The week following Christmas went by in a flash. Gabriel and I settled into a routine, and with every day I became happier and happier. The slight bumps we had experienced at the start were smoothed over, and Gabriel seemed to relax more every day.

In some ways, he wasn't acting like my old friend, but most of those changes were for the better. He treated me like a prince, lavishing me with attention and soft-spoken words of love and devotion whispered into the shell of my ear. That Gabriel hadn't been around before.

Seeing this new side of him made me realize how right I had been about him when I'd first fallen in love. He was so much more than the brooding guy with too much frustration bottled up and ready to blow. Of course, he had shown me these sides before, but now he had me wrapped up in that softness, and it cuddled me so closely that I couldn't feel anything other than bliss.

He had me—hook, line and sinker—and I didn't even mind that he knew it.

Snuggling into his wide chest, I let my hand caress the warm skin showing just above the hem of his jeans. His black shirt had ridden up an inch, teasing me while we tried to watch an old episode of Breaking Bad. Tried was the key word. I wasn't particularly focused on the screen. My mind was far too occupied with thoughts of how Gabriel felt next to me, how safe I felt when he covered my body with his. I should have been sated after everything we had shared, but the more he gave me, the more I wanted. He let me ride the high, merely chuckling as he called me wanton.

At first, embarrassment had kept me from wanting too much of the good, but Gabriel had read me like an open book and lured me out of my little homemade hiding place.

He wrapped his fingers around mine, and his lips found my forehead.

"I think we should spend New Year's Eve here, alone."

I couldn't think of anything better. My phone was filled to the brim with messages about dinners and parties, but I wasn't ready to let go of our shiny little bubble. I wanted a few more days of undisturbed bliss to cement what we had. I wanted to be absolutely sure that I wasn't dreaming. I didn't doubt Gabriel's intentions with me, nor his love for me, but I wanted to cherish these first days together. We would never get them back if we let them go too early.

"I think so, too."

Gabriel's chest heaved beneath me, and he exhaled warm, moist air that blew down my sensitive neck. "Great. I'll prepare something for us."

"No, we should do it together," I replied.

"But I want to spoil you, love."

I smiled at that. My entire body sizzled when he called me 'love'.

* * * *

Gabriel filled my glass to the brim while the sky bloomed with color outside. We had spent the evening together, just the two of us, celebrating the start of a new year. He had gone all out with preparations, spoiling me with a dinner fit for kings. That, and more than enough wine to make me tipsy.

It was going to be a fantastic year. I could feel the certainty through my entire body. Never before had I felt so utterly content about anything.

My heart swelled with emotion as I stared into his warm, brown eyes. "Thanks for tonight." In fact, I should have been thanking him for every night since Christmas.

"You're welcome."

It was odd how he could turn me into putty by saying the simplest things. I had a feeling that my obsession with him was bordering on unhealthy, but I didn't care. He was worthy of my devotion. Perhaps I was feeling it a bit extra because I was a tiny bit intoxicated.

"I think I shouldn't. Drinking is bad, isn't it?" I peered at the bubbles rising in the tall glass. He'd bought champagne, and that was another cheesy thing that I shouldn't have cared so much about.

"You can drink when you're with me."

I clinked our glasses. "Hah. I can drink whenever I want. But good, I'm not going to stop drinking for you."

"Do you know another thing that's good?" The leer on his lips made me smile. I maybe had an idea. My secret boyfriend liked plenty of things about me after all.

Leaning closer to his ear, I flicked his ear lobe with my tongue. "You're about to say something dirty."

He chuckled, clasping his arm around my waist to keep us locked together. "Always so innocent. You don't want me to say it, do you?"

"Maybe?" I didn't know why I grew uncomfortable with dirty talk, but I'd thought it might be easier when I was under the influence.

"You know where the bed is."

"I do." I sipped from the glass one more time. This could be fun.

"Then why don't you get out of your clothes?"

"I could."

A grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Maybe you want me to rip them off?"

I shook my head. He'd ruined more than enough shirts for me. "Stop being such a brute."

A deep chuckle rose from his throat. "I'm a gentleman."

"Then take me to bed."

He carefully relieved me of the delicate champagne flute and scooped me up in his arms to place me on the soft mattress. The distance was laughable in the small room, but it was the gesture that counted.

Time seemed suspended as we lay there—smiling gently toward each other while we waited for a cue to start. He looked stunning in the dark glow of midnight, and I felt this surge of emotion filling my chest.

"I love you," I said, meaning every little part of the overused phrase.

Gabriel blinked, once, twice, then he smiled wider. "I love you too."

He had said it before, but this time, as his hand traveled along my chest in soothing motions, I felt the true impact and weight of those words.

I closed the distance between us, meeting his lips with mine.

"You're insatiable," he said, inching back to caress my jaw with a lone finger.

"Only with you."

Something flashed in his eyes, but then he smiled widely once more. "That's right."

I had no chance to answer, because he attacked me with as much passion as I could give in return.

* * * *

A few days later we heard the first tell-tale sounds of boots hitting the hard floor along the corridor with a regular rhythm. The other students were steadily making their way back to their apartments and a new term. I lay wrapped up in Gabriel's arms, comfortably relaxed while he tensed beside me. "Are you okay?" I asked, aware that he was probably worrying about the risks of exposing our relationship.

"Yeah." His voice came out like a hoarse whisper, still heavy with sleep.

"We'll be fine, Gabe. I won't tell anyone." I had to give him time.

I wiggled to turn around, not resting until our chests aligned. His was warm, as always. My lips touched the corner of his mouth. "We will be fine," I repeated.

I thought he would kiss me back, but instead he gave me a weak nod. "You're precious."

He knew exactly what to say to ease my mind, even if I was the one trying to ease his.

I suddenly thought of Chris, and how happy he had been after resolving everything with his boyfriend. He wore a constant grin on his face whenever he thought of Dante, screaming out a silent message to the world that he was in love. Now I knew exactly how he felt, and why that feeling was impossible to contain.

I doubted I would be able to hide my infatuation, but I had to try for Gabriel's sake.

"Hey, I think Chris is coming back today, too," I said, thinking that I might have mentioned it before.

Gabriel let out a short hum in reply that was impossible to interpret. I waited for him to expand, but he didn't continue.

"Perhaps I can spend some time with him today if you want to do something else."

Gabriel drew a finger along my side. "I want to spend time with you, you know that, but I also have friends coming back. You should get back to your room and hang out with this guy." Then he added, as an afterthought, "He's not gay, right?"

Startled by the question, it took me a few seconds to answer. Obviously, that was enough.

"So, he is gay." Gabriel's eyes darkened.

"Gabe, don't worry. He has a boyfriend, and they're very much in love." My words seemed to placate him a little, but I could see that he remained a bit disturbed by the situation.

It wasn't hard to imagine where his worry came from. Two gay guys together in a shared apartment might raise some suspicions, but not all guys were sex-crazed and desperate. Sure, Chris and I had shared one kind of desperation with each other, but it was far from what Gabriel imagined.

"Gabe, trust me. Nothing's happened between us, and nothing will."

"I never should have kicked you out," he said.

I blinked, taken by surprise. "Do you want me to move back in?"

He let out a deep sigh. "No, it would be too obvious, and you've come out among my friends. That's why we can't see each other in public like that anymore."

The puddle that was once my heart let out a silent whine. Why did he have to be so blunt about it? It ached to know that I was the reason we couldn't hang out, or at least from his point of view. I should have known how sensitive the situation was. It was also stupid of me to think that we could fix all that and go back to the way things were before. The small world around us had changed since I came out. I'd been shunned by Gabriel's friends, even though I had been their friend once, too.

Lured into a gloomy mood by the stark reality, I decided that I might as well leave right away so he didn't see me in a sad state. I wanted us to be a happy couple, a couple that wouldn't dwell on their rocky past.

I kissed his cheek and crawled out of bed, waiting for him to stop me like he always did. Only, this time, he didn't.

He blinked beneath the cold lights, and I decided to ignore whatever insecurity I felt. I leaned down and gave him another kiss where he lay beneath the covers. He slipped his fingers through my tangled hair and caught me into a real kiss.

"Enjoy your day," he mumbled against my lips.

"You too."