The drive to Ellis’s place was excruciating. No matter how much Logan sped, it was like they were moving in slow motion. He was hyperaware of Ellis sitting in the passenger seat, looking impossibly composed. Logan almost would have bought his calm act, if the air between them wasn’t tense with want. It crackled against his skin, giving him goose bumps. In his head, he composed a list of things he wanted to do when they reached their destination. He wanted to kiss Ellis, of course, but slow this time. And he wanted to undress him, and touch absolutely every inch of—

A light turned red, and Logan slammed on the brakes. They both lurched forward in their seats, and the driver behind Logan honked.

“Sorry,” Logan blurted out. “I’m, uh, having a little trouble focusing.”

Something warm touched his knee. Ellis’s hand.

“Relax. There’s no rush.”

Logan let out a tight breath. “You’re really not helping my concentration.”

Ellis chuckled and squeezed his knee. “Think of it this way: if we crash, it’ll take even longer to get to my place.”

“That’s some of the best motivation I’ve ever heard.”

The light turned green, and Logan hit the gas again. He went at a more reasonable speed this time, but that wasn’t saying much. Ellis only laughed. Thank God he lived nearby, or Logan might have considered pulling over, propriety be damned. But then, Ellis had said he had plans, that he wanted to do this properly. Impatient or not, Logan sure as hell couldn’t say no to that.

Though there was one thing they needed to talk about before anything more happened.

“Hey, Ellis.”

“Hmm?”

“I’ve never— I mean, you know I haven’t . . . done anything. With a guy. Right?”

“I figured as much, yeah.”

“Well, uh.” He faltered. “I know this isn’t the sexiest thing to say, but I don’t want you to be disappointed if I don’t know what to do. I mean, I don’t live under a rock or anything. I know basically what I’m getting into. But I’m guessing doing it is different from hearing about it.”

To Logan’s surprise, Ellis snorted. “Oh, it’s different, all right. Don’t you worry. I’m looking forward to showing you what you’ve been missing out on. And I intend to be very thorough about it.”

Gulp.

A few minutes later, Ellis pointed out an apartment complex, and Logan turned in. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected, but a row of neat brick buildings with white trim was not it. Ellis’s place was nice. Logan might have to consider moving when his lease was up.

Ellis directed him to the building at the very end. There was an empty parking spot right in front of it. They got out, and Ellis pulled his keys from his back pocket before gesturing at the corner unit.

Logan wasn’t the most patient person under normal circumstances, but as he watched Ellis riffle through his keys, insert one into the lock, and open the door with agonizing slowness, he thought he might explode.

Mercifully, once the door was open, Ellis turned around and grabbed a handful of his shirt, yanking him inside.

Logan couldn’t help but tease. “If you keep yanking on my shirt like this, you’re gonna rip it.”

Ellis responded by taking two handfuls and shucking it over Logan’s head in half a second flat. He threw it to the side and looked at Logan as if daring him to complain.

Logan blinked. “That . . . was ridiculously hot.”

“Just you wait.” Ellis took hold of his shoulders and started walking him backward. Logan only had a second to take in his apartment—dark walls, colorful abstract art, minimalist furniture—before Ellis pushed him onto his sofa. Ellis slid into his lap, straddling him, and his mind went blank.

This time, when Ellis kissed him, it was slow and honeyed, like they had all the time in the world. Logan expected to feel nervous, but he didn’t. Ellis was familiar, even if what they were doing wasn’t, and his longing for him ran so deep it overcame even first-time jitters. Logan indulged in kissing Ellis until the persistent pulse of desire between his legs urged him into action. Ellis, he decided, was wearing far too much clothing. He reached for the hem of Ellis’s shirt.

Ellis obediently lifted his arms. Logan peeled his shirt off, revealing a handful of black chest tattoos and a silver ring in his right nipple.

“Oh Christ,” Logan mumbled, hazy with lust. He thumbed Ellis’s piercing without thinking and was rewarded with a moan. At least one thing from his experience with women translated over: nipples were fair game.

Ellis grabbed his face and crushed their mouths together with such force, Logan’s lips grew bruise-blood hot. Logan had been wrong before. He couldn’t kiss Ellis forever. As good as this felt, he needed more. He’d been hard for what felt like years now, and having Ellis in his lap was only prolonging his torment. He wasn’t entirely certain what to do about it, though. With a girl, he would have started working on her bra by now. That wasn’t applicable to say the least.

Maybe he was overthinking this. He should let his body tell him what it wanted. His cock certainly had something to say about that. It wanted to feel more of the warm body on top of his.

Instinctively, Logan rolled his hips up, seeking sweet friction. He found Ellis’s matching erection, and they groaned together. Then Ellis did this phenomenal wriggling thing in his lap, which somehow lined their dicks up like they were made to be slotted together, and Logan’s vision actually darkened. Now if only they didn’t have all this pesky clothing between them.

He reached between them, fumbling with the zipper on Ellis’s jeans. Ellis sucked in a breath and kissed his neck while Logan got them open. Just as Logan was about to slide a hand into Ellis’s underwear, Ellis took his wrist.

“Let’s relocate to my room.” Ellis met Logan’s gaze. His pupils had overtaken his irises. “If we go any further out here, we’re not gonna make it to a bed.”

Logan nodded. “Lead the way.”

Ellis took him by the hand and dragged him through the living room, past a small kitchen, to a single bedroom. His room was messy, but in an artful way. Books and cut-up magazines topped the dresser, the nightstand was covered in coffee mugs, and an easel was set up by the window. A half-finished canvas sported what looked like a deconstructed version of the Brigantine Lighthouse.

Ellis’s bed was unmade. Logan was a stickler about making his own bed, but the sight of Ellis’s tousled black sheets was a special turn-on.

Ellis led him over to the bed. He took his glasses off and placed them on the nightstand before flashing a grin. “How do you want me?”

Logan stared blankly at him for a moment before the meaning behind Ellis’s words sunk in. Ellis expected him to top. Even with his limited knowledge of gay sex, he understood what that meant, and the mechanics, more or less. One of them was going to give and the other was going to receive. Ellis had probably assumed Logan would balk at the idea of bottoming, given his history, but truthfully he hadn’t thought that far ahead.

Logan waited for a wave of panic to wash over him, but it never came. Instead, warmth blossomed low in his belly. And it wasn’t the idea of topping that was causing it. He pictured Ellis on top of him, his weight and heat, touching him all over, having him in a way no one ever had before, and fuck, that was all Logan wanted.

He blurted out, “I want you to fuck me.”

As soon as the words were out, his cheeks flooded with heat, but he met Ellis’s gaze unflinchingly.

“What?” Ellis’s eyes widened, though they looked smaller sans his glasses. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah. I think I am.”

Any uncertainty Logan might have felt was obliterated when Ellis’s face clouded over with such pure, potent want, it gave Logan goose bumps.

Ellis let out a shuddering breath. “Clothes off. Now.”

Logan scrambled to comply, yanking off his shoes, socks, pants, and underwear as if he were being timed. Ellis followed suit, and Logan was torn between salivating over every new inch of skin that was revealed and watching his face as he took in Logan. In the end, when Ellis’s underwear came off, salivating won out. Ellis didn’t have a porn star dick or anything like that—which Logan was infinitely grateful for, now that he’d made the decision to bottom—but his cock jutted straight out, flushed with blood and shiny with fluid. There was absolutely no question how turned on he was. And Logan was the reason.

“On the bed,” Ellis ordered. He never took his eyes off Logan as he wrapped a hand around himself and stroked from base to head.

Logan was too captivated to remember what Ellis had told him to do. “Sorry, what was that?”

Ellis laughed and gave him a gentle push. He tumbled onto the mattress. He had a second to orient himself before Ellis climbed over him, pushing him back. Ellis slid up his body until their dicks were aligned. They barely brushed each other, but pleasure surged through Logan. He grabbed Ellis’s hips and moaned, head thrown back, neck exposed. It had felt good to be straddled by him before, but now that they were skin to skin, it was a whole new realm of sensation. Ellis immediately leaned down and kissed his throat, stopping to nip at his Adam’s apple, and Logan thought he was going to lose it.

“I can’t believe I finally have you here.” Ellis wrapped deft fingers around them both and pumped. “I’ve wanted this for so long, wanted you.”

Logan gasped and canted his hips up, trying to encourage Ellis to go faster, to give him more, but Ellis kept the pace deliberate.

“Shh,” Ellis soothed. “I don’t want to rush this. And I have to prepare you before we can get to the good part.” He leaned over to the nightstand and opened the top drawer. He extracted condoms and a plastic bottle. Logan squinted at it. Lube.

Ellis studied his face. “You okay?”

“Fuck yeah.” Logan shivered. “I’m shocked by how okay I am.”

“You know what I’m going to do with this, right?”

Logan laughed. “I’m formerly straight, not a mole person. I have an inkling.”

“Bisexual,” Ellis amended before popping the cap open and squeezing some of its contents onto his fingers. “Relax. Breathing helps.”

Logan did as he was told, though no amount of breathing could prepare him for when Ellis nudged his knees apart and reached between his legs. Logan tensed despite himself. Instead of chastising him, Ellis slowed his progression, stopping off at his cock and giving that a slow, lubed stroke. When Logan relaxed again, Ellis dipped down to his balls, then his perineum, and then his hole. Logan thought he was prepared for the first swipe of a lubed finger, but he wasn’t.

“Ah.” Logan hadn’t meant to make a sound. He bit his lip to distract himself from the odd feeling. So far, this was not what he’d expected.

“It gets better,” Ellis said, as if reading his mind. “Stay relaxed, and I’ll show you. I’m gonna make this so good for you.”

Logan did as instructed, not because of the promise of pleasure but because he believed Ellis. He’d always trusted him. If he said this was going to be good, it was.

Though that didn’t stop him from having a flicker of doubt when Ellis slipped the first finger into him. The sensation didn’t remotely resemble pleasure. It was an odd, stretching feeling he’d just as soon do without. He tried not to squirm as Ellis worked his finger into him.

Logan distracted himself by thinking about Ellis. The man had serious patience. He wasn’t even touching his own cock, focused as he was on Logan. It was starting to flag a little from neglect, but still he poured all of his attention into preparing Logan, moving slowly and steadily, giving him plenty of time to adjust.

Ellis added a second finger, and Logan lost his battle against squirming. It didn’t feel bad, per se. Or at least, it didn’t now that the burning had gone away. It was just . . . different. He had nothing to compare it to, because he’d never felt anything quite like it. He was starting to wonder if there was some sort of conspiracy that the entire gay population was in on. Maybe they all just pretended this was good. Maybe it was some sort of global practical joke on straight people. Judging by the handful of gay people he’d met, he wouldn’t put it past them.

Ellis leaned down and buried his face against Logan’s neck, his fingers still working carefully within him. “Just a bit more. You feel amazing.”

“You’re the amazing one,” Logan said, and he meant it. He could tell Ellis was dying to get started but was holding himself back. He could feel it in his trembling fingers, could see it in his eyes that were all pupil with desire. “You take such good care of me. Always have. You’re so patient and understanding and . . . just . . . amazing.”

Ellis laughed, his breath hot and tickling. “If you can still babble, then you must be ready for more.”

“I’m not sure I— Holy shit.”

Ellis did something. Logan couldn’t begin to imagine what. Changed the angle or curled his fingers or something. Whatever he did sent a bolt of pleasure shooting up Logan’s spine. He jerked and grabbed Ellis’s shoulders.

“Fuck,” he said for good measure. “What did you just do?”

“Found the right spot, huh?” Ellis grinned. “Let me just—” His fingers repeated the motion, more deliberately this time, and Logan’s vision blurred. He pushed himself down on Ellis’s fingers, seeking more of the sensation. Looking down at his cock, he half expected to see come on his stomach. It felt like a mini-orgasm every time Ellis touched that part of him.

Logan was pretty sure he’d heard of this. “Is that my . . .?”

“Yeah. Good, right?” Ellis sunk his fingers into him, and this time when he went for Logan’s prostate, it was with tantalizing confidence. Logan’s whole body shook with the force of it. His cock had softened during the preparation, but now it was standing at attention. He was torn between the impulse to touch himself and not wanting to disrupt whatever Ellis was doing to him. And Ellis, bless him, seemed like he could fuck him open all night.

“Oh God.” Logan shuddered. “Ellis— I—”

“What? What is it?”

Logan grabbed his face and kissed him hard before pulling back just enough to look him in the eye. “I wanna fuck now.”

“Jesus. Are you sure? I don’t wanna rush.”

“Ellis.”

“Okay. Okay.” Ellis pushed back onto his haunches and took himself in hand. Logan’s demands must’ve had one hell of an effect on him. It only took two strokes to get him back to full hardness. With his free hand, he rubbed Logan’s thigh. “You sure you’re ready?”

“If you ask me that again, I’ll kick you out of your own bed.”

Ellis’s smile turned downright mischievous. “You asked for it.” He had a condom open and rolled down his length faster than Logan could think in this arousal-induced haze. Using the hand that was already on Logan’s thigh, he pushed Logan’s legs farther apart.

Logan resisted the urge to crane his neck down for a better view of exactly what was going on. “You don’t want me on all fours or anything?”

“No, I want to see your face.” He got into position and lined himself up. “Remember to relax and breathe.”

“Seriously, get on with— Ah!” Logan jolted when Ellis pressed into him. He couldn’t have penetrated him by more than an inch, but Logan was wholly unprepared for how different it felt to have hard flesh sinking into him, as opposed to fingers. He tensed up reflexively.

Ellis paused in place, panting. “Relax, babe. I don’t want to hurt you.” He smoothed a hand down Logan’s chest, which at some point had become coated with sweat.

Logan obeyed, taking deep breaths, and Ellis sunk another inch into him. It took everything he had not to tense up again. A paradigm shift was going on in his brain, in which he tried to reconcile the experience he was going through right now with his concept of sex.

This was not what he’d come to think of as sex. This was more like being invaded. It was sort of like when he swallowed a big pill and could feel it stick in his esophagus. Only Ellis’s cock was a lot bigger than a pill. He almost wanted to ask Ellis to go back to what he’d been doing before. That wouldn’t be fair though. He had to give this a try.

Ellis leaned down, aligning their bodies so they were chest to chest, and kissed his cheek. “You doing okay? I’m trying to go slow, but—” he shivered “—you feel incredible.”

Well, at least one of us is having a good time. “Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just different, is all.”

“Adjust if you need to. Find what works for you.”

“I don’t know if that’ll help.” Logan shifted beneath him, spreading his thighs and wiggling his hips. “I don’t know how to move.” He made a rolling motion, inadvertently pushing Ellis deeper into him while rubbing his cock against Ellis’s stomach. Hm, that wasn’t so bad. “Wait . . . let me . . .”

He repeated the movement. Ellis must have finally been in the right spot, because he felt that same spark of deep pleasure in his belly. “Fuck. Fuck, right there.” He thrust down on Ellis’s dick three times in rapid succession, chasing the feeling.

“Whoa, easy.” Ellis grabbed his hip to still him. “Don’t go too fast.”

“Move. Please move.” Logan didn’t even care that he was begging. He needed more, and he needed it now. He tried to thrust again, but Ellis’s grip was firm on his hip.

“Here, let me.” Ellis pulled out only to roll into him, languid and slow. He brushed Logan’s prostate, and Logan moaned throatily. He thought he’d be embarrassed—he’d never been this vocal in bed before—but there were too many things going on within him for him to be self-conscious. Ellis was seated deep inside him, filling him, rocking into him steadily now. His cock was stimulating Logan just enough to keep him breathless, but it was a ghost of what he really wanted.

“Ellis, I swear to God,” Logan hissed, “if you don’t fuck me like you mean it, I’m going to flip you over and do it myself.”

It was Ellis’s turn to moan. “Oh God. Next time, for sure.” He started thrusting in earnest, pulling out almost all the way only to sink back in. Hard. Logan breathed in time with his movements. Despite what he’d said, his body was still getting used to having something foreign in it. The more he breathed, the more he relaxed, and the better it felt. Ellis didn’t hit his prostate every time, but he hit it often enough to keep Logan’s toes curled.

He bet next time would be even better, and there was definitely going to be a next time. Logan hadn’t even come yet, and this was some of the better sex he’d ever had. Now he understood what all the fuss was about.

Things really heated up, however, when Ellis reached between them and took hold of his cock. Logan tried to cover his mouth, but a surprised moan burst from him before he could. Jesus, the dual sensations from Ellis moving inside him while pumping his cock were out of this world. In his head, his Top Five Sexual Encounters list rearranged itself. He’d have to send a condolences card to Angela Lakeman. She’d officially been bumped down to second place.

Ellis kissed him sloppily and made a helpless sound. “Fuck, Logan, so good.” Logan’s cock twitched in his hand from that alone. “Does it feel good for you yet?”

“Yes, ah, yes.” And he meant it too. How had he gone a lifetime without dick? How? Because he could do this forever.

Logan clenched a little, just to see how that felt, and Ellis jolted like he’d been shocked. “Oh fuck, babe, you can’t do that.” Ellis shivered. “I’m barely holding it together as it is.”

“Fuck. Sorry.” Logan wrapped a leg around him, trying to physically draw Ellis deeper into him. “Can I come from just this? I feel like I’m right on the edge.”

“Probably not, no. It takes some figuring out. We can try it next time, but for now I’m happy to assist.” His hand faltered on Logan’s cock, and he gave him a squeeze that sent Logan into the stratosphere. “I’m close, though. Do you mind if I come, and then I’ll get you off?”

Logan shook his head, too far gone for words.

“Tell me if it starts to hurt.” Ellis shifted onto his knees, pushed Logan’s legs up, and fucked him. Logan slipped an arm around him and held on. Despite what Ellis had said, the new angle was fantastic, and Ellis was still doing a decent job of jacking him off. An orgasm the likes of which he’d never felt before began to coil low in his belly, ready to spring.

Before it could solidify, Ellis’s thrusts grew erratic. He pumped once, twice, three times more into Logan before stilling with a deep, sonorous groan. Logan almost regretted the condom now. He could have added having a guy come inside him to the repertoire of new sensations Ellis had introduced him to today. But then, tomorrow was another day.

Ellis collapsed on top of him, gasping. Logan rubbed his back, unsure of what else to do. He was painfully hard, his cock squished between them, leaking pre-come like a faucet. The fullness that he’d just started to enjoy instantly became uncomfortable. He didn’t want to ask Ellis to get out of him, necessarily, but something needed to happen.

Ellis hauled himself up a moment later. “That was amazing.” He kissed him. “You’re amazing.” He sat up and pulled carefully out of him. Logan was as unprepared for the out as he’d been for the in. Ellis removed the condom and tossed it into his bedside trash can. “You ready for more?”

“You don’t have to get me off. I enjoyed myself plenty.”

“Oh no, it’s my pleasure.”

In a blink, Ellis shimmied down his body to his cock and swallowed him whole. It happened too quickly for Logan to really react. He buried his fingers in Ellis’s silky hair and held on. He’d never seen anyone take a cock down to the root that easily before. Ellis didn’t even hesitate. He just hollowed his cheeks and sucked dick like he’d been born to do it. Logan moaned and tightened his grip, not pushing, just needing something to hold on to while Ellis’s mouth worked expertly around him.

“Oh fuck, don’t stop,” Logan babbled. In an instant, he was right on the edge again.

Ellis hummed in response, and whether it was intentional or not, the vibration, combined with the perfect wet heat of his mouth, plucked something deep in Logan. He shouted a half-garbled warning just in time for Ellis to pull off him and stroke him through an orgasm that seemed to thunder in his veins.

Logan was actually a little embarrassed by how much he came. He didn’t black out or anything so dramatic, but for a full five seconds, he lost all sense of himself. The pleasure was bone-deep, starting between his legs and resonating throughout him. When he came back to himself, his stomach was completely coated.

Ellis eyed him, lips pressed together like he was trying not to smile. “Has it been a while or something?”

“Um, yeah, now that you mention it.” Logan willed his face not to heat up. Thank God all his blood was still situated elsewhere. “My last girlfriend was . . . Wow. More than a year ago. I didn’t even realize.”

“Man, if I went that long without sex, I’d . . . Well, I guess I’d be an uptight workaholic like you.”

Logan gave him a half-hearted glare. “You trying to make sure this never happens again?”

“Sorry. Here, lemme make you more comfortable.” Ellis got up, which to Logan seemed like a miracle, and headed for a door that Logan would have sworn hadn’t been there before. It must have led to a bathroom, because Ellis emerged a moment later with a hand towel. “Allow me.” He flopped onto the bed and wiped Logan off.

Logan watched him, too exhausted to move. “You could have wet it first, you know.”

“My mistake, Your Highness. I’ll do better next time.” He rolled onto his side and tossed the towel in the vicinity of a pile of laundry.

“So.” Ellis snuggled up to his side. “How are you feeling?”

“Good. Really good.”

“You’re not freaking out or anything? Having a belated identity crisis?”

“Eh. I did that all day yesterday. I’m ready to embrace the gay life.”

“The bisexual life,” Ellis corrected. “Unless you’re magically not into women anymore.”

“Not so much.” He cleared his throat. “I’m Logan, and I’m bisexual. Hm. That doesn’t sound so bad.”

“It gets easier, especially if you don’t introduce yourself that way.”

Logan chuckled. “I may want to. Get it out of the way early.”

“It’s your identity. You can do what you want.” He tucked his face into the crook of Logan’s neck. “I know the first time usually takes some adjustment, but I hope that was good for you.”

“It was fantastic.”

Ellis peeked up at him. “Really? I mean, you seemed like you enjoyed it, but . . .”

“Yeah, heads-up: you’ve created a monster. It’s only been a few minutes, and all I can think about is doing that again.”

“Oh, is that so?” Ellis moved a little away from him. “Would you do me a favor and sit up for a second?”

Logan frowned. “Um, sure? Why do you need me to—” The second he pushed himself up, his ass ached. He yelped and flopped back down. Ellis—the absolute bastard—howled with laughter.

“That’s not funny!”

“It really is.” Ellis kissed his frowning cheek. “It was your first time, babe. You can’t expect to take dick like a pro from the get-go. Though I think you did admirably, if I do say so myself.”

Logan grumbled obscenities under his breath in response.

Undeterred, Ellis kissed him again, on the corner of his mouth. “You’ll get a chance for revenge soon enough.”

“I will?”

“Yeah.” Another kiss, on the lips. “I’m not gonna let you have all the fun forever.”

Logan’s cock took a pronounced interest in that idea. Before he could get too excited, the rest of what Ellis said caught up with him. “‘Forever’?”

Ellis looked stricken. “I didn’t mean it literally. It’s an expression.”

“No, don’t take it back. I . . . kinda like the sound of that.” He smiled. “Forever.”

For once, Ellis was the one who turned red. “You mean it?”

Logan nodded. “I was thinking it before, when we were getting ready to have sex. You took such good care of me, and I don’t think there’s anyone else I would have trusted to do that. You didn’t go into this expecting me to bottom. If it had been anyone else, I don’t think I would have. But I knew you’d make this a good experience for me.” He brushed a loose strand of hair away from Ellis’s eyes. “And I was right.”

Ellis’s expression looked like it had tried to head for Happiness but had blown a tire somewhere around Wary Uncertainty. “That’s sweet. Really. Nineteen-year-old me is jumping for joy inside my head right now.”

“But,” Logan prompted.

“But . . . part of me thinks this is too good to be true. It’s too easy, you know? I mean, we run into each other out of nowhere, we hang out a couple of times, and the next thing I know we’re together again like we were never apart.” He rolled onto his back and looked at the ceiling. Logan couldn’t help but think he was doing it to avoid his gaze. “Do things really work out like this in real life?”

Logan shrugged. “I mean, if you seriously think this is too easy, then allow me to remind you that this took four years, three arguments, and a sexual identity crisis. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think we earned this.”

“You do?”

“Absolutely. But then I just got fucked into next week. My brain’s lagging behind.”

“Fair enough. I guess I didn’t think of it like that.”

Logan touched Ellis’s cheek, prompting him to look at Logan. “There is one thing that could make all of this fall apart, though.”

“You deciding you’d rather be with a woman?”

Logan glared at him. “No, if you keep throwing the fact that I like women in my face. And if you never forgive me for ghosting you. You haven’t officially done it yet. Don’t think I didn’t notice.”

Ellis flinched. “To be fair, I was distracted, but I see your point. I . . . can forgive you.”

That wasn’t quite the enthusiastic response that Logan wanted. He shifted uncomfortably. “You’re not ready yet, are you?”

“Not entirely, but I know I need to move on. And not even for your sake. I’ve been holding on to this anger for so long. It’s not healthy.” Ellis twisted his arm around until he could run a hand through Logan’s hair. “I’ll promise to let go of the past if you promise never to ghost me again.”

“I can manage that.” Logan didn’t want to press his luck, but there was one more question burning in his gut. “Just out of curiosity, what convinced you to give me another chance? Something changed between the club and today. I’m sure that wasn’t an easy decision.”

“Honestly? When you said that you’d told your family about us. That was what gave me the first real hope that you were serious. Telling me is one thing, but coming out is a serious step. I was shocked to hear you’d done it so soon.”

Logan brushed a finger along his cheek. “I did, and you know what? It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be.” Feelings for the man next to him welled up in his chest, pushing words out. “I’ve never been this serious about something, or someone, in my life.”

“Look at you, all gushy.” Ellis smiled. “I like it.”

“Hey, I just got back together with my college sweetheart. I think I’m allowed to gush a little.”

“Aha! So you admit that we were dating back then.”

“Oh, definitely. I’ll shout it from the rooftops. You were my first boyfriend. And the first person I ever felt anything serious for, and so many of my other firsts.”

They fell silent, snuggled together on Ellis’s messy bed. Logan could feel sleep tugging at the edge of his consciousness. As he drifted off, a thought occurred to him. He was so glad for all the firsts he’d had with Ellis, but if he were really, really lucky, he’d have all of his lasts with Ellis as well.