Gabriel has been gone for almost two days now.

After our little fight, it seemed like he just up and left. I'd texted him, and I'd called. Angelica and Kenji even tried reaching out to him, but nothing.

I knew we got into that argument, but he couldn't just do this.

Darian and I sat in my apartment, and I'd convinced him to play a game of chess. "Gabriel's still missing in action?" Darian asked.

I nodded. "This is ridiculous. It doesn't matter what happens between us. He needs to know we live together. We're partners. He can't just leave and fall off the grid for a couple days."

"What was that fight about, anyway?"

"Same old, same old," I said. "Anushka. The wedding. My dad."

Darian shrugged. "Makes sense."

"Are you on his side now?"

"No," Darian said, "but I see his side. It's frustrating. When Kenji was with Rosalyn, that shit was exhausting, and they weren't even married. Would you want Gabriel to be engaged to someone else?"

"Can we not talk about this?"

"You have to face it, Gyan," he said. "It's happening. Time is running out."

I smirked because I knew I was winning. "Why don't you focus on the game? Then again, it's not like you're going to win."

He scoffed. "I don't even play chess much. If you win, it's not an accomplishment. And you're deflecting."

I sighed. "I know. I just want him to come back."

"You don't want to lose him," Darian pointed out. "If you keep this shit up, he may leave for good."

"We all know Gabriel's good at that."

"He came back," Darian reminded me. "A lot of people don't. There's this quote that says 'if you love something, let it go. If it doesn't come back, it was never yours to begin with."

"Gabriel's mine," I said. "He thinks he's losing to my dad and Anushka, but he's my Gabriel. No one can take that away from him."

"Gabriel's your Kenji." Darian smiled. "I always knew he was the one for me, even when he didn't. Gabriel is it for you. If you let that slip away, you're going to regret that shit."

I groaned. "We never should have fought."

"It's a good thing you did." I arched a brow. "Sometimes, you have to fight to get things out."

"Not when he leaves for days."

"He'll come back," Darian reassured me. "He always does."

"I don't know," I said. "Nothing's guaranteed."

"Then appreciate him."

"What about you?" I changed the subject. "What've you been up to?"

"I'm postponing law school for another year." I won, but Darian didn't seem affected. "I want to focus on preparing for the wedding right now and enjoy married life a little bit before starting that chapter of my life. If I've learned one thing is that life isn't a race. I graduated college a little later than my friends, so I can do the same with law school."

Darian took a gap year between high school and college. Honestly, for some time, he wasn't sure if he was going to go to college. Darian had come a long way. He moved from being a delinquent with no direction to a focused individual. I admired and envied that about him.

Sometimes, I wondered what life would have been like if I didn't assume I was going into business. If I had explored other career options and interests.

Like Darian said, life wasn't a race. I was in my twenties. I had time to still figure that out. I didn't have to rush this.

"Good for you." I put the chess board to the side. "Who would have thought you'll have it together more than me?"

My life was mapped out for me a couple months ago. Now, there were so many options and different directions, I didn't know where to go. But it would be okay. It was a journey I was going to appreciate.

"If you can stand up to your dad about Appeto, you can come out to him," Darian said. "It's hard as hell. I struggled coming out to my old man."

"Then that video happened."

Darian was the son of a senator at the time, and someone recorded him and Kenji kissing in Shirley Town Center, and they outed him. Not the best way for his dad to find out he was gay.

"It got the point across," he said. "Not ideal, but at least I could get it off my chest. Sometimes, you can't plan it. You have to go with the time that feels right, even if it doesn't seem like the right time. When you feel the courage, take advantage of it."

I was just waiting for that courage to come.

"Still easier said then done."

"I know," he agreed. "A lot of things are."

Darian and I rolled up a joint and smoked for the remainder of his time with me. When he left, I couldn't take it anymore, and I went to Italia Beauty. If Gabriel wasn't going to talk to me, I was going to corner him at work. He couldn't avoid that.

To my surprise, he wasn't at work. Where the hell was he? Did he leave Shirley Heights or something?

With that, I asked around for Enrique and headed for his office. Maybe he would know about Gabriel's whereabouts.

I knocked on the door before I entered. Enrique sent me a blank look as he sat at his desk, not seeming fazed by my presence.

"Where's Gabriel?" I cut to the chase. "I haven't seen him in two days."

"He's your partner," Enrique said. "Wouldn't you know?"

"Did he work today?"

"No," Enrique answered. "He worked yesterday, but he's off today."

Then where was he?

I raked my hand through my hair. "This is bullshit."

"Why are you complaining?" Enrique slit his eyes. "You won."

"What are you talking about?"

"He didn't meet me at Shirley Town Center."

Why would he be meeting Enrique?

"Again, what are you talking about?" I asked.

"He chose you," Enrique said. "Not me. You."

I narrowed my eyes. "Were you planning on running off with him?"

"He didn't come to me," Enrique said. "That means, he wants to stay with you."

"What were you trying to do? Steal him from me?"

"You don't even appreciate him."

I took a step forward. "You don't know shit. Not about me or my relationship with Gabriel."

"I know enough," he said. "You don't care enough to be brave for him."

I chuckled humorlessly. I was really tired of people making me out to be some coward. Staying in the closet wasn't about cowardice. Especially when these people weren't in my shoes. No one had the right to judge me.

"Whatever," I said. "I'm gonna keep looking for Gabriel."

"He'll come back," he said. "He always does. At least, when it comes to you."

He sounded like Darian, but lately, I wasn't so certain. It was like he was slipping away. It was just that lately, he was physically away.

"Thanks for nothing." I turned to walk out.

"Gyan?" he called out, and I halted in my steps. "Treat him the way he deserves to be treated."

I glanced back at him before walking out. For the rest of the day, I stayed home, anxious as I waited for a text or a call or something.

When Gabriel walked through the door, a wave of relief hit me. "Gabriel." I pulled him into a hug, holding him tightly, even though his arms stayed by his side. "I was worried sick." I pulled back to examine him. "Are you okay? Where've you been?"

He walked into the kitchen to grab a glass of water. "At the same motel I keep going to."

"You need to stop wasting money on that motel."

"I told you I needed space," he said. "I had to clear my head."

"You could have at least texted me that you're fine," I said. "You can't just leave like that. We need to know you're okay. That you're alive."

"You care."

"Of course, I do," I said, not understanding why he didn't sound more certain. "I don't want anything bad to happen to you again."

I closed the distance between us when he left the kitchen for the living room, planting a kiss on his lips. He reciprocated, and I cupped his jaw when we pulled away. "I love you. You're the only person I've ever loved."

His expression crumbled. "It's just hard, Gyan." His hand covered mine on his cheek. "It's hard being in love with a man who's engaged to someone else."

"It's not going to be like this forever." My hand dropped to grab a hold of his. "I'm not marrying Anushka. No matter what my dad wants. I just need time."

"We don't have time." He let go of my hand. "Your ring ceremony is in a few days."

"I'll work something out."

"You keep saying that."

"I will."

"I can't keep pretending we aren't together," he said. "I want to be with someone who I can show affection to in public. Someone I can post romantic pictures of on social media. Someone whose family knows about our relationship. I dealt with this with my high school boyfriend, and then I get into the same situation with you."

I frowned. "I'm not him. He never loved you. He took you for granted."

"And you're not?'

"Gabriel."

How could he say this? I would always appreciate him.

"Also, what's this I hear about you meeting up with Enrique."

His eyes expanded. "I didn't. He wanted me to, to show that I was choosing him over you, but I didn't."

"Did he make a move on you?" Gabriel hid his gaze, and I made him look at me. "Answer my question."

"He kissed me," Gabriel confessed, and my nostrils flared as I tried to contain my anger. "I didn't kiss him back, though."

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked, my volume increasing.

"I knew you would freak out."

"You need to stop keeping things from me," I said. "You can't keep lying to me."

"I know."

"We both have shit we have to deal with. Gabriel," I said. "I need to get it together, and you need to trust me."

"I do."

"Then treat me like your partner," I said. "We can't keep secrets from each other. I don't want you to be afraid to tell me anything. Just be honest, and I'll try to do what I need to from my end. We can't keep doing what we're doing now. It's not working."

"I know it's not."

"Then we need to make a change," I said. "I don't want you lying to me about meeting up with strange men. I don't want you to keep people like Enrique kissing you from me."

"I want you to put me first sometimes," he said. "Show me that your dad and Anushka won't always be ahead of me."

"They're not," I said, my voice coming out exasperated. "I'll prove it to you."

He glanced to the side before returning his gaze to me. "I'm just confused. I don't know where I stand with you. I want more."

"I'll give it to you." I grabbed a hold of his arms as we maintained eye contact. "I don't want to lose you, Gabriel."

"I feel like we're drifting apart." His voice came out small.

I felt it, too, and I didn't like it one bit. "We're going to fight for this. It doesn't matter what's thrown at us. We'll be okay."

He wrapped his arms around my neck. "Promise?"

I wrapped my arms around him, too. "Promise."

He kissed me, and I pressed our bodies flushed together. He came back, just like Darian and Enrique said, but this was a wake-up call. I couldn't keep expecting him to return to me. I had to act, and I had to act fast.

This situation wasn't going to handle itself. Just like I dealt with the Appeto situation, I could fix this as well.

I didn't have a video to help me come out to my dad, but I had Gabriel. He was all the motivation I needed.

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* Sorry for the late update. These past few weeks have been rough. My mental state is as unstable as always. This chapter also gave me a hard time to write, even though this story has an outline. Little to no motivation and writer's block is not a good combination.

* Luckily, the next couple chapters should be easier to write because I know the direction I'm headed, and things get interesting. Can't wait to write it!