"You know," Kerin started as soon as Lux answered the phone, "I'm getting tired of you sharing your big news via text message."

Lux rolled his eyes as he closed the refrigerator door. He balanced everything he needed to make a sandwich in his arms, taking the lunch meat, cheese, and condiments to the island. "You're so dramatic. Did you want me to go to your house as soon as it happened in order to tell you face to face that I had my first kiss?"

"Actually, yes!"

Lux laughed out loud. "You're absolutely ridiculous, Kerin."

"Okay, but how was it?"

It was... "Nice." That was all Lux was willing to tell Kerin. He couldn't possibly tell his best friend that he had to take a cold shower like he was an adolescent child. It was an innocent, chaste kiss. There was absolutely no need for him to be so wound up to the point of definitely raising his water bill. But in his defense, Rhys was, well, Rhys. Lux's attraction to him wasn't just because he looked devastatingly gorgeous all of the time. It was also because Rhys was kindhearted and funny. He was a good listener, and he took the time out to get to know Lux, something no one has been willing to do since Kerin. Rhys shared important things with Lux and didn't dismiss what was shared with him. Lux had been afraid to tell anyone that he, at 29, had never been in a relationship, but when he told Rhys, it was accepted. He didn't make fun. He didn't badger Lux with a thousand and one questions. He asked a couple of questions related to demisexuality and when Lux answered those, he changed the subject. Lux's attraction wasn't just deep; it had taken root, burrowing into unfamiliar spaces and blossoming into something altogether new and unfamiliar.

"Just 'nice'? You wouldn't text me for just 'nice'."

Lux argued, "I actually would. If it was awful, I would text you. You're one of the only people I text."

Kerin mumbled, "True. True. So, what does this mean for you and Rhysend?"

Lux added the finishing touches to his sandwich and took a bite. Around his chewing, he replied, "That's why I texted you. What comes next?"

"You can't be that clueless, Lux. You write romance novels for a living. What would you write?"

If it were something he were writing, there would be a few months of courting, stolen kisses during random moments, hand holding, and the eventual confession. "And a fade to black with implied NSFW."

"You barely write that," Kerin laughed. "Your 'fade to black and implied NSFW' is like, 'And then the hotel door closed behind Savannah as she crossed the threshold, the action symbolic of her crossing over into womanhood' or something like that."

"And it's still implied that Savannah—,"

"Had her cheeks clapped? Was railed into the middle of next week? Had a nice romp in the hay. Oh my god. Pause. Are you thinking about sex? With Rhys?!"

Lux choked on his sandwich, slapping his chest hard, and coughing until his eyes watered. "What?!"

"You mentioned it. I simply asked what you would write. You brought up wanting to fu—,"

Lux hung up before Kerin was able to finish his sentence. He wanted to kiss Rhys again. That was it. Nothing more.

Or so he thought.

A few weeks had gone by before they were able to see one another again. Lux had been diligently working to meet his deadlines with Rhys' assistance. Surprisingly, the editor was great about keeping a clear boundary between their professional and personal lives. In fact, he was so great at it that the only way he agreed to see Lux again was if they had a working date.

"You're not quite caught up with your deadlines," Rhys explained when he suggested it. "I want to see you just as badly, but I would feel awful if I was the reason, as your editor, that you were unable to meet your deadlines. I'm sure the powers that be would have an issue with that."

Rhys made perfectly good sense and Lux wasn't opposed to that idea. He knew that it would be easy to concentrate on writing even if Rhys was working in the same room as him.

Turns out, Lux knew absolutely nothing.

He couldn't concentrate to save his life. Every so often, he would find an excuse to look up from his computer, glance over his shoulder, and (internally, thank the universe) sigh wistfully. He was sick of himself, to be frank, by the third hour. If this was what a crush amounted to—him grinning like an idiot and sneaking glances in the hopes that Rhys would look at him and make the first move—he was contemplating dropping the crush all together.

"Are you having trouble concentrating?" Rhys pierced the quiet. "I am. I thought... maybe you'd be too. Even if for different reasons."

Okay, maybe he was a little rash on being willing to put down his crush because of a little bit of difficulty focusing. Lux turned in his seat, making eye contact with Rhys. He swallowed thickly, clearing his throat before he asked, "Why are you struggling to focus?"

"Honestly?" Rhys closed his laptop, sitting it to the side. "You. You're distracting in the best possible way, and I probably really need to work from home."

Lux arched an eyebrow. "What about me do you find to be distracting?"

Rhys' eyes shifted away from Lux's, sliding to the floor. Lux found his intermittent shy nature to be quite endearing. "I sound like a teenager, but I haven't been able to stop thinking about kissing you. And before you question me, I'm not ly—,"

"Oh," Lux calmly interrupted before he turned Rhys' world upside down. "We're struggling to concentrate for the same reasons."

Rhys slowly finished his sentence. He lifted his eyes to stare, unblinking at Lux. "Huh?"

Lux crossed the room to sit on the couch. The laptop provided a buffer between the two of them and he was thankful. "You said you're not the best at subtle hints and it's taken me three hours to remember that. So, I'm telling you, because you brought it up."

Rhys' eyebrows furrowed, his eyes narrowing as he looked at Lux. "What do you mean it's taken you three hours to remember I'm not good at subtle hints?"

"For the past three hours I've been trying to catch your eye in the hopes that you would actually say what you are now. I guess in a roundabout way, it worked." Lux waited for Rhys to say something. As time stretched on, he went from being confident in his choice to communicate honestly to wishing he would have kept his mouth shut.

Rhys scratched his head, shuffling a few locs behind his ear. "This isn't exactly new for me, Lux. It is for you, so I want to be respectful of that and I don't want to push you."

"While I appreciate that," Lux began, "I think we both know I can't be pushed into anything against my will."

"So, you really do want to—,"

"Kiss you again?" Lux interrupted. "Yes. Absolutely. But" —he held up his hand between them— "there has to be a better way than us asking each other like we are 13-year-olds. It's bordering on em—mmm." He's silenced by a gentle kiss.

Rhys spoke softly, "When we learn one another more, we'll figure out all of the subtle ways we ask, without asking, for a kiss. Or a hug."

A feeling of relief washed over Lux. He had been racking his brain for the past few days trying to figure out how to effectively communicate his desire to kiss without actually needing to ask for it every time. The thought of having to articulate, each and every time, that he wanted to kiss Rhys left him feeling hot with embarrassment. He began to second guess the reason for the heat when Rhys kissed him again, this time, lingering much longer than he had before.

Luckily, Lux knew enough to know that if Rhys was lingering, he was testing the boundaries. He pulled away, murmuring, "I–don't know what to do."

"Can I show you?" Lux nodded and Rhys reached between them to move the laptop, scooting closer. He reached out slowly to cup Lux's cheek much like he did when they first kissed. Lux's heart raced in his chest, and he found it difficult to maintain eye contact with Rhys. He allowed his eyes to fall shut just as the distance was closed.

The kiss was the same as the other two, much to Lux's dismay. However, a few seconds in and that changed for him once he felt the slow, tentative drag of a tongue along his bottom lip. His lips parted on a soft gasp and when they did, Rhys took that moment to deepen the kiss. Lux felt as if he had been slowly lowered into a warm bath. He began to melt into Rhys, leaning into his touch, and responding eagerly to the kiss.

He reached up, taking hold of Rhys' wrist in order to ground himself. Lux was afraid if he didn't, the feeling bubbling up in his chest would make him buoyant and light enough to float away. He felt that way when he was with Rhys—light, happy. He had no problem admitting that to himself and eventually, he wanted to admit that to Rhys, but now was not the time to do so. Not when a slow, steady throb was beginning between his thighs. Lux pulled away from Rhys with a shuddering breath.

Rhys immediately questioned, "Did I do something wrong?"

Needing to catch his breath— and possibly get dunked quickly into a freezing pool— Lux only shook his head. "Everything was..." He trailed off as he brought his hand up to his mouth, lightly tracing the shape of his lips. "You're a really good kisser," Lux softly finished.

Rhys chuckled nervously, running a hand along the back of his neck. "That's great to hear. Considering you're the third person I've kissed. The first person I've actually really wanted to kiss, though."

Lux tore his gaze away from Rhys' mouth. "Seriously?"

Rhys nodded. "Yup. My first kiss was second grade. Suzanne Mitchell. It was an accident." He immediately launched into a defense, giving Lux no room to argue otherwise (not that he would), "Kids are clumsy, and it is actually possible to accidentally kiss someone. But, according to Suzy, I chased her down and kissed her. Lillia was the second."

He found it hard to believe that Rhys didn't want to kiss Lillia. "You were together for years. You didn't want to kiss her?"

"No," Rhys admitted. "I knew she wanted me to. I knew it was something I was supposed to do. But the actual desire to do so was never there."

"And with me, it is?" Lux questioned in mild disbelief.

Rhys reached out, fingering lilac curls before looking into flint gray eyes. "In a lot of ways, Lux, you're my first. I like that." He smiled before glancing at his watch. "You have thirty more pages you need to thoroughly edit or succinctly defend in the next two days. If I stay, we won't get any work done. I'll text you when I get home, okay?" He stood and bent at the waist, lightly brushing his lips against Lux's. "I probably should have asked before, but is it okay to kiss you hi and b—,"

Lux didn't allow Rhys to finish his sentence. He grabbed Rhys by his hand, pulling him back down and into another kiss. In other areas of his life, Lux was a fast learner. He was certain this would extend to kissing. And if it didn't, well, practice made perfect and that would give him even more of a reason to initiate this level of intimacy. Lux mirrored Rhys, running his tongue along the seam of a full, soft mouth. He was rewarded with Rhys' lips parting and his tongue slipping between his teeth to lazily taste Lux. The slow exploration had Lux gripping the cushion of the couch, his toes curling into the plush rug beneath him.

This time Rhys broke the kiss with a heated whisper of, "I really, really need to go Lux. I'll call you later, okay?" Rhys kissed his forehead, sighing heavily as he looked down at Lux. He gave a small shake of his head, flashing a dimpled grin. "You're something else, you know?"

Lux followed him to the front, closing and locking the door behind Rhys. Stiffly, he made his way back to his computer and diligently worked through ten of the thirty pages, until the throbbing between his legs demanded his attention. He didn't bother with the facade of privacy, not when he lived alone. Lux closed his eyes imagining Rhys kissing him once again as he spread his thighs. He slid his hand into his shorts and was shocked at how wet he found his fingers to be. He'd never felt this level of arousal before.

Within mere minutes, Lux's back arched from his chair, and with a loud, strangled moan, he came on his fingers, Rhys' name falling from his lips.