"Someone's had a busy night," were the words Asher greeted him with as Simon opened the door. 

"I'd like to be proud, but I have to say I'm surprised, Simon." Parker leaned in from behind and his eyes fell on the spot on Simon's neck that Asher had noticed just before. 

He rolled his eyes and backed away from the door. "Shut up and come in." His friends did as he commanded and walked into his flat, heading straight for the living room. 

"Just for the record, I am proud." Simon entered the room and Asher picked up the conversation again. 

"I'm still not sure," Parker joined in. 

"It was a one night stand. Don't make a big deal out of it," he argued, even though he knew it wasn't quite like that. 

"You're trying to play it down." Asher recognised his effort immediately. 

"I'm not. It was one night, I swear," he insisted. 

"With who?" Parker asked. 

"What?" He acted as if he had no idea what he was asking. 

"With who? No offence, Simon, but you're not the type to go into a bar and leave with the first guy you meet," Parker pointed out. 

"Fine." He knew there was no point in stalling any longer, as the two of them already suspected something. "But promise you won't make a big deal out of it." 

"Usually when someone says something isn't a big deal, it's the exact opposite," Parker pointed out, and Simon sighed. 

"Parker's right," Asher said. 

"I slept with Chase." 

There was a moment of silence, and Simon saw the exact moment when both his friends put a name to a face, as their expressions changed. 

"The Chase?" Parker asked, just to be sure. 

"Chase Martin, yes." He tried to keep his tone neutral. 

"Just to clarify..." Simon knew exactly what was coming. "Max's best friend Chase?" 

"Yeah," he confirmed, then dropped onto the couch between his two buddies. 

"Are you going to tell Max?" Whatever question he was expecting first, this wasn't it. 

"I don't know," he admitted honestly. It was the original plan, but after the way Chase had treated him, he was starting to have doubts. Chase had been honest with him and taken care of him when he needed it. 

"You're braver than I thought, dude." Asher pulled him out of his thoughts. 

"It wasn't a brave decision, but a stupid one," Simon assured him. If it had been the other way round, his mind wouldn't have been so scattered. 

"Any regrets?" Parker asked him. Simon had to think about his answer, but as much as he tried to focus on his feelings, he couldn't say that he regretted sleeping with him. Besides, he'd promised him he wouldn't. 

"You're overthinking this," Parker remarked, and when Simon turned his head to face him, he saw that Parker was trying to read something into his expression. 

Simon sighed, then threw his head back and admitted with his eyes closed, "It was the best sex of my life." 

The sounds Parker and Asher made were something between shock and disbelief. 

Simon squeezed his eyes shut tight, then tried to play it off again. "It was just one night. It won't happen again." 

"Are you sure?" Parker asked. 

"Does Chase know that?" Asher added a question of his own. 

"We haven't talked about it," Simon admitted. "But Max is his best friend. I'm sure he'll understand eventually that it wasn't a good idea." 

"Eventually? So now he thinks it was a good idea." 

Simon sighed. "He let me stay the night and made me breakfast," he admitted. 

"That doesn't sound like a one night stand," Parker pointed out. He had had enough one night stands himself to know how they worked. 

"He was just being nice," Simon said, although he wasn't sure what he was saying himself. "I'm sure he knows it won't happen again." 

"If you say so," Asher echoed.  

Simon had thought that he wouldn't hear from Chase after last night and that he wouldn't have to see him again so soon, but neither was true. 

Before he, Asher and Parker went to the apartment to get the rest of his things, he got a text message from Chase. He hadn't even known he had his number saved until his phone vibrated and he looked at the display. 

"Max won't be home. I took care of it." Apparently Max had planned to break Simon's order, but his best friend had intervened. Simon had no idea whether to thank him or scold him for interfering. In the end, he did neither and decided to ignore his message. 

Ignoring the message was different from ignoring Chase, however, and he soon discovered that one was easier than the other. 

"I thought you said it was just a one night stand with Chase?" Jess suddenly asked him in the middle of their shift. 

"It was," he assured her, turning from the beer tap to face her. "Why?" He didn't understand why she had decided to bring it up without warning. 

"So it's just a coincidence that Mr Best Sex is in our bar?" She nodded her head towards the crowd and Simon quickly turned his head in the direction she was pointing. 

There he was. Chase Martin in all his glory. 

Simon had only seen Chase here twice, and both times it was with Max. Simon didn't like it when their group of friends hung out at his work, as they tried to engage him in conversation while he was trying to work, and those two things were incompatible. 

So Max never visited him at work, his friends never visited him at work, and yet when Simon saw Chase trying to get to the bar, he got really worried that Chase hadn't just come here to drink. 

"He's not here for me." He wasn't sure whether he was trying to reassure Jess or himself.  

Before Chase could notice Simon looking at him, he looked away and turned his attention back to the beers he was preparing for the order. 

"Whatever you say, Simon..." He would have been almost satisfied with her words if she hadn't immediately added, "But he's coming here." 

He looked up, and as he glanced in the direction he'd last seen him, their eyes met. However, while Simon looked startled, Chase gave him a smile. The same soft smile he'd had when he'd told Simon not to be shy after they'd got out of the shower. 

Simon had no idea what to do, but he couldn't take his eyes off Chase, who was coming closer and closer. There was no doubt now that he was heading for him.

"Simon, beer," Jess warned him and he quickly turned his attention back to his work. Just in time, or the glass would have overflowed. 

However, it was only a brief distraction.

"Hi." Despite the noise in the bar, his voice reached his ears. 

Simon placed the pint on the tray and then turned to face the man who had been occupying his thoughts for the past few days. "Hey." He wanted to ask what he was doing here, but it was a public place and Simon didn't own the bar, so he had no right. 

"How are you?" Chase asked him as he sat down in the high chair. 

"Good," he replied simply, and then asked, "What can I get you?" At least when he served him, he'd get the feeling that the relationship between them was a professional one, and that was all there was to it. 

"Anything that will take the least amount of time." Chase gave him a small smile. "Anything non-alcoholic," he specified. 

"I'll be with you in a second," he assured him, then placed the last of the beer on the tray and set it down for the waitress to take to the table. Most people ordered their drinks at the bar and took them with them, but for the larger groups they had a waiter here. Tonight it was Sonya. 

"Thanks, Simon." She noticed the tray and went straight for it. He nodded his head that he had heard her and then turned back to Chase. 

"You want a Coke? Some lemonade? Alcohol-free beer?" he began to list. "Or do you just order water at bars?" Technically the water was for him and he hadn't ordered it for himself, but Simon preferred not to go into detail about that night. 

"Coke is fine." He didn't say more, so Simon went straight to the fridge, took out the drink of his choice and set it down in front of him, along with the glass. 

"Thank you." Another smile. 

"So..." Simon couldn't help himself. "Any plans for tonight? Are you here to pick up some cute guy?" He tried to sound disinterested, but having to raise his voice to be heard wasn't helping. 

"Depends," Chase replied vaguely, taking a sip of his Coke. Simon was practically burning him with his gaze, while Chase's was elsewhere. 

"On what?" His question made Chase turn his attention back to him. 

"When your shift ends," he said, and Simon couldn't hide his surprise. Although there had been several hints that Chase had come for him, hearing it out loud was something else. 

"I still have two hours to go," he replied honestly, trying to answer practically and not emotionally. He couldn't let Chase's words affect him and mess with his head again. 

Still, Chase found what he wanted in his answer. "You didn't say no." 

"You want to stay here for two hours and watch me work?" Simon asked in disbelief. He didn't know whether to hope he was joking or to worry that he was serious. Besides, he remembered very well that Chase had promised not to lie to him. 

"No." Before he could relax, Chase added, "I know you don't like it. I can come back. Of course, only if you want me to." 

Simon suddenly had the power in his hands, and Chase didn't look like he was going to pressure him if he said no. Still, he couldn't bring himself to say no. 

Try as he might, he couldn't forget their night and even better morning together. Would it be such a bad thing to add one more night to the mix?  

"So you fuck off now and fuck me later?" He used the same words as before, waiting to see how Chase would react. 

He laughed and ran his thumb along the edge of the glass. "Doesn't sound like a bad plan, does it?" 

"Sounds familiar," Simon said, and Chase laughed again. Unlike Simon, he looked relaxed in this situation and not like he was flirting with his best friend's ex. Something had obviously changed between them that night, and they both reacted differently to it.

"So..." He ran his thumb over the glass again. "Can I pick you up after work?" 

He gave him another chance to turn him down, and Simon gave himself more time to think this time. He knew he'd be tired after work and would need a shower, but it wouldn't be the first time he'd showered at Chase's place. Besides, he promised himself, it would only be a one-time thing. The last thing he was looking for right now was a relationship. 

"You can say no," Chase assured him when he didn't answer for a long time. 

"I will smell like a bar and need a shower." Simon ignored his offer and instead began to list what should have sounded like problems, but Chase solved them too quickly for that. 

"I've got a shower," he replied immediately, adding, "I can even help you save water."

Simon rolled his eyes at his comment, but an amused smile appeared on his lips. "Fine. But don't watch me work." He could pretend all he wanted, but he was still sure he'd agree sooner or later. As he'd said, it had been a night to remember. One more couldn't ruin anything, right? 

"I'm already on my way out," Chase assured him, downing the rest of his coke in one gulp and getting up. Simon saw him reach into his pocket, but before he could pull out his wallet, he waved his hand. "On the house." 

"Thanks." Chase smiled at him. "I'll make it up to you later." It didn't take a genius to pick up the hint in his words, and Simon cleared his throat to hide his embarrassment. 

"See you later," he said, and Chase saluted him, indicating that he would follow orders before turning to leave. 

Simon watched his back, and would still be doing so if Jess hadn't walked up to him and startled him the moment she spoke to him. "You're out of your mind." 

"Tell me something I don't know," he replied when he had recovered from his momentary shock. With a sigh, he took a cloth and began to clean the glasses. He needed something to occupy his hands before Chase could occupy his mind. 

"Just don't do anything more stupid," Jess spoke up again and he turned his eyes to her. 

"Like what?" He was sure he'd made enough stupid decisions already. 

"Like falling for him, for example." She stopped what she was doing and instead leaned her back against the bar, piercing him with her gaze. 

"I'm not gonna fall for him, it's Chase," was his argument. Chase was just a friend of his ex. Nothing more, nothing less. 

"If you say so." Jess didn't sound as if she believed his words. 

"People have casual sex all the time," he argued. 

"People might, but not you," was her counter-argument. "Besides, people who just want sex don't have it with someone like Mr Best Sex." 

"If anything changes between us, it will be that we become friends with benefits. Nothing more. We've known each other for a long time, it would make sense." He shrugged. "He's still Max's best friend." 

Jess had obviously been waiting for this sentence. "Max, huh? Have you decided when you're going to tell him you're fucking his best friend?" 

Simon didn't answer. Not because he didn't know when, but because he hadn't planned it at all. Although he'd originally come up with this plan as revenge, it now felt more like a betrayal of Chase. He had been honest with him and had taken care of him. He didn't want to repay him by making his life miserable. 

"If Max finds out, he'll find out," he chose a neutral answer and shrugged. 

Jess shook her head at him, but thankfully didn't continue her questions and moved to her side of the bar. That left Simon alone with his thoughts, and waiting for the two hours to pass.