They went back to Julian’s little house and sat down on the squeaking couch with a cold beer in their hands, and Nick loved it. He loved the cheap beers and cheap coffee. He just loved feeling normal for once. He hadn’t really been drinking beers since he was very young, so it reminded him of a time where he was free to do whatever he wanted to do. Where he still had his dreams, and no responsibility was holding him back. Where he could love whoever he wanted to love, and where happiness meant more to him than success.

It was a time he missed but being with Julian was like a second chance. He could still have all of it… it wasn’t too late. He just had to take what was offered to him and stop thinking about the consequences.

Time passed by too fast for Nick’s liking. Dinner would be ready soon, and Katie was expecting them, but Nick didn’t want to go back. He didn’t want to be forced to keep his distance from the beautiful man next to him. They stood up and walked towards the front door, but Nick grabbed Julian’s shirt and pushed him up against the door before the young man could open it and kissed him with as much passion as possible. Nick’s hands were on Julian’s hips, and Julian’s arms were wrapped around his neck, as their lips moved together. Nick savored every second of the kiss since he didn’t know when he’d be able to do it again. He ran his hands up Julian’s side under his shirt and pressed him harder against him, leaving no air between their bodies. Julian moaned a little as he turned his head away and kissed Nick’s cheek. ‘’If you keep doing that, I’m going to get hard again,’’ he whispered, and his warm breath tickled Nick’s ear.

‘’I wouldn’t mind that, though,’’ Nick said before kissing his lips again. He could feel Julian smile through the kiss, but the young man pulled away from him, and Nick groaned in protest.

‘’I’m not going to have dinner with you and your wife while having a boner!’’ Julian laughed as he pushed Nick further away before opening the door.

Nick just shook his head and smiled as he followed Julian out onto the dirt road.

They looked at each other for just a second, as they stood in front of the door to the mansion. Nick reached over and squeezed Julian’s hand quickly before pulling away. ‘’Ready?’’ he whispered, and Julian just shrugged. He wasn’t ready, but neither was Nick. He just wanted to take Julian’s hand in his and run away with him, and never look back again.

Nick took a deep breath and opened the front door.

Katie met them in the hallway with a big smile on her lips. She walked up to Nick and kissed his cheek before pulling Julian into a tight hug, kissing his cheek gently. Nick felt the jealousy boil inside of him, but he held it back. There was no need to be jealous because he knew that Julian wasn’t interested in her, and he knew that Katie knew the young man was gay. It was just a friendly gesture, and something she did with everyone, but Nick didn’t care about what she did with others… he just didn’t want anyone to ever touch Julian again. Julian was his, and he was the only one allowed to touch him.

‘’It so nice of you to join us again,’’ she said as she pulled away from Julian. ‘’You left so sudden the last time.’’

‘’I know, and I’m sorry about that,’’ Julian said with a big bright smile.

Nick shook the feelings off of him and forced a smile.

‘’Well, you can just take a seat, dinner is ready in just a minute,’’ she said with a smile as she gestured to the couch in the living room.

Both Julian and Nick stood in front of it and stared down at it with a blush on their cheeks. As Katie walked back into the kitchen Julian looked at him with a cheeky smile and winked at him. Nick pushed him playfully as he tried to stop himself from thinking about what they’d done on that couch. Julian shrugged, still with that big smile on his lips as he sat down, gesturing for Nick to take a seat next to him. Nick cleared his throat as he sat down next to him. they were sitting so close, and it would take much to just lean over and kiss him, but he didn’t. Julian looked over his shoulder towards the kitchen, making sure that they were still alone before he laid a hand on Nick’s thigh. Nick looked down at his hand, before looking over his shoulder too, to make sure the coast was still clear, and then he laid his hand on top of Julian’s. He looked into Julian’s beautiful dark eyes, and his heart began beating faster in his chest. His stare landed on Julian’s soft lips, and sitting on this couch, looking at those full and beautiful lips made all the images of that day flashed back into his mind again. He remembered how those lips felt, as they were wrapped around him. He remembered how beautiful Julian had looked, as he just laid on the couch, naked and comfortable with his cheeky smile on his lips. He squeezed Julian’s hand harder and resisted the urge to run a hand up Julian’s thigh towards his groin, he wanted to hear Julian’s cute little moans as he pressed his hand against the front of his pants and look into those beautiful eyes as he stroked him.

Nick was pulled quickly out of his fantasy when he heard the sound of Katie’s stilettoes getting closer. Julian pulled his hand away fast and folded them in his lap with a little shy look on his face.

‘’Dinner is ready,’’ she said with a big smile. They rose and walked over to the dining table.

‘’It smells delicious,’’ Julian said as he began filling his plate.

‘’Thank you,’’ Katie said with a proud smile on her lips. Nick was surprised that she’d decided to spend another day in the kitchen. She’d never cooked before, and not she looked like she actually enjoyed it. ‘’So, how’s your writing going?’’ she asked Julian.

‘’Not good,’’ Julian said with a shrug, and Nick resisted the urge to kick him under the table. He’d told Katie that he was helping him out with it, so this was not a good start.

‘’Really?’’ She said as she cocked an eyebrow at him. ‘’Nick told me that you were working on it well together.’’

Julian looked at Nick with big eyes, and an expression that said ‘’why the hell would you tell her that!’’ He took a deep breath and forced the smile back onto his lips. ‘’Eh, yeah… we’ve been discussing different ideas and stuff, so we are working on something… I’ve just not been writing.’’ Julian looked awkward, and Nick wanted to pull him close and hug him. ‘’This taste really good, Katie,’’ he said a little nervously, as he tried to change the subject.

‘’Well thank you, dear,’’ she said with a big smile.

The attention around the table was awkward, and Katie noticed, but she didn’t comment on it. She tried her hardest to keep a conversation going, but neither Julian nor Nick knew what to say. Julian and Nick avoided looking at each other, and Nick just wanted the dinner to be over soon. He regretted talking Julian into coming. The young man looked uncomfortable as he just sat there and stared down at his plate most of the time. Katie often looked between them, not understanding what was going on or why this felt so wrong. She caught Nick’s eyes and mouthed a ‘’what's wrong?’’ but Nick just shook his head. He couldn’t find a lie to explain it with… not yet. He felt bad for her. She’d worked hard on making this amazing dinner for them, trying to make everything as perfect as possible because she knew that this was what Nick wanted. She tried to make him happy by inviting Julian over because she knew that Nick liked his company, and they were just destroying it by acting so weird towards each other.

As they finished dinner, Julian excused himself and hurried out to the nearest bathroom. Nick stared after him, wanting to run after him, but he stayed put.

‘’Is he okay?’’ Katie asked a little worried.

‘’Yes, I think he’s just a little stressed out lately,’’ Nick said.

‘’Maybe you’re disturbing him too much,’’ she said as she leaned back in her chair. Nick shook his head and tried his hardest not to snap at her. It wasn’t that he was disturbing Julian too much, but that he wasn’t disturbing him enough. It was this stupid dinner and Katie’s presence. But he couldn’t tell her that… it wasn’t fair to her.

‘’No, it’s not that. It’s hard to explain.’’ Nick mumbled, and she just nodded.

When Julian came back out, they all walked out to the balcony, enjoying the view a little. Julian and Nick stood on each side of Katie, so keep as much distance as possible, and both of them felt stupid. ‘’It’s beautiful here,’’ Katie said after a while, but none of them had a chance to answer her before her phone rang.

She excused herself and walked back into the house, leaving them alone together.

Julian took a few steps closer to Nick.

‘’Yeah, I’m sorry about that,’’ Nick said. He looked down at the railing where both of their hands were resting, and it reminded him of the first time he’d touched Julian. He smiled a little as he laid his hand on top of Julian’s.

‘’I think I’ll go home,’’ Julian whispered. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a little piece of paper and handed it over to Nick with a little smile on his lips. ‘’See you,’’ he said with a little wink, before walking back inside.

Nick stared after him, as he walked up to Katie and kissed her cheek, thanking her for the dinner before leaving.

Nick looked at the piece of paper in his hand and unfolded it gently. ''I’ll see you later when you deliver it back to me'' it said, and Nick had no idea what he was talking about.

He folded the paper back up and shoved it into his pocket as he walked back inside.