Maybe it was just because Tristan himself did not have anyone to hang out with? Maybe Roth's flings reminded Tristan of his own sex-less life. Roth would solve his problem, he decided in his head as he dialled a number on his phone.
"Hello Janice, how are you?" He cheerfully greeted as the line connected.
x - x - x
"Oh come on, what is it? Will you tell me already?" Tristan, who was currently occupying the shotgun, eagerly said. It was Thursday night - Roth had asked him to dress up for a surprise. Now they were both in the car, Roth had refused to take the chauffeur and was instead driving the car himself.
The fact that Roth himself was also dressed in a white dress shirt, a tie, and khaki dress pants underneath was sending butterflies in Tristan's stomach. As the sleeves of the white button-down shirt hugged the muscles of his arm, they accentuated every time he moved them to rotate the steering wheel.
H hair was gelled back, and he was currently driving with only one hand. The other was resting on the window.
"If I tell you now, you won't be surprised, dummy." Roth said cheerfully.
It had been four days since his breakup with Ruby, and he was not half as troubled by it as Tristan had expected him to be, which was a relief for Tristan. Roth had never been the kind to cry over girls, but then again, Roth had also never been the kind to invite a girl to live with him and be in a relationship with her.
Minutes later, their car was pulling up in the multi-story parkade of an expensive restaurant. Roth handed the keys to the valet as they stepped out of the car and guided Tristan in.
"Alright, I will hand you over to Anniette now. She'll handle it onwards." Roth, in his business tone, gestured to a woman standing at a distance, who looked like a part of the hosting staff of the restaurant.
Then, in a very non-business way, he leaned towards Tristan, "Good luck, champ!" Gave him a pat on the shoulder and made out to leave.
"Wait, where are you going?" Tristan, obviously bewildered, called out behind him.
Roth did not bother to turn around, just gave his head a little jerk and held up two fingers as farewell. Classic Roth with his bad boy charm that Tristan had fallen for. Although, currently, Tristan had more important things to deal with as he said Anniette was now at his feet, so he turned to attend to her.
x - x - x
"You set me up on a BLIND DATE?" Tristan was pacing across the living room as Roth sat on the couch, calmly watching T.V., "Didn't it cross your mind to at least ask me first whether or not I am even interested?" Even furious, Tristan had kept his voice low.
Roth, however, was not fazed at the slightest, as he continued to surf through the channels. Tristan snatched the remote out of his hand, "Are my feelings a joke to you, Roth?"
That compelled Roth to pay attention to him, "They aren't. I care about you - even more than you care about yourself. That's why I want you to be happy."
"You have no idea where my happiness lies," That characteristic sombre look was back on Tristan's face.
Roth grabbed at Tristan's hand to pull him beside himself on the couch and looked into his eyes, "Tristan, you are my best friend, and I care about you more than anyone else. I just want you to be happy. Sorry, it was wrong of me to set you up with my friend without asking you."
Tristan felt the temperature of the room rising as Roth stared into his soul. It was impossible to be mad at him. He found himself at a loss for words and just meekly nodded. Roth had still not let go of his hand, and Tristan was getting more and more aware of his touch by each passing second.
"Come on, what are you waiting for? Hug your best pal," Before Tristan even had a chance to respond, Roth put his strong, defined arms around him. The musky scent of Roth's signature cologne was too inviting for Tristan, as he felt the warm feeling initiating in his trousers.
Afraid of giving himself away at Roth's hands, he gave him a quick pat on the back before he broke the embrace and moved at a safe distance from Roth, "It's okay, I am sorry for overreacting." His quiet remark earned him a warm smile from Roth as he went back to surfing through channels.
x- x -x -x
Friday both marked the end of the workweek for them, as well as the sex doctor show day. Roth arrived at the studio earlier that day - usually, he made it just in time for the show. Meanwhile, Tristan would be at the studio at least an hour before the show would air.
"Someone's up early," It was ever so rare that Tristan got a chance to tease Roth. Of course, he wasn't going to let it go.
Roth playfully rolled his eyes at Tristan, "You bastard ended my relationship. What else was I to do?" That sobered Tristan up, "Roth, you know I didn't end your relationship. I told you I have no say over your life decisions."
Roth scratched his ear, attempting to appear bored, "Calm down, I was just pulling your leg. Have we set up everything?"
Fifty minutes later, Roth was sitting in the booth, and Tristan was giving him the signal to start speaking.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. It's, yet again, time for a sexy Friday evening. I hope all of you had been keeping it in your pants the previous week. If you did, it's time to take it out now." Roth's usual cheeky voice boomed over the radio.
Tristan was scrolling through the list of call applications when he landed on the name "Ruby". He knit his eyebrows and looked up at Roth, who was greeting the viewers, completely oblivious to Tristan.
Is it the same, Ruby? Had Roth told her about the show? Did Roth trust her this much? The familiar feeling of jealousy and hatred for Ruby began to fill Tristan. No one had ever meant this much to Roth, not even Tristan. He hated that Roth had the same feelings for Ruby that he did for Roth.