61: An Unexpected Revelation

Inho focused on the small man in front of him. He wanted to make a good impression, “Yes, it’s very nice to meet you. Um, where are you from, Luis?”

“I’m from Brazil,” Luis beamed. He had a very friendly demeanor, “I’m a geologist, I came to Vancouver to study with some scientists here, and I fell in love, and here I am still, seven years later!”

“In love with the city?”

“Well yes, but also with Tavy,” Luis laughed and gestured at the tattooed man on the couch, who smiled back at him over Connor’s head. Inho grinned. Luis patted his arm when he spoke, “And you Inho, where did you come from to seduce our lovely Stephen?”

“Oh, I’m from Seoul, I came to ahh…” He didn’t want to talk about how he came to fix things with Jamie, “to visit Vancouver,” he finished lamely.

“Oh! A tourist?” Luis’ eyebrows shot up, “And what do you do in Seoul?”

“Well, uh, sort of. I, um, was working in a shop there, but here, I worked in a restaurant, but now I’m not working.” This was coming out all wrong, “I’m applying for school right now.” Luis was politely hiding his confusion under a smile.

Connor leaned over and patted Luis’ shoulder, “He told me his English isn’t good. You should talk slower for him.” Connor met Inho’s eyes and twisted his smirk into a knowing smile of false empathy. Inho hated his guts.

Luis turned back to Inho, “Oh dear, I know exactly how that is! But, don’t worry, my English improved so much living here! You’ll pick it up in no time; it already sounds so good.”

“No, my English is fine, I’m just doing a proficiency test for international students,” Inho protested, “I grew up in Seattle,” but Luis was distracted by Stephen who walked over to join them.

He was holding a glass of amber liquid, and grinned down warmly at Inho, resting a hand on the base of his neck and rubbing it slowly, “Do you want a drink?”

“No, I’m okay,” Inho felt a little relieved to have him there.

“How did you two meet?” Tavy called to Stephen around Connor, eliciting a frown from the younger man.

“Yes! Tell us the story,” Luis requested cheerily, with a long sip on the cocktail he was drinking, “He’s the man from the West End right? I remember the Asian guy you met on Grindr.”

Stephen’s hand froze on Inho’s back. Inho turned an accusing stare up at him, but Stephen’s face didn’t change as he addressed Luis,

“No, that wasn’t him. Luis, haven’t you had a bit much to drink?”

Luis flushed, “Oh, I’m sorry, I guess I have.” He patted Inho’s arm again, “That was very rude of me, please ignore it.”

“It’s okay,” Inho replied awkwardly, and Luis got up, clearly embarrassed, and went to sit on Tavy’s other side.

Tavy was indifferent to the interaction, “So, not a hookup. What’s the actual story then?”

Inho could feel the tension in Stephen’s hand still and decided to let it slide. He could ask about this other guy later. He still wanted to make a good impression on Stephen’s friends, and thanks to Connor he already looked like an idiot.

“It was a funny story,” Inho said, careful to enunciate, flicking his eyes at Connor as he spoke, “Stephen is my ex’s boss. She was house-sitting his apartment, I met Stephen for the first time, naked in his bed.”

Chris and Blaire had fallen silent to listen to the story, and everyone but Connor burst out laughing.

“Stephen you bitch!” crowed Blaire, “Stealing your employee’s straight boyfriend?”

Chris quirked an eyebrow, “Shitting where you eat guarantees drama. What happened to the ex?”

“I wouldn’t call it stealing or shitting,” Stephen replied in a measured tone, “Inho just needed to learn some new things. And besides,” he added with a cold laugh that Inho didn’t recognize, “She’s about to be fired anyway. So, all’s well that ends well.”

The others exploded into gossip at Stephen’s statement but Inho froze. He still hadn’t asked Stephen about Jamie’s job, but that wasn’t how he’d have expected him to talk about it.

He felt humiliated in a way that he couldn’t quite pin down as the others laughed at Stephen’s words like he’d made a great joke. Connor was watching him again, and his bland smile couldn’t hide the glint of greedy glee in his eyes.

After a moment, Chris interrupted the conversation, “Dinner’s almost ready, I better feed you all before you get any drunker. Stephen, can you come help me in the kitchen for a bit?”

Stephen gave Inho’s shoulder a squeeze and looked down as if to ask if he’d be ok alone. Inho nodded numbly.

“Don’t worry, your boys will be fine out here,” Chris rolled his eyes.

Stephen followed him into the kitchen, and Inho watched him go. Chris put an amicable hand on Stephen’s back as they walked and laughed loudly at some joke Inho couldn’t hear.

“Don’t worry,” Connor’s voice interrupted his observations, “They’re just close ‘cause they used to date.”

“What?” Inho turned to Connor as he flopped down on the seat next to him.

“Yeah, Tavy told me, my uncle and Chris had a big dramatic romance before. It’s a really beautiful story, you should ask.” He smiled innocently and Inho thought seriously about kicking his ass.