“I’m pretty sure she was cheating on me. I just kind of went along with it for a while because I didn’t think I had any other choice. I didn’t think I’d really be happy again. I felt like I was just kind of floating along.” Nick cracked a smile in the dimly lit room. Shepard was still a little flushed, his cheeks slightly pink, his hair messy, a couple of thick dark strands circling down on his forehead. He was the most beautiful thing Nick had ever laid eyes on. Like a work of art created by the most gifted of savants. He wanted to stare at the man for hours. He wanted to memorize every singe freckle on Shepard’s face, every small detail, every crinkle next to his eyes. He couldn’t believe how attracted he was to this man. “Then you came along.” Nick was being way too open, and honestly?

He didn’t give a fuck. Not in that moment.

He felt like letting it all out for Shepard. There wasn’t a reason in the world he could think of that would prevent him from opening up. It was something in the air. Something in the way Shepard looked at him. With big hazel eyes that expressed captivating depth. “You had such a huge smile, and you’re so handsome, and smart. I always see everyone laughing when they’re with you. Everyone’s always happy when you’re around. I was almost jealous. I had to stop myself from being around you because I knew your smile was dangerous, and yet everyone else was around you, enjoying you.”

Shepard chewed on his lower lip, a smile on his face. Nick couldn’t hold himself back. He went in for a kiss. He thought it would be soft and quick, but that would never happen when Shepard was involved. Their tongues met and danced for what felt like days. Years. Decades. That was how long he felt like he had known Shepard. This was the first actual, deep conversation they had ever shared and yet Nick felt like Shepard had always been a part of his life.

The kiss broke as a pager started going off, vibrating against the floor. “Oh shit,” Shepard said, eyes snapping open. He jumped out of bed and hurried to the corner where his scrubs were thrown. He dug through the pocket and silenced the alarm. “I’ve got to get to work,” he said, smiling as he tugged on his underwear, moving to his scrubs next. Nick sat up on the bed, still a little blown away by the fact that he had just made love to a man, and it was beyond his wildest expectations. The pleasure was intense and the sense of intimacy he shared with Shepard was unbeatable. A high he wanted to get hit with again.

“Let’s have dinner tomorrow,” Nick said as Shepard was working his arms through his shirt.

“Dinner?” Shepard asked again, clearly taken aback. “Sure, yeah, definitely.” He smiled at Nick, who was beginning to get dressed as well.

“I’ll see you then.”

“See you,” Nick said, already counting down the minutes left until they met again.

* * *

Nick grabbed two Stellas out of the fridge and popped them open. His best friend, Aaron Diaz, was sitting on a barstool and wasting his time on Tinder, swiping right like it was his job. Nick handed him a beer and walked to the couch, sitting down and taking a sip of the cold beverage, hoping it would be enough to stop his mind from obsessing over Shepard and his naked body.

Fuck.

Just thinking about Shepard made Nick’s cock twitch. He squeezed his thighs together and threw his feet up on the glossy white coffee table. Maybe he could redirect blood flow away from his dick. He was definitely going to need more than one beer. Aaron must have matched with someone because he gave a hoot and fist-pumped in the air. “Fuck yeah,” he said, hopping off the barstool and making his way over to Nick. He stepped over Nick’s legs and sat down on the couch next to him. “Check this one out.”

Aaron showed off his phone like he had earned a damn Nobel prize. Nick looked at the screen, seeing a very beautiful girl in a barely-there bright blue bikini, sunning on the deck of a huge boat. She was someone Nick could see Aaron with. His best friend was a lovable douchebag. A frat guy that actually did have a heart and didn’t purposefully go out and mess with people. He looked the part, too, in his tan Sperrys, short khaki shorts, and light blue polo with some weird animal logo on the chest.

“Nice, yeah, she’s cool.”

“Cool?!” Aaron said. He pressed the back of his hand to Nick’s forehead. “Dude, are you coming down with something? A weird hospital virus you should be telling me about?”

Nick chuckled. “No, I think I’m already immune to everything out there.”

“I dunno, man, I’ve seen Thirty-Eight Weeks Later.”

Nick arched an eyebrow. “You mean Twenty-Eight Weeks Later? The zombie movie? Thirty-eight weeks later sounds like a bad movie about a slightly premature baby.”

“Yeah, that one.” Aaron laughed before taking a drink of his Stella. His phone vibrated as he matched with someone else on the app. “Oh, oh, ok, look at this girl. She needs way more than a ‘cool’.”

Aaron flipped his phone, showing Nick a beautiful woman in a bright yellow sundress, her breasts spilling over the top. “Cool.”

Aaron dropped the phone on the couch. “Ok, seriously, what’s going on?”

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe it’s the fact that I made my divorce official two months ago?”

And I’m also done with women.

That was something that was going to have to wait to be said. Nick wasn’t sure how his best friend was going to take the news. Hell, he wasn’t even sure about the news himself. Throughout his entire life, he had always had an inclination for the same sex. That inclination grew as the years passed, evolving into a deep yearning that had been tugging at Nick since he entered medical school. By then, he had met Anna and was perfectly happy dating her, so he never explored the side of him that cried out for a man’s touch.

Then, his relationship with Anna began to crack. She became more and more distant, starting fights with Nick over things that previously never even mattered. Things like a pair of socks left by the couch; that would have her close to smashing dishes. She was staying late at work and had surprise meetings on weekends. Things didn’t feel right. Nick also started to suspect something was up when she had left her phone inside the bathroom one night. Nick had stepped in and closed the door, which was almost cracked in half with how fast Anna threw it open, looking for her phone and giving a relieved sigh when she grabbed it from the countertop. A divorce ending their year-long marriage soon followed. In the immediate aftermath, Nick felt lost. He was angry and taking it out on the residents, he could tell. He hated himself for being an asshole, but he was just so damn frustrated. He felt like he had wasted so much time with Anna, in a relationship that was fractured to begin with.

Then he shook Shepard Kensworth’s hand, and everything suddenly shifted. The world made a little more sense. It felt like there was a track to get on. Fast forward to the current day, two months later, and Nick had snuck Shepard into the on-call room for the absolute hottest fuck of his entire life. It was more than a spur of the moment thing. Shepard had been making Nick’s heart race for weeks, and he knew he wanted to get to know him. Nick wasn’t expecting to go all in when he invited Shepard into the room, but both of them instantly discovered that the chemistry between them was stronger than the valium they kept locked up in the cabinets.

Nick couldn’t believe how good it had felt. He was getting hard just thinking about it.

“You’re right,” Aaron said, picking up his phone and beginning to type a message to his potential dates. “Sorry, I’m being stupid. I just thought, maybe getting out there again might get your mind off of her, you know?”

“I think I’ll take it easy for now.” Nick took another drink of his beer. He couldn’t say anything more. He wanted to tell Aaron what had happened, but Nick also knew that religion made up a huge part of Aaron’s life and he had never expressed any positive attitudes toward gay people. He never bashed anyone, Nick wouldn’t have stood for that, but he also didn’t seem thrilled when one of their mutual friends had come out as a lesbian. They had never truly discussed it, but Nick wasn’t sure if this was the proper time to bring it up. He wanted to enjoy this feeling. He wanted to ride it as long as possible. Things would get complicated soon enough, but Shepard already proved to be more than worth it. He hadn’t been this excited about getting to know someone since… well, since no one. Not even Anna had captured his attention this intensely. Even before their mind-blowing sexual connection, Nick had been captivated by the charming medical school resident with those caring hazel eyes and that sharp wit, all matched with a mastery at the sinful smirk that made Nick’s knees weak and his dick swell.

“I dunno, dude,” Aaron continued. “Some good pussy is the best kind of medicine. You’re the doctor, you should know that.”

“Thanks,” Nick said. “I must have slept through that lecture in med school.”

“Well, you’re welcome.” Aaron laughed as he took a chug of his beer, finishing it off. He wiped his mouth and placed the empty bottle on the coffee table. Nick offered to grab another one but Aaron mumbled a no, his fingers furiously typing up another message.

“Hey, man,” Aaron said, setting his phone aside, “thanks again for letting me crash at your place.”

“Of course, Aaron.” Nick got up from the couch and went to grab himself another beer. Maybe he’d stop thinking about Shepard when he reached the bottom of this one? “We’ve been friends since high school, I’d never turn you away.”

“I know, but it’s not ideal. I promise, I won’t be here longer than another month. I promised a week, and I know it’s been a little longer than that, but my fucking philosophy degree is completely useless. I’m getting my real estate license now and should have some property lined up to sell in no time, though. I’ll get out of your hair, man, I swear.”

Nick stood in his kitchen and waved Aaron off. “I know you’ll figure it out soon, Aaron.” Nick’s home had an open-concept style kitchen with a massive marble island serving as a divider between the kitchen and the living room. It wasn’t a huge house, but it was big enough to have Aaron stay over without feeling like he was impeding too much. He mostly kept himself to the guest room on the opposite end of the house, on the first floor. Besides, Aaron was entertaining. It had been a while since they had spent a good amount of time together. Nick had become too busy with his career and Aaron had spent a long time traveling the country on money he had won from a scratcher.

Nick leaned on the kitchen island, drinking the beer and beginning to wonder if the alcohol was actually having the opposite effect of what Nick intended. He wanted his mind cleared of Shepard, but instead, all he found himself wanting to do was grab his phone and call the guy. He didn’t even care if they couldn’t see each other that night, he just felt a powerful desire to hear his voice.

Wow, Nick thought. Shepard’s dick must be magic.

That was when his doorbell rang. Aaron had ordered pizza and was getting up from the couch but Nick got up first, putting his hand out. “I’ve got it,” he said, grabbing his wallet and walking toward the door. He was feeling more than generous. The least he could do was buy his best friend a pizza.

He opened the door and cocked his head in sudden surprise. In the place of a polo shirt-wearing delivery boy holding a box of cheesy goodness was Anna Turron, his ex-wife, and last person he expected to be seeing.

“Anna,” Nick said, surprise clear in his voice. She had been crying, Nick could tell by her puffy pink eyes. She was wearing an old red T-shirt from their trip to San Francisco and a pair of baggy white sweats. She held something in her hand. A pen? Why was she holding onto it so tightly? Her fist was balled up at her side, but Nick could see the end of it poking out of her closed hand.

“Nick, we need to talk.”

“Come in,” Nick said, stepping aside. Anna hurried in, but stopped cold in the entryway when she saw Aaron sitting on the couch.

“Shit,” she said. Nick looked from Anna to Aaron, both of them staring at each other like a pair of bank robbers caught in the vault.

“Well… I’m pregnant,” Anna said, breaking the thick silence.

Nick took a sharp intake of breath.

“And I’m not sure if it’s yours or Aaron’s.”

Nick momentarily forgot how to breath.