Beta Test (#gaymers) Read Online Free Page A
Author: Annabeth Albert
crowed, bouncing on his feet the way he always did when he was worked up about something. Ravi moved before he got accidentally elbowed in the stomach as Josiah dug out his wallet and offered Adrian a twenty.
“Whoa. Did he bring someone to the party?” Adrian pocketed the money with a smile.
“No. Ravi and he were arguing, and he just like blurted it out. Then ran off.”
Adrian’s smile faded, and he handed the money back to Josiah. “Not cool guys, not cool at all.”
“I know .” Ravi scrubbed at his hair, not caring that he was destroying his careful style. “And I screwed up a work thing, so he was right to be pissed at me.”
Might as well be honest about that, even though it made him more than a little nauseated to let the words out. That was why he’d needled Tristan to begin with. He’d been pissed at himself for fucking up and not answering his phone or checking his email.
“Fuck. I should go after him, shouldn’t I?” he said to no one in particular.
“Yup.” Adrian still looked concerned, with his forehead all crinkled and his eyes darting around like he was considering going after Tristan himself. Ravi hated seeing that look on his friend’s face, hated knowing he’d let him down, lowered Adrian’s opinion of him. He worked damn hard to keep people’s opinion of him high. Fuck. What a mess.
“I’m going to fix this,” Ravi said with far more conviction than he felt. “And in the meantime, how about we don’t spread this around?”
He knew that was largely a futile request. Adrian could keep his mouth shut, no problem, but Josiah had no filter between his brain and his mouth and had the uncanny ability to blurt the worst thing at the worst moment.
Ravi headed for the doors, head swimming with remorse. He, of all people, knew how awful an unintentional outing could be, and he’d been so firmly in the Tristan-is-simply-a-giant-dork camp of office speculation that it hadn’t occurred to him until it was too late what he was doing. And Tristan did act all weird and uptight about LGBTQ issues. Poor closeted guy was probably twisted all up, and while that didn’t excuse dick behavior, it did go a long way to explaining it.
Outside the restaurant, Tristan was nowhere to be seen. Ravi looked for the older Volvo Tristan drove but didn’t spot it either. However, what he did see was his baby being accosted by a tow truck.
“Hey!” he yelled, running toward his Mini Cooper. Electric blue with a sassy white roof, it was easily his most favorite purchase ever. And now a big burly guy was trying to attach it to his ugly black tow truck. “What are you doing? That’s my car!”
“Fifteen-minute zone.” The guy pointed at a sign that, yeah, Ravi should have noticed earlier and hadn’t because he’d been too pressed for time. Then the guy swung up into his truck, and the fucker drove off down the street, pulling Ravi’s baby behind him.
“Fuck.” Looking at the number of the tow place on the sign, Ravi pulled out his phone. There went the rest of his night.
Karma’s a bitch. Oh well. Wasn’t like he’d been dying to go back in to the party and face Josiah’s curiosity and Adrian’s censure. And maybe some time apart was exactly what he and Tristan needed, time for Ravi to figure out how to make this right.
* * *
If you asked Tristan’s parents, there was plenty he wasn’t very good at. But the one thing he was spectacular at was vegetating and hiding. Which was what he did all Saturday, sleeping and re-watching Firefly and eating macaroni and cheese straight from the pot. In fact, he was in front of his stove in his little L-shaped kitchen when his phone rang very late on Saturday night. Unlike some people, he’d have to be dead not to answer his phone, even for an unfamiliar number. He swallowed fast and patted his mouth with a napkin before answering.
“This is Tristan.”
“Tristan. This is Robert Christopher.”
Holy crap. Robert Christopher is calling me at
“Whoa. Did he bring someone to the party?” Adrian pocketed the money with a smile.
“No. Ravi and he were arguing, and he just like blurted it out. Then ran off.”
Adrian’s smile faded, and he handed the money back to Josiah. “Not cool guys, not cool at all.”
“I know .” Ravi scrubbed at his hair, not caring that he was destroying his careful style. “And I screwed up a work thing, so he was right to be pissed at me.”
Might as well be honest about that, even though it made him more than a little nauseated to let the words out. That was why he’d needled Tristan to begin with. He’d been pissed at himself for fucking up and not answering his phone or checking his email.
“Fuck. I should go after him, shouldn’t I?” he said to no one in particular.
“Yup.” Adrian still looked concerned, with his forehead all crinkled and his eyes darting around like he was considering going after Tristan himself. Ravi hated seeing that look on his friend’s face, hated knowing he’d let him down, lowered Adrian’s opinion of him. He worked damn hard to keep people’s opinion of him high. Fuck. What a mess.
“I’m going to fix this,” Ravi said with far more conviction than he felt. “And in the meantime, how about we don’t spread this around?”
He knew that was largely a futile request. Adrian could keep his mouth shut, no problem, but Josiah had no filter between his brain and his mouth and had the uncanny ability to blurt the worst thing at the worst moment.
Ravi headed for the doors, head swimming with remorse. He, of all people, knew how awful an unintentional outing could be, and he’d been so firmly in the Tristan-is-simply-a-giant-dork camp of office speculation that it hadn’t occurred to him until it was too late what he was doing. And Tristan did act all weird and uptight about LGBTQ issues. Poor closeted guy was probably twisted all up, and while that didn’t excuse dick behavior, it did go a long way to explaining it.
Outside the restaurant, Tristan was nowhere to be seen. Ravi looked for the older Volvo Tristan drove but didn’t spot it either. However, what he did see was his baby being accosted by a tow truck.
“Hey!” he yelled, running toward his Mini Cooper. Electric blue with a sassy white roof, it was easily his most favorite purchase ever. And now a big burly guy was trying to attach it to his ugly black tow truck. “What are you doing? That’s my car!”
“Fifteen-minute zone.” The guy pointed at a sign that, yeah, Ravi should have noticed earlier and hadn’t because he’d been too pressed for time. Then the guy swung up into his truck, and the fucker drove off down the street, pulling Ravi’s baby behind him.
“Fuck.” Looking at the number of the tow place on the sign, Ravi pulled out his phone. There went the rest of his night.
Karma’s a bitch. Oh well. Wasn’t like he’d been dying to go back in to the party and face Josiah’s curiosity and Adrian’s censure. And maybe some time apart was exactly what he and Tristan needed, time for Ravi to figure out how to make this right.
* * *
If you asked Tristan’s parents, there was plenty he wasn’t very good at. But the one thing he was spectacular at was vegetating and hiding. Which was what he did all Saturday, sleeping and re-watching Firefly and eating macaroni and cheese straight from the pot. In fact, he was in front of his stove in his little L-shaped kitchen when his phone rang very late on Saturday night. Unlike some people, he’d have to be dead not to answer his phone, even for an unfamiliar number. He swallowed fast and patted his mouth with a napkin before answering.
“This is Tristan.”
“Tristan. This is Robert Christopher.”
Holy crap. Robert Christopher is calling me at