto familiar, safe ground as he wound back into their suburb and wound George up with a made-up story of a hook-up with a guy his own age.
By the time they were falling into bed to fuck, hands and mouths moving into practised position, it felt the same as it always had. Mostly. But as George rolled Joq onto his hands and knees, lined up and pushed in, Joq couldn’t shake the feeling of someone else in the room with them. And not in the sexy fantasy way.
As he slid to his elbows and peered back at George behind him, he saw his eyes were shut tightly, his breathing laboured, his thrusts desperate and erratic. Joq couldn’t shake the feeling it was both him George was fucking, and yet not him at the same time.
16
Joq needed to hustle if he was going to make it to George’s birthday party before it went beyond fashionably late. Not that it mattered all that much—he was just a buddy at these things, and not even the publicly-deemed closest one. He’d made his peace with that.
“Hey, got a minute?” Alison asked as he was packing his laptop into his bag.
“Sure,” he smiled over at her as he zipped up.
“It’s just, I need. Well, the thing is,” she was literally wringing her hands. Her normally composed, plain features twisting up.
“If you hate it here and need to quit, it’s okay,” Joq smiled at her reassuringly. It happened. The work was dull. He’d need to find someone else though, and soon with Cameron going on leave.
“No, no,” she shook her head. “I just, my mother got herself kicked out of her current place. Again. And I need this weekend—
“You need the weekend off?” Joq hoisted his bag. “No problem.”
She stopped speaking and clicked her mouth shut.
“Really?”
“Course, I’ll cover it,” he said and went by her. “I gotta run now. You still good to do on call with security tonight?”
“Of course,” she smiled. “Thanks, Joq. Really, thanks. My mum…” she shook her head, gave him a wry smile. He got it.
He started to push out the door. “It’s really fine, and it’s really none of my business. You need time off, you can take time off.”
He heard her say thanks again as the door slipped closed. He really needed to hustle.
The party was at its peak when he got there. They’d booked a private room on the top floor of a swanky bar overlooking the Yarra River, the water like black ink catching the reflection of a hundred dotted lights outside the windows. The room was chic on the surface, but it had pool tables and dart boards, a wider beer selection than necessary, and party food to George’s taste—mini sausage rolls, party pies, quiche and prawn cocktails—which all combined to take the sheen off the classiness. Joq always gave George shit for his taste—was he not aware the world had moved on to sliders and canapés? George shrugged and muttered about how he liked what he liked and it was his party, he wasn’t “no fashionista.” This made Joq snort; he couldn’t believe George knew that word.
He sought out the man of the hour now as the security guard let him in through the roped off area. His eyes landed on Finn instead. Finn was laughing, eyes bright, his mouth moving in response to something Lacy was saying to him at the bar, their other teammates around them. Finn settled into a warm smile as Lacy replied, but his gaze moved to somewhere else in the room. Joq followed it.
George. Standing with his sister. She was saying something, but he was looking away from her, his head lifting to look back at Finn as if he felt the gaze land on him. He smiled back, then returned his attention to his sister.
Joq went for the bar on the opposite side of Finn and his crew. The latest craft pale ale in hand, he made his way through the crowds over to George. But George was gone. Cara was still there.
“Joaquin,” she said around a familiar smile. “It’s so good to see you.”
He leaned down to kiss her cheek. “Cara, how are you?”
