A month later, nothing is different.

Except... everything is different.

We still shoot hoops. We still drink beer and tell stories til two in the morning. We still watch TV and eat Chinese takeout every Thursday.

Sometimes, though, after we play ball, we climb in the shower together and soap each other up. And after a night of drinking and laughing, we crawl into bed together and snuggle. On Thursdays, Edward sits on the couch with me instead of in his favorite recliner. We usually start on opposite ends, but by the time Tina Fey comes on, his arm is around my shoulders or his head is on my lap.

Not everything is easy. My friends all know what's happening between us, but we haven't spent any time with Edward's friends-I don't think they know anything about us. He'll hold my hand in public, but gets uncomfortable when I move to kiss him. Things that I would've let my roommate get away with suddenly become troublesome when it's my boyfriend committing the offense; little things like Edward leaving that stupid bedroom window open bother me more now. It means we'll sleep in my room again, and I feel like Edward keeps me out of his room so he can keep his own space pristine while my sheets get jizz on them and his dirty laundry litters my floor.

We're pretty good at talking shit out, though. No knock-down drag-out fights so far. For the most part, we had a pretty smooth transition. Edward's actually an awesome boyfriend, which surprises me a little; he was such a manwhore before that I worried the relationship stuff would be harder for him than the gay stuff.

Turns out, he's pretty good at both.

One night, that first week, we were kissing on the couch-sharing more of the sweet, tender kisses he'd been giving me for days. I wanted more. I pulled him on top of me, arranging his long limbs so he was straddling my lap, and cupped his face in his hands. He let me deepen the kiss, even darted his tongue out to meet mine, but his posture was tense, awkward.

"What's wrong, E?" I asked, dropping my hands down to his shoulders. I slid them down his body, resting one palm on the small of his back and the other on his hip. His eyes darted down to my thumb where it brushed against his hip bone, and he shook his head.

"I just feel... I don't know, is this okay?" he asked, shifting uncomfortably on my lap.

"Is what okay, baby?" I tilted my head in confusion; surely he couldn't be worried about kissing.

"This," he said, gesturing down at his body. "Sitting on your lap. It just feels kind of... like, shouldn't you be sitting on my lap?"

"Do you want me to sit on your lap?" I countered, understanding his confusion now. "Or do you feel like I should be the one sitting in your lap since I'm the girl?"

"Shit, Jake, you know I don't think you're 'the girl,'" he said, sliding off my lap to sit next to me on the couch. He leaned forward to grab his bottle of beer and took a long pull before turning back to me. "It's just that... I don't know. Before, I never would've sat on someone's lap. So it feels weird to me. I don't know how this is supposed to work. Isn't there generally, like, a 'top' and a 'bottom'?"

I knew I could get pissy with him for the girl comment, but I was glad he was asking questions instead of making assumptions. I knew when I got into this that some things were going to be an adjustment for him.

"Every relationship is different, E. Sometimes there is a very top/bottom, masculine/feminine thing going on. Sometimes it's more equal," I answered, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and pulling him close again. "Just because I take it up the ass doesn't mean I can't hold you in my lap if I want to."

He flushed red at my example, and I tried not to laugh.

"We just do what we're comfortable with. I know it's weird for you. Just... I don't know. Try not to think about what's the guy thing to do, and just think about what feels good," I suggested, leaning in to kiss down his jawline. "Like this. Does this feel good?" I asked, flicking my tongue out to swipe against his pulse point.

"Yeah," he groaned, tilting his head to the side to give me access.

"How 'bout this?" I asked, nibbling gently on his earlobe.

"Uhhh... not as much," he said, chuckling nervously.

"See? Easy. More neck stuff, less ear stuff," I told him. I wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him over me again, arranging him the same way he'd been before. I bent down to kiss and suck at his neck, drag my teeth across his Adam's apple, and ghost my lips over his jaw. "So how does this feel? Does it feel weird or good?"

"Good," he panted, scooting closer to me. "So good."

I let my hands roam up and down his back as we kissed. I twisted my fingers in his hair and pulled his face closer to mine, loving the way he squrimed against me.

"Shit, Jake," he said, rocking against me to get more friction. I could feel his erection sliding against mine through our basketball shorts, and I tried to thrust up against him to match his rhythm. "You feel so fucking good. I'm gonna cum in my fucking pants again," he grumbled.

"I don't like the sound of that," I told him, slipping my hand under the back of his t-shirt. My palm was flat against his lower back, guiding him as he moved against me. "I want you to cum in my mouth," I told him, whispering the words into his ear before I kissed his neck again.

"Fuck," he moaned, leaning heavily against me. For the first time, I felt his lips pressing against my own neck, tentatively exploring the sensitive skin there, and I moaned with him. He was moving too fast, and I worried that he really was going to cum in his pants. I lifted him off me, pushing him back against the corner of the sofa.

He was panting and palming his erection, watching me and waiting for my next move. I slid down to my knees, crawled between his legs, and toyed with the waistband of his shorts.

"You okay with this?" I asked him, kissing his stomach just above his belly button. His eyes rolled back into his head and he groaned; I took it as a "yes."

"I've dreamed about this, Edward," I told him, honestly, tugging the shorts and his underwear down over his hard cock. "Dreamed about sucking your dick ever since I saw you jerk off for me. I leaned down and took one long, slow lick, from the base to the plump head at the tip.

"Oh, God," Edward moaned, closing his eyes and throwing his head back in pleasure.

"Watch me," I begged him, wrapping my fingers around the base of his cock. His head tilted back down and his eyes opened slowly. I waited for them to meet mine before I pressed my lips to the head of his dick and swirled my tongue around in a circle.

Edward cried out again, an indistinguishable whimper of pleasure.

"Touch me," I commanded, holding his dick against my lips, tapping it gently against my tongue. He wrapped his hand around the back of my neck. When I was sure he was fully present, fully in the moment with me, I lowered my head and took him into my mouth.

He rewarded me with a string of curse words, moans, and pleas.

"Jake, oh my God, that feels so fucking good," he cried, his other hand moving to cup my cheek as I hollowed out my cheeks around his cock.

He didn't last long, but I didn't expect him to; I pulled out all the stops to make it good for him.

"Gonna... Jake... Jake, I'm gonna cum," he whined, his hips bucking up into my mouth. I squeezed tighter with my fist and worked him in and out of my mouth as fast as I could; it only took another minute or so before he was grunting and writhing and cumming in my mouth.

I swallowed everything he gave me and tried to draw out his orgasm for him. When his hands fell away from my face, I let his softening cock slip from my mouth and rested my cheek against his thigh.

"Holy shit," he said, as soon as he was coherent again. "Wow, that was... amazing."

I grinned, dropping my hand down to squeeze my own aching cock. Edward spotted my movement and looked me up and down, appraising.

"Jake... I don't know if... I don't know if I'm ready to uh, reciprocate," he said, nodding towards his crotch.

"It's okay, man. Whatever you feel like doing," I told him, even though a part of me was hoping that he would be up for trying something.

Edward frowned, considering my words, and then reached down to grab my hand. He pulled me up into his lap, and I straddled his legs, mirroring our earlier position.

"I feel like touching you," he said, his hand trailing down my chest. "I feel like watching you cum for me."

His cheeks were blazing and his hand was shaking a little, but he seemed determined.

"Anything you want," I promised, groaning when he released my cock from my shorts. Edward stroked it firmly and grinned, throwing my words back at me.

"Does this feel good?"

Tonight I'm driving across town, nervously checking my mirrors as I fight the rush hour traffic. Edward texted me this afternoon and asked if I wanted to meet him and some of his friends for happy hour, and I said yes automatically. Now I wish I'd asked more questions. Which friends? What do they know?

I pull into the parking lot of an Irish pub, looking for Edward's Volvo. I park next to him, on the side of the building, and head into the bar. Edward waves from a booth in the back, and I can feel myself smiling like an idiot as I make my towards him.

I'm relieved to see at least one familiar face as I get closer; Edward's brother, Emmett, is sitting across from him, next to a tall, lanky blonde guy.

"Fuckface!" Emmett shouts, standing up to pull me into a hug. He's come to visit a dozen times, crashing on our couch, and I'm always glad to see him. Emmett's always up for a good time; we used to plan our parties around his visits, knowing we'd have more fun with him around. He's known I was gay as long as Edward has, and he'd never once made me feel like he was uncomfortable in my presence.

"Hey, good to see you too, asshole," I greet him, thumping him on the back before he releases me. "Edward didn't tell me you were in town."

"Just here for one night, man," he explains, sliding back into the booth next to the blonde. I sit down next to Edward, ignoring the urge to kiss him, touch him, scoot closer. "Got a work thing tomorrow. My boss was supposed to come, but he pussied out at the last minute. I jumped at the chance to get out of the office for two days, plus I knew I'd get to see my baby bro. Hey, Jake, do you know Jasper?" he asks, looking over at the man next to him.

"No, I don't think so," I answer, reaching across the table with my right hand. "Jacob Black."

"Jasper Whitlock," he says, shaking my hand.

"Jasper went to high school with us," Edward offers. "Now he lives over in Bellevue with his wife, Alice. She's from Forks, too. How's she doing, by the way?" he asks, shifting the attention to Jasper.

The waitress comes and takes my drink order, and when I turn back to the conversation they're all talking about other people they knew in high school. I just smile and nod, feeling a little out of the loop. Edward's hand sneaks over to brush against mine under the table, and I squeeze his fingers gratefully.

An hour later, we're all starting to get a little buzzed, and Emmett's telling the story of how he met his new girlfriend.

"So she's like, a ten, right? Like, perfect body, great ass, nice tits," he says, drawing an outline of an hourglass in the air with his hands. "Sorry, Jake," he says, winking in my direction, and I gesture for him to continue.

"And I give her my usual bullshit line about how I was the quarterback at USC, because girls always fall for that shit, and she says, 'Do I look fucking stupid? Mark fucking Sanchez was the quarterback in 2008.' I try to backpedal and say I was a backup QB, but she fucking knew their names too. She didn't even go to USC. Anyway, man, that's when I knew it was meant to be," he explains, shrugging his shoulders. "I'm gonna marry that girl."

"When did you meet her?" Jasper asks. He took the words out of my mouth; I'm surprised that we haven't heard about her before if they're already this serious.

"Last week," Emmett says, his eyes gleaming. We all laugh at him, but he protests loudly, waving us off: "Seriously, you guys, sometimes you just fucking know."

I can see Edward nodding out of the corner of my eye, a smile spreading over his face, and Emmett catches it too.

"What are you grinning about over there, bro? You find yourself a girl worth seeing more than once?" he asks, grinning at Edward. I shift uncomfortably in my seat, wondering if there's a fire alarm nearby that I can pull. I steel myself to hear Edward lie; if he's not ready to tell his family about us, I can't force him into it. It'll still hurt, though.

"I'm dating someone, yeah," he says, and Emmett's eyes go wide with shock.

"Dating someone? Shit, you skipped right over 'fucking,' 'hanging out with,' and 'seeing.' This girl must be special. What's the deal?" he asks, signaling the waitress to bring another round of drinks.

I can't do it. I can't listen to him make up a story about some girl he's fucking. I mumble something about using the restroom and stand up.

But Edward grabs my hand, and pulls me back down.

"I'm with Jake now," he says firmly, looking his brother straight in the eye.

Emmett's jaw drops, and so does mine. I don't know who's more shocked.

"Like... with Jake?" Emmett finally asks, his eyes flickering back and forth between the two of us.

"Yeah," Edward answers, his voice a little less resolute now. "Like, we're dating. We're together." I squeeze his hand, desperate to show him my support. I'm actually pretty desperate to kiss the shit out of him right now, but somehow I think that might make him more uncomfortable.

Emmett whistles, long and low, and leans back against the worn green leather of the booth. He looks back and forth between me and Edward, presumably looking for some sort of clue that would have let him know that we're in a relationship. Jasper is looking down at the table and fiddling with his phone. He's probably pretty fucking uncomfortable himself.

"So wait," Emmett asks, shaking his head as though it will clear his mind. "Have you guys been... together this whole time you've been roommates?"

"No, dude. Just this last month or so," Edward answers, tugging me a little closer to him.

"Huh." Emmett says, taking another sip of beer. It's quiet for a minute, and Emmett's brow is furrowed in thought. Finally, looking back at us, he says, "I guess it makes sense."

Edward and I look at each other, confused.

"Makes sense?" I ask.

"Yeah, I mean, you guys were always like a fucking couple. You like, cook together and have movie nights and talk about feelings and shit," he says, shrugging his shoulders again. "Makes sense."

"Is that all you have to say? No freaking out? No jokes?" Edward asks, leaning forward slightly.

"Nah, man," Emmett says, brushing off Edward's concerns. "Jake's cool. I'm kind of surprised, I guess, but it's cool. Whatever floats your boat, you know? Even if it's another boat." He guffaws loudly at his own joke, and Edward rolls his eyes.

"What about you, Jasper? Got anything to say?" Edward asks, and Jasper jolts to attention.

"What?" he asks, alarmed. "Oh, sorry. I was texting Alice. So you're like, gay now?" he asks, slipping his phone into his pocket. I tense up at his response; Edward hasn't exactly uttered those words before, and I think he's been clinging pretty tightly to his "Jakeosexual" theory.

"I'm with Jake," Edward says, sidestepping the question. "He makes me happy." Emmett and Jasper accept that response easily, and I tune out their conversation as the subject changes.

Instead of listening, I think about Edward's non-answer; how it's the first of many times he's going to be asked the same question. Am I willing to accept it as easily as his straight friends will? Am I willing to be a gay man with a not-gay boyfriend?

I guess I am. Because Edward makes me happy. I squeeze his hand again, under the table, and he squeezes back.

A/N: Thanks for all of the reviews! I'm really glad you all managed to find the update Monday despite massive FFN fail. So... Edward. How are we feeling about him now?

If you leave a review, I will send you a teaser. A smutty teaser. Why? Because the next chapter is all smut.

*Please note: I am doing my best to get them to everyone, but it's hard because FFN isn't sending me all the review alert emails. You'll probably get a PM. xoxo