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Nick blushed and lowered his head, chewing on his lip He shrugged "He waslike this big shining beacon For a long time I was a little in love with the idea of him The idea of that kind of loyalty and trust for the rest of your life, you know? I think it wasYou know Ty He was easy to believe in"

Kelly nodded "Are you still in love with hi his head He caainst the headboard so Kelly couldn’t see his face without twisting "We went through too ht I kissed hi there We would have worked if anted to, I guess, if we’d never found anything else But" He shrugged and shook his head

Kelly turned to try to see Nick’s face "So there’s nothing left there?"

"Nah It’s kind of a relief Life changes what love means, you know? What I felt about Ty, it was a different kind of love"

"Have you found so else?" Kelly asked carefully, surprised by how nervous the question made him

Nick looked at his? This isn’t sounshot meltdown, is it, ’cause I’an to snicker, holding his chest so it wouldn’t hurt "I don’t know Maybe"

"If it is, we’ll call Owen; he’s good at theaanyone?"

Nick was silent, sitting there and looking confused for a few seconds before answering "Sort of We haven’t had a date or anything, but we’reactually, I’m not sure e are"

The indecisive answer bolstered Kelly’s courage and relieved him, which was an odd sensation "Hey, Irish?"

Nick turned to his of a smile on his face

"Will you kiss me?"

The sreen he alh He had to hold his hand over his wound, but he couldn’t stop laughing He reached out to put his other hand on Nick’s ars, I swear"

Nick snorted and gently peeled Kelly’s fingers off his forearet halves," heto chuckle

"Wait!"

Nick turned, trying to look annoyed but still laughing Kelly schooled his features, frowning draed to say

"Yeah, you look it," Nick drawled

"I want you to kissdubious

"I want to knohat it feels like to kiss a guy And you’ve had a lot of practice, so I know you’re a good kisser"

"Are you si me a whore?"

"I’mI’m just impressed you can take half a Percocet and say si back his smile He came around the end of the bed and sat next to Kelly’s hip, turning to hover over him "Okay"

Kelly was surprised when his sto "Okay what?"

"Okay If you want me to kiss you, I will"

"Really?"

Nick nodded "But only if you can sit up on your own, and then pass a field sobriety test"

Kelly rolled his eyes and snorted "You’re such a dick"

"I’ll give you that too if you want it," Nick said, laughing as he pushed off the bed and headed for the loft steps

Kelly watched hi to decide if the flip in his stomach was excitement or nerves "Hey!"

Nick stopped at the head of the staircase and turned again, ever patient

"I’m serious," Kelly said

Nick’s eyes narrowed, and he remained there for a few moments before he moved slowly back to the bed "You really want me to kiss you?"

"Yes"

"So you’ll knohat it feels like to kiss a guy"

"Yes"

"Why?"

"Well you and Ty both seeht?"

"That’s a horrible reason"

"Really?"

Nick sat down again, close enough that the mattress dipped and Kelly slid toward hi his breath as Nick thought it through He was curious, because he knew locking lips with another dude had to be different fro a woman, and he was by nature an inquisitive person He was open to trying just about anything once, and he’d always kind of been on the fence about it But he was also wondering what it would be like to kiss Nick, and that had nothing to do with the painkillers or his innate desire to try new things

"Okay," Nick said quietly He adjusted the way he was sitting, propping one hand on Kelly’s other side as he leaned over hier "No half-assed , either"

"Okay"

"I want the whole deal"

"This is starting to feel like I’"

"I’m serious, I want the Irish special"