“Are you daydreaming again, Luke?” Natalie nudged his shoulder with her own, grinning at him. “Earth to Luke. Hello?”

“I’m here.” Luke snapped out of his daydream. “Did you say something?”

“You would have known if you were really here.” Natalie winked, then laughed. She had a laugh that was easy on the ears, but distinctive enough that it was unique to her and her alone. She batted her eyes at him, then clutched her hands together as if to beg him for something. “The cupcakes are about to arrive for the party. My cousin, the baker, just texted me to let me know he was parking in the driveway. Can you please help him carry them inside? I need a big, strong man to help lift all those teeny, tiny cakes.”

“Sure.” Luke was early to the party, anyway. He got up from the couch and headed for the door. The few guests who had already arrived were mingling in the kitchen, their conversation a dull hum in the background. “What’s his name?”

“Oh, Freddie. Have you ever met him? He’s probably a hair under six feet fall, brown hair, average build, winning smile that kind of looks like mine, but with manly lips?”

“Can’t say that I have.” Luke opened the door. “I’ll go fix that.”

He stepped outside and closed the door behind him. He’d met Natalie through Xander, who, at once point, had dated her. She was a nice girl, pretty, too, but Luke wasn’t interested in women in romantic ways. They were great friends, but the second she’d tried to come on to him, he’d shut her down. He tried to date a girl once, all the way back in high school, and after a very awkward prom date had ended in tears and a little too much red lipstick staining the base of his soft cock, he’d decided there was no way he’d try it again.

And now he was stuck on the man with the little girl in his arms who he’d met last week while trying to extinguish the house fire. The man he’d likely never meet again, and who was definitely not gay.

Luke let out a sigh.

Then he came face to face with the man he’d spent the last week daydreaming about.

Luke stopped in his tracks. The man was lifting clear plastic bags from the trunk filled with flat, pink boxes. Their corners pushed against the edges of the bags, stretching them out.

“H-Hey,” Luke called. He jogged the rest of the way to the car. The man — Freddie? — looked up. Their eyes met, and a shiver shot down Luke’s spine that he couldn’t ignore.

Okay, so it isn’t just my daydreams. Fuck, that was intense. Who is this guy?

“Hi,” Freddie said with Natalie’s same easy smile. “Can I help you?”

“No.” Luke bit the inside of his lip. Most of the time, he had no problem talking to strangers — it was part of his job. But right now? His tongue was tied and he was fairly sure if he didn’t focus, he’d start to babble. “But I can help you. Natalie sent me out here to help you carry in the cupcakes. You’re Freddie, right?”

Freddie blinked and gave him a once over. Selfishly, Luke hoped that he liked what he saw. “Right.”

Luke held out his hand, and Freddie shook it. “I’m Lucas Masterson. Friends call me Luke.”

“What would you like me to call you?”

Oh, that’s a loaded question.

“Luke. If you’re related to Natalie, then we’re bound to be friends.”

The handshake ended. The shivers running down Luke’s spine didn’t.

“Have you ever carried cupcakes before?” Freddie asked.

Luke laughed. “No. But I don’t assume it’s any different than carrying anything else. They’re in boxes in a bag, right? I pick the bag up by the handles. It’s not exactly rocket science.”

Freddie shot him a withering look. “These are delicate culinary creations.”

“And...?”

“And you have to make sure that when you lift them, the box bottoms are parallel with the ground. If you hold them at an angle, the frosting might get disturbed.”

Luke grinned. There was something really cute about a man so invested in frosting. “If I end up ruining any, I’ll personally eat them for you. You know, to save your reputation.”

Freddie flashed him a grin. “Oh, is that so?”

“Yup.”

“You’d do something like that to save my reputation? A total stranger?”

Luke shrugged casually. “You’re not really a stranger, now, are you? I know your name and you know mine. Plus, you’re related to Natalie. We might as well be best friends already.”

“Why don’t we see how well you do bringing these cupcakes inside?” Freddie asked. He handed Luke a bag. “How many people are coming to this party, anyway? Natalie went overboard ordering these.”

Luke accepted the bag, very careful to keep the bottom of the box level with the ground. “I think there are thirty people coming.”

“What?” Freddie narrowed his eyes. “That’s about seven cupcakes each.”

Luke laughed. “Why doesn’t that surprise me? I’m pretty sure she’s planning to take the leftovers all over town. I’m certain if she sent them over to us at the station, they’d be gone in a few days.”

“The station?” Freddie sent another bag down, his eyes narrowed in confusion. “The radio station? You’re a DJ?”

“Oh. No.” Luke’s spirits deflated. It didn’t surprise him that Freddie didn’t remember him, especially with everything going on that day, but there was a part of him that hoped against hope their encounter would be a fantasy come to life. “Station like the fire station. I’m a firefighter. We actually met the other day. I, uh, was the one with the cat.”

If Freddie’s jaw could have fallen off, it probably would have. He stared at Luke, eyes wide with surprise. “No way.”

“Yes way.” Luke nodded back toward the house. “Should we get your cupcakes inside, or do you think I’m capable enough to keep them level for a little while longer? As much as I’d love to chat, I’d much rather prove myself to you by getting these inside undamaged.”

“R-Right.” Freddie blinked a few times and lifted another box from the trunk. He carried two bags, entrusting Luke with just one. Luke didn’t mind. He’d make as many one-bag trips as he could if it meant he got to chat with Freddie a little longer. “You get the door.”

They carried the first round of cupcakes in together, then made a trip back out to the car to collect the next. Natalie had disappeared from the living room, most likely to entertain the guests chatting in the kitchen. Their passage to and from the car went uninterrupted. When they were outside again, Luke leaned against the back of Freddie’s car and observed the rest of the boxes.

“Natalie really did go overboard, didn’t she?” he commented.

“Just a little.” Freddie passed him the next bag. “I think, when she heard about the fire, she wanted to pitch in as best she could.”

“You have insurance, don’t you?” Luke alternated between checking to see he was holding the bag properly and stealing glances at Freddie. There was something about him that made it hard to pay attention to anything else. It may have been the way the sun shone in Freddie’s hair and highlighted the streaks of gold in it, the youthful glint in his blue eyes, or the defined shape of his jaw and cheekbones — or maybe it was all of those, and the pretty picture they painted. Whatever it was, it captivated Luke. He hoped he wasn’t coming across too strong.

“I do.” Freddie pursed his lips and frowned.

Why am I talking about the fire? Of course he doesn’t want to talk about it. God, I’m dumb.

“But?”

“But I was working out of my home on my cupcake business, and I lost all of my supplies in the fire. Those aren’t quite as easy to replace on short notice. I’m self-employed, so I can’t just take some time off and expect life to go on like normal... so I’ve been working with what little I have, outside of the home I know, trying to go on like nothing happened.” A sad smile spread his lips. “So it’s a little more of an inconvenience than just waiting for the insurance claims to be accepted, I’m afraid.”

Luke waited until Freddie had both bags in his hand, then led the way back to the door. Before he opened it, he turned around to face the man again. Silence had lapsed between them, but when Luke spoke again, he didn’t feel awkward about breaking it. “Well, I’m not really in a place where I can help you financially, but if you need some time out of the house... I’m your guy.”

Freddie bit his lip. The flash of his teeth was tantalizing. “What?”

Luke shrugged casually, trying not to come across as too pushy. “I know that you’ve just been through a hard time, and you’re probably not interested in going out with someone right now, but if you need the distraction, I’d love to provide it.”

Confusion clouded Freddie’s eyes, then cleared into delight. “You’re asking me out?”

“Yes.” Luke met Freddie’s gaze and shot him a flirtatious smile. “Yes, I am.”

“Well...” Freddie trailed off, then laughed. “Yeah, sure. Why not? I’ll give you my card — it has my cell number on it — and you can text me a little later so we can work out the details.”

Luke was ready to be shot down, not taken up on his offer. His heart skipped a beat, and he did his best to pull himself together and act cool. “Yeah, sure. We’ll figure out something nice. It’ll be a good time.”

“I think so, too.”

Luke opened the door, and they brought the rest of the cupcakes to the table in the living room. When all the cupcakes were inside and his hands were free, Freddie dug into his pocket, pulled out his wallet, and handed Luke a card. “I don’t know what your schedule is like, but I can probably plan around it. Give me a few days’ notice to plan my schedule around our outing and I’ll be there.”

“Sounds great.”

It doesn’t just sound great, it sounds fantastic. I can’t believe he said yes. Can this even be real?

“It was nice meeting you today,” Freddie said. He slid his hands into his back pocket, looking Luke in the eyes. “I guess I’ll see you soon.”

“Yeah. Definitely.” Luke smiled. On the inside, his stomach was twisting into knots from excitement, his heart thudding against his ribcage. “You don’t want to stay for the party tonight? I’ll be here... and I know that Natalie would love it if you stayed.”

“I can’t. My daughter is at home, and I’ve got to get back to her.” Freddie held his gaze a little longer than was innocent, and Luke’s heart beat faster than ever. “Thanks for the offer, though. I’ll... catch you later.”

“See you.”

Their chemistry was thick on the air, and it filled Luke’s lungs like helium making him feel as though he could float away. He watched as Freddie left, standing in the open doorway and making sure he backed out okay. When Freddie reversed onto the street, he lifted a hand to wave goodbye.

Goddamn, do I have it bad...

But he also had a date. A fantastic, incredible date with a man he was excited to get to know. Now all he had to figure out was what they’d do when they got together.

No pressure, right?