“He wasn’t out,” Adam said, “but he was a few years older. He had his own place, so we only went there. The first time he kissed me, he was all hesitant and tentative. I thought it was charming. When he invited me back the next night, of course I went.” He shook his head. “He kissed me again, but this time it went further—a lot further.”

Adam stopped again, his jaw clenched now.

Nick wanted to touch him, to offer some comfort. He wasn’t sure Adam would accept it. His brothers sure wouldn’t, and he wasn’t exactly rolling in experience with comforting other guys.

“So we’re in his apartment,” Adam said, his voice very low, “and he’s practically naked, and he begs me to take care of him. He’s hot and sweet and nice, and I’m into him, so I do. And we lie there for like thirty seconds, and I’m thinking I’ve finally found someone special. Instead, he tells me to get the fuck out of his apartment. I’m confused, right? Like, what the hell. But clearly I wasn’t moving fast enough, because he punched me in the stomach and slammed me into the wall beside his door.”

Nick’s breath caught. He wasn’t sure where he’d thought this story was going, but—that wasn’t it.

Adam looked up. He met Nick’s eyes and quickly looked away, ashamed. “This is insane. I can’t believe I’m telling you this. I’m sorry. I’ll shut up.”

Nick reached out and touched his cheek, bringing his face back around. Adam’s eyes closed and his breath shuddered, but he didn’t pull away.

“Don’t shut up,” Nick said softly. “Talk. Tell me.”

Adam pulled Nick’s fingers away from his face, but then he kept a death grip on his hand. “It happened too fast. He was on his knees apologizing, comforting me before I even knew what hit me. He said he snapped, that nothing like that had ever happened before. And you know what’s really insane? I believed him. I let him buy me dinner. I thought he was genuinely sorry. And when he asked me to come back the next night, I went. He was sweet, he was charming—it was fine. But a week later, the exact same thing happened.