Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 63481 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 317(@200wpm)___ 254(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63481 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 317(@200wpm)___ 254(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
Scott was a good guy at heart, but he was also careless. He’d had countless relationships in the past and he’d gotten over them quickly. He didn’t have a responsible bone in his body. He wouldn’t know what to do with Gadiel once his infatuation passed. On the surface they might seem alike—both rich, spoiled, good-looking, and gay—but they were completely wrong for each other. Will wasn’t sure why he was so certain of it, but he could tell that Gadiel was looking for something steady; Scott wasn’t. Frankly, Will had always thought that Scott needed a firm man who would take him in hand and make him less frivolous. Gadiel wasn’t that man.
But it was none of his business, was it? He was here to help them get together, not to make them see how wrong they were for each other.
“Oh, please,” Gadiel said, rolling his eyes with a smile. “I don’t get this strange obsession with age difference. If a couple has more than five years of age difference, people in the West start side-eyeing them and accuse the older person of grooming and being gross. I think it’s a bit ridiculous when they’re both consenting adults. As long as the partner isn’t old enough to be my father and didn’t actually groom me as a child, there’s nothing wrong with some age difference. Let people be. A relationship can be toxic even when people are the same age.”
“That’s true,” Will conceded, looking at him curiously. From the way Gadiel talked about the West, it was obvious he considered it something foreign. “Do you think of yourself as Arab?” Had he met Gadiel in the US, he wouldn’t have been able to identify him as an Arab. His features were almost Caucasian, only something about the shape of his blue eyes suggesting a Middle Eastern heritage.
Gadiel shrugged, dropping his gaze. His long dark eyelashes hid his expression as his lips twisted into a smile that looked more like a grimace. “Sort of? I am what I am. Too Western to fit in my home country and a bit too exotic to pass as one of you.” He laughed a little. “It would have been easier for me if I weren’t cursed with such a white face. I could never fit in, not even when I was a little kid. I’ve always felt like a bit of a changeling in my family. I almost wasn’t surprised when I realized that I liked boys. I’ve always been... other.”
Will felt a pang of pity. “I’m sorry. It must have sucked growing up.”
Gadiel gave an awkward shrug, clearly feigning his air of nonchalance. “It’s fine. I’m over it. I know better now and stopped trying to fit in. It’ll never work, considering what I am.”
Will studied him. There was something he didn’t understand... “Why don’t you leave this country? Move somewhere you can be yourself?”
Gadiel played with his food, his gaze distant as he chewed on his lip. “I’ve always dreamed about it,” he said quietly. “But it wasn’t realistic while I was underage. And even now... When my father finds me, he’ll drag me back home. If he finds out about my sexuality, he’ll kill me.”
A chill ran down Will’s spine from the matter-of-fact way he spoke of it.
“Then do you have a death wish?” Will said, frowning. “You’re not subtle at all. If you and Scott get together, you won’t be able to keep your boyfriend secret long.”
Gadiel just looked at him for a long moment, his eyes unusually solemn. “I don’t have a death wish, but I know I’ll die young. I’d like to experience love and some happiness before that happens.”
A heavy weight settled in the pit of Will’s stomach. “Now you’re being too pessimistic,” he said, his voice rough.
Gadiel shook his head, smiling wryly. “It’s not pessimism. I’ve been betrothed to the daughter of the president of the UAE since I was a baby. My life was never mine. I’m supposed to marry her in a few months. The clock is ticking. Either I get out now and be happy for a while until they catch me or I stay and live the lie for the rest of my life. I know what I’ll choose.” He laughed a little, the sound lacking any mirth. “It’s death either way. One of them is just faster. Even if I marry her, I’ll slip, sooner or later. Or even if I somehow don’t, I can’t live like that. I just can’t. That life would slowly kill me.”
Christ. It was the twenty-first century. This fucked-up situation shouldn’t exist in the modern world. Things weren’t great for LGBT people back home, either, but there were a lot of people supporting them, too—even though there were narrow-minded assholes everywhere. A nineteen-year-old boy shouldn’t be resigned to death just because of the fact that he liked men. It was fucking barbaric.