Talking about having struggles wasn't something that came naturally to Nick. Five hours after he and Blake had parted ways and both of them went to their respective classes, he still wasn't sure whether he regretted talking about it or not.

Blake didn't laugh at him, sure, but that didn't mean it didn't have a negative effect on how Blake saw him. Maybe Blake thought he was stupid now for not even being able to pass his courses, which were probably significantly less complex than Blake's own.

On his way home from college, Nick felt himself getting stuck in a doom-thinking spiral again for no reason. And it really was for no reason. Blake wouldn't call it a study date if he didn't mean it. He wouldn't have referred to them meeting up as a date for the first time ever if he wasn't still interested in a having said date.

A date. A studying date with Blake. Nick really tried to focus on the 'studying' part more, because if he started thinking about what this was and what this meant, his poor frazzled nerves would probably make him flee the country.

Still, upon arriving home, Nick immediately showered twice. He and Blake ate separately today because Blake was out having dinner with people from Chemistry, which thankfully gave Nick the time to actually take showers and not have Blake notice he went twice.

It was a strange situation; dating someone you also lived with. If anyone else had asked Nick for advice, he'd probably tell them not to hit on a roommate or to at least be very careful. But knowing it was not the best idea didn't stop Nick's heart from fluttering when he heard a key turn in the lock a while later.

"Just a second! I'll be right there!" Blake yelled from the hallway, rather than entering the living room.

"Uh, okay!" Nick yelled back.

When Nick heard another door slam shut in the hall, he thought for a second that Blake was taking revenge by showing Nick how it came across when you only receive a 'hi' followed by radio silence. But then Nick heard the shower turn on, and a smile tugged at the corners of his lips. It was somehow encouraging to know even Blake was human and needed a shower before a date. Of course Nick knew Blake was human and got smelly after walking in the sun like everyone else, but it was nice to get a reminder every now and then.

While Blake showered, Nick fetched all his study materials from his room and set up the table. He also filled a karaf with water, ice cubes, fresh mint, and lemon slices since it was warm outside. But when Blake entered the room a few moments later, it was immediately clear no amount of fresh water would've been enough to stop Nick's throat from going dry.

Blake's hair was a wet mop on his head. He wore a tank-top that clung to his slender body combined with cargo pants and that was somehow an extremely good look for him. All of it. The pants, the shirt, and even the wet hair. He looked hot, and the way he smiled at Nick indicated he definitely knew it.

"Thanks for waiting," Blake said. "I felt gross after running around all day, sweating in the burning sun."

"Yeah, that's okay," Nick muttered. He watched Blake walk towards him, trying his damn hardest to keep his gaze fixed on Blake's face, rather than giving into the urge to let his eyes wander up and down Blake's body.

Blake pressed a brief kiss to Nick's lips, then sat down next to him. While Nick was still fighting his flustered mind and get a hold of himself, Blake reached for one of Nick's books and pulled it towards himself. Nick was hypnotised by the muscles of Blake's upper arms flexing as he lifted the heavy book, before he snapped himself out of it again. Blake didn't seem to notice Nick's reaction—he was too busy reading.

"Like, on the way home I was thinking: I don't even really know what you do. Sure, it's international business, I know that. But what do you actually do?"

Nick snorted. "You're not the only one wondering what exactly we do."

Blake shot Nick a questioning look, and Nick swiftly decided self-deprecation wasn't the way to go, and he wouldn't do it anymore. He cleared his throat and looked away. "I mean, I was planning on specialising in finances and become a financial analyst, or an accountant. I'm decent at precise work."

"So you'll be good at tax evasion. Good to know."

Nick's eyes darted back to Blake's face and he found a broad, teasing smile.

"I'll be good at not making companies or people pay more than necessary," he corrected, unable to stop himself from smiling back. "But that's not what this course is about."

"What is this course about then?" Blake asked, gently placing the book down on the table. "Can you explain it to me like I'm five? I don't know anything about businesses or finance."

Nick nodded. He pulled the book a little closer to himself, and flipped through the pages to find the relevant chapters to explain the course. "Sure, I can explain some of the economical models I have to study now if you want?"

"Yeah, please humor me," Blake replied.

They were supposed to be studying, but Blake had a million questions about everything Nick explained. He kept asking why, why not, how, and when about everything, and Nick kept explaining and looking up things he didn't know by heart. When they reached the end of the chapters, the karaf was empty and Nick's throat was hoarse from talking so much.

"This is all the material for the next quiz then?" Blake asked, pointing at the last page of the chapter.

"Uh, yeah, that's all I need to learn," Nick said.

"No, that's all you learned."

"What?"

"Well, considering you just spent like two hours explaining it all to me, and I kept asking questions about everything like I'm five, I'd say you know all of the material pretty well now." Blake looked rather pleased with himself as he rested his chin on his palm and smiled smugly at Nick.

"...Well, damn." Nick frowned as he swiftly came to the conclusion Blake was right. He had sneakily made Nick explain everything by simply showing interest, so it didn't even feel like studying at all. He'd probably been bored to tears by Nick's monologue about business cycles. Nick winced. "Sorry for being so lengthy about some topics. You probably weren't that interested."

Blake leaned closer and nudged Nick with his shoulder. "Hey, you don't need to think for me," he said. "I'm here because I want to listen to you. Among other things."

Blake gave Nick a once-over, not even worried Nick saw him checking him out. In fact, he clearly wanted Nick to see. And act on it.

Nick's brain hardly ever stopped screaming at him that he was interpreting signs completely wrong and that nobody wanted to kiss him, and this time was no different. But when Nick leaned in the slightest, hesitant bit, it seemed that was the only cue Blake had been waiting for. Blake closed the rest of the distance, kissing Nick. His fingers tangled in Nick's hair as he deepened the kiss.

Whenever Blake kissed him, he had a special talent for making not only making Nick's head, but his entire body go haywire. His heart pounded, and he was lightheaded and dizzy when Blake pulled back for a moment.

They looked into each other's eyes and Nick blurted, "You look really good in a tank-top and cargo pants" before he could stop himself. Nick's eyes spread wide when he realised what he'd just said, but Blake loved it. A wicked smile spread on his face.

"I look even better without a tank-top and cargo pants."

Nick's brain couldn't form words to respond with; he could only chuckle nervously as he felt himself go beet-red. This was another thing about dating a roommate that Nick had ran into before. There was no end of the date where one of the parties went home. They'd always be right across the hall, with an ever-lingering question whether they were going to move into one of their bedrooms together.

Nick wanted to say yes. He wanted to take Blake's hand and guide him into his room. But what if they were finally naked in a bed and he just couldn't do it? What if he would suddenly not feel the same excitement as he felt kissing Blake rushing through his veins? ...No, if a simple kiss on the neck from Blake turned him on, then having Blake's mouth even further South would probably make him see stars behind his eyes, and the biggest worry he'd have was making sure it wasn't over too fast. Nick's doubts were based on nothing except fear of the unknown, and maybe fear of knowing this was not some random guy. This was Blake.

He'd waited too long.

His panic must've shown on his face.

Blake's smile went from sultry to gentle. He gave Nick a peck on the lips then pulled back. "It was fun studying together. Honestly," he said. "And it is interesting to hear you talk about economics, so let me know if you want to do another session like this, okay?"

"Yeah, of course, I'd like to do this again. I think it was a big help," Nick replied quickly. He opened his mouth to say more, to let Blake know he did want more. But he didn't know how to phrase it now that Blake had decided to back off. He was too late. Blake had already gotten up from his chair. He shook out his legs one by one before collecting the glasses and the karaf to bring them to the kitchen. Nick heard Blake hum a tune as he loaded the dishwasher.

It seemed Blake wasn't mad about the way the evening ended. When Nick crawled into his cold bed alone, however, all he could think about was what could have been right now if he hadn't chickened out yet again.