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.He wrapped his arms around Laurent’s waist, resting his chin on his friend’s shoulder.“I don’t know why you’re here, Laurent, but I’m glad you are.” He hugged him tight.Laurent patted his hand where it lay on Laurent’s stomach.“I’m glad I came here.Couldn’t concentrate on what I was supposed to be doing, so I took some time off.Needed to get out of Paris.”That didn’t sound good at all, but Pascal let it go for the moment.Giving in to an impulse, he brushed a kiss over Laurent’s cheek.“I’ll be right out.”He pulled out a pair of sweats and a T-shirt before heading to the bathroom.Pascal took a far shorter shower than he usually did after a race, not wanting to leave Laurent out there by himself for too long.After drying off, he dressed then went back out into the room.Laurent was lying on one of the beds, staring up at the ceiling.He’d changed into sweats and a T-shirt as well.Pascal stuffed his dirty clothes in the laundry bag, knowing one of the support team would come by to pick it up.The dirty stuff got cleaned during the race, and dropped off at the next hotel afterwards.“What did you order us to eat?” He flopped down on the mattress next to Laurent.“I ordered myself a steak and potatoes, and a vegetarian meal for you.It has eggplant and some mushrooms in it.Sounded good.If you don’t like it, we can order something else.It’ll be delivered in twenty minutes or so.” Laurent lifted one of his shoulders in an absent shrug.Pascal sat up, crossing his legs and pulling a pillow onto his lap.He nudged Laurent’s hip to get his attention.“While we’re waiting, tell me what happened to bring you here.Why did you want to leave Paris?”“Jan and I ended our engagement.”“Oh fuck,” Pascal whispered, shock making him almost speechless.That wasn’t close to what he’d thought Laurent would tell him.He took Laurent’s hand in his, and held tight.“What happened?”“He cheated on me with some other man.” Laurent’s harsh laugh hurt Pascal.“No way.Why would he do that? He loves you.”Laurent pushed up until he leant back against the headboard.He studied Pascal for a moment.“He might have loved me at one time, but I guess I spent too much time away.He’s the type of guy who needs someone there all the time.”“You mean he wants someone around to tell him how wonderful he is, and how gorgeous he is,” Pascal muttered.“Now, I knew how needy Jan was when I started dating him, but I thought he understood what being a reporter meant, and how much travel my job required of me.” Laurent looked down at their entwined hands.“I should’ve known this wouldn’t work out.”“How could you have guessed he would cheat on you? You trusted him, Laurent, and he wasn’t man enough to tell you he wasn’t happy.He should’ve said something when it even became a possibility that he might cheat.” Pascal scooted over to sit next to Laurent, then wrapped his arm around Laurent’s shoulder.“I’m sorry, mon ami.”Laurent dropped his head down to rest it on Pascal’s shoulder while snuggling in close.Pascal couldn’t stop the jolt of pleasure racing through him when Laurent put his arm around his waist.“I confronted him two days ago, then left Paris for a job.Once I finished it, I decided not to go back.I told Jan he had to move out.I didn’t give him a deadline on when he needed to be out because I knew I would be with you from the end of June through most of July.I can stay in the guest room, or even at a hotel when I go back to Paris.”“You can stay at my place for as long as you want.”Laurent started to protest, but Pascal talked over him.“I’m only going to be there for a week around my birthday, then I head out to the Alps for some training sessions.You can stay there until you join up with the team on Corsica for the first stage of the Tour.”“I don’t want to put you out, Pascal.You should have some privacy before you start training for the Tour.”“Are you bringing along a camera crew?” Laurent shook his head and Pascal smiled.“Then you won’t invade my privacy.You’re my friend, and while I haven’t invited many people to my house, you are one I should’ve welcomed a long time ago.”“I’ll think about it.I really can’t stay outside the city for long.”Pascal laughed.“You aren’t moving in with me, Laurent.You’re just taking a break from the city for a while and relaxing before a hectic upcoming month [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]