-Cole-

I had never heard him laugh before... I'd heard him chuckle, yes, but he had never before laughed so hard he had tears in his eyes and gasping for air. Not until now. My stupid little jokes were making him laugh.

I loved the sound of it. I loved it so much I nearly started crying. He was so beautiful when he laughed. I was so unbelievably happy. I was at the mercy of the storm of emotions I was filled with when he laughed.

He was laughing. He was finally laughing...

I loved him so much. And I was so proud of him. He had come so far. He had changed so much during these past months we'd known each other. He was so full of life now. He was lively. He smiled easily. He talked a lot. He was affectionate.

He wasn't afraid to show his true colors.

When he kissed me, right there in the restaurant where we weren't exactly well-hidden, I nearly melted. I tried not to worry too much and just enjoy his lips on mine. I trusted he would let me know if he was uncomfortable.

He didn't look like it when he pulled back and smiled. He did glance over his shoulder to check if anyone saw us, but if someone did, they didn't show it. I chose this restaurant because of how openly supportive it was. Homophobes knew to avoid the place. And I knew half of the staff, so I trusted they'd come for our aid in case someone did try to act stupid around us.

The firework show ended around midnight, but we still weren't in a hurry to leave.

For one, there were still tons of people outside, and even though Randall wasn't afraid of crowds, it was different now since we were on an actual date. A gay date, and he was afraid of people finding out about his sexuality.

And two, we both really enjoyed our time at the restaurant.

"I feel like having dessert," I told him after we'd stopped smiling at each other like the fools in love we were.

"Dessert?" he asked and frowned. "I've never had dessert before."

I could only stare at him. Of course he'd never had dessert. I should've known that. Food used to be just fuel for him. That had to be his father's fault, too. I knew his father well enough to know he'd called desserts girly.

"Lucky for you, this place has awesome desserts," I said.

"Really?" he asked with an amused gleam in his eyes.

"I mean... If you want some?" I asked carefully. "We don't have to get anything – beer is great too."

"Sure. When you say something is awesome, it is awesome," he said and waved at our waitress.

"Really?" I asked in surprise.

"Yeah. I guess you and I have the same taste. I mean, you really have a great taste."

And that there. Those little moments. When we first met, he didn't like anything. He never enjoyed anything. He didn't even know what he liked in the beginning.

The waitress brought the dessert menus, and I quickly chose my favorite: chocolate cake with ice cream and strawberries.

"So that's the best they have to offer?" Randall asked.

"It's divine," I said with a nod.

"Then I'll have that."

"Are you sure? The cheesecake is really good too."

"I trust your judgement. Besides, I feel like having chocolate cake."

I smiled at his words. "So you'd say you like chocolate?"

He thought about it for a short moment, and then nodded. "Not all of them, though."

"But you like some of them."

"I do, yes," he said, a bit confused.

"What's your favorite color?" I asked.

Now he raised his eyebrow at me. "We're doing first date stuff?"

"We're doing first date stuff," I said with a nod.

"All right," he said, his eyes landing on my suit. "I like blue," he said quietly, touching my arm.

"It's a good color," I agreed.

"It looks good on you," he continued in a quieter voice.

"Now who's flirting?" I chuckled, making him smile. "What's your favorite movie?"

"Vanishing Point," he said with a boyish smirk.

"You're just saying that to humor me," I said and laughed lightly.

"It's a good movie."

We continued talking about his favorite things, and I loved every answer. He once told me he was no one, just an empty shell, and I'd promised him we'd find out who he was. I loved learning more about him. He clearly was having fun coming up with answers to my questions.

"Is it good?" I asked after the cakes had arrived, and he had his first taste.

"Uh-huh. Divine, just like you said," he said.

"You're not just saying that?"

"Nope. This is really good."

"That's good," I said, completely forgetting to eat my own cake as I watched him.

After a while, he noticed this. "I can eat yours too."

I laughed and grabbed my spoon. That was such a couple thing to do... I loved it.

A question crossed my mind, but I wasn't sure if this was a good moment to ask him about it. I mean, we'd talked about it a few times, but never made any decisions.

But... we were a couple now...

"Have you..." I began, almost losing my courage.

"Hmm?"

"I mean... Since this is now... official?"

"You mean us? Yes."

"Yeah, so... About your apartment..."

He stopped eating and looked at me, expecting me to continue. There was a teasing hint in his eyes, meaning he wasn't going to throw me a bone this time.

The question was surprisingly scary, so I swallowed hard before I continued. "I mean... If you want... You don't... need your place anymore, right?"

"Maybe," he said, still not helping me out with this one.

"So... Would you like to move in with me?" I pushed out the question.

"I thought you'd never ask," he said, rewarding me with a big smile.

"It was surprisingly scary," I said, laughing because of how happy he made me. "Wait, you didn't answer me."

"I didn't?" he asked innocently.

"Please, you're killing me," I begged, still laughing.

"Of course I want to move in with you," he said quietly, placing his hand on top of mine. "You already knew that."

"Yeah, but... I mean..." I blushed as I fell silent.

"I'll call the landlord first thing tomorrow," he promised me. "We'll just have to go clear the place."

"And you don't want to keep anything?"

He shrugged. "I can see if there's something, but... Well, there's not much, as you may remember."

"Yeah..." I said, then realized it really was happening, and got super excited and happy. "You're moving in with me," I whispered triumphantly.

"I've lived with you for months already," he said, but he, too, had a wide smile on his face.

"Yes," I said, taking his hand in mine for a brief moment, but when I heard footsteps coming our way, I released it.

But he didn't. His eyes were glued to mine, and he never let go of my hand. I wrapped my fingers back around his.

"I trust you," I whispered.

He knew what I meant by that. It was our new secret code phrase. I was getting worried. Holding hands in a public place worried me. I was still afraid of pushing him too far, but I trusted his judgement.

He still didn't let go of my hand.

"I trust you," he whispered back.

He didn't even blink when someone walked past us. He gave me a reassuring smile and squeezed my hand. I felt at ease. Maybe a little bit worried, but I was sure that was normal after what we'd been through. But I trusted him.

He took his time before he did let go of my hand so he could continue eating his cake.

"Your ice cream is melting," he noted.

"So am I," I told him.

He chuckled at my words. "You know... You are very good at planning first dates."

"I... I just... I..."

It was my turn to be bad at words.

"I mean it," he said softly. "This is great. Good food, good jokes, fireworks... Chocolate cake... this is perfect."

"Good," I managed to say. "You deserve the world."

"So do you," he said quietly with a happy smile on his lips.

"Really?" I said, wiggling my eyebrows. "Because you're my world."

He started laughing again. Oh, God, I loved that sound so much. Sadly, he suffocated it soon, but at least he was still chuckling as he continued eating his dessert.

"You're so cheesy," he murmured.

"And that's the way you like it," I said with a wink.

"I sure do," he said, giving me such a warm look I started melting all over again.