Rory looked aside. His carelessness was incredibly attractive. He was obviously a daredevil, which was quite a contrast to the boy he was dating now. Adam was sweet and he really liked the boy — but he'd never let Rory's heart race like Emilio was doing now by only sitting next to him.

Emilio answered his glance and lifted the corner of his mouth. Smoke curled out of his nose. "You're always on the run for the police with strangers?"

"I honestly can't think of a lot of people who would try to run from the cops." He chuckled. "Which is a shame. It's fun."

"If you weren't givin' me directions, things would have ended much worse. You're from around?"

"No, I moved to the student city over a little more than a year ago, I'm from the South. But a guy I know lives here and we hung out here a couple of times. And once I've been somewhere, I never forget the route."

"With 'here' you mean that we're in his garden now?"

"Yep," Rory smirked. "There should be beer in the shed. I'm thirsty."

Emilio held his glance and shook his head, smirking. "We're thieves now too?"

Rory shrugged. It was Patrick's friend who lived here. He wouldn't mind stealing the whole crate. "Partners in crime, huh?"

The boy chuckled and got up. "Now you even make me come with you."

Rory stood up as well. His limbs were tingling and he couldn't hide his smile. He was falling for this guy — hard — and he had no idea how to stop it. So he didn't even try. Like always when he was interested in someone, he had no idea how to figure out if the other was into guys too. He assumed he was not, since there was no reason to conclude such a thing. It was more likely that he would have bad luck again.

They walked around the barn until they reached the door. Further ahead the house was still silent and dark. Pressing down the door handle, he smirked satisfied as the door swung open. Together they stepped inside. It was pitch dark. Rory searched for the light switch, but Emilio grabbed his wrist and pulled his arm down. Tinglings spread across his arm at his touch, and quickly the boy let go of his hand as if he had felt the spark as well.

"Switchin' on the light is too risky," Emilio said in a low voice. "Gimme a sec."

A second later the screen of his phone lit up. Rory's eyes were drawn to the light. His heart sank when he saw the background picture of Emilio's phone; it was a blond girl who was leaning against a bike and who was only wearing stilettos and a thong. His shoulders slumped down. He had already counted on it, but still... Once again, things were too good to be true.

He squeezed his eyes when Emilio switched on the flashlight of his phone and shone around. Rory tried to shake off his disappointment. There was nothing new about this. And the fact that he liked girls, didn't mean that he couldn't fall for guys. Rory was torn between the thought that there was no reason to give up hope and the longing to didn't hope for anything at all, so he wouldn't be disappointed again. There was quite a chance that he would never see this guy after tonight.

Emilio bumped his shoulder. "Ya backin' out now?"

"No," he said quickly. Immediately, he put a smile back on his face. "If I remember correctly, there's a freezer and a fridge on the other side," he said in a soft tone. They crossed the room and reached a sitting area. During the first months of his study, he'd hung out here, with people he didn't talk to anymore. The memory caused a dull pain in his chest. Maybe this meeting would lead to the same thing.

Behind the worn couches was indeed a fridge. Rory swung it open; it was filled with beer.

"Jackpot," he whispered, taking out two bottles.

Emilio swung an arm around his shoulders and laughed. "You're really something, dude."

Rory had the feeling he was on fire, and his legs felt weak now Emilio pulled him close.

. . .

Emilio noticed how the boy froze when he wrapped an arm around his shoulder. The gesture had felt completely natural, and only now, he realized they had just met. He wrapped an arm around Juan's shoulders the whole time, and he felt so comfortable around Rory that he hadn't given it a thought at all. A little awkwardly he pulled back his hand and started to walk towards the door.

Behind the shed, they sat down on the ground again. Nevertheless, the mood was less relaxed than before. With a bottle-opener on his set of keys, he opened the beers. Should he say something? He hoped that Rory didn't find him a creep now, but since his little adventure with Juan he had the feeling that everyone could look into his head and see the traces of his fantasies of that night.

He took a sip and decided that talking was probably the only way to keep his confusing thoughts away. "You live in the student house?" he asked. "Or were you visiting someone?"

He was sure he'd never seen Rory before, but he doubted he had met all his neighbors.

"I was at Mickey's. I live a block away. What about you? You live there?"

"Kinda. I'm livin' temporally at my friend's place... My ex kicked me out, a few weeks ago. Not that I cared," he shrugged since he didn't want to tell some sad story. Actually, he just wanted to let Rory know that he was into girls, just in case that he was really afraid that Emilio wanted something from him. "I was only with her because..." He broke off the sentence, not knowing why he was telling him this in the first place.

"Because?" Rory insisted.

Emilio looked away, ashamed. "I had no home and no job. It was an easy solution."

Rory chuckled. "You're like a squatter in an occupied house." He bumped his knee to tease him. "And you're a road hog." He lifted his beer. "And a thief. I'm taking quite a risk by hanging out with a criminal."

His words made Emilio laugh. "I'm still figurin' out the best way to kill you."

"Well, you were doing pretty well when you shoved your bike in front of that car."

His voice sounded light, a bit mocking, but Emilio remembered very well how startled the boy had been and how tight he'd held him. His own heart had been in his throat as well, but because of the adrenaline, he'd recovered quickly. "I changed my mind at the last minute," he answered. "I didn't know how to survive that myself."

From his periphery, he saw Rory's grin, who took a sip of his beer. "As long as you don't bury me alive. Or set me on fire."

Emilio snickered. With the back of his head, he leaned against the wooden wall and looked up to the stars. He liked being around Rory. He was different than Juan; his best friend would have been hyperventilating for over an hour after such a ride. Emilio thought he was a funny guy, he had a sharp tongue and he looked damn good.

His fingers cramped around the bottle when he realized what he was thinking. Juan had really fucked with his brain, now he was looking at guys like that; he was sure the thought never would have crossed his mind if he hadn't suggested to kiss.

"Think we should go," he said before he would feel even more awkward. "I'm sure it's bedtime for a little one like you."

Rory gave him a gentle nudge in the ribs. "Well, this little one did prevent you from ending up in a cell."

"If it wasn't for you, the cops wouldn't have paid attention to us at all. You wanted to know how fast I could."

"Touché." Rory got up and held out his hand.

Emilio let him drag him on his feet — despite his limited length, his arms were muscular. He even pulled a little too hard, so that Emilio bumped into him.

Rory looked up to him. The moon illuminated his face and when their eyes met, a paralyzing feeling traveled through his body. Man — this guy really had beautiful eyes. He even held his breath for a moment. Suddenly he wanted to bury his hand in his blond hair, he wanted to know if a kiss would be as passionate as the enthusiasm that he had shown on the back of his Harley. As Rory's lips turned up into a smile, something fluttered in his stomach. Suddenly he realized that Rory hadn't let go of his hand — and neither had he. His mouth felt dry.

Act normal, you idiot.

Emilio pushed all his confusing feelings away. Instinctively, he resorted to a snarky comment. He tore his hand away. "You're gonna stand there for the rest of the night or what?"

Confusion spread across Rory's face — followed by hurt. Yet, it didn't take long before the fierceness returned to his eyes. "Why? Is there something wrong with your legs?"

Emilio shoved his hands inside his pockets and started to walk towards his bike. "I was just joking man."

He wasn't — but they still needed to ride home and he didn't want things to become even more awkward. Rory's shoulders however relaxed a bit.

"I thought you were going to be just another asshole."

Even though he was trying to sound light-hearted, Emilio could hear the bitterness in his voice.

"Wel, I am an asshole. There's nobody in the building who's gonna deny that."

A grin spread across Rory's lips. "At least you're an honest asshole."

Emilio felt relieved now they'd cleared the air, although there was a knot in his stomach when he thought about what he'd felt a few minutes ago.

It's all in your head, man. You're not gay just because you wanted to do your best friend a favor.

. . .

After arriving at the student house, Rory climbed off the bike. He felt a little awkward. His stomach fluttered as he thought back to how they'd looked into each other's eyes. He had really believed there was a spark which they both felt. Taking off his helmet, he gave it to the boy. What now? Should he ask for his number? Should he ask him to hang out some other time? For some reason, he was too chicken. Maybe Emilio just wanted to do him a favor and nothing more.

"Well, thanks," he said eventually. "For going on a ride with me. I had fun tonight."

"Yeah... me too."

There hadn't been many uncomfortable silences, but this one was super awkward. Should he shake his hand or should he give him a hug? Or was it better to simply walk away? Feeling insecure, he ran a hand through his hair. He tried to muster up the courage to ask for his number, but the words refused to leave his lips. Since Emilio was neither making a move, he decided to leave it at this, even though he knew he would regret it later. But he could always ask Mickey to ask his number — or maybe their paths would cross again.

"Well — I better get going," he said as cheerful as he could, ignoring his nerves. "Bye!"

"Later."

And that was it. With a nagging feeling in his chest, Rory turned towards his bicycle. He waved at Emilio who lit another cigarette and gave him a nod, then Rory aimed his glance forward and started to go home, cursing himself because he was such a wuss.