Corey sat at his desk, staring at his computer screen, sure he was supposed to be doing something, but couldn't seem to remember what exactly. He had a thing for getting work done on time and his mind tried to warn him, only he couldn't move. He had been in a haze all morning and didn't want to lose it. Even work couldn't occupy him this time.
Sure, the situation at home with Sean had been spiralling for a while, but they had been together two years and the outcome was a shock.
He had no illusions of a perfect relationship, but they were good enough together he tried to stick it out. In all honesty, things had become stained after their one year anniversary; they fought more often and Sean didn't come home till late most nights, but most of their little spats ended in hot, wild sex and he'd think everything was fine.
Clearly, nothing was fine. Not that it made him any less shocked to find out he'd been cheated on. Yeah, he might have entertained the idea after his family and friends told him of the possibility, but he had believed in Sean's honesty. Sean hated liars, and the irony wasn't lost on him that he became the biggest hypocrite.
He was so far gone in his own head that he hardly noticed someone had walked into the office until his name was called.
"COREY!"
The shout, right in his ear pulled a startled squeak from him as he jumped about a foot in the air and almost managed to topple off his chair. He managed to right himself last minute and glared at the culprit as she burst into laughter.
Myra, his best friend and confidant since high school and now office partner set down a bag and cup of coffee on his desk before setting down her own, trying to control her laughter.
"Damn it Myra," he snapped. "You almost gave me a fucking heart attack." He only made her laugh harder as she grabbed onto the desk opposite to his, trying to stay upright. Watching her, though, he only huffed in annoyance as he held back a smile. She may be annoying, but she knew better how to get him out of a funk faster than anyone else he knew.
"I can't breathe," she gasped, wrapping an arm around her middle. "I keep thinking I'll get bored hearing you squeak like a girl, but it never gets old."
"Fuck off," he muttered, more ashamed than mad at her. For some reason, women looked at him and imagined he was straight, most guys too. Until he opened his mouth and everyone knew he was a homo. He'd tried censoring his words, but still never gave out a straight image as soon as he spoke.
Most people were surprised he was gay at all, average height at 5'7, not bulky but definitely lean and muscled. Hell, even his tastes were normal guy stuff; he wasn't OCD and only cooked enough to get by. Still, it wasn't even a surprise when he came out his senior year of high school. It pissed him off after how long he'd stewed over it, but he got over it quick and got grateful when his elder brother tried to set him up with a girl.
But even as the old annoyance still rankled, it wasn't enough to keep his mind occupied for long. The tiny smile that had managed to sneak past his defences died away as he sighed, his shoulders slumping. He shot a glance at Myra and noticed the sympathetic look before she could hide it. So she knew, and she was trying to make him forget by distracting him. He glanced away before the look could make him burst into tears.
"I'm sorry, Corey," she murmured, not even needing to ask.
He took a deep breath. "Well...at least I always made him use a condom during sex."
That startled a laugh from Myra, and he was momentarily proud. She wasn't the kind of person to be shocked by anything, but he never went into the mechanics of gay sex with her, much less bring it up. He'd just told her he bottomed, but couldn't think enough to remember why he never wanted her to know that particular detail.
She cleared her throat, looking awkward. "So, um, I guess you found out it was true?"
Corey felt momentary amusement that she was the girl but also the one with problems articulating emotion. Half the time, he just got her drunk like he would do for any guy before she spilled.
"Yeah. I cornered him and he was acting suspicious. Then later-" he cut off to chuckle darkly, remembering with perfect detail. "He thought I was asleep so he called and said he'd been caught. Then, with me right there, they started having phone sex. He didn't do anything, just talked, but I heard every single word." He looked up to meet her sad gaze. "I remember him saying the exact same things the first time I let him fuck me."
He spoke as flatly as he could manage, but his face crumpled. With a crooning sound much like one used for soothing babies, she lunged for him as he broke down. As her arms wrapped around him, he felt smothered, but he couldn't remember the last time anyone had hugged him and he needed it. He tried to get a handle on himself, because this was work. He had a rule about mixing personal issues with business.
There was a light knock on the door before it was opened by Lora Martinez, an accountant at the firm like them, but lower on the food chain. She took the scene in with a smirk and a waggle of dark eyebrows.
"Honestly, Corey, if you played for our team you know I've always been interested." She was joking, but she wasn't kidding. It was a source of humour for them, but he always felt too paranoid with her predatory gaze on him most of the time.
He pulled back, wiping his eyes as discretely as possible, but she still noticed. Her lusty leer switched so fast into a protective, sympathetic look he wondered if he'd imagined it. Why a lot of women felt like mothering him, he had no idea, but he didn't have the energy to get annoyed as the two ladies stroked his hair, face and neck.
In any other context, he would have accused Lora of trying to feel him up, but having gotten out of a bad relationship herself, he knew she was genuine. He let himself be fretted over, something his mother enjoyed immensely that he missed terribly, and he didn't even stop Myra when she told Lora the whole story.
"Seriously? That Sean? I can't believe that bastard. He was cheating on you with another guy?" she sounded so righteously angry it was slightly satisfying, until her words sank in and he remembered he was leaving something out.
"Actually, it was a woman."
"What!" both women were gaping down at him.
"Unless Georgina can be a boy's name and even drags have pussies.... Yes." He hardly minded how crass he sounded, though he imagined his mother washing his mouth out with soap and sent out a silent apology to her.
"Corey, I promise, next time I take Nicky out and I meet up with the bastard I'll send him after the bastard's crotch." Nicky was Lora's dog. He didn't know what breed he was, but the thing was one of those big black ones trained to be attack dogs. And, yes, she had trained him to go after men's crotches, as most of her exes figured out the hard way. It was enough to make a guy take a second and cringe. Sometimes, it was easy to forget why he feared Lora. It was, thankfully, a lot easier to remember.
"It's ok. I could never hate a guy that bad." He smiled at the gesture anyway, no matter how creepy.
"Oh! I almost forgot. I was coming to give you guys the portfolio for that big company's accounts. I hear there's some competition because they want one company managing their accounts in their new branch," she looked apologetic like it was her fault somehow.
That was what he was supposed to be working on. His boss was putting a lot of pressure on him to do well, and though he worked well with Myra, she wasn't going to be there for the final perusal with all her appointments to deal with. She winced with him.
"Why don't you take a break? Report you feel sick and I'll look through the first part for you," she offered.
It wasn't just her being nice. Even since before they were put in the same office, hell, since high school, they helped each other with the workload, and always when one of them was going through a tough time. But he needed to work. He never shirked work and only accepted help because it lessened time he spent on his projects to make room for more. Besides, he hated to cry, and he'd be damned if he played any more the broken, abandoned damsel.
"No, it's okay. We need this and I'm going to do my damndest to be better. I don't need a breather." He exhaled heavily as he rose to his feet and took the folder from Lora, leaning against his desk. At least they knew better than to ask if he was okay.
Myra grinned and nudged her shoulder with his. There was a tint of relief in her look. "There's our guy. I almost thought we'd lost him, or something."
"Nah, you're stuck with me," he gave her a grateful smile.
"Oh, honey, if you want to be that close to me all you had to do was ask," Lora batted her eye lashes, and they all three burst out laughing.
For the first time since he woke up yesterday morning, he thought he might just be able to move forward.