She was not sure if it was okay to bring up his fake relationship. But between that and how much Will missed his friends from their old town, things were difficult.

It was hard for all the family members. After all, they had lived there since Will's parents got married, and Daniel’s parents had been friends even before both boys were born.

"I think that because he got himself into this situation, he is blocking himself from truly being himself," she told her husband.

She looked at him on the laptop screen. He looked so much like their son. He took a moment to take everything in.

"I doubt he is stopping himself from that," he said, "but I can believe he misses his little friends. Maybe you could go visit—make a weekend out of it?" he suggested.

She sighed.

"I wish I could... I have so many little things I want to fix in the house... I want to change the color of the bathroom, and I want to renovate the backyard..."

She bit her lips, trying to think of a solution.

"You know who would love to help you?" her husband said.

"I do not want to bother your father."

"He never sees that as a bother. You know he loves manual labor. Also, he can be a big help with the kids. Especially Will. And you can hire someone for the backyard. And we all know how much my dad loves to order people around."

They both laughed at that.

"OK, I will call him tomorrow and ask for his help. Do we have more time to talk? I want you to speak with Will a little, I think he’s still up."

"I always have time for my family," he said in a cheesy tone.

Will’s mom took the laptop to his room. She knocked softly before she entered.

Will was lying on his stomach, watching a funny video on his phone.

"Your dad wants to talk to you."

Will jumped to a sitting position. She handed him the laptop and left the room quietly.

They looked at each other for a long moment. Eventually, his dad broke the silence.

"How do you feel, love?"

Hearing the nickname from his dad, it was as if a dam had opened — Will started crying.

His dad started to stress out.

"No, no... Do not cry, love. I wish I could be there with you and hug you and comfort you."

Will wiped his eyes with his hand.

"I wish you were here too," he said in a shaky voice.

"Do you want to tell me what is bothering you? I have time to listen," his dad told him.

Will took a deep breath and began to speak.

"So, I already told you about Taylor. How I met him again at school, and how I agreed to keep pretending to be his boyfriend… I really thought we were becoming close… you know, as friends. But lately, he has been sending me all these mixed signals. It feels like sometimes he is really mad at me, and I have no idea what I did wrong…"

Will paused to take another breath.

His dad took advantage of the silence to respond.

"Maybe you did nothing wrong. Maybe it is more about him than it is about you. You do not need to overthink it."

Will bit his lip and avoided looking at the screen.

"Maybe it is because lately I have grown closer to Megan."

"And who is Megan?" his dad asked cautiously, unsure where this conversation was going.

"Megan is Taylor's best friend's girlfriend," Will replied slowly.

His dad looked confused. "Can you repeat that?"

"She is the girl Taylor asked me to keep away from him," Will said quickly. "And before you judge me—I managed to stop her from making a move on him. From what I gathered, she only tried that because of her boyfriend."

His dad let out a breathy laugh. "And how do you get to that conclusion?"

"I tell you when we do not have the entire army can hear us. When are you coming back?"

Over the years, Will learned not to ask his dad that question. His dad never could give him a straight answer, and it hurt both of them to be so far away from each other.

"Soon. I hope. I am looking forward to spending time with all of you in the new house. I miss you like crazy."

"Me too," Will said in a sad voice.

"I need to log out now. So I want you to get to bed and have a good night’s sleep. I love you."

"I love you too."

The screen turned black. He closed the laptop, picked it up, and left the room to return it to his mom.

*****

Taylor lay down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Ever since he came back from the trip, he had put his phone on the nightstand.

And now, after the shower, he covered his hair with a towel and lay in his bed.

His phone vibrated near him, but he ignored it.

He started to think about Will and what he truly felt about him.

Will made him feel warm and nice. It was clear that he liked him.

But it was not the same feeling he had for Morgan or his teammates.

With Morgan, it felt like he was his brother.

And when he compared the team to Will, the difference in feelings was clear.

It had taken him a long time to open up and trust his teammates—

much longer than it had with Will.

Just the thought of Will made his heart race, and he could feel the heat rising in his face. His mind began to play tricks on him, and suddenly, he could hear Will's laughter echoing inside his head.

He closed his eyes tightly, trying to clear his head, until he eventually drifted off to sleep.

"You know I'm right."

Taylor turned toward the direction of the cocky voice. Will stared at him with a smile just as cocky as his voice.

"What are you talking about?" Taylor rose to his elbows to look at Will more closely.

Will raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "Your best friend," Will said. When he saw that Taylor did not respond, he continued, "I was right about him swimming for the other team. Like me." Will stepped closer to Taylor, their faces so close he could feel his warm breath.

"Tay?" Will breathed his name. Taylor's heart beat hard—so hard even Will could hear it.

Will placed his hand on Taylor's chest. His touch sent electricity through Taylor, from head to toe.

Taylor bit his lips.

"I hate when you do that," Will said, and with his other hand, parted Taylor's lips, rubbing his thumb against the lower one.

Want me to help you figure out your feelings toward me?" Will asked, brushing his thumb along Taylor’s cheek.

"And how are you planning to do that?" Taylor asked in a voice he barely recognized.

Even to his own ears, it sounded rough. Almost… sexy.

Taylor coughed, trying to speak again, but the huskiness remained.

Will smiled at him — that same cocky smile.

Will got closer and gave Taylor a kiss on his forehead that took all the air out of his chest. Taylor swallowed hard.

"Why do I not tell you what I am feeling, and you can take whatever you need from that," Will said, and kissed him again, now on each of his eyes.

"Did I tell you that you are just my type?" Will kissed him on his cheek.

Taylor watched him as the hand on his chest moved lower.

"You really hurt me when you act all distant," Will said, kissing his other cheek, and liquid heat began to pool in Taylor’s lower abdomen.

"All I want is to stop pretending."

Will kissed him on the nose.

Taylor started to shiver with longing as Will's hand moved dangerously close to his loins.

"All I wanted was for you to pay attention to me. You do not know how much I wanted you to hold me."

Will kissed the corner of his mouth, his hand hovering—touching but not quite—over his crotch.

"Can you do me a favor?" Will whispered, his lips lingering just above Taylor's.

"Next time, please do not ignore me."

"You promise?" Will whispered, his voice trembling.

Will licked Taylor's lips, and Taylor lost his mind.

"I promise!" Taylor held Will's face.

"I promise," he whispered again before diving in for the kiss he had been waiting for.

"Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty!"

His sister swung the door open with dramatic flair.

Taylor jolted up from the bed in shock. His sister took one look at him, blushed bright red, covered her eyes, and fled from the room, mumbling, "Oh my god. Sorry! Sorry!"

Taylor sat there, stunned. For a moment, he looked around for Will.

But then it hit him.

It had all been a dream.

His first wet dream.

He was still hard, sticky, and definitely not satisfied.

He groaned and buried his face in his pillow as the memory of his sister’s horrified expression hit him like a brick.