It wasn’t usual for there to be an unexpected knock at the door, but it rarely happened in the morning. Austin had been in the bathroom, deep cleaning the sink, when he heard the telltale knock on the door.

Hale.

He washed his hands and left the bathroom, then answered the door. Hale stood there, cheeks flushed like he’d just run, but his posture was nervous. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Austin said. “Do you want to come in?”

“If that’s okay.”

“Of course it is.” Austin stepped back from the doorway. “I was just cleaning the bathroom, so I’m glad for the distraction. I’ve got to look into finding employment soon. I’m going crazy being at home all day.”

Hale grinned. Some of his nervousness slipped away. “I don’t know… it’d be kind of hot to have a house boyfriend, you know? Come home to a hot meal, a clean house, lots of sex…”

“You want me to be a trophy wife?” Austin lifted a brow. “Are you going to buy me a frilly apron?”

“If you want one.” Hale winked. “And a maid uniform.”

“I’m learning all kinds of things about you I never knew.”

“I’m a mystery wrapped in an enigma,” Hale said dramatically. He closed the door after himself, then wrapped his arms round Austin’s neck. Austin instinctively wrapped his arms around Hale’s waist and pulled him close. “You’re never going to unravel me all the way.”

Austin tilted his head and let their lips brush. Hale had just came in, but was already setting him on fire. “I don’t know about that. I’m pretty set on discovering everything about you, Hale. I don’t think you can hide it all from me forever.”

“You’re right. You’re going to read me like a book in no time.” Hale drew back and looked into Austin’s eyes. It was rare that he backed down from seduction, especially when he was the one who initiated it. Austin blinked. “I kind of wanted to talk to you about something to do with that, actually.”

“Sure. Do you want to sit down?” Austin released Hale, and Hale unwound his arms from around Austin’s neck. Something was going on, and Austin was starting to get a bad feeling about it. “I’m good with whatever you want.”

“Sitting down is probably a good idea. Um. Do you want to do it in the bedroom? I feel like being someplace where we can easily cuddle is a good idea.”

Austin wasn’t sure what to make of that, but he nodded. He took Hale’s hand in his and led him through the apartment, even though Hale was already well aware of where his bedroom was. They kicked off their shoes and socks and got settled, lying next to each other, but not touching.

“So,” Austin asked softly. “What’s going on?”

“I was just out with Michael today, and I realized that I need to be a better communicator, and let you know how I’m feeling,” Hale said. He frowned, looking guilty. “I know that it’s only been a little while, but… honesty is important from the very beginning of a relationship. I don’t want you to think that I’m withholding anything from you. I’m not.”

“Okay,” Austin said, more nervous than before. “What is it that’s on your mind? You can talk to me about anything. I won’t judge you.”

“I have this unfounded fear that I’m not good enough for you,” Hale murmured. The sorrow on his face hit Austin squarely in the gut, and he reached out to pull Hale closer to him, cuddling him to his chest. “I know that it’s stupid, and that you’d never do something like this, but I have this fear that you’re going to realize you’re not really gay, and that I’m not good enough for you; that you’d be happier with a woman… and I don’t know what to do about my feelings, because I know it’s my brain trying to sabotage my happiness and get me to close my heart off so I won’t get hurt, but… but I’m falling in love with you, Austin, and I don’t want to feel this way. I want to enjoy us, not worry about unfounded beliefs.”

The roller coaster of emotion was almost too much to take. The gut-wrenching low was paired with a sky high that left Austin dizzy.

“You love me?” he whispered.

“I… yeah.” Hale pinched his lips together and glanced downward, as if ashamed. “I do. And I’m so scared of losing that. I’m so scared of losing you, and losing the happiness that we have, that—”

He knew he should have waited, but he couldn’t help himself. Austin crushed their lips together, smothering Hale’s worries in a searing kiss. Hale gasped, then moaned into his mouth and kissed back. When there was no more air left in Austin’s lungs, he drew back and looked Hale in the eyes. “I’m not planning on leaving you. I’m not interested in women right now. You’re the only one who’s in my heart, and I don’t think that’s going to change unless you want it to. I am loyal, I am devoted, and I am stuck on you, Hale. No one has ever made me feel so loved or supported. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“You’re not just saying that?” Hale asked. His cheeks were so red that they had to hurt. Austin brushed the back of his hand down one of them, feeling how hot it was.

“I’m not just saying that,” he promised. “I wouldn’t say things just to placate you. I love you, Hale.”

Hale’s eyelashes fluttered. It was damned cute, and Austin had to laugh.

“What?”

“You’re cute. That’s all.”

“I’m cute?” Hale grinned. “You’re cute. Hearing you laugh is one of my favorite things in the world, did you know that? If I just have to be cute to get to hear it, then I’m gonna do my best to be goddamn adorable for the rest of my life.”

“You could turn into one of those really cross deep sea fish and I’d still love you.” Austin paused. “… Maybe. I mean, as long as you were still Hale beneath the scales, and we could still talk. I don’t know what I’d do if you lost your humanity. You wouldn’t really be Hale anymore.”

“Well, good news—I’m not planning on turning into a fish.” Hale laughed deeply. “I’m not planning into turning into anything other than your boyfriend… and maybe your live-in sex slave.”

“Wait, I thought that was going to be my job.”

“Live-in sex slave on the weekends,” Hale said with a cocky grin. “I’ll go earn those big bucks at my family’s sports equipment store, then I’ll come home to your house. Your house, your rules. After work and on weekends, my body’s yours.”

“I’m liking this idea more and more. Go on.” Austin grinned. He pressed a quick kiss to Hale’s lips, and Hale chased him for more, but he didn’t let their lips touch again.

“That’s kind of where the idea ends. I figure that we already have so much sex that it wouldn’t be a stretch that we take it to the next logical level—which is definitely spending every waking hour of the day outside of work hours fucking each other. That’s totally the next logical step, right?”

“Definitely.”

“There’s no in-between. Not at all.”

“Nope.” Austin’s lips trembled until he couldn’t hold back his laugh any longer. He rolled them over so he was on top of Hale and looked down into his eyes. “You think you want to give it a test drive, see how sex slavery works out for you? Because I would much rather polish your knob than the ones on the bathroom sink.”

“Mmm, you sure know how to get me hot,” Hale said with a half-laugh. “Yeah, I’ll try it on for size. Let’s pretend I just came home after a hard day earning us all the money and entered into your kingdom—the home you run for me. What do you do with my body?”

“I’d be glad to show you,” Austin said with a wink.

His heart was full to brimming, and it was all because of Hale. He didn’t think shared, goofy times like these would ever stop. It gave him hope for the future, and Hale’s confessions had only helped to back up his vision—Hale was invested in him to the point that he was afraid to lose what they had. He wouldn’t break Austin’s heart. For as long as their relationship remained healthy and they were happy with it, it would exist. Hale would never take it from him. One day, maybe they would share a home together, and Austin would take care of domestic chores while Hale focused on providing for their needs.

One day.

For now, Austin was happy with what they had. He wouldn’t rush things.

But taking the future for a test drive was an awfully tempting idea, and with Hale looking so good beneath him, it was one Austin couldn’t pass up. This time, when they kissed again, Austin followed through. He was in love, and his primary goal was to make Hale happy.

He’d give it his everything, and he would forevermore.