“You’re staring. Like what you see?” Bryce asked, and even though he’d felt like shit for hours, Nick found himself smiling. “You think I’m hot. Hot enough to make the straight man not so straight anymore, huh?” he teased, and Nick’s smile widened.

He loved Bryce’s humor, the way he said whatever was on his mind. He made Nick feel lighter just by being in the room with him. “I could say the same thing to you.”

“I know. Why’re you standing in the doorway?” Bryce cocked a brow at him.

“Because I planned on telling you I think I should probably just go home tonight.”

“Freaking out?”

“Not really. Just a shitty day.”

“Then get your ass in here, Nick. If you’re not telling me you need some space, you can recover from a shitty day here just as well as you can twenty feet away at your own house. Or I can go over there if you want. We’re friends first and foremost. What’s going on?”

It was a reflex to do just as Bryce said. He was right, after all. They were friends first. Bryce had become his best friend over the last couple of months. There wasn’t any reason why he couldn’t relax on the couch beside Bryce and be in a shitty mood, the same as he would at home.

So, he closed the door, kicked off his shoes and walked toward Bryce. “Want to watch something?” Bryce aimed the remote at the TV.

“No.”

The screen went black after that. Without Nick saying anything else, Bryce stood. “Hit the lights, would ya. I’m tired, too. Do you need to shower or anything? Brush your teeth?”

“I have a weird thing with teeth. I brush mine in my office before I leave work.” And he always changed there as well.

When they got to Bryce’s room, the man fell onto the bed, with his arms bent and hands behind his head. It took Nick less than ten seconds before he pulled his shirt off and let it fall to the floor. “Why do you think this is so easy?” he asked.

“I don’t know. If we keep it up, things probably won’t stay this easy. They’ll get a whole lot tougher.”

There was no doubt in Nick’s mind about that. When it was just the two of them, it felt like the easiest, most natural thing in the world. It’s when he thought about everyone else being in the mix that he worried this was destined to be a big fucking mistake. He didn’t want to think about that right now. He didn’t want to think about much of anything. If Nick was being honest, he wasn’t even sure about getting physical with Bryce tonight. He needed things to settle in his head. He just wanted to relax, but he also wanted to be near Bryce.

As though he could read Nick’s mind, Bryce said, “Get in bed, Nick. I’m tired.”

He didn’t take his eyes off Nick as he unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans. His fingers fumbled, shaking slightly before he shoved the pants down, turned off the light and then lay down in his underwear. He lay on his back, the same as Bryce.

For a moment they only lay there, but then it was Bryce who broke the silence. “It’s crazy...the hair on your chest is sexy as fuck to me. Can I touch it? That’s all I’ll touch.”

“Yeah.”

Bryce’s hand was warm as he slowly ran it up and down Nick’s chest. “It’s kind of exciting...everything being so new.”

Yeah, it was. Though for him, Bryce was only the second person in his life he’d been this intimate with, so it was new for more than one reason. “For me, too. I like your touch.” It was as though it centered him. He’d had a fucked up day, but for the first time in hours he felt like he could breathe.

And he wanted to share it with Bryce, so he opened his mouth and said, “She cheated on me. I gave her everything and she couldn’t even stay faithful to me.”

***

Bryce figured that was the situation with Nick’s ex. He’d never asked because it hadn’t been his business, but he had suspected. Now, he not only wanted to know, but he wanted it to be his business as well. “What happened?”

“Basically what I told you. We started dating when we were seventeen. She was my first everything. Her family didn’t really like me. They never thought I was good enough for her. My mom hated her. I’m her only son, and I remind her of my dad. I don’t think there will ever be anyone who she thinks is good enough for me.”

Bryce knew that meant him. Nick wasn’t saying it to hurt him, but to tell him that if this thing continued, it would be a problem for his mom. “I’m hearing you.”

Nick shifted closer. “Put your head on my arm. Is that okay?”