Chapter Ten - Relatable Incidents

Gritting his teeth together as he stepped into the conference room, Greg gave his supervisor a nervous smile, before he slipped into one of the seats at the back. He was nearly an hour and thirty minutes late for work, so he knew there was going to be hell to pay, but he couldn't give the real excuse of the baby keeping him up all day as no one besides Catherine even knew that Nick was still in Las Vegas, let alone staying with him. He finally managed to get some sleep after Nick left the apartment with the baby, but he slept straight through his alarm, making him late for one of the most important days of work.

"Okay, that's it everyone. Greg..." Grissom called him out, ushering him towards the front as everyone filed out of the room, taking a suspect sketch each from Sara at the door. "Where have you been? You were over an hour late. We're on an amber alert."

"I figured." Greg spoke softly, gritting his teeth together again as the man glanced up at him. "I'm sorry I'm late, I slept straight through my alarm... but I'll make up the time."

Grissom gave him the death stare for a moment, before he handed him the notes from the table in front of him. "I assume you missed most of it, so look through this to catch up. Once you've finished with that, you can meet Warrick at the primary scene. There's not much of a scene, so I need your A game today to gather any available evidence we can find."

"On it." He nodded, taking a step back to give the man some room to clear away his things. "I know this is probably a bad time to ask, but can I have a few days off next week? For my Papa Olaf, he's going back into hospital for an operation..."

"Greg, why are you still here?" He interrupted the younger man. "Ask me again next week, this is more important at the moment." He lifted his suitcase from the table, cocking his head to one side as he smelt something familiar. He turned to Greg to sniff him, giving him a curious look. "Have you seen Nick?"

"No..." Greg felt his cheeks flush as he sniffed himself. He couldn't smell anything, but his supervisor always did have a heightened sense of smell. "Why?"

"No reason." He shrugged his shoulders together, making his way over to Sara at the door. "You and I should head over to the house, speak to the parents. I'll resupply my kit then meet you by the car."

"Okay." Sara smiled at him, turning to give Greg one of the mug shots that were sketched by the parents description of the kidnapper. "You look exhausted."

"Duly noted." He turned the sketch to take a look at it. "Great... normal, plain, unrecognisable."

"Did you hear how it happened? The parents left the stroller by the car to have an argument over money. They just walked off and left their child alone and unattended. When they came back, the stroller was empty and they started yelling at each other. A passerby called the police for a domestic disturbance."

"How'd they come up with this then?" Greg glanced up at her.

"First officer on scene asked them if they saw anyone suspicious when they arrived at the park. The father said he didn't see anything, but the mother worked with our sketch artist and came up with this. He was wearing his hood up, hanging around beside the ice cream stall. I already sent one over to Warrick, he confirmed that the guy at the ice cream stand saw the same guy. He didn't see the actual kidnapping though. No one seemed to see anything other than the parents arguing."

He suddenly felt slightly more sympathetic towards these kinds of cases after living with a baby for four weeks. This was one case that he really didn't want to get stuck into after spending time with a young baby. "How old is the child?" He queried.

"Ten months."

"So a baby?" Greg clutched the file in his hands tightly against his chest, trying to put Nick and his baby to the back of his mind for this case. It was a lot harder than he thought it would be though. He found himself a little choked up when he arrived at the scene, seeing the empty stroller in the middle of the sectioned off area. He grabbed his kit from the seat beside him, gulping hard before he made his way over to Warrick. "Hey."

"Hi." Warrick continued dusting the stroller for prints. "I haven't searched the car yet. It's doubtful you'll find anything, but it's worth a shot. Grissom wants it checked here, before we take it back to the lab for processing."

"Okay." He carefully stepped around the stroller, going for the passenger side door of the parents car. He pulled his camera out of his kit first, taking a few pictures of the front, before he started looking around. "There's a ton of final demands in the glove compartment." He held them up to his partner outside the car.

"Parents story was that they were fighting over money. This was supposed to be the father's day to take care of the baby. Court recommended they meet somewhere public after all the domestic disturbance calls to their old residence. I guess it didn't work out this way either." He climbed to his feet with a sigh, looking at the dozens of partials he managed to pull off the stroller. "These will take hours to process."

"Hey, look at these." Greg pulled out a set of surveillance photos from the glove compartment. "Is that the Mom?" He held them up to the older man.

"No..." Warrick leant a little closer. "This is the Mom's car. Looks like she's been keeping tabs on her ex husband and his new girlfriend, maybe? I'll make sure Brass gets a look at these. See if we can track this woman down. Good work, Greggo."

"Thanks." Greg moved to the back of the car, snapping a few pictures of the car seat still strapped in and the few toys that were left on the other seat. "Hey, there's no diaper bag." He turned towards the stroller, realising it wasn't on there either.

"Kidnapper must have took it." Warrick assumed, watching the younger man curiously as he scanned the area. He followed his gaze across the park, towards the multi coloured picket fence posts in the distance. "What are you thinking?"

"I don't know yet." Greg handed his camera over to the man, leaving the scene to check something out. As he suspected, the brightly coloured fence surrounded a kindergarten. He peered around the side at the car park, before he glanced back at Warrick in the park. It would have been an easy getaway for someone carrying a baby, especially with the parents arguing the other side of the park. "Excuse me." He caught the attention of the woman taking the trash out. "Hi, I'm Greg with the Las Vegas crime lab." He motioned over his shoulder towards the police surrounding the park. "Does that camera work?" He pointed to the camera on the outside of their building.

"Yes, it does." She nodded, putting a smile on his face. "It's all backed up on the office computer. We have another one watching the car park." She led him round to the main door, taking him through to their office computer. He found the approximate time frame of the kidnapping, realising Grissom was going to love him.

It didn't have a great view of the park, but he could easily see the woman from the surveillance photos carrying away the ten month old baby and diaper bag to her car.

He took it back to the lab to have Archie analyse and enhance it a little more, while he tried to find an ID on the mystery woman. Grissom wasn't as impressed as he hoped he would be with the CCTV footage, only making him more determined to crack the case.

"Got her." Warrick startled him, bringing a file into the lab Greg was sat in. "Her partial prints were on the stroller. Mandy just finished going through them and managed to match a few to this woman." He opened up the file in front of the younger man. "Francesca Hart. She's got priors for larceny."

"That's her." Greg compared her mug shot with the surveillance photos from the mother's car.

"I've sent it to Brass already, see if he can pick her up. Griss is back and he wants to see you in his office." He quickly added, lifting the file from in front of him. "Hey, have you heard from Nick?"

"Nope." He continued the lie, feeling bad as he reluctantly climbed to his feet. "He's probably really busy with the baby or something." If Nick was happy to let him tell them the truth, he would, but his boyfriend wanted their relationship and situation to remain safely just between them, so that's what he did. "Grissom." He knocked on his supervisor's door, before he stepped inside. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes." The man retrieved a form off the top of his desk, handing it over to Greg. "Fill out the dates you need to take off next week. Give it back to me whenever."

"Thank you." He looked at him surprised. "It should only be two or three days."

"Take as long as you need. With Nick away, Ecklie is looking to hire a temporary replacement that might become part of the team someday anyway. Nick will always have a place here, but we're going to need someone to pick up the slack while he's away." Grissom grabbed his car keys off the desk, picking up his kit from beside it. "I'll take a look at that security footage you found when I get back. I'm meeting Sara to search the father's house. Judge put a warrant through after you found out that his girlfriend was the one with the baby."

"Oh, Mandy managed to get an ID on her from the partial prints on the stroller. We should be able to get an address on her soon. From the footage, she doesn't look like she wants to harm the baby. She might just be trying to get her boyfriend more access to his child. He has her one day a month at the moment. I'd say that's a pretty good motive for kidnapping."

"Let's hope you're right." The man grabbed his jacket on the way out the door. He stopped at the doorway, turning back to look at the youngest member of their team. "Good work, Greg." He gave him some recognition for his efforts.

Greg didn't have to wait too long before Warrick found them an address, giving them the opportunity to head out into the field once again. He felt both anxious and excited about the search of the girlfriend's house. He was hoping they would find the baby, but he had to keep his expectations realistic on this job.

He stared up at the house as the deputies cleared the house, trying to picture what kind of person she was by the wallpaper and curtains that he could see through the windows. Downstairs on the left was a deep red. He guessed it was the front room, but he wasn't close enough to see the furniture inside. On the right was a lot lighter. One wall looked pale blue, while the other was tiled at least halfway. He noticed some movement in one of the upstairs windows, followed by the continuous sound of the deputies giving the all clear for all the rooms.

"Our turn." Warrick picked up his kit, leading the way inside. He scanned the front room first, before he made his way through to the kitchen to look around. "Today's date, a time and the park written on the fridge." He pointed it out to Greg to photograph. "Nothing is ever that easy."

"Could be." Greg snapped a few pictures of it, feeling his phone vibrating against his hip.

He waited until he was alone to retrieve it, reading the latest update from his mother on his Papa Olaf. He had been taken back into hospital again, but she told him not to worry three or four times in the long message, promising to keep him updated if anything changed.

"Hey," He found Warrick in the other room. "I found an invoice for a rental truck that she hired yesterday. It doesn't look as though any of her furniture has been moved out... or in recently."

"Maybe it was for the boyfriend's house. They could be moving in together. Seems a little too soon, especially with a kidnapped baby, but couples always do crazy things."

"Says the man who had an overnight wedding without telling anyone about it." Greg felt a little hypocritical as the sentence came out of his mouth, realising he had done exactly the same thing with Nick. Less than five minutes after finding out that a relationship between them could have been a possibility, he was inviting him to move in with him and become his live in boyfriend.

"I hope Griss and Sara are having better luck than us." The man sighed, pushing another drawer shut. "Where would you take a baby that you kidnapped for your boyfriend?"

"I don't know." Greg shrugged his shoulders together, thinking of the first thing that Nick wanted to do once his daughter was out of the hospital. "Home to Mom? Maybe she didn't know that it would be reported as a kidnapping if she did it for her boyfriend. She looked as though she really cared about the baby on the footage, not like most kidnappers."

"If he did ask her, why would he get the police involved and play dumb? She could have been working alone. She wanted the baby that the other woman had to tie down the guy. We've seen it happen before. C'mon, let's head back to the lab." He grabbed for his kit, leading the way back to his car outside. He was disappointed that they hadn't really made a dent in the case, but at least they had narrowed down the list of places the baby had been taken.

Greg reached for the door handle as soon as they arrived back at the lab, spotting his boyfriend's truck parked in the distance. "You go ahead... I'll catch up." He left Warrick to carry the box of evidence upstairs, worrying that something was wrong as he weaved through the cars, towards where Nick was parked. "Hey," Greg climbed in the passenger side, checking on his daughter fast asleep in the back. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, your Mom called your apartment. I wanted to see if you were okay. Catherine said you were out, so I thought we'd wait until you got back."

"Did she leave a message or did you talk to her?"

"I spoke to her. How does she know I even live there?" He gave him a curious look.

"Because I told her." Greg grinned through his teeth. "Sorry, but she's my Mom. I can't lie to her. I let it slip that my roommate was making sure I ate three meals a day. She asked how I managed to find the space for a roommate and I sorta said that we share the bed, which only peaked her interest even more. So I told her about you. Is that okay?"

"Yeah." Nick gave him a slight smile, reaching his hand across to him. "You must think it's pretty serious between us if you're already tellin' your folks."

"I must." He smiled back at him, reaching for his phone off his hip as it started to vibrate. "Sara... they've found the baby." He gave out a sigh of relief, before he leant forwards to press his lips to Nick's. "I better go. Grissom's already mad at me because I was late."

"We still on for tonight?"

"Of course," Leaning closer, Greg brushed their noses together, before he sealed his lips over Nick's once more. "You don't even flinch when I do that anymore." He whispered against his lips, playfully sucking on his bottom lip, teasing him into another kiss. "I gotta go."

"Okay." Nick licked his lips, "Did I really flinch?"

"Only a little." Greg nodded, shrugging his shoulders together. "It didn't bother me. I knew that you'd need time from the beginning. I actually thought it would take you longer than five weeks to trust me like you do. I guess the live in boyfriend idea wasn't such a bad one after all, huh?"

"I guess not." He smiled back at him. "I'll see you later."

"Yeah you will." Reaching for the door behind him, Greg gave him a smile, checking on Sadie in the back before he climbed out. He waved goodbye to him as he hurried towards the elevator, relieved that Warrick really had gone on ahead or he would have seen him kissing his best friend. "Hey, Sara." He caught up to her on the lab floor. "So you found the baby?"

"No, the woman, Frankie turned herself in." Sara sighed, sounding slightly disappointed. "She got scared when she saw the report on TV of the kidnapped baby in her possession. She said her boyfriend wasn't worth going to jail. He just told her to pick up the baby and meet her at her mother's in an hour. He never said anything about involving the police though."

"So he tried to set her up?" Greg followed her through to the empty break room, leaning against the counter while she grabbed herself a coffee. "Do we charge anyone with anything in a case like this?"

"How about wasting our time? He knew where his daughter was all along, but he went along with the whole investigation without telling anyone that it was just a dumb plan to get more custody. I guess his visitation rights are completely gone too. He might be charged with the attempt to kidnap. I doubt he's going to be able to see his daughter for a long time either. It's the mother I feel most sorry for. She really thought her baby had been abducted."

"Is she with her now?"

"Yeah, Brass reunited them in the station. Grissom's still down there. You want one?" She held up an extra mug, knowing the answer already as he loved his coffee. "Warrick was pretty pissed when he arrived. I hadn't even told him the baby had been found yet. Did something happen on your scene?"

"No." Greg felt the blood draining from his face, realising the last place they were was in the parking lt. He was sure he had already gone when he first kissed his boyfriend, but maybe he had seen the whole thing. "I'll be right back." He quickly slipped away, making a quick search of the lab for the man. He stopped by the locker room hearing the loud slam of a metal door, feeling a chill running down his spine as it was him. "Warrick."

"Don't even come near me." He gave him a stern warning without looking round at him.

Keeping his back to the locker room door, Greg inhaled a deep breath, trying to think of a way to explain it to him. "If you saw... what I think you saw, then I think I need to explain something to you. It's not what you think. I know you're angry or upset..."

"Why would I be angry that you've both lied to me?" Warrick sarcastically remarked, keeping his head turned away from the younger man. "You even lied to me about Nick leaving. He hasn't gone anywhere. Was it all just a big lie?" He finally turned towards him. "I asked you today if you had heard from him and you lied again. You're off having this secret life with him."

"It wasn't like that. We just... he didn't want to go back to Texas with his tail between his legs, so I said that he should stay. He didn't have anywhere to stay, so I suggested my apartment for a while. I didn't plan anything. Neither of us did."

"But he's not..." Warrick shook off the thought of his best friend being into men. "Can you just get out of my way?" He motioned towards the door.

The last thing he wanted to do was have a conversation about what he had just seen. He didn't look the younger man in the eyes as he stepped away from the door, storming away before he could say another word to him. He refused to believe it even though he had seen it right in front of him, but he didn't believe that someone could keep up a lie like that for the past six years or so that he had known him.

With Warrick gone, Greg dropped heavily to the bench in the middle of the locker room, anxiously running his finger through his hair. If Nick found out that Warrick had seen them, he could quite possibly go into a full blown panic attack.

He nervously made his way back to the apartment as soon as his shift was over, inhaling a deep breath before he unlocked the front door. His nostrils were immediately invaded by a delicious scent, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was. There was no sign of Nick in the kitchen, so he removed his jacket and sneakers, taking a few steps into the kitchen to see what was cooking.

"Be ready in about fifteen minutes." Nick startled him, giving him a smile as he turned to look at him. "I hope you're hungry."

"Starving."

"Good. There's been a slight change of plans about tonight though." He reached for Greg's hand, leading him around the counter to point out the little girl in the bouncer on the floor. She had a pacifier in her mouth, barely able to keep her eyes open. "Catherine has a cold. I didn't want to leave her there in case..."

"It's okay. I don't mind her being here." He smiled round at him. "I'm gonna grab a quick shower."

"Hey," Nick grabbed his wrist, pulling him back towards him. "Is everythin' okay? You seem oddly quiet, for you anyway." He placed his hand on his hip, looking into his eyes. "Did somethin' happen? Did I do somethin'?" With his free hand, he gently brushed his fingertips across the younger man's forehead, wondering what was going on in his head. "You know you're supposed to talk to me if this relationship is gonna work."

As much as he wanted to tell him, he knew he couldn't as the consequences could impact everything going on in his life at the moment. "I'm fine, just tired." He leant forwards, sealing a quick kiss to his lips. "I'll hurry." Greg smiled at him, making his way into the bathroom. He stepped over the change mat left on the floor, pulling his t-shirt off as he stepped up to the sink. He fished out the rubber duck and rattle from the sink, before he could brush his teeth. He stumbled on a soft jelly teething ring as he turned towards the shower, where his nostrils were immediately invaded with the scent of baby shampoo. She didn't have a lot of hair, but Nick left the top of the bottle, filling the whole shower with the soothing scent.

After a few minutes in the bathroom, he made his way into the bedroom with a towel around his waist, grabbing himself some clothes to wear. Nick was preoccupied in the kitchen, so he didn't have to worry about him seeing his scars or his naked body. He felt nervous about the clothes he had picked out, but he didn't have time to change them as the older man was already serving their food. He quickly ran his fingers through his wet hair, wishing he had time to gel or dry it, but it would have to do for now.

"Mmm, smells good." He slid into his seat, hearing Sadie making her usual whimpering sound, right before she started to cry. "I'll get her." He practically leapt out of his seat, kneeling down in front of the bouncer. He scooped her out of the elastic support, lifting her against his chest. "Did you feed her already?"

"Yeah, she's probably tired." Nick set the plates from his hands on the table, smiling as he looked up at the beautiful young man holding his daughter. He hadn't had much hands on experience since they arrived, but he looked like a natural holding her against his chest. "Here, I'll put her down. She should fall right to sleep about now." He gently scooped her out of the younger man's arms, taking her over to her crib by the bed. She whimpered about being put down at first, but soon settled with her blanket and the familiar scent of sleep.

Nick quickly made his way back to the table, serving up the mouth watering pot roast he had made, before Greg helped himself. He smiled as he saw the look on the younger man's face, adoring him even more. He took his seat opposite him, pouring him a glass of the bottle of wine that was on the table. He would have preferred a beer himself, but tonight was all about Greg and keeping a level head.

"Dig in."

"You don't say grace?" Greg gave him a curious look. He had never said it before at the dinners or restaurants they had been to, but he thought for sure he was the kind of guy to say it at home.

"Not since I was about... eleven or somethin'." He shrugged his shoulders. "My father didn't wonna hear it anymore. It was more my Mama's thing growin' up. I can't remember what happened then, but somethin' tipped him over the edge. He didn't wonna go to church with us anymore. And he stopped makin' us say our prayers before bed. Do you want to?"

"I wouldn't know how to." He smiled back at him, lifting his glass of wine off the table. "My Mom taught me basic table manners, but she never believed in saying grace. I think my Dad's folks used to make him go to church with them when he was little, but they let him make up his own mind once he was older. My Nana taught me to only eat when the host starts and to always toast the host before you've tasted anything. So," Greg looked into the older man's eyes, holding his glass of wine a little higher. "To the gorgeous Texan host, who makes food smell good."

Nick couldn't help but smile, lifting his glass of wine from the table. "All your food could smell good if you didn't nuke it in the microwave before you ate it." He clinked their glasses together, giving him a grin as he took a sip. "Is it okay for you? I'm not really a wine drinker."

"I like it."

"Why do you look more nervous than me?" Nick set his glass down, giving him a curious look. He noticed how much paler he looked than normal and how much quieter he was, feeling as though his stomach was in knots. "Did I do somethin' wrong? Is this not what you wanted?"

"It's exactly what I wanted." Greg set the glass down, placing his hands in his lap. He was contemplating whether to tell him about Warrick knowing or not, but he decided not as he looked at the delicious meal laid out in front of him. "I've just had one of those days. I'm sorry. Let's eat, I'm starving."

"Okay." The older man reached for his cutlery, glancing up at Greg for a moment, before he cut into the slab of beef on his plate. He was starting to wish that he had carved the slices a little thinner as the dull blade of Greg's cutlery wouldn't go through it, but the taste was so similar to his mother's home roast that it felt as though he was back on the ranch again.

As far as first dates went, everything went to plan, but his date seemed as though he had other things on his mind the whole time.

Greg carried their finished plates over to the sink once they were done, feeling Nick's hands brush past his hips. He took a moment to build up his courage, before he firmly placed his hands on his hips, breathing in the delicious scent of his shower gel. "You don't have dessert?" The younger man tilted his head back against him, feeling the older man's firm chest against his back.

"I didn't know what you liked. And I've never exactly made any kind of dessert other than ice cream scoops. Sorry. If you tell me what you like, I can remember it for next time." He took a slight step closer, smiling as the younger man leant back into his embrace. He moved his left hand a little higher against his hip, slipping his fingers beneath his t-shirt to feel the soft skin beneath. "Did you like everythin'?"

"I loved it. I could definitely get used to more of your cooking." He placed his hand over Nick's, feeling goose bumps shivering their way down his spine from his touch. "Nick, you know that you don't have to do anything that you don't want to."

"What if I want to, though. Would that be alright with you?"

"Are you kidding?" Greg turned around, putting his back to the sink. He felt Nick's hand sweep itself around to his back as he spun, worrying that he would feel his scars beneath his t-shirt and put him off. He looked up into his eyes, giving him a smile. "This is exactly what I have always wanted. I never thought in a million years that it would actually happen, especially not to me. It kinda feels a little like a fairytale. I feel like I need to pinch myself to make sure it's really happening, so I don't want you to rush a moment of it, just because you think I want it to happen. I do, but I want this to go at your pace."

"My pace is usually a lot quicker than this, so I don't exactly know what I want. I feel comfortable with this." He leant a little closer, aligning his hips with Greg's. "It's been almost five weeks. We haven't exactly been datin' in the normal sense of the word, but it's still kinda the same as datin'. I want to be able to do the normal things that I would do in a relationship. I've never had these kinds of feelin's for someone and not been able to express them. It's kinda frustratin' not knowin' what to do around you to show you that I care."

"I'd say this is a good start." He smiled up at him, feeling his fingers tingling his spine. "I just don't want to... push you over the edge so to speak. You haven't had a panic attack in a while, but you still won't take my advice and see someone about them."

"I talk to you. I don't want to talk to some stranger who has to read last sessions notes to remember who I am." He spoke from his previous experience with the shrink.

"That was just a department shrink. A real one on your dime would actually care."

"I don't want to talk to someone I don't know. I trust you and I know you. I feel safe tellin' you things. You actually listen and care about me. I've never had that in a relationship... ever. I want to show you that I care about you too, without flinchin' away every time you try to get close to me."

"You don't flinch anymore though."

"I know and I feel ready to be closer to you." Nick slid his flattened palm up his partner's back, smiling as he felt his body shivering against him. "I at least want to see you naked. See if you live up to my fantasies."

"You fantasise about me?" A grin immediately spread across Greg's lips. "Well, I guess it's only fair, especially since I saw you naked the other day."

"You did not." He felt the blood draining from his face. "When?"

"You thought I was sleeping. You forgot your towel. I didn't see much, but you really shouldn't bend over at the foot of the bed to put your boxers on again." He teased him, giggling as the man playfully jabbed him in the sides. "It was bound to happen sometime. And I have to say that you certainly exceed my own fantasies."

"Oh, really." Nick leant a little closer, sealing his lips to Greg's. He pulled him in for a long passionate kiss, slowly guiding him away from the sink. He pulled back for a breath as they passed the dining table, feeling a mixture of nervousness and excitement as they made it to the bed. He brushed his hand across the younger man's cheek as he broke the kiss, looking into the soul of his eyes. "How do we..."

"Depends if you..." Greg copied him, giving him a grin before he took a step back from him. He reached for the hem of his own t-shirt, pulling it up and over his head. He ditched it on the floor beside him, popping open the button of his jeans as he looked up at Nick. "Your turn."

"Okay," Anxiously licking his lips, Nick pulled his shirt out from his jeans, fiddling with the buttons for a few minutes, before he dropped it to the floor beside him. He watched the younger man loosening the fly to his jeans, slipping his thumbs into the waistband as he slid them down over his boxers. He let them fall to the floor around his ankles, easily stepping out of them without using his hands. "How do you make the simplest things look so sexy?"

"Maybe because you think I'm sexy . . . so everything I do is sexy to you." He grinned back at him. "Your turn again."

Nick grabbed for the buckle of his belt, fumbling with it for a seconds, before he got it loose. He couldn't do the same as Greg did with his jeans, making him feel a little embarrassed trying to get them free from his ankles. "You made it look easy." He smirked, finally getting his left foot free. He hooked his thumbs into his own boxers, looking at Greg in front of him. "So... after three?"

"I think I did this with my cousin once." Greg had a sudden déjà vu. "When we were little, she wanted to see what a boy looked like naked. She counted down to three. I never showed her though. Good thing too because my Mom walked in like a second later and yelled at my cousin. I think she was two years older than me, so she got into big trouble for that."

"Nice thought." Nick smiled back at him, relieved to see a little more of the familiar Greg. "No goin' back now." He inhaled a deep breath, slipping his boxers down his thighs. He managed to step out of them once they hit the floor, practically straining his neck not to look as the younger man did the same.

"Just look." He giggled, reaching out for Nick's hands to pull him closer. "You're gonna hurt yourself if you don't." The older man finally allowed himself to look down for just a moment, getting a brief glimpse of the forbidden fruit that he been denying himself all these years. "Hasn't changed your mind has it?"

"No... you're everythin' I've ever wanted... and more." Letting his natural instincts kick in, Nick gave him a gentle push back against the bed, scrambling on top of him a second later. He bravely ground their naked hips together for the first time, sliding his hands across the younger man's thighs as he assaulted his mouth. He groaned in unison with the younger man, crushing his body between himself and his mattress.

Other than their first kiss, this felt like one of the most intense kisses he had ever experienced. The heat from it alone was almost suffocating. His partner's warm hands practically melted his skin with each touch, knowing exactly where to apply pressure, sending jolts of pleasure throughout his body.

Nick felt completely in his element once they got started, knowing exactly what to do to make the younger man's body spasm beneath him. It felt more real than any of the women he had been with, feeling as though he knew him inside and out completely as he was just the same as him.

He had finally found the right fit.

Thank you for reading! Please review.

~ Holly