Freddie found an unopened packet of bacon in the fridge. He set a frying pan on the burner of the stove, heated it up, then went to find where Luke kept his scissors. He found them in one of the kitchen drawers and used them to snip open the packaging. He put four strips of bacon in the frying pan to cook, then bagged the rest and put it back in the fridge.

Luke’s fridge was a little barren, and Freddie wondered if he was planning to go out for groceries soon, or if he simply didn’t like to cook. He washed his hands as he thought about it. Before he could come to a conclusion, Luke joined him in the kitchen. He was wearing a loose t-shirt and pajama bottoms, but despite his casual clothing, he looked incredible. Freddie’s heart skipped a beat. Luke’s hair was pushed to the side, and his cheeks were still red from the fun they’d just been up to. He slid his hands into his pocket and watched Freddie from the counter. The bedhead look certainly suited him.

“What’s your secret for cooking bacon?” Luke asked.

“I’m not sure I have one.”

“Well, you’re already off to a better start than me. Sizzling like that sounds normal. I always seem to set the heat too low or too high, and it never works out quite right.”

“You could try baking it,” Freddie suggested. “I do it sometimes, but I didn’t want to make a mess of your kitchen. Some people swear by it. I think it’s just okay.”

Luke chuckled. The sound was vibrant, and it made Freddie’s heart sing. “I’ll have to try it out, then. Maybe you can make it for me sometime. Your new place has that nice oven, doesn’t it?”

Freddie hesitated. Then, he smiled. “Yeah, it’s great. New. I think she bought it within the last two years. It heats very evenly, which is fantastic.” He poked at the bacon with the tongs he’d found. It was almost time to flip it over. “I was just... not sure what’s happening. You know?”

“No, I don’t know.” Luke frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I mean...” Freddie exhaled slowly through his nose, trying to pull his thoughts together. “I mean, I don’t know where we stand. The things I said to you were uncalled for, and you have every right not to want to see me again.”

“You’re right.” Luke rubbed his arm, but his expression didn’t darken, and Freddie took that to be a good sign. “But at the same time, I wouldn’t have gone out of my way to rescue you from that party in Kenton if I didn’t want to try again. You said some cruel, hurtful things... but I understand where you were coming from. It was clear to me from the start where your priorities lay. It wasn’t exactly a surprise you were so upset over what had happened to your daughter... and to your house.”

“That didn’t give me the right to take it out on you.” Freddie flipped the bacon over. He moved to the fridge to get the eggs. “I went off the deep end and conflated your involvement in what happened with your sister. That was really low of me to do, and I’m sorry.”

“I know you are.”

“I want to do something to make it up to you.” Freddie set the eggs on the counter. There were only a few inside, but he didn’t need many. “I don’t know how to tell you I’m sorry in a way that’s meaningful enough.”

“It’s not the weight of your apology that matters,” Luke said. “It’s the emotion behind it. I know you mean it, Freddie. I’m not going to hold it against you. That wouldn’t be a very healthy mindset to start up our relationship again, would it?”

Freddie looked up from the eggs. “Really?”

“Really.” Luke smiled an easy smile. “I know we’ve struggled, but those days are behind us, and I’m ready to move forward. I want to be with you. I’m crazy about you. I’ve been physically attracted to men before without sharing any kind of emotional connection, you know? But this is different. This is you and me, and it’s real. I don’t want it to end.” Luke paused, and for a moment, he looked divided. “But I will say, if you ever pull something like this again, I won’t be as quick to forgive you the next time. I’m trusting that this is a growing experience, and we’re both going to come out better, more rounded people for it. Is that your expectation as well?”

“Yes.” Freddie transferred the bacon onto a plate. “I don’t want to ever be like that again. It’s my hope that it won’t be long before the stress in my life lessens, and I’m able to move on with a clear mind. It might take some time, but until that happens, I want to be conscientious about how I’m acting, and how I’m interacting with other people. I don’t want to hurt you — or anyone else — again.”

Luke looked satisfied with that. The concern on his face melted away, and he smiled. His smile had to be one of the prettiest things in the world, if Freddie was any judge. Luke was manly — his body built by the firefighting career he’d chosen — but there was a softness to him when he smiled which made Freddie’s heart skip a beat.

“Then... can we do breakfast sometime?” Luke asked. “I’m on twenty-four hours, off forty-eight hours. I could come over for breakfast after work sometime and cook for you while you’re working on decorating, or I could stay over the night before. We can have sleepovers now that you’re living on your own, can’t we?”

“Reagan Ann...” Freddie bit the inside of his lip. He didn’t know whether they could or not. “You’d have to be very quiet if that happened.”

“I don’t think I’m the one who’s going to have to worry,” Luke boasted, an eyebrow hitched playfully. “I’m pretty sure that I’m the one who will need to hold a hand over your mouth to keep you from making too much noise.”

“Barely.” Freddie smirked, his spirits soaring. “When I fuck you down into the mattress, you’re going to be biting the pillow to keep yourself from screaming.”

“You filthy, filthy man.” Luke stepped forward and slid his hands around Freddie’s hips from behind. His hands cupped Freddie’s cock, squeezing gently. “You’re going to fuck me that hard with your daughter home? And I thought I was the indecent one. What is she going to think if she walks in on us when you’re dominating me, hm?”

“I’ll just have to tell her that you were being bad, and that I had to punish you.” Freddie grinned. “She’s never been spanked before, but she knows what it means.”

“You’re going to spank me?” Luke’s cock pressed against his ass. It was hard again, begging Freddie for his body. If Freddie hadn’t been on a tight schedule, he would have turned off the stove and dragged Luke back to bed immediately. Instead, he rubbed his ass against it and cracked the eggs into the frying pan. They sizzled and whitened. “Fuck, that’s hot. I guess I’ll have to find out what you consider a spanking offense... so I can make sure I get in trouble as much as I can.”

Freddie elbowed him in the side, and Luke laughed. He didn’t jump away, though. Instead, he squeezed Freddie through his pants a little more firmly.

“After breakfast, do you want to go back to bed?” Luke asked. “I don’t know how long Aaron is able to look after Reagan Ann, but if you’re in no rush, maybe we could spend the day together. I have a whole box of condoms we can work our way through, and if we end up depleting them, I can always make a trip to the store for more...”

“I can’t,” Freddie said. He wanted to — god, did he want to — but there was no way he could take a day off when he was already so behind on the bills. “I need to pick up Reagan Ann, take her home, and get started on my next order.”

“When’s your next day off?” Luke asked. “And how much would I have to bribe Aaron to get him to take Reagan Ann for it?” His hand squeezed, and he thrust his hips against Freddie, letting his clothed cock slide against Freddie’s ass. Freddie’s knees went weak. “I want to fuck you again and again until we’re both too sore to go on.”

“I don’t know. It’s... it’s a really crazy time for me right now,” Freddie admitted. The more Luke touched him, the more he wanted to ignore his responsibilities and go straight back to bed. He came to his senses enough to flip the eggs, then worked his hips back against Luke’s body to tease his erection further. Freddie was hard, too. “Maybe in a few months, if everything goes well? I’m being as thrifty as I can, but we still had to put down a double deposit for our new house, buy all new furniture, new electronics, new everything, really, and that’s taken a big chunk out of my security net.”

“How screwed are you if you spend one more hour with me?” Luke asked in a low, seductive voice against the back of Freddie’s ear. Excitement shot through him, and he pushed a little harder against Luke’s cock. “How about two more hours? I’m so fucking crazy about you, Freddie. I don’t want to let you go.”

Freddie didn’t want to leave. His heart begged him to stay — to spend the rest of the morning bouncing on Luke’s thick cock — but his mind couldn’t justify it. He needed to get back to real life and figure out a way to make some more money. He needed to keep up with his orders.

“I can’t,” Freddie said, although his voice made it clear he wished otherwise. “After breakfast, I have to go. I really do.”

“But you’ll stay for breakfast?” Luke asked, his voice as sultry as ever. “If we sat at the table, would you sit on my lap?”

“Luke,” Freddie breathed. His cheeks flushed and his pulse had started to race. “Really? We just had sex...”

“I don’t think you understand how much I want you.” Luke chuckled. He kissed Freddie’s shoulder, then took his hands away and drew back from his body. Where he’d been pressed close against Freddie, Freddie now felt cold. “I’ll stop teasing you. I understand that you have a real life to get back to. As much as I want to ravage you non-stop, it’s not possible... for now. So I’ll bide my time and wait for the day when it is.”

Freddie slid the eggs onto a plate and turned off the stove. He was hot and bothered, and wasn’t sure how much more he could take before he gave in to what his body and heart wanted. Luke got them some forks, and they sat at the table together — separately — to eat breakfast.

“I want to talk to Reagan Ann about us,” Freddie said. “She deserves to know. I think she already has her suspicions, but I don’t want you to be some big secret, or some ambiguous authority figure.”

“I’m the furthest thing from an authority figure,” Luke said. “As a firefighter? Maybe. But off duty, there’s nothing official about me at all.”

“She won’t think that,” Freddie said. “She’s going to look up at you just like she looks up at me. I already see it in her eyes, and I don’t want to confuse her or let her down.”

“Then why don’t we have a family meeting sometime this week?” Luke asked. “Or next week, if that works better for you. My schedule is wide open.”

“Next week would be great,” Freddie said. “How about Wednesday? You can stop by at any time. If I’m heading out for a delivery, I’ll text you in advance so you know.”

“Wednesday works for me. I should have the day off, so I’ll come by sometime near lunch. Maybe we can take Reagan Ann out to eat?”

“Sounds like a great idea.” Freddie smiled. “Thank you for listening, and for being so understanding. I’m really excited to give this another shot. I know that we can make it work if we try.”

“That’s why we’re doing this.” Luke winked. “If I didn’t think you were worth it, I would have given up already. There’s no point in chasing after someone you can never have, right? But I knew I had to have you. We’re going to get through this just fine.”

Freddie thought so, too.

After breakfast was done and the dishes were put away, Luke drove Freddie out to Kenton to collect his car from the party house, then Freddie reluctantly left Luke’s side and headed home. But he did so knowing that there was still more to come. They weren’t over yet, and he was going to do everything he could to prove to Luke that he was worth the second chance.