They stayed in bed for a little while, But Nick had to go back home soon. The sun was high in the sky which meant Katie would be back at the house soon if she wasn’t there already.

Nick hugged Julian closer and kissed him before getting out of bed to get dressed. A little sigh escaped Julian’s lips as he too got out of bed picked up his clothes. Nick's heart was aching. He wanted to stay in the little house, together with Julian. He didn’t want to go back to his perfect life… back to pretending. He grabbed Julian’s arm and pulled him in for another kiss.

‘’Why does this feel like a goodbye,’’ Julian mumbled sadly.

‘’It’s not,’’ Nick promised, ‘’we’ll figure it out, okay? It’s not over.’’

Julian nodded, though not convinced. ‘’When will Katie be home?’’

‘’She’s probably there already,’’ Nick shrugged as he pulled away from Julian and looked at his watch. It was almost 1 AM, and it surprised him. He’d never really slept for that long before, but Julian just made him so calm and relaxed that he was able to sleep. He kissed Julian quickly before heading for the door. ‘’I’ll see you later, okay?’’ Nick said with a little sad smile. He wasn’t sure if he would be able to sneak out of the house again without alerting Katie, but he would at least try. Julian nodded and smiled at him before Nick left the house and the beautiful young man behind.

Their car was in the driveway, so he had been right. Katie was back, and it made Nick nervous.

The buzzing in his head was back, and the closer he got, the worse it got. He wished he’d just stayed with Julian. It might make her suspicious, but at least he would be able to be with Julian instead.

He took in a shuddering breath as he entered his house.

Katie was sitting in the living room, leaned against the armrest on the couch and her feet up, which was a rare sight. She had a book in her lap, focused on the words on the page.

As she heard Nick clear his throat, she looked up at him with a little smile. ‘’Hi,’’ she said as she laid her book aside. ‘’where were you?’’ she looked him up and down, and Nick’s stomach turned. He feared that she would be able to see what he’d been doing all night… maybe Julian had even left marks on him that would make her suspicious. But her happy expression didn’t change, so she could not have spotted anything on him that was out of place.

‘’I was at Julian’s place,’’ Nick said, trying to sound as calm as possible.

‘’Looking like that?’’ She said with a little laugh and a cocked eyebrow.

Nick looked down at himself and shrugged. His shirt was wrinkled, the two top buttons left open and he knew his hair was a mess.

‘’It wasn’t exactly a business meeting,’’ Nick began as he straightened his shirt a little. ‘’I really don’t think he cares about that.’’

He walked across the living room and stopped in front of the big panoramic windows. The side of the lake made the buzzing in his head stronger, but he shook it off of him and ignored it. He could stop smiling as his eyes darted over the beautiful, shining water.

‘’Did you spend the night over there?’’ She asked. He felt his cheeks heat up, and he was happy that she wasn’t able to see him.

‘’Yes,’’ Nick said with a shrug, ‘’it got really late, so I just stayed there and slept on the couch.’’ He felt like he had to emphasize that he’d been sleeping on the couch, even though Katie would probably have thought that no matter what.

Nick could feel her eyes on him, but he wasn’t turning around. Not until he could control his blush, and that ridiculous smile on his lips.

‘’What were you doing, since it got so late?’’ She asked. He could still hear the smile in her voice, so his heart remained calm.

‘’Not much,’’ Nick said. He took a deep breath and turned around to face his wife, before sitting down on the other end of the couch. She was still smiling as she laid her feet in his lap. ‘’we were mostly talking about his book, and then we had a few beers and I ended up falling asleep on the couch.’’

‘’I can smell that,’’ she said as she wrinkled her nose a little. ‘’You really like him, don’t you?’’ she asked, and Nick’s heart stopped and his body went rigid. He didn’t know what to say to that, and he couldn’t understand how she could still be smiling while accusing him of falling for another man.

‘’What do you mean?’’ He asked as he swallowed nervously. His skin turned pale-white as he tried to avoid her gaze.

‘’Well, he’s a kind person, and it’s good to see that your making friends,’’ Katie said simply. She frowned as she noticed how pale he’d gotten. ‘’What is wrong with you lately? You’re acting weird.’’ He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. He wasn’t really sure about what to say. A part of him just wanted to tell her the truth so they could end this fake life and actually be happy for once, but he couldn’t risk it. Not yet at least. Everything with Julian was still too, and Nick couldn’t sacrifice his whole life and future for someone he didn’t know. If anyone found out that he was having an affair with another man, it would ruin both their images, and he couldn’t do that to her… or to himself. He’d worked hard to get to where he was now. He couldn’t just allow a little crush to ruin all of that for them. If things with Julian turned more serious, then he would consider it, but not yet.

‘’Yes, I’m fine,’’ Nick said with a little sigh. ‘’I’m just a bit stressed I think… I can’t stop thinking about all the things I should be doing at work right now.’’ He lied. He felt bad about lying to her. She deserved better than that, but it was better than telling her the truth.

‘’You’re on vacation, sweetheart,’’ She said with a calming smile on her lips. ‘’you need to relax and enjoy it instead.’’ She pulled him closer and kissed his cheek gently. ‘’Julian makes you relax. Maybe you should spend some more time with him?’’ Nick’s eyes went wide. He wasn’t sure what he should answer to that. For a second he thought that she might know what they were doing, but he shook the thought out of his head. She would not take it so calmly if she knew the truth, that much he knew.

‘’It’s your vacation too, you shouldn’t spend it alone,’’ Nick said and regretted his words immediately.

‘’I’ll be fine. If you want to spend a few hours with Julian from time to time, then you should do it. I have my books, so I won’t get bored.’’ A few hours from time to time was definitely not enough. He wanted to spend every waking hour with Julian, not just a few hours. But that wasn’t possible as long as Katie was there.

He looked at her and faked a smile. ‘’Are you sure?’’

‘’Yes, I don’t need entertainment all the time,’’ she said, ‘’enjoy the vacation, Nick.’’

Nick nodded and stood up from the couch. He wanted to run back to Julian, take off their clothes, and feel the young man’s naked skin against his own, but he needed a shower first and he didn’t want to seem too desperate. Neither to Katie nor Julian.

‘’I’m going to take a shower,’’ Nick stated, and Katie just nodded. She’d already reopened her book and Nick wasn’t sure if she ever heard him.

He sighed as he went upstairs to the bedroom, slowly unbuttoning the shirt of the way. He’d never done that before. He would never start undressing before he was behind closed doors. He wasn’t ashamed of his body, but he just preferred to undress in privacy, though something had changed in him since he arrived at this magical place. He smiled to himself while shaking his head as he pushed the shirt off his shoulders and threw it over the backrest of the chairs, that stood by the big panoramic windows. He stopped and looked down and the beautiful lake and his heart skipped a beat when he spotted Julian sitting on the little beach. He pressed his hand against the window as he studied the young man. Julian was, as always, shirtless, and it brought the memories of their heated night back into his mind, and before he could tear his gaze away he felt himself get hard again.

He released a shuddering breath as forced himself to turn away from the window. He was painfully hard and he had to readjust his pants a bit to release the pressure. He felt his cheeks blush as he walked into the bathroom and stripped out of the last of his clothes. No one had ever been able to give him such a strong reaction from such a long distance… no one but Julian.

He stepped into the shower and let the water run down his back as he wrapped a hand around himself. He closed his eyes and images of Julian’s naked body filled his mind, and he was biting his lip hard to stop himself from moaning too loud as he hit his climax. He pressed his arm against the wall and rested his forehead against it. This was definitely going to be the craziest three weeks of his life. 

Nick was sitting on the bed, hiding his head in his hands. He really wasn’t sure about what to do. Not just at the moment, but in the future as well. He wanted to go back to Julian’s little house, just to be with him, even Katie had told him to do so, but he feared that Julian would end up getting sick of him at some point, but he just couldn’t stand the thought of being away from him for too long. He also wasn’t sure about what to do when these three weeks were over. He couldn’t leave his whole life behind for someone he’d only known for a few weeks… that was simply too stupid, but he couldn’t just let Julian slip away. The spark between them was too special to just throw away. They might be able to keep the affair going on when they got back, but the risk of getting busted was too big, and Nick couldn’t risk that. It would hurt Katie and it would ruin his reputation. To cheat on your wife was one thing… but to tell everyone that you’re straight, only to fall in love with another man felt wrong. Maybe his business partners wouldn’t care, but they might as well get so angry and disappointed with him that they’d pull out of their deals. His whole life had just gotten more complicated and he couldn’t seem to find a solution to it, which frustrated him. He was so used to having his whole life under control, but this was ruining all his plans for his future.

He sighed as he stood up and walked back down to the living room.

He stood in the door for a second, biting his lips while considering what to do. ‘’You can go and see him, Nick,’’ Katie said without looking up from her book. He sometimes felt like she could read his mind, and it hadn’t really bothered him before… it did now.

‘’Are you sure it’s okay?’’ he asked nervously, still biting on his lip.

‘’Yes, I’m sure. Go so I can enjoy my book.’’ He could hear in her voice that she was smiling. ‘’and please invite him over for dinner again. I have a feeling that he isn’t eating much over there alone.’’

‘’I will,’’ Nick mumbled as he quickly put on his shoes and walked out of the mansion.