“We.”

Kiss.

“Need.”

Kiss.

“Mmm…” he hums. “To.”

Kiss, kiss, kiss.

“Talk.”

I pull back and peer down at him. “About?”

He sighs and licks at his wet lips. “Us.”

Sitting up on my knees so I’m straddling him, I feel my brows pinch together. “What about us?”

Blake pushes at me and I take the hint, rolling off him and sitting cross-legged beside him. He sits up and rests his back against the headboard, legs stretched out in front of him. Though his form screams relaxed, he’s anything but. I can see the way he’s working his bottom lip between his teeth, and he keeps flicking his gaze away, not wanting to meet my eyes.

In the last few weeks, we’ve spent more time together, each visit turning into a tangle of mouths and tongues. I’m definitely not complaining, but he is right.

We need to talk about us.

“What are we doing, Nate?”

I shrug. “Having fun?”

He lets his head land against the headboard in a huff. “Is that all this is? Fun?”

I let my fingers pick at the comforter covering his bed while I find the best way to answer his question. I don’t want to answer with something that’s going to scare him. I also don’t want to lie to him.

This isn’t just fun for me. This is something…more, something meaningful, and if that’s not what it is for him, I’ll be crushed.

“I want this to be whatever works best for you,” I finally answer him.

“What if what works best for me doesn’t work for you?”

I glare at him. “Are you trying to make this more complicated?”

He lets out an unamused chuckle. “No, and that’s what sucks.”

“Okay, then let’s figure this out. Do you like ki—”

The word gets stuck in my throat. This is the first time I’ve spoken out loud about what it is we’ve been doing. I have no problem kissing Blake—hell, it may even be my favorite thing to do in the whole world—but talking about it? Fuck, that’s hard.

I suck in a sharp breath and spew out the words. “Doyoulikekissingme?”

“Yes.” No hesitation. “Do you like kissing me?”

“I do.”

“Good.” He nods. “Do you…want to keep kissing?”

“More than anything.” I meet his eyes for the first time since we started talking about this; I need him to see how sincere I am.

He slowly swallows, and I watch as his Adam’s apple bobs in his throat, making me want to reach over and suck on that tender spot at the base of his neck.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Of course,” I answer.

“Are you…gay?”

I bark out a laugh. “No…but yes. Sort of. I’m still into chicks, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“You’re bi?”

I nod. “Yeah, I think that’s a good way to describe it. What about you?”

He darts his eyes away again, embarrassed. “I…I don’t like girls.”

“Not anymore?”

“Not ever.”

My brows lift in surprise. “What about your ex? Claire? You two dated for months. Did nothing ever happen there?”

His cheeks flush. “No. We tried to make out once and I hated every second of it.”

“Maybe she was just a bad kisser?”

“It was more than that. I just felt…nothing with her, not even an iota of attraction.”

“And with me?” I ask brazenly.

Blake sits up on his knees and leans my way, cupping my cheek and holding my stare with his own. “Everything. I feel everything with you.”

He presses a gentle kiss to my lips, and I sigh the moment we make contact.

I feel everything too.

Moving away, he sits back on the bed, resuming his position from before. “I’m about ninety-eight percent sure I’m gay.”

I grin at him. “You’re telling me there’s a two percent chance I could talk you into a threesome?’

He shakes his head, laughing. “Unless you want her to get upset that I don’t want a thing to do with her, I’d say no.”

“Is it…is it because of me?”

“No, I’ve had this suspicion for a while. I always felt indifferent about women. You remember that one time you, me, and Carsen found those nudie mags? You two were flipping out about the tits and pussy, and I was just sort of…”

“Uninterested. Yeah, I remember that. I just figured you were embarrassed or something.”

“At first, I thought that was what it was too, that I didn’t want to get aroused in front of you guys, but that night I went home and Googled similar images. Nothing, not even a slight tingle in my dick. So, then I Googled dudes, and…well, yeah. That did it.”

I stare down at the blanket, working up the confidence to ask the next question.

“And what about me? When did you realize you were into me?”

“That one is a little harder to pin down. I think the night we watched that bi porno together definitely awakened something more.”

“But it wasn’t the moment?”

“No,” he tells me, shaking his head. “There were others. I’d…” He pauses and scratches at his chest. “I’d notice little things, like the way you’d smirk at your own inside joke. How you remember the strangest facts about people and try to bring them up in conversation, showing how you pay attention. The way your touch would linger. Your eyes.”

Now I’m the one blushing.

“What about you?” he asks. “When did you realize?”

“Honestly? I had a suspicion I was bi before the whole porn incident. I was sitting at a solid sixty percent, and that bumped it up to ninety.”

“And the other ten percent?”

“That came from the multiple masturbation sessions I had with you in mind.”

He kicks at me. “You did not.”

“Oh, trust me, I did—a lot.”

“Did?” he dares to ask.

I grin at him. “Do.”

His entire face lights up, but only for a moment. Then his lips are falling to a hard line, his eyes dimming and filling with questions.

“What?” I prompt.

“What does this mean for us? We like kissing each other, right? Are we going to do…more?”

“I’d like to do more eventually,” I tell him honestly.

“I’d like that too. Do… Are we… Is this…”

I wait, knowing what he’s going to ask.

I can’t help him with this one, can’t coax him into asking. I can’t feed him lines or ideas. He needs to get there on his own, and I know he will.

I’m unaware of how long we sit there in the quiet, how long it takes for him to muster up the courage to ask me, how much I sweat anticipating his words.

“I’m not really sure how I’m supposed to ask this. I don’t know the proper phrasing for things.”

“Okay.”

He pushes out a heavy breath. “Do you want to date? Are we dating? Is this a relationship?”

“Yes.”

“To which question?”

“All of it.”

There isn’t a moment of hesitation from me, and I can see he’s pleased with my prompt response. I push myself up on my knees and edge closer to him. He grins up at me, welcoming me as I straddle his lap. His hands go to my waist and my palms cover his cheeks.

I rest my forehead against his and place a quick kiss to the tip of his nose.

“Can I tell you something without you freaking out?” I ask.

He doesn’t answer right away, and I kind of like that. “I can’t make any promises. This whole situation kind of freaks me out.”

“Me too,” I admit. “And that’s kind of what I want to talk about. Knowing our families, the society we live in, there will be backlash if we make a go at this. We’ll probably lose friends, and have shitty people say shitty things about us, but at the end of the day, we’ll have each other.” I let out a shaky breath. “That’s what makes me say I’m ready and willing to jump feet first into this with you.”

I pull back and watch as he sits there, eyes closed, listening to me talk. It takes a moment for him to realize I’ve pulled away, and his green eyes flutter open. There’s a slight smile on his face, and I can tell he’s right there along with me, ready to take this ride.

“After what we just went through, what Carsen is experiencing, I’m not too keen on spending so much time apart and living for anyone other than me. I want—no, I need to see where this things with us goes. I have to give this a real shot, or I know I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.”

His eyes are filling with unshed tears, and he’s not talking.

Fuck. Did I say something wrong? Is that not what he wanted? Shit, shit, shit!

“What’s wrong?”

“N-Nothing.”

I frown. “Then why do you look like you’re about to cry?”

“Nate, at the end of the day, I’m gay. I’ve been so scared about that fact, so fucking terrified I’d end up alone and isolated for many years to come—but with you? I don’t feel that. I’m not scared anymore. I’ve just been waiting for the courage to accept me and love me. You give me that courage.”

“I do?”

He nods. “Of course.”

“Then what’s making you upset?”

“I’m not upset. I’m grateful.”

“For?

He leans forward, his lips ghosting over mine as whispers, “You.”

My heart hammers against my chest as something hits me, something new and exciting and hopeful and fun. It scares me and worries me and makes me feel like a fucking king all at once.

And I have to tell him.

“Can I say something else that might freak you out?”

“Yes.” He doesn’t hesitate this time.

“I…I think I’m falling in love with you.”

He doesn’t move, doesn’t breathe, but I can see it in his eyes, and I know I’m not alone in this.

Finally, his lips part, and I watch the words tumble from his grinning lips as a blush steals up his cheeks.

“If you say so.”