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Joe blinked and swallowed thickly as Nicky exited the bathroom of their apartment wearing nothing but a towel around his waist.
“Shower’s all yours,” Nicky smiled at him and turned down the hallway to his room, leaving him staring after him.
Nicky had moved into Joe’s apartment two years prior after his roommate bailed on him to move in with his girlfriend. Joe’s job as a linguist living in London wasn’t nearly enough to pay the rent, and Andy’s enigmatic friend was looking to move.
Andy had given Nicky Joe’s number and the two had come up with an agreement regarding rent, utilities, and roommate rules. Joe had discovered that Nicky was an assistant professor at King’s College London and was currently working on receiving his PhD in history, concentrating his research on medieval history.
When the man appeared at his door on a warm day in August, Joe immediately helped him move in. Once all of the boxes had been dumped into Nicky’s empty room, Joe offered him a cup of tea and ushered him to his living room. Nicky shyly took the tea and sat down in a cozy armchair next to the sofa Joe sat on. Nicky held the mug with both his hands, slowly bringing his lips to the rim, sipping the tea. Joe took this as an opportunity to take a better look at the man. He had piercing green eyes, dirty-blonde hair that fell slightly in his eyes. Joe smiled.
“It isn’t fair,” Joe groaned, dropping his face in his hands. “It’s so hard. He’s always just there being so fucking beautiful.”
“I told you before and I will tell you again. I know that he wants you the same way. Trust me.” Andy told him, taking a bite out of her apple.
“How do you know?” Joe asked, sighing deeply. He pulled his legs up to his chest, curling his arms around himself and leaning back into the soft cushion behind him.
“Because of the way he looks at you. He looks at you the same way Quynh looks at me.”
Joe rolled his eyes. “He absolutely does not.”
Andy shook her head at his response and retorted, “I don’t lie. Just try to keep your eyes open.” When she finished, she walked down the hallway to find Quynh, leaving Joe alone in his bedroom with his thoughts.
Did Nicolo look at him that way? He blinked and glanced down at his phone to see his friends’ group chat going off. He leaned back further into the cushions and scrolled through the messages, a grin slowly forming on his face.
the gay squad!!!
quynh: don’t forget we r going camping this weekend!!!
andy: ;)
lykon: i don’t think i can go :(
andy: :(
booker: why don’t u ever use emojis
andy: It is not my fault that you cannot appreciate a text emoticon
nile: LMAO
quynh: ok so everyone is coming except lykon?
roomie ♡: Joe and I will be there
booker: unfortunately
nile: i am but my gf actually can’t come bc of a school thing
booker: awww
roomie ♡: We’ll have to meet her next time!
nile: yeah!! btw who’s driving? like are we going in one car or
quynh: andy and i are driving you and i think joe and nicky are going up together considering they live together lol. booker can go with whoever. we have room
quynh:: btw joe andy and i just left sorry i didn’t get a chance to say goodbye
booker: if u have room let’s make it a party. i’ll bring the booze
nile: don’t text and drive!!!
“So, looks like it’s just us, huh,” Joe heard a voice say, breaking his focus. Nicky was sliding onto the sofa next to him, throwing a loose arm on the back of the sofa behind Joe. It wasn’t touching him, but with the way it made his heart race, it might as well have been.
“What?” Joe tore his eyes from his phone to face Nicky, who had a crooked grin on his face. He slowly took his bottom lip between his teeth and absently chewed on it. Joe felt slightly lightheaded, especially after his conversation with Andy only moments prior.
“Book ditched us. He’s riding with Quynh and Andy.” Nicky told him, making a pointed look down at the phone resting on Joe’s lap.
“Oh, yeah,” Joe responded, scratching at the back of his head. “Looks like we’ll be missing the party.”
“You should know by now that I’m not bothered by that,” Nicky laughed, his blue-green eyes twinkling in the sun pouring in through the window across the room. “I barely leave the flat except to go to university.”
Joe smiled at him softly and felt the strongest urge to run his fingers through Nicky’s hair.
“Wait, Joe, if you want to ride with them you can. I mean, I’ll get there the same with or without you,” Nicky murmured anxiously, causing Joe to turn his entire body to face him.
“Nicky,” Joe said, turning to place the palms of his hands on Nicky’s shoulders, “I wouldn’t want to ride up with anyone else.”
Nicky appeared to let out a breath at that and took his left hand and wrapped it around Joe’s fingers, smiling weakly at him. Joe briefly turned and rested their foreheads together, only for a moment, before pulling away, hoping Nicky couldn’t see the burning of his cheeks.
The next day, Nicky opened the door to the flat, loudly bounding in, throwing his bag on their kitchen table and falling into a chair. He ran his fingers into his shoulder-length hair that was curling at the nape of his neck while rubbing his eye with his free hand.
“Nicky?” Joe asked, watching him from his spot on the sofa; he often took residence there when he was working on a novel. When Nicky didn’t respond, he shut his laptop, stood, and walked over to him, hesitantly placing a hand on his shoulder while standing behind him. “Are you alright?”
“I’m so overwhelmed.” Nicky sighed, head falling into his hands. “I have so much work that I’m drowning. I don’t want to miss this weekend, but I don’t want to fall behind. Also, tonight’s our movie night and I know how much you love our Thursday nights…” He trailed off, turning to look at Joe standing behind him, glancing down at Joe’s hand for a moment before flicking his gaze to meet Joe’s.
“Nicky, do you need help? I don’t care about movie night, I care about you. Maybe with two of us, we can get you ahead so you don’t have to worry about anything this weekend.” He let out a breath and Nicky gave him a small smile before agreeing and placing his hand on top of Joe’s - a solid reminder of each others’ unwavering support of the other.
Joe grabbed his laptop and pulled a chair next to Nicky, asking him what he needed to be done. Nicky assigned him some research that he needed to be done, giving him access to accounts for specific databases. Joe made documents of the research, with detailed notes and clearly marked sources. When he was finished, Nicky took Joe’s notes and integrated them into his current draft of the thesis he was writing.
By the time they finished, it was past midnight and both of the men had dark circles under their eyes. Nicky let out a relieved laugh, leaning back in his chair with a carefree look in his eyes that Joe hadn’t seen in weeks. He turned and took Joe’s face in his hands and pressed a wet kiss on his forehead, smiling brightly at him and whispered, “Thank you. I wouldn’t have been able to do this without you.”
Before they went to bed that night, Nicky threw his arms around Joe and pressed their foreheads together, a reminder of the day prior. Joe responded in kind, wrapping his arms around Nicky’s back, holding him close. He couldn’t say how long they stood there, wrapped in each other’s embrace, but Joe savored every second of it. He wanted to curl up into Nicky’s chest, relish in the warmth, and stay there for as long as Nicky would allow.
Eventually, Joe was the one to pull away, feeling a bit overwhelmed and drunk from Nicky’s closeness. As he slowly moved away from Nicky, it took everything in him not to kiss Nicky senseless there, standing in the hallway of their flat separating their rooms.
“Goodnight,” He whispered, nervous that his voice would crack if he spoke any louder.
“Goodnight,” Nicky responded at a similar volume, his cheeks pink.
By the time Saturday morning arrived, Joe could feel a shift in his relationship with Nicky. There were more casual touches, but they came with an increased hesitancy from Nicky.
“Are you packed?” Joe asked, throwing a hoodie over his head and grabbing his backpack while walking out of his room to see Nicky sitting on their sofa with a cup of coffee in his hand.
“Yes, my things are already in the car,” He said, taking a sip of his coffee. Joe nodded and moved to bring his luggage out to Nicky’s parked car.
When he returned to the house, Nicky was focused on his laptop, his eyes flicking back and forth on what he was reading. His bottom lip was in between his teeth, casually chewing on it in concentration.
Joe smiled warmly at him until Nicky looked up and flushed pink. “I-uh, just getting ahead on my thesis, you know. I made coffee and there’s bread, it should be on the counter.”
“Thank you,” Joe told him sincerely, moving to the kitchen to pour himself a cup while grabbing a roll. As he mixed sugar into his coffee, he heard Nicky shut his laptop and stand, making a high pitched noise while stretching his muscles. Joe could feel his own face heating up at the sound and turned sharply, directing his focus to the coffee in front of him.
Once he finished, he sat down at the table in their kitchen, gently setting down his plate of food in one hand and his coffee in the other. Nicky was sat at the opposite end of the table, scrolling through his phone with a slight smile on his face. Joe’s own phone pinged and he glanced down while taking a bite of his bread.
andy: JOE Good Morning
andy: Have fun with Nicky ;)
joe: very funny andy
andy: ;)
He looked up from his phone to see Nicky staring at him from across the table. When Joe caught his gaze, he blushed a deep red and quickly glanced down. Joe watched him, curiously, and felt his heart rate increase at the thought that maybe Nicky felt the same way he did.
“I, um, Quynh texted me,” Nicky cleared his throat and spoke, lifting his gaze back to Joe’s. He looked so nervous. Joe wanted to pull him into his arms and never let go.
“Oh?” Joe responded. “Andy texted me.”
“Yeah? What’d she say?” Nicky asked, moving his hand up towards his face. It was a habit he tended to gravitate towards frequently, perhaps when he was feeling anxious.
“Oh, nothing of importance,” Joe replied, filling his mouth with bread in order to keep himself from saying something he would regret.
“Yeah,” Nicky muttered curiously. “Same.”
There was a pregnant silence, which was frankly unusual for the two of them, before Joe rose from his seat, cleaned his dishes, and asked, “Ready?” to which Nicky nodded and grabbed his keys, leading Joe to his car.
The drive was long, though only an hour and a half, Joe felt his limbs relax when Nicky mentioned they were minutes from arriving. He spent much of the time scrolling on his phone and looking out of the car window between stealing longing glances at Nicky.
At one point, after a long discussion on religious history, something they both had an interest in, they had lapsed into silence; their fingers lightly brushing. Joe bravely linked their pinkies together and Nicky glanced from the road, only for a moment, to give Joe a blinding smile, lighting up his features.
Once they arrived at the campground, Andy nearly jumped on Joe to which he picked her up and flung her around in a bone-crushing hug. Her short brown hair was cropped just above her ear, her bangs growing long and falling slightly in her eyes. Quynh was standing behind her with her arms crossed, smiling fondly at them.
“How was the ride? Eventful?” Andy asked, suggestively raising an eyebrow.
Joe rolled his eyes. “It was fine, Andy.”
She stood back and placed her hands on his shoulders, and told him, “Don’t think you’re done. We’ll talk later.”
Joe watched as she left him, moving to the other side of the car to greet Nicky, planting a kiss on his cheek. She smiled at him, and whispered something in his ear, making him blush. Joe watched Nicky turn to glance at him behind his shoulder, causing Joe to turn his gaze down towards the luggage he was gathering from the car as to not be caught staring.
Nicky and Joe wordlessly set up their tent, silently maneuvering around each other. Their tent sat in between the other two tents: Quynh and Andy’s and Nile and Booker’s, with vibrant green grass peeking outside the edges. The tent was small and was barely big enough for two people, let alone big enough for two men of Joe and Nicky’s height.
“I’m happy we’re here,” Joe bumped Nicky’s shoulder after setting down his things in a section of the tent that he had claimed.
“Me too,” Nicky said, turning to sit cross-legged on his sleeping bag that he had just finished setting up. Joe audaciously moved to sit next to Nicky, smiling at him as he did. Nicky rested his head on Joe’s shoulder and shut his eyes for a moment. “You’re very comfortable you know.”
Joe laughed and peeked down at Nicky and felt his own cheeks heat up. He didn’t know how long they sat there until he started to hear increasingly louder movements outside of their tent.
“Are y’all good in there?” Joe heard Nile call. Booker let out a low whistle and Joe rolled his eyes as Nicky hastily moved off of Joe and attempted to stand up. However, Joe got to his feet quicker and offered Nicky a hand. He pulled him to his feet, and Nicky offered a soft, “Grazie,” in response.
Once the sun fell and the sky changed from colors of purple and orange to a dark blue, Joe found himself sitting in between Andy and Nile in front of a campfire. Nile and Booker were sitting next to each other discussing a novel, while on the other side of the fire, Quynh had her arm thrown around Nicky, whispering something in his ear that was making him heartily laugh. Everyone had been drinking, putting easy large smiles on everyone’s faces.
“You’re staring,” Andy nudged Joe in the ribs. He blinked a few times, and then shamefully looked away, taking a sip of his beer, which only made him feel warm in his belly.
“I’m not,” Joe protested, but it was a weak argument. He put his hand awkwardly behind his head and ran his fingers through his curls.
“Damn, kid. You’ve got it bad,” She told him with a small frown. She took the hand behind his head and clasped their fingers together - a small gesture of reassurance.
“Andy, it’s horrible. We-,” He cut himself off and thickly swallowed before continuing, slightly lowering his voice. “I think you were right. I think he likes me, too, but things have been so awkward. He’s my best friend and I don’t know if I could handle losing him over this.”
“You won’t.” She responded, her tone resolved.
“You can’t know that,” He told her, turning his gaze back to Nicky who was casually taking a drink. Quynh met his eyes from across the fire and smirked at him.
“Guys, let’s play never have I ever!” Quynh chirped, making the group move to look at her.
“Quynh, I’m thirty-three years old. We aren’t in college anymore,” Joe griped.
“Shit, I’m 25, speak for yourself, Joe,” Nile playfully glared at him, then broke out into laughter. She was either drunk or almost drunk, definitely.
It ended up coming down to a unanimous vote that they would play, unanimous apart from Joe of course. Nicky was tipsy, but not quite drunk, and had begged Joe to play, and who was he to say no to Nicky?
“Hmm,” Andy pondered. She was taking her turn first, as she was the eldest of the group. “Never have I ever eaten a s’more.”
No one in the group took a drink except Nile, who protested, “This is unfair! I’m the only American!”
“Dude, those are real?” Booker asked, making Nile screech in laughter, while spluttering, “Yes, they’re real!”
Andy nudged Joe to signal that it was his turn. “Uh, never have I ever….dyed my hair.”
This time, everyone took a drink except Joe and Booker. Andy and Quynh, who had both dyed their hair multiple times to look ‘edgy’, looked at each other and burst out laughing. Nile pointed to red streaks that she currently had in her hair and shrugged after taking her drink.
Nicky shyly smiled and said, “I went blonde a few times,” making Joe’s brain nearly short circuit and cough dramatically into his arm.
“Booker!” Joe called once he was done coughing, to which Booker gave him a knowing look.
“You know, Joe, I really think you should go blonde, I mean-“ Booker was cut off by Joe squawking that no hairdresser would ever touch his curls, making the entire group laugh.
“Never have I ever gotten a piercing or tattoo,” Booker finally said, after the group had moved on from Joe’s panicked outburst. Joe and Nicky met each other’s eyes as they both took a sip of their drinks. Nile took a drink while pointing to the ring hanging from the septum of her nose.
“Nicky, how many piercings do you have?” Nile asked curiously.
“I have three on each ear and I once got my lip pierced but we aren’t going to talk about that,” He laughed. “I also have a tattoo on my shoulder.”
Nicky rolled up the arm of his t-shirt to reveal a decently sized cross with lettering that Joe couldn’t read from his current position but knew what it said.
“It says ‘By the grace of God, I am what I am.’ Corinthians 15:10,” Nicky explained, taking a visible breath. “Religion is very important to me, but so is being who I am. I’m proud to be gay, but I’m also devoted to God.”
Somehow, Nicky’s gaze landed on Joe. They had this conversation before, one night past midnight when the two were sitting together on their sofa talking about anything and everything. He knew that Joe was Muslim, and was so incredibly supportive and genuinely inquisitive that night that it made Joe feel a bit weepy.
“Joe, what are your tattoos?” Nicky asked Joe, not breaking their gaze on each other.
“Oh, I have tattoos on my thighs. They’re from a poem I once wrote.” Nicky, of course, knew that already, just as Joe knew about Nicky’s; they were roommates. They had seen each other naked on multiple occasions, which had made Joe’s brain nearly short circuit at the time. Joe was skeptical as to why Nicky would ask a question that he already knew the answer to — for the group’s benefit? Except, Nicky was warmly smiling at him from across the fire and everyone else in the room seemed to slowly melt away.
“Oh, Joe, I love that!” Nile exclaimed, throwing him a show-stopping grin. Joe tore his gaze from Nicky’s to smile at Nile, but when he stole another glance at Nicky, he was still looking at him.
“My turn!” Nile yelled. “Never have I ever ridden a horse,” She said, grinning at Andy.
Andy laughed, throwing her head back and taking a drink. Andy had a fairly intense obsession with horses. Quynh and Joe also took a drink, as Andy had taken them riding before. Joe also knew that Andy had once taken Quynh on a date in which the pair rode horses to a mystical clearing where they had dinner as the sun set and then watched the stars together. It was all very romantic. “Your turn, Nicky.”
“Never have I ever been with a girl,” Nicky spoke assuredly, a small smirk playing on his face.
“Cheap shot, Nicky,” Booker grumbled as he took a drink along with Nile, Andy, and Quynh. Quynh blew a kiss to Andy across the fire, who clutched her heart, grinning in response.
“Quynh,” Andy prompted, sending her and Joe both a look that made his heart nearly stop.
Quynh sent them both a toothy grin and spoke, “Never have I ever had a crush on my roommate.”
Suddenly, everything felt like it was crashing down around Joe. Andy playfully nudged his side, muttering to him that if it wasn’t the right time, he could joke his way out of it, but Joe felt frozen. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Booker raise his cup to his lips, shrugging, which eased some of his anxiety. Once he plucked up the courage to take a drink out of his own cup, he saw Nicky do the same and almost blacked out. Andy grinned and nudged Joe with her elbow excitedly, poking into his side.
Thankfully, no one pressed it further, helping Joe breathe a little easier. Despite this, he saw Nile curiously eye him from her spot next to Booker, and he shot her a glance indicating that he would explain later.
As the game went on, he could feel Nicky’s eyes on him but refused to meet his gaze. After going around the group a few more times, he could feel himself growing more and more tired as well as more and more drunk.
When Andy announced, “Well, I’m done,” and stood to walk to her shared tent with Quynh, he was not one to argue.
As drunk as Joe felt himself, Nicky was, quite frankly, trashed. Quynh motioned him over, and muttered something unintelligible to Nicky and handed him over to Joe. Nicky let out a groan and let himself lean onto Joe who helped maneuver him into their tent which thankfully, was not far from the fire pit the group had been sitting around.
Joe laid Nicky down on top of his sleeping bag and unzipped it enough to help him get inside of it. Nicky whined, tired and drunk, but obliged nonetheless. Joe pulled the covers up to Nicky’s chin, who let out a happy noise and snuggled into his sleeping bag. Joe kissed him on the forehead, muttering a “Sleep well, albi,” and slipped into his own sleeping bag, thanking himself and Nicky, for putting on their pajamas earlier in the night while they were still functional.
Joe had been laying in his sleeping bag for less than thirty minutes, turned away from Nicky facing the side of the tent when he heard a hoarse, barely audible, “Joe?”
Joe whipped himself around, turning to face Nicky who was wide awake, shivering in his sleeping bag. He met Joe’s glance and muttered, “It’s fucking cold.”
“Yeah,” Joe murmured, noticing that his own hands were shaking slightly due to the cold.
“Come over,” Nicky whispered. “We’ll be warmer if we share.” Joe bit his lip and nodded. He was never one to say no to Nicky, especially when it meant their bodies would be pressed up against each other.
Joe stood and dragged his pillow and sleeping bag over next to Nicky’s. He unzipped it completely until it lay flat on the ground and then unzipped Nicky’s so that it was a large blanket laying on top of him. Joe laid down while Nicky rolled over so that he was on top of Joe’s sleeping bag and wrapped his own on top of the two of them. Joe had to admit that he already felt warmer with Nicky’s body heat radiating so close to his own.
Nicky turned so that he was facing Joe with his legs curled up at his side. Joe could barely see him except for his blue-green eyes shining from the moonlight. Joe turned to face him, hoping that despite their proximity, Nicky couldn’t feel the racing of his heart.
“Did you mean it?” Nicky asked, so soft that Joe could barely hear him.
“Mean what?” Joe asked, furrowing his eyebrows.
“You drank. That you’d had a, had a crush on a roommate before.” He responded, his voice slightly wavering.
“Did you?” Joe asked, propping up his head on his hand, leaning his arm on the floor while facing Nicky. “You drank, too.”
“Joe, I-,” Nicky shut his eyes for a moment and then reopened them, peering into Joe’s eyes, before quickly looking away. “Yeah.”
“Nicolò,” Joe whispered thickly, his voice catching in his throat. “Me, too.”
Nicky let out a breath and moved closer to Joe, nudging their foreheads together. Joe doesn’t remember what happened after that, they must have fallen asleep, foreheads lightly brushing, basking in each others’ solid presence.
When Joke woke, his arms were tightly curled around Nicky, whose back was pressed tightly against Joe’s front. Nicky’s hands were wrapped tightly around Joe’s arms, keeping him steadily in place. Joe’s face was pressed into Nicky’s nape, tiny hairs tickling his skin. He inhaled deeply, breathing in Nicky’s scent. He pretended to be asleep and snuggled in closer.
Eventually, when Joe decided that it was time to move and managed to detach himself from Nicky’s grip, he made his way outside to go to the bathroom and get some fresh air. It was nice, basking in the crisp morning breeze with the bucolic smell of trees surrounding him.
Silently opening up the thin fabric door to the tent, Joe found Nicky sitting on top of their pile of sleeping bags rubbing his eyes. When he saw Joe, his face broke out into a megawatt smile despite the blatant black circles under his eyes.
“Good morning!” Joe said, walking into the room, unable to conceal his own smile at the sight of Nicky.
He still must have been feeling the effects of the alcohol from the night prior, as he placed his hands on his head and groaned. “Do you have an aspirin?”
Joe chuckled, moving towards his things. “Headache?”
“You have no idea. Last night is all foggy. I’m never drinking again,” Nicky grumbled, taking the pills from Joe. Joe smiled weakly, ignoring the brush of his skin against Nicky’s, and the electric tingling feeling that came with it.
“Get dressed; I think I heard Quynh making breakfast.”
Joe’s heart hurt thinking that Nicky didn’t remember their small, yet meaningful moments from the previous night. Although it wasn’t much, it was something. Joe now knew Nicky’s smell more intimately than he ever had previously, and he craved it. He knew what it felt like to hold Nicky in his arms, warm against his chest. His heart ached.
“It’s freezing,” Nicky muttered under his breath, breaking Joe out of his thoughts. “I wish I brought something other than these godforsaken tees.”
Joe nodded and turned to run through his things. He easily found the hoodie he had worn during the ride down the day prior. The hoodie was slightly oversized on him and would definitely be oversized on Nicky, but it would work. He also found a pair of sweatpants and flung the two clothing items onto Nicky’s sleeping bag. “Here.”
“Joe, I’m not going to wear your only warm clothes. It’s barely 10 degrees out,” Nicky said, crossing his arms over each other. Though he was not overly muscular, Joe’s eyes were drawn to the exposed flesh, and forced himself to take a deep breath. It was getting harder to be around Nicky. It was like he was hyper-tuned into all of Nicky’s actions, even things that he had never blinked an eye at before.
“I have another hoodie, Nicky. It’s fine,” He smiled softly and lifted his own shirt to change, ignoring the cold of the wind, causing goosebumps to form on his skin. For a second, he thought that he could feel Nicky’s eyes on him, but shook his head in spite of himself.
Seeing Nicky in Joe’s clothes affected Joe more than he ever thought possible. Nicky was sitting in a cushioned folding chair next to Nile and Quynh, listening intently to whatever story Quynh was telling. Booker was sitting underneath a tree reading his book while Andy sat next to Joe, a small smile playing on her lips as she watched her girlfriend from yards away.
Joe looked at Nicky, bundled up in Joe’s clothes. The oversized hoodie fell down to the meat of his thighs when he sat and the sleeves fell over his hands, fingers peeking out of the ends. The sweatpants hugged his curves in all the right places and Joe felt a bit faint. The sight of Nicky made him feel a bit possessive, though he had no right to be.
“Did you two fuck or something?” Andy asked bluntly, whipping Joe out of his thoughts.
“What? No!” He said, flustered. “Why would you think that?”
Andy rolled her eyes. “Joe, he’s literally wearing your clothes. And I know they’re yours because the top is too big and the pants are too small.” Joe felt himself flush at her words.
“Also, are we going to address the fact that he keeps looking over at you? Like he’s obviously listening to Quynh, of course he is, he’s Nicky, but he keeps looking over here. At first, I thought Quynh was telling a story about me but then I realized. He’s looking at you.”
“Andy, I- I don’t think that’s true,” Joe mumbled under his breath.
“Joe come on. You need to do something because the sexual tension is too thick for the rest of us to handle. Poor Booker is probably suffocating.” Joe let out a snort at that, throwing a glance over to Booker who hadn’t glanced up from his book in ages, still resting under the tree.
“Listen, we have one more night and then we’re leaving tomorrow afternoon. Do something.” Andy stood, affectionately ran her fingers through Joe’s curls, and gently pat him on the head. She moved across the grass, making her way to Quynh, throwing her arms around her neck and crawling onto her lap like a cat, almost knocking Quynh out of her chair. Quynh laughed, kissing Andy on the cheek, and for a split second, Nicky turned and met Joe’s gaze, then quickly turned and stared intently at the ground. Joe watched as he moved the sleeves of the hoodie down further over his hands, bringing one up to rest on his face. He peeked another glance at Joe and then looked down again. It was at this moment that Joe decided he was going to do it — he was going to tell his best friend he was in love with him.
Later that evening, just before sunset with the sun low in the sky, Joe spotted Nicky sitting alone in a nearby patch of open grass, reading a book for his thesis. He still had Joe’s clothes on, looking extremely cozy. Joe took a deep breath and walked towards Nicky, then taking a seat on the verdant grass beside him.
“Hey,” Joe said, gently nudging Nicky’s shoulder, who turned to look over at him. “You work too much.”
“Probably,” Nicky sighed, marking his place in his book and setting it on the ground next to him. He looked tired, Joe noticed. Sure, he had a slight hangover that morning, but he looked thoroughly exhausted.
“Are you alright?” Joe frowned, looking at the dark bags under Nicky’s eyes.
“Yes, I’m fine,” Nicky smiled at Joe, but it didn’t meet the corners of his eyes. “Just tired.”
Joe dropped the subject, forcing himself to card away the thought to discuss this with him later. He would give it a few days. Sometimes Nicky needed time to himself to recover from high-stress situations, or events where he interacted a great deal with strangers, although, the initial purpose of this weekend was to be a stress reliever.
“I feel like we haven’t hung out much, while we’ve been here,” Joe told him honestly.
Nicky nodded, but a teasing smile played on his lips. “Yusuf, I see you all the time. Did you miss me?”
“Maybe I did, Nicolò,” Joe grinned at him, bumping their shoulders together when he let out a laugh.
“Well, good, because I missed you,” Nicky said once the pair stopped laughing. Joe let his head fall on Nicky’s shoulder who slowly carded his fingers through Joe’s curls.
“Are we ever going to talk about this?” Joe asked, voice barely audible with his eyes glancing upwards to look at Nicolo.
“Talk about what?” Nicky responded, keeping Joe’s volume while refusing to meet his gaze.
“Us,” Joe whispered, his heart pounding in his chest. There was no way Nicky couldn’t feel it, not with how close they were.
“I’m, I’m not quite sure what you mean,” Nicky said stiffly, still seemingly unable to look at Joe in the eye.
Joe removed himself from his place on Nicky’s shoulder and moved so that he was sitting cross-legged on the grass in front of him. He took his hand and lightly touched Nicolo’s jaw, making him visibly shiver. He slowly moved his head with his hand to meet his gaze and muttered, “Nicky, look at me.”
Nicky complied, his eyes looking slightly watery. “Nicky, you are my closest friend but we must talk about this. I-I’m not sure how much you remember from last night, but I can say that I have never felt more complete than when I held you in my arms, keeping you warm from the bitter cold.”
“Joe, you can’t mean….” Nicky trailed off, suddenly unable to tear his eyes from the man in front of him.
“I do. You-you are the best thing that has ever happened to me. Being around you for the past two years has made me not only a happier person but a better man. I often find that I can barely breathe when we are in the same room — you constantly take my breath away. The other night when we stood together in the hallway holding each other, I never wanted to let you go. I had to pull away because I was feeling too much. I did not want to overwhelm you or push you too far. Y-”
Joe was cut off by soft pink lips surging onto his own. The world stopped moving and all that mattered in that moment was Nicky. Nicky kissed earnestly, just like everything else he had ever done in his life. Joe kissed him back with all of the pent-up passion that had been simmering for the man in front of him. Nicky’s fingers found themselves in Joe’s curls, softly tugging on them bringing Joe closer.
Joe was the one to break the kiss, panting slightly, his lips red and swollen. “Hi,” He whispered to Nicky, gently caressing his face, letting his thumb rest on his cheek before pulling away.
“Hi,” Nicky smiled, his face red and lips even more swollen than Joe’s. Nicky glanced down and ran his own finger down his lips slowly and beamed.
“Joe, you have no idea,” Nicky told him, “You have no idea how much I’ve wanted this.”
“Me, too,” Joe smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners. He leaned in and kissed Nicky again, ever so gently, running his hands up and down Nicky’s face. Nicky’s eyes fluttered closed and Joe felt the urge to softly kiss his eyelids.
“And this damn hoodie,” Joe muttered against his lips, pulling gently on the edges of it around Nicky’s neck. “It makes me feel like you’re mine.”
“I’m yours,” Nicky whispered, pressing a tender kiss to Joe’s lips while wrapping his arms around his neck. “I’m yours, I’m yours.”
By the time their friends found them to tell them that they were thinking about cooking dinner, Joe was curled up in Nicky’s lap like a house cat. His head and shoulders rested on Nicky’s thighs, with his legs curled up next to him. Nicky gently combed his fingers through Joe’s curls, as Joe rambled on about the recent chapter he had been working on in his novel.
“Hey Andy, look who kissed and made up,” Quynh called, grinning from ear to ear. Although she teased, Joe knew that she was nothing but happy for them.
“Shut up,” Joe rolled his eyes, changing his position in Nicky’s lap as Nicky simultaneously said, “Literally.”
Joe turned to face him, mouth slightly agape and Nicky leaned down to kiss him on the nose.
“Aww,” Joe heard Nile say as Booker audibly groaned.
“Look, I am happy for you guys, really, but I am lonely. Joe, you betrayed me! We were single together!”
Joe laughed at Booker’s distress. “We’re gonna get you a date, Book. A nice guy or girl, don’t you worry!”
The rest of the night progressed with Nicky seemingly plastered to Joe’s side. He might feel suffocated if he didn’t want Nicky there as much as Nicky wanted to be there. Ever since they had become roommates they seemed to come as a matched set. Now, the two just sat closer together, had more casual touches and heated glances.
Andy had smiled at Joe and nodded, granting her silent approval. Not that he needed it - he knew that she was one of his biggest advocates for the relationship, but nevertheless, her support still was validating.
Because it was the last night and he “wanted to be well-rested for the drive home tomorrow”, Nicky turned in early. Joe followed him, bidding good night to his friends who all had knowing glances on their face.
The second Joe entered their tent, Nicky pulled him down onto the small bed the two had made with their sleeping bags the previous night, kissing him soundly.
“I lied, this morning,” Nicky said between kisses.
“What?” Joe asked, pulling away to look at Nicky.
“I told you I didn’t remember last night. I do. Well, not everything, but I remember us talking. I remember being freezing, but you being warm. You’re always warm. I remember staring into your eyes, God, I wanted to kiss you so bad,” Nicky trailed off.
Yusuf smiled at him, eyes twinkling. “Well, now you can. I give you permission to kiss me anytime you want.”
“Any time?” Nicky said, suggestively raising his eyebrows. Joe laughed in response and pulled Nicky in for a long kiss.
After making out like teenagers for at least 45 minutes, Nicky murmured, “Non potrei mai averne abbastanza di te.”
“Though my Italian has been improving, hayati, I’m not quite sure what you’re saying,” Joe grinned.
“I will never have enough of you. My heart aches for you even when we are sitting next to each other.”
Joe shook his head, still smiling. He couldn’t stop. “I will never leave you, my heart. You are my moon, I would follow you anywhere.”
Nicky couldn’t stop the smile reappearing on his face and fully laid down on top of Joe, burying his head in his chest.
When they woke, it was a similar situation to the morning prior. Sometime during the night, Joe had wrapped his arms around Nicky and pulled him close. Their hands were intertwined and Joe’s thumb was gently brushing the top of Nicky’s hand. One of Joe’s legs was hitched between Nicky’s, ensuring their bodies were pressed tightly against each other.
Just as Joe was about to gently release Nicky from his grasp, he felt Nicky mumble something and move, rolling over to face him. He slowly opened his eyes, still full of sleep, and softly smiled at Joe. “Good morning.”
“Morning,” Joe said, moving to kiss the crown of Nicky’s head. However, Nicky was quicker, suddenly awake, and forcing their mouths together in a heated kiss.
Joe smiled at Nicky's urgency and muttered, “You taste like sleep.”
“So do you, you ass.” Nicky leaned over to kiss him again, but this time their crotches brushed and Joe moaned softly as Nicky slowly began to rut against him. He took Joe’s hand, bringing it downwards, but Joe stopped him.
“Later, when our friends cannot walk in at any moment. I want this to be good for you, Nicky.”
Nicky groaned, leaning his head back down on his pillow, but still keeping his eyes on Joe’s. “I don’t care about them, but I want this to be good for you, too. I want to give you everything.”
Joe smiled, kissed Nicky on the head, and stood to get dressed.
It was a good day. The group went swimming in a nearby lake and then ate lunch. Joe and Nicky had most definitely openly admired each other too much, as Joe kept catching Booker’s teasing, silent gaze.
Afterward, while Nicky made lunch, Joe and Booker tossed a football back and forth between the two of them idly talking about the week they had ahead of them. Andy, Nile, and Quynh sat in a circle, cross-legged, discussing something. Nicky would walk over to them when he had a minute and give them his input or laugh at a joke one of them made. Booker told Joe that he seemed distracted and he was right - he was unquestionably unable to peel his eyes from Nicky.
When it came time to leave, Joe tightly hugged his friends, promising them that they would all get together again soon. When he hugged Andy, she whispered in his ear that she was incredibly proud of him and that she was ecstatic for him and Nicky, making him smile so wide he thought he might be glowing. (Nicky told him as much, the minute they were alone together in the car.)
When they returned to their apartment, Joe flopped down on the sofa and mused, “I think we should get a dog.”
“What?” Nicky laughed, throwing himself beside him, bending his knees to his chest.
“I don’t know, I’ve been thinking about it for a while, and now seems like a good time. And now it can really be ours, not just mine, you know?”
Nicky tilted an eyebrow, making Joe’s eyes widen. “Fuck! You aren’t allergic, are you? Oh my god, hayati, I’m so sorry.”
Nicky laughed, light and free, and shook his head. “No, I’m not allergic, Joe, but thank you for being so concerned.”
Joe smiled at the man, his heart swelling with affection. He moved closer and as Nicky threw an arm around him, Joe nuzzled close into Nicky’s chest. Nicky ran his free hand through Joe’s soft curls and pressed a kiss to the crown of his head.
When Joe woke, his arms were tangled around Nicky, holding his middle, curled up in a ball, nearly laying on top of him. He moved, slowly, rubbing his eyes with his fist, peering up at Nicky.
“Good morning,” Nicky said while absently brushing his fingers against Joe’s arm. “It’s past dinner.”
“I’m hungry,” Joe grumbled, curling deeper into Nicky’s chest.
“Good, because I made pasta.” Joe’s head shot up and Nicky laughed, gently maneuvering him off of him to take his hand and drag him to a chair seated at their table in the kitchen.
As Nicky moved with grace, plating Joe’s food, Joe intently watched him, softly smiling as he rested his hand against his cheek. He knew that he probably looked lovestruck, but he was tired and was now able to kiss Nicky whenever he wanted, so he didn’t have it in him to care.
Nicky passed the plate across to Joe, who took it and began eating. He walked to get the tea he had been drinking, poured Joe a glass of water, and then sat in a seat across the table from him.
“It’s nearly 21:00. I already ate,” Nicky informed him, taking a sip from his tea. His hair was a little messy and fell slightly in his eyes. Joe found it incredibly endearing.
When Joe finished, he washed his dish and poured himself more water, meeting Nicky, who had made his way to their sofa. Joe sat next to him, close enough that their legs touched, and Nicky clasped their hands together, moving them to his mouth and placing a tender kiss to them.
“I want to finish this film,” Nicky had told him, but neither seemed overly invested in what was happening on the screen. Even though he was practically touching him, Joe’s thoughts wandered to Nicky - what he was thinking, what he was feeling, how he was doing.
Ever so often, Nicky would meet Joe’s gaze, giving him a soft look before returning his focus to the television. After sitting on the sofa for a half-hour, Joe moved closer, snuggling Nicky. He easily gave him access and Joe began peppering soft kisses to Nicky’s neck. He gently sucked on the soft spot of Nicky’s neck, who let out a breathy moan. He tore his line of sight from the TV to focus on Joe, changing their position on the sofa to drag Joe onto his lap. Joe grinned, placing his hands on Nicky’s face, dragging him in for a kiss.
After sucking on each other’s lips, tasting each other’s tongues for an inordinate amount of time, Joe broke them apart, resting his head against Nicky’s, muttering, “Do you want to go-”. However, before he could finish, Nicky captured his lips once again before telling him, “Sì, yes, yes, yes.”
Joe crawled off of Nicky and stood, taking Nicky’s hands in his, lifting him off of the sofa with both of his hands. Nicky’s hair was quite disheveled, pointing up in multiple directions as a result of Joe’s hands, and Joe found it simply adorable.
“Your room,” Nicky told him. “My bed is too small.” Joe nodded, dragging Nicky down the hallway swiftly. Once they reached his bedroom, Joe pushed Nicky against the wall, hands pressed against the wall near the outside of Nicky’s face, kissing him fervently. Nicky licked into his mouth in just the right way and Joe made a small whimper, high in the back of his throat.
Nicky smirked and pushed Joe back, his back falling onto the bed when he lost his balance. Nicky crawled over him, rutting against him slightly. Joe groaned and moved forward, hands on the bed holding his weight so that he was almost sitting.
Nicky took off his shirt in one fluid motion, throwing it to the floor and moved downward pressing a kiss below Joe’s navel where his shirt had ridden up. He stopped when he got to the hem of Joe’s jeans, pulling at them slightly. He lifted his eyebrows in a question, asking him if he wanted this.
Joe understood and told him, “Yes, Nicky. Please.”
Nicky grinned and worked at the buckle of Joe’s jeans, pushing them and his underwear to pool at the bottom of his legs. Joe kicked them off of him, letting them fall into a pile on the floor next to the bed. He moved upwards on the bed, resting his back on soft pillows leaning against the wooden headboard. Nicky moved, following him like a fly to honey. As Joe moved, his shirt rode up, showing his smoothly toned stomach muscles with coarse, wiry hairs below. Nicky looked hungrily and then leaned the side of his face on top of the hairs, just resting his face there, taking deep breaths.
Joe stared at him, his eyes boring into Nicky as he rested his face next to Joe’s now hardening cock. Nicky’s hot breaths slowly puffing onto Joe made him close his eyes for a second and take a deep breath. Nicky moved slightly, closer to Joe’s cock, pressing kisses around it where it laid on Joe’s stomach.
“Nicolò,” Joe breathed, and Nicky moved off of Joe so that he was now hovering over his length.
“Say it again,” Nicky ordered between thick lashes, staring down at Joe under his hooded eyelids. Joe obliged, speaking slightly louder than a murmur, “Nicolò.”
Just after Joe began to speak, Nicky took Joe into his mouth, sucking him down to the root, making the last few phonemes of Nicky’s name come out shaky. Nicky smiled around Joe’s cock, then continued to suck at a steady pace, making Joe’s legs tingle.
Nicky flicked his tongue ever so often near the head, causing Joe to whimper softly. He moved his hands to Nicky’s hair, fingers curling around the soft strands and pulling when the sensitivity became too much.
Nicky moved down to cup Joe’s balls, making the sensation even more intense. He could ask Nicky to stop, he knew that he would, but he found that he didn’t want to. Even in this vulnerable state, he found that he still felt safe and warm, protected even.
“Nicky,” Joe breathed, and Nicky looked up at him, continuing to suck him down. Nicky moved his hand and grabbed the base of Joe’s cock, ensuring every inch of him was being stimulated. “Nicky, I’m- I’m gonna,” He trails off, giving Nicky a hesitant warning while relishing in the pleasure.
Nicky didn’t stop, just continued his steady suck, the hollowing of his cheeks, and the slight flicks of his tongue to Joe’s cock. Joe bucked his hips slightly and Nicky moved his hands to the groove of Joe’s hips, holding him down against the firmness of the mattress. .
When Joe came, moaning ‘Nicolò, Nicolò, Nicolò’, Nicky swallowed it down easily, his Adam's apple bobbing. After he finished, Nicky sucked off of Joe’s cock with a pop, licking his lips. He grinned up at Joe, moving up on the bed to rest his head next to Joe’s. Joe smiled lazily at him and breathlessly asked, “How’d you get so good so good at that?”
Nicky shrugged, “Practice.”
Joe rolled his eyes and with newfound strength, moved his hands to Nicky’s pants, beginning to unbuckle them.
“Joe,” Nicky protested, “I’ll be fine, you’re tired.”
“Nicky, you deserve to feel good, too” Joe moved, kissing him sweetly on the lips. “But if you don’t want this, I’ll stop.”
“Joe, I’ve been getting off to this image for months, maybe longer,” Nicky huffed.
Joe gently cupped his face with his free hand, “I need to hear you say it.”
“Get me off, suck me, even fuck me if you want. Just please do something,” Nicky wined, as Joe palmed his cock through his jeans.
Joe smiled and swiftly unzipped Nicky’s pants, pulling them off of his legs and throwing them to join the pile of clothes on the floor. He continued to palm Nicky through his underwear, watching his cock slowly harden, making the bulge become more prominent. Joe gently traced the outline of Nicky’s cock with his fingertips lazily, causing Nicky’s breath to hitch in his throat. Joe leaned forward, kissing Nicky lightly on the corner of his mouth.
He then kissed his way down Nicky’s chest, leaving faint bruises. Nicky ran his hands faintly over the bruises, abdomen reddening even more, if possible. Joe reached Nicky’s underwear, gently mouthing at Nicky’s cock through the thin fabric.
“I should have known you’d be a fucking tease,” Nicky bit out, making Joe smile devilishly up at him.
“Like you’re any better.”
Joe finally slipped a hand into his boxers, grabbing Nicky in his hand and pushing the fabric down his legs. He laid down on the bed on his stomach next to Nicky, his head dangerously close to Nicky’s cock. He picked up Nicky’s cock his hand and leaned closer, pressing a kiss to Nicky’s slit, causing him to hiss. Joe took the head of Nicky’s cock into his mouth, experimentally swirling his tongue. Nicky let out a throaty moan to which Joe chuckled, increasing the sensations on his sensitive nerve endings.
Joe swallowed Nicky down to the hilt, then lifted slightly and curled his hand around the base of Nicky’s cock. Joe began to move his hand and suck simultaneously, setting a steady pace. He played with his balls with his free hand, his fingers gently brushing over his rim. Eventually, Nicky gasped out, “J-Joe,” as a forewarning, and Joe abruptly stopped, making Nicky loudly groan at the lack of contact.
“I’m going to fuck you,” Joe told him, leaning over to peck him on the lips and Nicky whined.
Joe crawled up on the bed next to his nightstand and pulled a bottle of lube out of the top drawer.
“Easy access, huh?” Nicky teased, though he grew silent as he watched Joe pour the thick liquid onto his fingers. He then poured some on Nicky’s cock and gave it a few tugs for good measure.
Joe smiled as sweet as he could manage and moved Nicky’s legs upwards to give himself better access to Nicky’s rim. Joe gently probed a finger in and twisted it deep inside. He added a second finger and scissored inside of Nicky until he found the sensitive bundle of nerves, making his cock twitch, and his legs tremble. By the time Joe entered a third finger into him, wiggling inside, Nicky bit out, “I’m ready, Joe.”
Joe smiled but didn’t seem to have any intention to move, just continued to wiggle and slowly start to thrust his fingers inside of Nicky.
Finally, after minutes of being pried open by Joe’s fingers, when he finally removed them, he felt a gaping emptiness and intense need to be filled.
“Yusuf, please.” Nicky begged as he watched Joe return to the bottle of lube to pour onto his thick cock.
After drenching himself and ensuring he was slick enough, he moved forward and pressed his cockhead into Nicky.
“More,” Nicky breathed and Joe slowly pressed his length into Nicky and waited for his body to adjust, the girth stretching him in a way that made him release a guttural moan.
“Okay?” Joe asked, moving his hand to Nicky’s face, gently stroking it.
“Yeah, yeah. Move. Please,” He bit out, moving his hand closer and closer to his own leaking cock.
“Sweet boy,” Joe muttered and rocked into Nicky, deep enough to cause Nicky to gasp, and kissed him on the lips.
Joe kept a steady pace, moving in and out of Nicky, smiling when he knew he was brushing his prostate, making him whimper.
“Joe, please touch me,” Nicky breathed, leaning up to capture Joe’s lips with his own once again.
Joe nodded and slowly moved his hand around Nicky’s cock, ensuring there was enough lubrication that it wouldn’t be too rough, and increased the pressure as he thrust harder into him.
When Nicky signaled to Joe that he was close, Joe quickly pulled out of Nicky who whined at the loss of contact. Joe moved up on the bed so that he could press their cocks together, wrapping his hand around them. He stroked them hard and fast, milking their cocks, and before he knew it, they were both coming nearly simultaneously on Nicky’s stomach, calling out each other’s names with trembling legs.
Joe licked up some of their combined come from off of Nicky’s stomach and then moved up onto the pillow next to Nicky. As his body shook from the aftershocks of his orgasm, Joe kissed Nicky softly on the mouth, who tiredly responded to the taste of himself on Joe’s tongue.
“Next time I’m fucking you into the mattress,” Nicky mumbled, eyes slowly blinking at him in his post-orgasm haze.
“I’d like that very much,” Joe grinned at him. “Come on, we have to clean up.”
Nicky groaned but nevertheless, clasped his fingers through Joe’s as he dragged them off the bed.
Joe walked into the coffee shop, hands interlocked with Nicky who had a backpack flung over his right shoulder. He spotted their friends surrounding a table, who smiled broadly when they saw the pair and waved them over to their table. Joe was wearing his favorite leather jacket with jeans and black sunglasses resting on the bridge of his nose. Nicky was wearing one of Joe’s hoodies with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.
It had been two weeks since the camping trip. Every few weeks, Joe, Nicky, and their friends would meet up in a coffee shop, bar, or restaurant for lunch to catch up. Nicky and Joe had gotten even closer in those two weeks, more attached at the hip than they had been previously, if that was even possible. Joe worked from home as he always did, writing his novel with his artistic prose. However, now, he met Nicky at his university for lunch every day. Nicky was often stressed from his schoolwork, and Joe was always there to help him when needed, even if it was solely to help him de-stress. They went on dates to art museums, had picnics in public parks, and continued to have their movie nights a few times a week (even if those did not end so innocently.)
When they made their way to their friends, Quynh and Andy’s teasing smiles lit up the table. Joe took a seat next to Nicky, their legs touching due to the closeness of their chairs. Nile was sat on his right and she nudged his side slightly as he sat down, a grin plastered on her face. Next to Nile was her girlfriend, with Lykon beside her. Andy sat next to him with Quynh on her right, their hands clasped on top of the table. Booker sat next to Quynh, aside Nicky, completing the circle.
As soon as the pair acquainted themselves at the table, Andy wiggled her brows at them and Quynh nonchalantly stated, “Looks like someone got laid.”
Joe snorted and took his sunglasses off, propping them on the edge of his shirt. He could see Nicky glancing over at him, a blush slowly appearing, coloring his pale cheeks. As Joe went to retort to Quynh in response, Andy cut him off, pointing out, “Joe, you’re literally glowing. Both of you are.”
“She’s right,” Nile teased. “Look at the two of you, you’re so close, you’re practically touching.” She motioned her hands at Joe and Nicky, close enough to look pointedly down where their fingers rested on their laps, close enough to brush.
“I just know that you are both going to be insufferable,” Booker noted from his place next to Nicky, who playfully nudged him and leaned closer, muttering that he would help him find a partner.
“I, for one, am happy for the two of you,” Lykon smiled genuinely from his spot at the table.
“This is why you’re my favorite,” Joe stated, grinning over at Lykon who returned it easily.
Suddenly, Joe noticed that Nile’s girlfriend, cuddled close to her, had been silent since he had arrived. She looked around Nile’s age and he observed that she was wearing a crop top with a small rainbow on it and was wearing a beanie on her head hiding some of her hair.
“Shit, I’m so sorry!” Joe blurted, addressed the girl, whose attention humorously moved to Joe.
“I’m so rude, I didn’t introduce myself. I’m Joe! This is Nicky,” He finished, grabbing Nicky’s hand in his holding it up in the air. Nicky smiled brightly and waved at the girl with his free hand.
“Hey,” The girl smiled at him, obviously happy to be a part of the conversation. “I’ve heard a lot about you guys from Nile, trust me. I’m Alex.” Nile leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.
“You’ve heard a lot about us, huh?” Joe asked, his eyebrows raising and Nile smacked him playfully on the arm.
“Go get your coffee, Yusuf.”