“Sorry.” Nick let him go. But he didn’t draw back.

“I wasn’t complaining.”

Nick wasn’t sure how to read this, and it wasn’t like he had a ton of experience to draw from. “You stopped me.”

“I stopped us.” Adam paused and put his hand against Nick’s face, almost a caress. Nick closed his eyes and inhaled.

Then Adam’s voice lost the softness. “Let me up.”

What could he do? Nick shifted back, sitting on the edge of the couch. This felt like a prelude to rejection.

You’re safe here.

No. He wasn’t. He didn’t feel safe anywhere. Emotion clawed at his throat. He’d let a wall down, and now he was furiously trying to put the bricks back together.

Were they going too fast? Had he done that, or had Adam? The hell with easy.

For a breathless instant, it had been amazing to let go of thought, to let instinct rule his motions. But now he was paying for it, and he couldn’t analyze everything fast enough.

“Look.” Adam drew a hand down his face. “I don’t want you—”

“Forget it.” Nick shoved off the couch. The path to the door seemed a mile long.

“Hey.” Adam came after him. “Hey.”

Nick’s hand closed on the doorknob. Adam grabbed his arm. He was stronger than Nick was ready for, and he spun him around.

Most girls couldn’t do that, either.

“What?” Nick demanded. The air had dropped ten degrees.

“Well, you’re definitely gay. A straight guy wouldn’t be such a drama queen.”

Nick set his jaw. “Let me go.”

“Can I finish what I was going to say?”

Nick stared back at him. For all his gentle grace, Adam had a core of strength. Nick had seen it once before, and he was seeing it now.

“Fine,” he said. “You don’t want me . . . ?”

“I don’t want you to rush into something you’re not ready for.” Oh.

Adam’s hand loosened on his bicep, but he didn’t let go. “I’ve dated guys before who don’t want to be out. It’s a personal decision, and I get it, but . . .”

Nick swallowed. “But what?”

Adam looked at him, hard. “But if you wake up hating yourself, I don’t want you taking it out on me.”

Nick studied him, allowing some of the earlier moments to click into place. Adam asking if Gabriel would hurt Nick. The tension in his eyes when he said, “You’re strong.”

Even now, he was holding himself at a slight distance.

There was more to Adam’s story, hiding behind this easy self-confidence.

Nick shifted his weight, and Adam almost flinched. Without the air to reinforce his impression, Nick might have missed it altogether.

Slowly, carefully, Nick reached his hands out and put them on Adam’s shoulders. “You’re safe here,” he said softly. “Okay?”