"So you're basically a couple." Simon knew it wasn't a good idea to confide in Jess, especially when he knew she had always been painfully honest with him. 

"We're not a couple," he countered as he prepared the drinks. 

"Let's run through it - he picks you up from work, he makes you breakfast, you watch movies together, you cuddle in bed. Did I miss anything?" She turned to him and raised her eyebrows in challenge. 

Simon sighed, and although he knew there was something to her words, he decided to protest anyway. "It doesn't mean anything." 

"Right." Jess rolled her eyes and turned back to the liquor display. 

Simon thought he would be at peace, but after a moment of silence, Jess found a way to throw him off balance again. "Have you found out how much he knows?" 

"What do you mean?" This time it was he who turned to her. 

"He's Max's best friend. Who do you think Max would confide in about cheating if not him?" Not that Simon hadn't thought about it before, but he'd convinced himself it wasn't important. 

"What if he did?" He shrugged, trying to sound unconcerned. 

"You don't care?" Simon nodded vigorously. "Fine." He knew he wouldn't give up easily, and he was right. "But do something for me." 

"What?" He asked. 

"The first thing you have to do is kiss him." 

Simon didn't understand. He'd kissed Chase so many times. "I kiss him all the time." 

"Kiss him hello," she clarified, looking satisfied. "If he kisses you back and doesn't make a big deal of it, it means you're dating. If he's shocked, it means you're a secret behind closed doors with no strings attached." 

"And what exactly am I supposed to tell him when he pushes me away?" Even though they'd held hands in public, he doubted Chase would let him kiss him. Max, or whoever knew him, could see them and they'd get in trouble. Besides, just because Chase made him breakfast and cuddled up with him in bed didn't mean he wanted to be his boyfriend. 

"So tell him I made you do it. Tell him we bet twenty bucks you wouldn't." Jess shrugged, as if that was easy. 

When Simon thought about it, she was right. It was easy, and it wouldn't be the first time Simon had to fake something. The question was whether he dared to test Chase like that. He was comfortable with the way things were between them now, but Jess' words didn't calm him down.

"Fine, I'll do it." He and Chase hadn't actually made plans for him to pick him up, but they'd been texting and he knew Simon had a shift today. So there was a chance he'd turn up. 

He thought Jess would be pleased, but she still had something to say about it. "Don't forget step two." 

"Step two?" Simon had already done five steps, he didn't need any more. 

"Find out what he knows," she advised, walking past him to get a clean cloth from under the counter. But then, instead of returning to her place, she stood directly in front of Simon and looked him warningly in the eye. "Whatever you're doing is heading towards a relationship. Whether you realise it or not. If he's been supporting Max in cheating on you all this time, who knows if he won't be the next to do it." 

Simon was speechless and didn't move even when Jess turned and went back to her work. 

From that moment on, he couldn't think of anything else. Fortunately, it didn't affect his work and he went on autopilot. He poured drinks, pulled beers and stacked glasses on trays for hours. His mind, however, was somewhere else. 

Fortunately, the hours passed quickly when he didn't notice the time, and soon his shift was over. 

"Here comes your Romeo." He only regained his composure when Jess nudged him. He turned first to her and then in the direction she nodded her head. 

Chase was approaching the bar, a smile on his lips as usual. Simon wanted to return it, but he was too nervous. 

"It's now or never." Jess spoke close to his ear again and nudged his back with her elbow. 

Simon knew what that meant and decided to obey her again. The more he hesitated, the more chance there was that he would change his mind, so he walked over to the small door on the bar and went to the customer side. He didn't stay there though, and made his way over to meet Chase in the middle. 

The brunet raised an eyebrow in confusion, but the smile never left his face. Instead, he quickened his pace as well. 

As soon as Simon was in front of him, he grabbed him by the neck and pulled him close. Without further hesitation, he pressed his lips to his and closed his eyes. 

He almost confidently expected Chase to push him away, but to Simon's surprise he felt his hands on his waist and immediately afterward Chase responded to the kiss. 

"Hi." As soon as they pulled apart, Chase gave him a beaming smile and continued to hold him around the waist. 

Simon tried to hide the surprise on his face, but he was sure he wasn't succeeding. "Hey." He cleared his throat and lowered his hands from his neck. "I'm off in five minutes. I need to change." 

Chase's smile faded and he frowned in confusion, but before he could ask anything, Simon was out of his arms and disappeared back behind the bar. 

"Don't say anything," he said to Jess as he walked past her to the back where he entered the staff area. 

As soon as the door closed behind him, he leaned against it and let out a deep sigh. He didn't want Chase to reject him, but he wasn't thrilled with this reaction either. It almost gave him the chance to have high expectations of a person who hadn't promised him anything, and that was scary. Besides, now he'd have to explain his escape. 

Jess was once again right. He had to find out where he stood and he couldn't do that without knowing everything Chase knew. Not that he wanted to get together with him. 

"Stupid." There was no easier way to describe his thoughts. 

Forcing himself to move forward, Simon headed for his locker so he could change and think about other things as soon as possible. 

When he returned to the bar, Chase was nowhere to be found. Simon turned to Jess and she just nodded her head in the direction of the front door. That either meant that Chase had left or that he was waiting for him outside. He didn't know which option he hoped for more. 

"Ready to go?" came from behind him the moment he stepped outside and he got his answer.

With an uncertain smile, he turned to Chase and noticed that even his demeanour wasn't as cheerful as it had been when he'd walked in. There was no smile on his face, his hands were in his pockets, and if Simon had allowed himself to think more about him, he might have admitted to seeing a hint of disappointment on his face. 

He knew he had caused it and so he decided to fix it. At least a little. He reached out to him and Chase automatically took his hand, intertwining their fingers. 

Simon waited to see if he would ask him about the incident inside, but Chase remained silent. Automatically, their footsteps made their way to his apartment, just like before when he'd picked him up from work, but this time there was a tense silence between them, and it was Simon's fault. 

"We always end up at your place," he said, breaking the silence. 

"Does that bother you?" Chase asked. 

"No," Simon assured him immediately, since that wasn't the reason he had brought up the subject in the first place. "I just thought you'd like to see my new place." He glanced at his face to make sure he wouldn't miss his reaction. 

"Are you inviting me over?" His trademark smile reappeared on his face and Simon mentally breathed a sigh of relief. 

"Maybe I am. Do you want breakfast with that?" he asked in a playful tone. 

Chase chuckled. "I never say no to free food." 

"So that's why you're spending time with me? You want free food?" he asked in an accusatory tone that was clearly fake. 

"I'm pretty sure you're the one who's been getting the free food so far," Chase pointed out. 

"Because you offered," Simon reminded him. 

Their conversation then continued in a similar vein, and by the time they reached Chase's apartment building, all tension between them had disappeared. 

After that it was routine. First Simon went to have a shower and then it was Chase's turn while Simon watched TV and waited for him. 

Chase's hair was wet, but that didn't stop Simon from ruffling it as he kissed him on the lips. This time, though, they stuck to only kissing on the couch and saved everything else for bed. 

"You're so beautiful." Chase's words, spoken after Simon was completely naked beneath him, brought a blush to his cheeks.

He automatically raised his arm to cover his face, but Chase obviously wanted to see him, as he quickly put an end to this plan to hide. 

To prevent Simon from doing it again, he took his hands and raised them above his head, pinning them to the bed by their wrists so that he couldn't move them. 

"Chase," Simon addressed him, drawing his attention away from his hands. He was still blushing, almost worried that he couldn't touch him if it didn't turn him on at the same time. 

He wanted to kiss him, badly, but there was no way he could pull him any closer. "Please kiss me." 

Chase complied immediately. He didn't stay on his lips for long though, as he gradually began to move lower. From his neck, over his nipples and down to his lower stomach, where he stopped. This far down he couldn't reach Simon's wrists, so they were free, but Simon still didn't move his hands. 

"Can I try something?" Chase looked up at him and Simon, staring into his brown eyes, was ready to agree to anything. 

He was still determined to be as honest as possible with him, so he decided to answer the way he felt even now. "Whatever you want." 

Chase seemed pleased with his answer, judging by his satisfied smile and the fact that he planted a fleeting kiss on Simon's lips just before he reached over to the bedside drawer. 

Simon caught a fleeting glimpse of him taking several things from it, but Chase placed something behind him, blocking Simon from a better view, and then there was only one thing left in his hands. It was a blindfold. 

"Do you trust me?" Chase asked, waiting for an answer. 

Simon had no idea what he was up to, but he knew Chase hadn't done anything he didn't like yet, so he nodded silently. But that wasn't enough for the brunette and he waited for verbal confirmation. Right, Simon had almost forgotten how consistent Chase was when it came to consent.

"I trust you," he said, quickly adding, "Do whatever you want." 

That was all it took for Chase to carefully pull the blindfold over Simon's eyes and suddenly Simon was in the dark. 

The first thing he felt were Chase's hands on his thighs. He carefully pulled Simon's legs apart and pressed against them. Simon immediately understood what he was trying to do and cooperated, bending his legs at the knees and spreading them apart. 

He was completely in Chase's power and instead of being frightened, he couldn't be more excited. 

If this was Chase's way of gaining Simon's trust, it was definitely working. 

What also worked was Chase's hand on his cock while something wet reached his hole. From the way it moved, Simon quickly realised it was his tongue. 

They say that when a man loses one sense, the others become heightened. Simon had always thought that was stupid until Chase decided to take away his sight. 

He was reduced to nothing more than moaning and whimpering. He was almost afraid of cuming too soon, especially when Chase quickly found a rhythm that worked for him. 

A sudden chill hit him. His hole was wet with Chase's saliva, but it was empty. Even though his hand was still working on his cock, it wasn't enough. 

He wanted to speak up, to ask what he was doing, but eventually changed his mind. He gave him no reason to question him, so he decided to be patient. And it paid off in the end. 

Simon had never used a sex toy before. But that had obviously changed now, because what he suddenly felt inside him was definitely vibrating. 

At first it was a strange sensation. It was too much all at once and made him squirm in place. It wasn't a bad feeling, but it wasn't something he was used to either. He couldn't think about it for too long though as Chase sensed his discomfort and moved his mouth to his cock, distracting him. 

After a while, he began to moan loudly again, and as the thing inside him began to move, he became louder than he had originally intended. 

Chase's mouth was still devouring him, his tongue playing with his length, and when the thing inside him began to rub against that one spot that was the pinnacle of his pleasure, Simon knew it was only a matter of seconds before he would reach his climax. 

"Chase. Chase. Chase." He began to chant his name between moans. 

"Ah!" The sounds coming out of his mouth were almost pathetic and he hated not knowing Chase's reaction to them, but from the way he was playing with him, he didn't seem to mind the volume. 

A few more seconds and Simon didn't have time to warn Chase to take him out of his mouth. He wanted to panic, but with the thing still vibrating in his ass and the sudden orgasm too strong, he couldn't concentrate on anything but his own pleasure.

Breathing heavily, he didn't realise he was squeezing his eyes shut until he felt Chase remove his blindfold and there was still darkness in front of him. 

The first thing he saw was Chase's gentle smile. He could still hear the sound of the vibration, so he quickly searched for its source with his eyes. It turned out that what he had originally thought was a vibrator was a strange ring that Chase had been wearing on his fingers. 

"You're crazy," he told him, still panting from such a powerful experience. 

"A good crazy?" Chase asked to be sure, studying his face. 

"The best," he assured him, then spontaneously reached up with both hands and pulled his face to his for a kiss. 

Chase moved on top of him without stopping to kiss him, and Simon immediately took advantage of that to wrap his legs around his torso. 

He wanted him close. As close as possible. His hand went into his hair while the other slid up to his shoulder and squeezed the muscle.

Chase was not an athlete. He didn't have chiselled abs, but he did have naturally broad shoulders. Something Simon had a weakness for and hadn't realised until he saw Chase shirtless, leaning over him in bed. 

He never thought he had a type, but looking at Chase while having sex with him did wonders. 

"Do you want me to suck you off or do you want to fuck me?" was the first thing he asked as their lips parted. 

"I want to be inside you," Chase replied, sounding quite breathless now too. "Please." 

Simon smiled brightly at his answer, and apparently his smile was contagious, because after a second Chase had the same look on his face. 

"Fuck me senseless," he said and Chase didn't hesitate to comply.