A/N: Hello again everyone! New chapter alert!

Before we get into it, I would like to thank everyone that read last chapter! I would also like to give a huge thank you to winterschild11, RainbowDiamonds, Side1ways, Guest, and annabellex2 for reviewing!

I hope you all enjoy!

The turning point for me had been the moment I'd started irritating myself with my ceaseless overthinking and insecurity. I wasn't proud of my jealous tendencies and horribly low self-confidence, but it wasn't something I could really control.

One too many sleepless nights were starting to catch up to me, all because of my obsessing. It was affecting my everyday life, both in and out of the classroom. Luckily, the kids were still working on their research papers, so I hadn't done any damage there, but if I didn't take care of it soon, I'd be a complete wreck.

When over a week had passed and I still hadn't heard from Kendall, I knew it was my turn to make a move. Even if he was still pissed off and told me to leave, at least I had tried to do something. To chase him for once.

That night at the bar had aided in my thinking as well. The bartender had told me nothing was impossible and she'd thrown around the word fate. Crazy that a complete stranger could help me see things a little clearer, but it'd been the final push I'd needed to act.

"Hey." I said once he answered. Part of me expected him to slam the door in my face. "Can I come in?"

Kendall's green eyes watched me with leeriness.

I couldn't blame him. My mood had been a bit all over the place ever since he'd gotten into town. Kind of like the boy who cried wolf. Now that I'd gone there to try to fix the shithole I'd created, he believed it was some trick.

"Sure." He opened the door wider. "Um, can I get you a drink or something?"

"No, thanks." I said, offering him a tight smile. After walking into the house, I stood in the entryway with my hands in the front pocket of my hoodie. I wondered if I looked as awkward as I felt.

I turned to him and tried to ignore how great he looked. Not wearing a shirt, it was clear that hockey and his workouts had done wonders for his body. I tried to avert my eyes from those sexy as hell V lines that disappeared below the material of his sweatpants.

His expression remained guarded.

"How are you?" I asked.

"Fine." He crossed his arms, and I forced myself to hold eye contact and not look at his body. "You?"

A lie was on the tip of my tongue. I mean, it was sort of normal to say good or I've been great when someone asked me that question. However, I couldn't lie to Kendall, and only complete honesty would get us past this damn hurdle.

"Not so good." I answered before glancing down at the wood floor. "I've been doing a lot of thinking. Too much, actually."

"You? Overthinking?" Kendall interjected with mock surprise.

I looked up to see him smirking.

"Yeah, I know I'm awful about doing it." I exhaled and stepped toward him. He didn't react. He just stared at me, squaring his jaw in that annoyingly sexy way of his. "I owe you a huge apology, Kendall. The way I've treated you lately is appalling and you don't deserve it. What happened with us wasn't just your fault. We both played a role in breaking what we had." I searched his face and tried to get a read on his thoughts, but his guard was still up. "I'm sorry for holding a grudge against you."

Finally, his guard slipped, and for the briefest of moments I saw the pain in his green eyes. No, maybe not pain. Longing?

"I ran into Mr. Henderson at the grocery store the other day." He said, and his sudden change of topic confused me. "Remember how we used to sneak into his yard and steal apples?" Kendall grinned, but the action didn't reach his eyes. "I used to get you into so much trouble when we were kids, but you followed me anyway."

"You were my best friend. Of course I did." I ached to touch him, but I refrained from doing so. Instead, I stood in place, fighting the urge that I used to give into without a second thought.

We were nowhere near that point of comfortability.

Somewhere along the way, we'd gone from best friends and lovers to barely even acquaintances. I'd heard of other childhood friends being that way-being so close and then losing touch after high school-but it was hard to wrap my head around the fact that it'd actually happened to us.

Even harder to accept that I'd been the one to help push us to that point.

"I'm selling the house." Kendall said.

"What? Why?"

"Some things need to be let go." He answered, not meeting my eyes. "There are some areas that need to be fixed up before listing it, like a few loose floorboards and some rot damage in the back, so I'm staying here a little longer to get it done."

"And then you'll leave?" I asked, hating the way my heart clenched at the thought.

"Yeah."

More silence followed.

"Why are you here, James?" Kendall's right hand formed a fist at his side, something he did when he was nervous or agitated. "Just to apologize and ease your guilt?"

"That's part of it." I admitted. One of the many downfalls of being an over thinker was that we also carried guilt to the extreme, no matter if the mistake was big or small.

Kendall turned his back to me and walked into the other room.

The old, more timid James would've taken that as a sign to leave, but the more determined and truly apologetic one took it as a sign to try harder. I followed him into the living room.

He stood at the window, gazing out in the back field.

"What's the other part?" He asked, looking at me.

"I miss you." I managed to say around the lump in my throat. "I miss us. What we used to be."

"We can't ever be what we used to be." Kendall said as the same pain I felt in my chest flashed in his eyes. "Believe me. I've been wishing for a do-over of that fucking day by the lake when I left you. But no amount of regret and beating myself up about it will change a damn thing, James. So, I suggest you do what I did and just let it go."

That's when realization struck.

Kendall was right. Letting go of the past was the best thing to do. If we continued this dance of should havesand regret, we'd never move forward.

"Okay." I sat on the couch, scratching at the edge of my jaw where the slight stubble was longer than I liked.

"Just okay?" Kendall asked, flipping around to face me. "You're not usually one for so little words."

"What do you want me to say, Ken?" I peered up at him, shaking my head. "To apologize for ruining the future we'd planned? To blame you for ruining it? To talk about how that one phone call seven years ago is the fucking biggest regret of my life and that I'd do anything to take it back?" Tears streamed down my face. "Goddammit, Kendall, I'm at a loss here. I have this tendency to fix everything, and I can't fix this."

He was beside me then on the couch, pulling me against his bare chest and pressing his face into my hair. The warmth of him only made the tears fall faster. Everything about being in his arms felt so right.

When he kissed me, I felt him trembling too. He brushed his fingers through my hair before resting his hand at my nape, gently cupping the back of my neck. His lips moved against mine, unhurried and soft.

We didn't say anything. Our actions said enough for us, speaking a thousand words in each pressing of his lips on mine and each of my content exhales.

It was different than the last time when he'd been at my house, when I'd done the whole angry sex thing. There'd been so much pent-up rage inside me at the time, and it'd seemed like the best way to release it all had been to bang him against the wall and devour his mouth. To fuck him with no feelings attached. I'd soon figured out that hadn't been the answer.

There was no anger present now.

I kissed him deeply as the hope for forgiveness blossomed in my chest. Forgiveness for him and for myself. We'd punished each other enough. I didn't know what the future held for us, but for the moment, I wanted to just be with him.

To get lost in him like I used to.

He kissed my jaw before moving down my neck, flicking his tongue at the skin at the base of my throat. My spot. He lay be back on the cushion.

I sighed and held him tighter, feeling the muscles on his back flew beneath my palms.

From experience, I knew he preferred rougher sex. Harder kisses, bites on his neck, and nails clawing his back. And yet, he kissed me like we had all the time in the world.

His body had definitely changed since we'd been eighteen. Back then, he'd been in good shape, but it was nothing compared to the shape he was in now. Every inch of him was perfection, and knowing the sweet guy beneath it all just made it even better.

I'd stayed in shape over the years, hitting the gym at least four days a week in an attempt to make me feel better about myself. I was in better shape than I'd been as a teenager, but I still felt insecure being with Kendall like this.

"Get out of your head, Jay." He whispered, staring down at me. He kissed my right cheek before doing the same to the left. The action was simple, but gentle. "Stay in this moment with me."

I focused on him, and the way his eyes stared into mine caused something in my chest to break.

"Make love to me, Ken." I said as I tangled my hands in his hair. "I'm tired of fighting. I just want to escape for a while."

The planes of his face softened, making him appear younger. The dam in my chest cracked wider, and I knew once it fully broke, there'd be no going back. There'd be no keeping him at a distance anymore.

He rested his forehead against mine, gripping the side of my neck with one hand and pushing his other hand under my back.

When he didn't move for a handful of seconds, I got worried. That's when I felt something warm and wet land on the edge of my brow.

"Ken?"

He answered me with a kiss, one that set me on fire. Gone were the slow and tender moments from before. We kissed like each other's lips were our lifeline, passionate and even desperate. Teeth clanked together, but neither of us minded. Only when I needed air did we break apart.

My head spun as I watched him above me.

He bit his bottom lip as he slid his hand under my shirt and pulled it up and over my head before going for my pants. Unlike him, I was wearing jeans, so it took more effort to get them off. But off they came until I was completely naked.

I grinned up at him as he stood on his knees and shrugged down his sweatpants.

"Why are you so hot?" I asked before I could stop myself.

And then Kendall, the massive goofball, flexed his arms and said in the douchey-ist voice possible, "I work out."

I laughed so hard I snorted.

The humor faded once the sight of his already hard cock came into view and our bare skin touched. My ass clenched a bit at the thought of him inside me, acting as a reminder of how long it'd been since I've been with anyone.

"You okay?" He asked, not missing a thing.

"Yeah." I said, playing it cool. But then I thought it best to be honest. "Uh, it's just been a while since I've done this."

"Really?"

For some reason that one word screamed judgement, and I got a bit defensive. "Yeah, we all can't get laid as easy as you, Kendall."

"Don't start that again." He warned, hovering above me, but not quite laying on top of me. "Your jealousy over shit that hasn't even happened needs to stop, James. Do I need to give you a detailed sheet of every man I've fucked since you just so we can move past this?"

The thought made my skin prickle. "No, thanks."

"And what about you?" He asked, sitting back on his knees. "I'm sure you haven't been a saint either."

I hated when he was right. It might've been a while since I've had sex, but I'd been wild in college. How could I judge him for doing exactly what I'd done?

Double standards sucked, and I guess I needed that reminder to get my head back on straight.

"I'm far from a saint." I responded, touching his side with the tips of my fingers. "I'm sorry. No more of that. Can we just get back to where we were before I opened my big mouth?"

Kendall leaned back down. "It's okay. I love your big mouth."

I licked my lips at the thought of tasting him again. His green eyes zeroed in on my tongue, and his dick pressed against my thigh. His mind was in the same place as mine.

"Come on." He said before getting off the couch and holding his hand out to me.

"Where are we going?" I placed my hand in his, and he pulled me off the cushion.

"To my room." He gave me a lopsided grin and led me from the living room and toward the stairs. "Just like old times, right?"

"Except we're butt ass naked now as we go through the house." I pointed out, covering my package with my free hand.

"It's not the first time. Or did you really forget the time we got wasted and skinny dipped that night, lost our clothes, and had to sneak back into the house?" Kendall chuckled.

As the memory flared to life, so did my embarrassment. "I think I tried to wipe that from my mind. What the hell were we thinking?"

I didn't receive an answer because we'd entered his old bedroom, and with the familiarity, I could almost pretend we really were back in time. I looked at the same light blue walls and white trim around the window. The same set of drawers that we'd both used the times I'd slept over, sometimes for a week at a time. The scuff of paint on the wall by his bed from when we'd been wrestling and he'd flung me against it.

So many times we'd gone to that room and got tangled up in each other.

He led me over to the bed without a word, and I lay down on the mattress, not taking my eyes off him. A smile curled the edges of his perfect lips, but if I wasn't mistaken, there was a nervousness in his eyes, as if this was our first time.

In a way, it was, I guess.

The fooling around at my house hadn't warranted the same emotion, because there hadn't really been any emotion. Well, any emotion other than anger. We both seemed to feel the power of it this time, though. The intensity of our connection that I'd once believed to be lost had only been hiding under years of pent-up anger. But now that the frustration was released, the affection could finally shining through.

Kendall got on top of me and softly kissed down my chest. His tongue found my nipple, and he teasingly suckled it.

I groaned as sparks shot straight to my aching dick. As if by muscle memory, I reached behind me and grabbed onto the bars on his headboard.

He continued his journey down his chest and stomach. That sly smirk lit his face as he caught me watching him. When he started sucking me off, I couldn't contain the sharp grunt.

Shit, it just felt so good.

He felt so good.

His mouth moved from the tip of my cock, down my shaft, and to my balls. My breaths quickened as my arousal heightened. And when his tongue moved even lower, to the area between my balls and ass, I whimpered.

It was the perfect balance of teasing and pleasure.

"Still an ass man I take it?" I asked.

"Babe, I'm always an ass man." He answered, sliding his arms under my thighs and lifting my lower half off the mattress.

He slowly kissed my opening, causing my hold on the headboard to increase and make it squeak. His tongue lapped at my hole as his hands massaged my ass. Eventually, he added a finger to the mix, thrusting it into me with annoying slowness. Annoying, but amazing.

"Kendall." I said with a whine in my voice, when I couldn't take it anymore.

I was prepped, stretched, and ready to be filled by him. To have our bodies joined as one.

"What do you need, baby?" He asked in that sexy voice of his. He lowered my hips and laid his body over mine.

"You."

The fantasy of the moment faded a little when he grabbed a condom and tore it open. Not that I was against condoms. I fully believed in safe sex and had always used one with past guys.

But it was the fact that he and I had never used them. When we first started having sex in high school, we'd been each other's firsts and had full trust in each other. Condoms hadn't been needed.

Having to use one now really showed how far we'd drifted. With all my past bed partners and his, there was no question of whether we needed one. I'd gotten tested and hadn't been with anyone since then, but what about him?

Stop dwelling on it. Stay in this moment with him.

Kendall slid on the rubber and coated it with lube before dribbling some of it on my ass and smoothing it around. Nerves etched his face, and I lifted my hand to cup his cheek. At the contact, his eyes flashed to mine and his features instantly softened.

"I feel like I'm losing my virginity all over again." He admitted, and the way he looked at me caused the butterflies in my stomach to come alive.

"Well, just as long as it's not exactly like our first time, we should be good." I said with a smile, remembering how quick he had come. We'd then swapped places, and I'd done him next, not lasting much longer than he had.

He laughed, and the sound went straight to my heart.

When he pushed into me, his lips parted as a soft whimper escaped them. His sounds during sex had always been incredible, but something about them now just enhanced it.

I held his side as I gripped his upper back with my other hand. The sting made me clench my jaw and the corner of my eyes watered. He waited a moment, resting his head on mine, as my body tried to get used to him.

"You okay?"

I smiled and pressed my face against his cheek. I nodded, knowing the twinge of pain would reflect too much in my voice if I'd tried to take. Because I was okay, and I didn't want him worrying.

When he started moving inside me, I held him closer as the pain started transforming into pleasure.

"Mmm." I looked between our bodies, seeing his muscles ripple with each of his movements. The discomfort from earlier was fading even more, and my body welcomed more of him. Needing more of him.

Kendall kissed my brow as he thrust deeper, but not faster.

When I caught sight of his eyes, I noticed the red, watery edges. And there went the rest of the dam that'd held me back. He was an emotional guy, but not one who actually liked to show said emotion. So when he did, it meant a lot.

I wrapped my arms more around him and buried my face in the crease of his neck, feeling my own emotions start to rise. The pleasure was strengthened by them, because it was more than just sex. It was making love to Kendall, the only guy to have ever captured my heart and still had control of it.

No amount of time or space had changed that. Other emotions like resentment and anger might've masked that love, but having him so close to me, our hearts beating as one, all the bad just fell away into the abyss of the past.

"Fuuuuck, James." He moaned, gently kicking my legs further apart and lifting my hips a few inches. He thrust into me, and the new angle hit my spot so fucking perfect that I whimpered, turning to putty in his arms. He smiled down at me, slashing those adorable dimples. "Right there?"

"Uh-huh." I answered, grabbing onto his hips and pulling him harder against me.

My orgasm slammed into me like a train, and I gave a drawn out moan as cum shot from my tip. I hadn't even had to jerk myself off, which had only ever happened with Kendall.

He smoothed his thumb along my bottom lip as his pace quickened. "You're so hot when you come."

By the way his body was starting to tense, I knew he was moments away from doing the same.

I sucked his finger into my mouth and his eyes widened a fraction. And then he was coming too. His thrusts lost rhythm as his body shuddered. Soft moans left his throat, and I gripped his shoulders, digging my nails into his skin.

Afterward, he pulled out, but he didn't move. He lifted his head and stared down at me, gliding his finger along my cheekbone and down to my mouth. His brow was wrinkled and a strange look was in his eyes.

"What are you thinking?" I asked before kissing the pad of his finger.

"This is the first time I've felt whole in seven years." He answered, and his voice rang with vulnerability. "I know it's corny as fuck to say this, but I was lost without you."

My heart melted at his words, and I nuzzled my face into him. "I was lost without you too."

"Our parting was such sweet sorrow." Kendall said in a poor attempt at a British accent.

I scooted over so he could lie beside me on the bed. "Seven years later and you're still on about Romeo and Juliet?" I asked before giving a jaw popping yawn. "The story of romance that isn't a romance."

He slipped one arm under my head and draped the other around my waist. "And you're still just as anti-romance as ever. I guess some things never change."

I cuddled against his chest and breathed in the smell of him. "I missed this."

His arm tightened around me as he kissed my forehead. "Me too."

Not long after that, Kendall started snoring, and I snuggled more into his hold. Now that we were in the afterglow of sex, reality was ever so slowly creeping back in.

This can't last forever.

But I'd hold onto it for a long as it did.

Done! So yeah, although things aren't completely fixed, it looks like Kames is on the mend!

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the chapter, as well as if you happened to have a favorite part/moment!

I absolutely loved hearing your thoughts on the last chapter! The next one will be up sometime this weekend, so you won't have to wait too long for that.

Until then!

-Epically Obsessed