"As long as it's free, I want your love, love-love-love. I want your love, I want your drama. The touch of your hand, I want your leather studded kiss in the sand. I want your love," Bad Romance, Lady Gaga

"So who's the lucky guy?"

I nearly jumped to the ceiling as Lucia came up behind me to hand me a stack of papers, a curious look in her eyes as I tried to calm my racing heart. "What are you talking about?" I questioned and she put a hand on her hips, giving me that stern look. "Oh please, no need to pull that card on me. I've been in love and I've gotten married, I know the whole process, Mr. Moore," She smirked and I darted my eyes away.

"I know when someone is lost in their mind, thinking about that one person. I can tell when someone is stuck on that face in their mind," Lucia tilted her head, studying my red face. "You're smiling so hard and I didn't even have to say a name for you to know what I'm trying to say," She chuckled wholeheartedly while handing me the stack of papers, the weight of the stack superior to the thumps in my heart.

"If I'd say so myself, Nishan is a perfect fit for you, Mr. Moore," Lucia whistled and I nearly died on the spot. "W-what do you mean?" I hadn't stuttered in a while, but this woman was making it so easy. All she did was raise her brow in a knowing manner, seeing right through my innocent face. "No need to act so caught off guard," She turned around and leaned her back against the counter, resting as she looked at me.

"He's the only person that I've seen wait in cold rain just for you," She snorted with a gleeful grin, reminding me of the time last week that Nishan pulled up in his Benz, knowing full well that it was raining, and he decided to wait outside of the firm without an umbrella. When I asked him why he didn't just come inside and come find me, he pouted and said, 'but then I couldn't be that dashing hero that came to keep you safe from the rain.'

Needless to say, I went into cardiac arrest.

I had no idea what to say because I, myself, wasn't caught up yet with my feelings. I had never felt this way before, not even in high school. Sure, I had crushes, but those fizzled out earlier than expected. This, no, this was far more than a crush. Matter of fact, I skipped past the crush phase. This wasn't infatuation, I knew because I was far too gone to be someone who was just infatuated. I knew it wasn't because I knew his flaws and all and they didn't turn me away. Instead, I embraced them and all of who he was.

I recognized the beauty in him, the cute little quirks that he never knew he had, the way that he would smirk whenever he was about to say something sarcastic, the way that he turned his head so that he could stare deeply into my eyes, just the way he made me feel as if everything was going to be okay.

Aw, shit.

"I see things are clicking inside that mind, Mr. Moore," Lucia pushed herself off of the ledge, throwing a wink my way as she sauntered towards the entrance of the workroom. "Ah, young love. Please do so to make sure those files get the correct electronic signature so that we can move forward with the merging," She said and I slowly nodded, falling silent as the sudden realization.

I could feel my breath picking up, and so I put a hand on my chest to find that my heart was beating rapidly and that my cheeks were burning nonstop. I couldn't believe it, but I could because somewhere along the way, I took one tumble down and that was it for me.

I, Ezra Kendrick Moore, was in love with a man. Not just any man: Nishan Lawrence, a person that I told myself that I would always hate because he treated me so wrong when we first met. But I lied to myself from that point because as things turned around and secrets were exposed, I was the first person to see beyond that wall he put up and boy, it was a beautiful sight.

But it was also very terrifying, I gathered. Not only how I felt about someone who used to hate me, but not knowing if he too felt the same way.

I wanted to say that he didn't, that he had no reason to because I was nobody to him, but if I knew that somewhere down that road, I became somebody to him. If neither of us could admit it, someone else would notice that we each came to depend on one another. I didn't even know where some of the strength that I had came from, but it was all because of him.

All because of Nishan.

"Oh, no," I slammed my forehead into the stack of papers, a stupid grin on my face as I closed my eyes. I felt no negative feelings at this point because my mind held some truth about where this was gonna go. "I hate you, you bastard. Always on my mind..." I whispered to myself and with some newfound confidence, I surged out of the room so that I could go get some work done. I had this position because of him, so I had to do what I needed to do so when he came by after to see me, we'd both know what we had to say.

When I made it back to my office, I sat down in the chair, feeling on cloud nine as my phone buzzed, letting me know that someone texted me.

Nisasshole: i'll be outside, waiting for you later.

I narrowed my eyes, ignoring the flutter in my stomach as I looked out the window, seeing pouring rain slapping against the window. My first instinct was to tell him to go home because I didn't want him to get sick, but knowing Nishan like I knew him, he was going to do it anyway.

Ezra Moore: thanks.

I was speechless because no one would think that things would turn out this way. There was a lot more that I could've said, but I'd rather say it to him in person just so I knew that he got the message. I put my phone back down and looked at my hand. I could see them shaking as if they were somehow in sync with my frantic mind, sensing that I had no control over the situation that was coming.

But fuck, I was in love.

I wanted to reach out and call Celina and ask her if she ever experienced something so strong like this before. I wanted to ask if her chest ever felt so tight that she couldn't breathe, but you'd rather not breathe because it meant that you could keep that happy feeling that was indescribable.

I let out a hopeless sigh as I got to work, typing away emails to various vendors around the world. I was so close to getting this job and I was going to make sure I got it. Professor Keaton did not ingrain all of that rigorous material just for me to botch everything like a fucking dumbass. After I got this job, which was basically secured, then I could focus on fixing every other hole in my life. But right now, I was going to focus on school, work, Noelani, and maybe even a certain brooding asshole called the Chief of Police.

I had no clue if Noelani's situation was addressed or not, but I had to think long and hard about what Nishan told me that day I went to his office and I came to a conclusion. I really didn't, but I liked to tell myself that I did so I feel less of a certified jackass. Things were okay right now, but I wanted to know what Nishan meant by his words.

Maybe, just maybe.

"And sent," I grumbled to myself as I wiped away the desperation and fatigue away from my eyes. I wasn't tired, considering that I came from school, but I was tired because my mind was always thinking. Always thinking of him.

"Ezra?" I heard a voice coming from the doorway and I looked up to see Lucia standing there with her arms folded and a brow raised. "Yes?" I replied, wondering if I had done something wrong. All I did was sit here and type on the computer like she had requested of me. She snorted as if she could sense my fear, pushing the door wide open. "You're free to go. It seems that your services have been requested elsewhere," The older woman stated in a casual tone and I narrowed my eyes until it dawned on me.

"He's waiting outside," Lucia confessed and my heart started to pound at an immaculate rate because there was no way that I could act the same after finding out what I did. I shook my head as I stood up, clearing my belongings from the table. "I will see you tomorrow," She nodded to me as I walked past her and I bid her farewell, internally screaming because everything was so different now. Some things would be the same, but everything else would be different.

As I got on the elevator, I felt my body shaking nervously. Why was I anxious? I literally saw and talked to Nishan every single calendar day, even some nights. He literally has seen the darkest side of me before, so this was nothing new. I guessed that it was due to the fact that I now knew what I was trying to hide from myself.

The great feeling of love.

I stepped out of the elevator and into the lobby, saying bye to those that I came across. I could see a familiar car parked against the curb and my heart sped up, reminding me of how close I was. As I got closer, I noticed that it was raining and a sense of déjà vu plagued my brain.

As soon as I stepped outside, leaving the lobby, I opened my big umbrella and let it hang over me as I made my way towards a familiar stature leaning against the pillar. "You know, you're gonna get sick one day," I muttered calmly as the smell of earthy cologne filled my nostrils, my feet breaking his personal bubble as I put the umbrella over his head. We probably looked stupid because he was so tall and I wasn't up to par yet, but neither of us cared.

"Yea," I looked into one brown and one green, grins sweeping out on our lips in unison as we found the comfort in each other. "Well, you'll take care of me if I do," Nishan didn't pose it as a question, but as a statement, and I couldn't deny that it was true, because I would.

"Hey," I breathed as he took the umbrella from me, using his free hand to grab me and pull me closer. The skin of my arm where he touched burned, but in a pleasant way and there was no way I could stop the rushing feeling that stormed my soul. "Hey," He replied in a casual tone, blinking stupidly at me and before I knew it, our feet started to walk themselves in the same direction, no destination in mind.

We made it away from his Benz, from the daily hustle of people during rush hour with nothing but the gentle silence in between us as we walked down a street that was quiet and peaceful. The drops of rain fell down around us, the smell of the humidity clouding our senses as we walked on the sidewalk adjacent to a park. "Oi, shitface," Nishan spoke up, poking my cheek as I looked down at the ground. "What?" I groaned, pushing his hand away.

"Nothing," He shook his head, using his free hand to fix his leather jacket. "You're just too cute, is all," He stated and I hitched a breath, feeling my heart stutter at his deep voice uttering those sweet words. He had no idea what he did to me, it was obvious. Or maybe he did, and that was why he did it so he could render me unable.

"...you're an idiot," I chuckled though there was no heat to my words. No one knew how it got to this point from where we were in the beginning. I mean, he literally called me a fag and a queer nonstop in September but now, it takes a lot for me to stop calling me by terms of endearment or offensive terms like fuckface or shithead. It was odd because I knew he didn't mean it in that way.

I thought that we all knew where the turning moment came. It was that accidental kiss. At some point, we were going to have to address the elephant in the room because it did happen. I didn't know if we were pretending that it didn't, but we all knew that it did.

Because that was the exact moment that things changed.

"So," I cleared my throat as we stopped in front of a garden, looking down to examine the beautiful flowers. I didn't want to make things awkward, but some part of me just wanted to be sure and not let my hopes get crushed. "What did you mean by that?" I whispered and Nishan ran a hand through his hair, raising a brow at me. "By what?" He replied and I sighed, unsure of how to say it.

"When you said that I wouldn't be a single parent with Noelani," I mumbled and he snorted nonchalantly as if I was worried about something so insignificant. "Exactly what I said. You won't be single. You got me."

My eyes widened as I blinked stupidly, my cheeks flaming red as the butterflies in my stomach went crazy. "You—really," I couldn't begin to formulate a single thought because my mind and my heart were so focused on that singular sentence and he noticed because he reached out to grab my waist and turn me, so that I was looking directly at him. He looked so bold and so carefree, that it made my blood heat up at the sight of him.

"As far as I'm concerned, Ezra," Nishan drawled lazily, a cocky smirk contorting his lips as his hand reached up to cup my jaw, looking deeply into my eyes. "We've been dating since the first time we kissed," His perfect brow arched as I hitched a breath, daring me to defy his words. Of course, my heart agreed with everything that he said.

"I-I," I stumbled over my words, cheeks burning with so much intensity at the revelation. My stomach was on fire, the butterflies multiplying one by one and fluttering. What was this feeling? "But that wasn't even a real kiss..." I trailed off, cursing myself for saying something so irrelevant, but all Nishan did was trail his gaze from my eyes to my lips, his fingers slowly inching up to touch my lip, the soft caress of his thumb seeping into my skin.

"So," He took a predatory step closer to me, invading my bubble with his lip tucked under his teeth, his hair looming over his eyes. "Are you telling me that you want to try that again?" His voice was deep and hopeful and I gulped, following suit as I stepped forward. I nodded despite the anxiety coating my entire being. "...maybe," I whispered and all bets were off as all balls entered the court.

Within mere milliseconds, he reached down and wrapped both of his arms around my waist, pulling me off of the ground. With pure instinct, my arms wrapped around his neck and like the sun meets the sky, his lips crashed into mine, meshing in beautiful harmony. The umbrella was nowhere to be found, crashed onto the ground as the cold water soaked our skin, but it didn't matter because I found heat within him.

My hands entangled in his long locks as he squeezed my body tightly, the sucking of tongues and biting of lips becoming more real as I moaned into his mouth, a fiery sensation washing up my spine. It wasn't gentle; it was raunchy and spicy as we clung to each other like we were deprived. I imagined what his lips would feel like, but nothing prepared me for this delicious reality. Our clothes were dampened but it didn't even matter because I was lost in him.

But neither of us noticed the flash of the camera behind those bushes.