Newton was sitting on his couch, looking at the TV without really watching it when the loud knock on the door startled a surprised squeak from the back of his throat.

It had taken him all morning to just get this far. He had showered and was dressed, but just barely. He grimaced as he looked down at his plain white t-shirt and sweatpants.

Was he really going to answer the door like this?

Whoever it was knocked again, and Newton was up and moving toward the door before he could talk himself out of it. Nobody knew him in this town. Nobody knew where he lived aside from the handful of clients he’d had at the studio who could have probably figured it out.

And Gage, of course.

His heart started racing as he wondered if it really was Gage on the other side of the door, his large, heavy hand making the whole apartment rattle as he knocked a third time.

“One second,” he called through the door, hurrying to unlock the chain at the top, the deadbolt, and the handle.

He swung the door open and squinted against the bright midday sun. But even with the sun shining directly in his eyes, all he could focus on was the man standing just a couple of feet away. The tall, muscular man with the furrowed brows and worried expression who took up most of the doorway all by himself.

“Gage,” Newton said, his voice just above a whisper. “W-what are you, um…”

His words trailed off as he saw the change come over Gage, his body actually deflating in front of Newton as he exhaled slowly.

“You’re okay,” Gage said, finally. “Thank God you’re okay.”

“I am,” Newton nodded, even though he wasn’t really feeling okay at all.

Aside from the remnants of a headache and the fact that he was still stressed and confused about what had happened the night before, now Gage was standing right in front of him, no doubt ready to yell or berate Newton for being an idiot or a tease, no doubt just waiting for the chance to tell Newton he was glad to be rid of him.

Except as Newton waited, he realized none of those things had happened. And as those initial worries started to subside, he could see that the look on Gage’s face—his furrowed brow and the crease in his forehead, the bags under his eyes—weren’t because he was angry.

He was worried.

“I didn’t mean to come over,” Gage said, finally breaking the silence that had stretched out between them. “I just…”

“I’m glad you did,” Newton said, stepping aside. “Do you, um, want to come in? I’m sorry I look like a mess, but—”

“You look amazing,” Gage said, without even the hint of a smile. “Always.”

The apartment wasn’t big to begin with, but it suddenly felt tiny with Gage standing in the middle of the living room, looking like a bronzed Greek god.

Newton watched as Gage’s eyes scanned the room before focusing on Newton’s face again. “I really just wanted to make sure you were okay,” Gage said. “We don’t have to talk about last night if you don’t want to.”

Newton swallowed hard. “Would you, um… do you want to sit down?” he asked, hoping to buy himself a couple of seconds as he tried to make sense of his jumbled thoughts.

Even though he’d pretty much convinced himself that Gage really wasn’t angry at all, that he was genuinely concerned—he’d even heard as much from Gage’s own mouth—his brain was still rebelling at the notion that anyone aside from his Aunt Sandy actually cared enough to just stop by and check on him.

No other motive.

No hidden agenda.

Just a real interest in Newton’s well-being.

As hard as he tried, he still couldn’t fully wrap his head around it.

“We can talk,” Newton said, finally, sitting down on the edge of his couch as Gage did the same. “Last night was…” Fun. Crazy. Sexy. Intoxicating. So many things. “It was the best time I’ve had in a long, long time.”

If Newton thought his words would put Gage at ease, he was apparently mistaken. If anything, Gage’s expression only grew more confused.

“It was fun for me, too,” Gage said, slowly, cautiously forming each word. “But I guess I don’t understand how it ended? I want to apologize if it was something I did, or if I made you feel—”

“No,” Newton said, shaking his head. “You made me feel…” Sexy. Wanted. So, so horny. “Amazing. Honestly, Gage.” He took a deep breath. This wasn’t going to be an easy conversation, but it hadn’t been as difficult as he’d imagined so far, either. “The reason I had to leave like that was because I was scared.”

There. He’d said it. It was out in the open now, out in the world. The voice in his head couldn’t make him believe it was anything else—at least not for the moment—because he’d just told Gage the simple truth.

He’d been afraid.

And even though he was still embarrassed for the way he’d handled it, he was so, so tired of being ashamed of that fear.

“You were scared of… me?” Gage asked, looking hurt and vulnerable and sad all at once. “Newton, I promise the last thing I wanted was to hurt you.”

“Not scared of you,” Newton answered, his voice trembling. “It was never that. Never really about you. It’s me. My past. My… brain.” He shook his head, trying to form the words that would help Gage understand what the hell he was talking about. “I was having so much fun. I-I wanted to kiss you. God, I really, really did. But then I got scared. Scared of… just… everything.”

Okay, so he knew he still wasn’t making sense. Or at least wasn’t saying anything that would make sense to Gage or anyone else who didn’t live in Newton’s head. But Newton’s past and his issues and insecurities were a lot to lay on a person who had only wanted a kiss.

This wasn’t first date chit-chat. This was heavy stuff that Newton had seen multiple therapists about.

Even if Gage thought he was ready to hear it, Newton wasn’t sure he was ready to tell all of it.

He wasn’t sure where to start, or if he even could.

Newton felt tears welling up in his eyes and dashed his hands across his cheeks as he tried to focus on figuring out how to make this situation better. If he couldn’t actually date Gage, he at least hoped to salvage a friendship.

Gage reached over and took Newton’s hands in his, the heat from his touch warming and soothing Newton’s frayed nerves enough to at least calm him down a little bit.

“This day has been rough for both of us,” Gage said, quietly. “I can’t promise that I understand what you’re going through—in fact, if I’m completely honest, I have no idea. But I want to understand. I want to help you if I can. If you’ll let me. I just… Newton, I just want to be around you, as weird as that probably sounds. You make my day better just by being a part of it. If you’d let me, I’d love to take you out, just me and you. But I don’t want to rush you. I don’t want you to feel pressured or uncomfortable at all. So if that’s not an option for us, I’ll be okay with whatever I can get. Just please don’t shut me out completely. I’ve had a taste of that today, and I’m not sure if I can do that again.”

Newton sat there for a few moments, only belatedly realizing that Gage was silently staring at him. Only realizing after that his mouth was hanging open in surprise.

With a lot of effort, he closed his mouth and searched Gage’s face for any indication that he might be joking or lying or… something.

But there was only plain, sincere honesty staring back at him.

“You really feel that way?” Newton asked, not because he really thought Gage would lie to him, but because he had never heard those words from anyone before. He’d never been face to face with someone whose only concern was whether or not Newton was okay. “I make your day better? You, um… care about me?” Then the rest of what Gage had said hit him, and Newton’s eyes went wide. “You would want to go out with me? Like… like a date?”

Gage’s eyes were suspiciously bright with emotion as he exhaled and leaned back against the sofa cushion. “Newton, of course I care. Of course, it would make my day if you would go on a date with me. You’re smart and funny and… and damn sexy, if I can be blunt. Anyone would be a fool not to see that.”

There must have been a lot of fools in Newton’s life, because if anyone had seen those things before Gage, nobody had thought to mention them.

Then again, he hadn’t necessarily made the best choices about who to surround himself with in the past, so maybe it was actually true.

Gage was sitting there, patiently waiting for Newton to respond. He looked like he was prepared to wait all day if he needed to, like he honestly meant it when he’d said he didn’t want to pressure Newton into anything.

God, could it be that Newton had actually found someone who said what they meant? And not just every once in a while but all the time?

It was almost too good to be true. But wasn’t everything when it came to Gage?

Last night had been too good to be true, too. Yet here Gage was again, still being amazing the next day, even after Newton had made an ass out of himself.

That fact alone was worth celebrating.

But the fact that Gage was also baring his heart and his feelings, laying it all out there with no hint of any other motive? The fact that Newton’s Prince Charming hadn’t turned back into a toad at midnight?

That was worth not just celebrating but holding on to. Newton would be the fool if he turned Gage away now because of issues and fears that he already knew were irrational.

And maybe Gage would get tired of it all at some point and leave anyway. But he was here now, and that still counted for a lot, at least as far as Newton was concerned. A whole lot.

“I want that, too,” Newton said, looking down at Gage’s hands that were still wrapped around his own. “I want this.” He looked back up at Gage and tried his best to give a smile. “I’m, um, not the best at relationships, or dating, or… or any of that. I have some stuff that I’m still trying to work through.”

“We don’t have to decide anything right now, or today. Or tomorrow,” Gage replied, rubbing his thumbs in small circles over the back of Newton’s hands. “If it would take some pressure off, we could start with a date. Just one. Just dinner. Maybe a movie. No strings. No commitments necessary. Just you and me, enjoying each other’s company.”

“Yeah?” Newton asked. “That would be okay with you?”

It was still hard to believe that Gage was still sitting here with him, let along being so… so perfect. Yet here he was, complete perfection as he stared into Newton’s eyes.

“That would be more than okay with me,” Gage said, grinning. “That would make me the happiest guy in Silver Lake.”

Newton couldn’t help but smile at those words. “I’d like that,” he said, his voice so quiet that he hoped Gage could read lips. “That would make me happy, too.”

“Okay,” Gage nodded. “That’s… that’s great. Maybe dinner tomorrow, then? Or sometime next week, if tomorrow is too soon, or if you have plans, or—”

Newton laughed, shaking his head to interrupt Gage. Hearing Gage getting excited about a date—a date with Newton—was pretty much the best thing in the world.

“Tomorrow is great,” Newton said, suddenly feeling light and free and good for the first time all day. “Tomorrow will be perfect.”

“Okay,” Gage said, mirroring Newton’s smile as he repeated the word. “O-kay. Great. Awesome. I’ll… see you tomorrow, then.”

And just like that, it was done.

Newton had a date with the hottest guy he’d ever met. The hottest, nicest, most honest, most perfect guy he’d ever met.

Like everything else with Gage, it was almost too good to be true.

But Newton was at least beginning to get used to that feeling, even if he didn’t fully understand it.

All he knew for sure was that he was happier in this moment than he’d ever been before—or at least happier than any other time he could remember—and that had to count for something.

That had to count for a lot.

Newton was happy.

He was smiling.

He was going to be okay.

And hopefully, with Gage around, he would get used to that feeling, too.