Am I...?

Hey everyone. It's RichardAdams. I want to apologize to you all. As some of you have said in the comments, my work has not been up to par, has drifted away from what it's supposed to be, and I have seen that. I'm very sorry that my recent chapters have not been good enough to make any of you happy and I'm very regretful for that. It's just I've been working on a few other things and my mind has not been completely in it when I'm writing.

So...to try and get back to the way my works were, I'm going on a temporary hiatus. I'm doing this because I know all of you deserve better from me and I want to make 'Am I...?' the best story it can be for my readers. This hiatus may be anywhere from a few days, to a week or two. I'm just not sure yet.

By the way, some people have asked me who I would want to play Josh and Leo if this were to become a television series or movie. I've been looking through some young actors and have found that Robbie Amell fits Josh perfectly and, if here were to dye his hair black and wear dark blue contacts for the role, Alex Pettyfer for Leo.

Both are very handsome and I don't have to worry about a height and body problem, seeing as they are both the exact height and build I see Josh and Leo. Let me know what you think.

For the other roles, I was thinking Jake Abel for Mark, Tyler Posey for Shawn, Josh Hutcherson for Brian (if he were to go blonde again), Armie Hammer for Justin, and Liam Hemsworth for Danny. They all fit the height and body type I'd like and are all good actors. Like for Robbie Amell and Alex Pettyfer, let me know what you think.

I know these actors are in their 20's, but anyone younger would seem like they're fifteen (ah, the magic of film...). Any other character suggestions and comments are open and appreciated. Thank you everyone. I'll see you soon. Here's Chapter 17 of 'Am I...?'

Justin is released from the hospital the following Monday and goes home to his dad. He comes back to school Friday of the same week and is treated like a hero, just like Leo, Brian, and I. He needs to stay in a wheelchair for a little while, but Brian is more than happy to push his boyfriend around the school.

The Saturday of the same week, I get news that Gerald has been given bail of $400,000. He manages to make the bail by the end of the day and is released before dinner. I'm happy to hear that Gerald is allowed to stay with his son and that his ex-wife has been placed in a psychiatric ward for mental issues. Quoting Gerald: 'Serves that bitch right.'

March comes quick and the first signs of spring are here. The temperature has come back up and I'm back to wearing shorts every day. As I'm walking to class one Tuesday morning, I see Shawn and Mark standing on the side of the hall. I walk over to them and pat Mark on the back. "Hey guys," I say.

They both suddenly look a bit spooked to see me. O-Oh hey Josh," says Shawn.

"What's going on?" I ask.

"Oh...nothing," says Mark. "We're just...talking about...c-college and stuff like that."

They both laugh a bit, but I hear a hint of nervousness in their voices. "Okay..." I say. "So do you guys want to go somewhere for lunch today?"

"U-Um...we can't," says Shawn. "Mark and I...need to work on...an assignment for our business class."

"I thought you guys didn't get assignments in that class," I say.

"Oh...we don't," says Mark. "We had some classwork we didn't finish and need to make-up."

Shawn glances down at his watch. "Oh! Mark, we need to get that stuff done. NOW."

"Y-Yeah, we do! See you, Josh!"

Mark and Shawn quickly head down the hall, not so much as a glance back to me. That was...weird...

After spending lunch in the library, I start to head over to my computer graphics class. Along the way, I see my wheeled friend and his temporary chauffeur, walking/sitting down the hallway. "Hey Justin, Brian," I say.

Brian stops pushing Justin and they both look at me. I suddenly see the same look I saw with Mark and Shawn on their faces. "Hey J-Josh," says Brian.

"What's...up?" asks Justin.

"Um...not much," I say. "How's the recovery going, Justin?"

"It's getting there. The physical therapy is a little hard, but I'll be out of this chair by Friday. I miss using my legs..."

"That's good to hear. By the way, is there any more news on your mom?"

Justin's face looks to the floor for a second then he looks back up at me. "Yeah, there's been some. There were plenty of witnesses to what happened between her and my dad, so there's a lot of evidence against her. She'll get at least ten years for attempted murder, but..."

"You're going to miss her?" I ask.

Justin nods. "She's may be a heartless psychopath, but she's still my mom. I'm hoping maybe in time, I can visit her and maybe she'll see me as her son again..."

Brian wraps his arms around Justin's torso and kisses him on the cheek. "I'm proud of you Justin," Brian says. "Any other person would never want to see someone like that again." Justin smiles a bit and gives Brian a kiss back. "O-Oh, we need to find Mark and Shawn. That...thing. We need to finish it..."

"What thing?" I ask.

"Um...i-it's just an assignment," says Justin. "C'mon Brian. We need to get on that..."

Brain turns Justin around and they both quickly rush down the hall. Okay, what the hell is going on?

When I try to find Leo and ask him about what's going on with the guys, but I can't find him anywhere. Even when the day ends, he's nowhere to be found. His motorcycle is even gone from the parking lot. When I try to text him, all he says is that he's busy and will try to call me later, a call I never get.

Friday afternoon and I'm at the local market getting some stuff for Mom for dinner. I walk to the butcher and I see Danny staring intently at the various cuts of meat in the display. He says something to the man behind the counter, who walks off. "Hey Danny," I say as I walk up to him.

He snaps back to earth and sees me standing next to him. "Oh! Hey Josh."

"What're you up to?"

"Um...I'm just...getting some stuff for dinner for me, my mom and Steven, her boyfriend."

The man comes back with meat wrapped in some paper and hands it to Danny, who puts the meat in his cart. "Are those porterhouse steaks?" I ask when I see the label.

"Um...yeah..."

"Those are insanely expensive cuts."

"Well...Steven...is great at cooking, and he asked me to get two porterhouse steaks for dinner."

"But aren't there three of you?"

Danny glances around for a second. "O-Oh...I forgot to mention...my mom's a vegetarian, so the steaks are for Steven and me."

I look in the cart and see the ingredients Danny has so far. There are mushrooms, various vegetables, seasonings, and red wine (which I don't know how he'll buy). All of the materials go with the steaks, but I see some other things: a large bag of flour, an equally large bag of sugar, a lot of butter, and three cartons of eggs. "Steven must really know how to cook," I say.

I see Danny turn a little red. "Um...y-yeah, he does. I...need to get this shopping done. I'll see you next week, Josh."

Danny turns his cart and hurriedly walks toward the dairy. Did I do something wrong? Why does it seem like everyone's avoiding me?

Saturday, and I'm spending it at home doing a whole lot of nothing. Mom and Dad are out doing errands, so I'm left alone in the house all day. I keep checking my email to see if there are any messages from the colleges I applied to, but I don't even see one, not even Stanford, which bums me out a bit.

In the late afternoon, I get a phone call. I see Mark's calling me. "Hey Mark," I say.

"Hey Josh. Listen, are you busy tonight?"

"Not really. Why?"

"Shawn and I were going to go to a new club that opened up in the town center. We were wondering if you wanted to join us."

"Is Leo coming?" I ask hopefully.

"Um...Leo said he had some stuff to finish and can't make it."

I feel my spirit fall a bit. "Yeah...I'll come with you guys."

"Great. The dress code for the club is above casual, but not business casual. So...dress nice."

A club with a dress code? That's new. "Okay. I'll meet you guys in town around eight?"

"Sounds good. We'll see you then."

I hang up and fall back into bed and stare up at the ceiling. Why did Mark sound nervous when I brought up Leo's name?

After a quick shower, I get dressed to meet Mark and Shawn. A light grey collared shirt, dark blue jeans, a casual dark grey blazer, a black tie, and my Chucks. I tell Mom and Dad I'll be back late and head off into town.

I get there a little before eight and quickly find a parking spot. After a bit of walking, I find Mark and Shawn standing on a street corner. I see that they aren't dressed as nicely as I am. Actually they aren't dressed up at all. It's just jeans and t-shirts. "Hey guys," I say.

"Hey Josh," says Shawn.

"Why aren't you guys dressed up?" I ask.

"Oops," says Mark. "I forgot to send you that message. The club only has nice attire on Friday nights. My bad."

I roll my eyes. "Anyway, you ready?"

"Actually, the club doesn't open for a little while," says Mark. "So I was thinking we could take a walk for a bit in the park not too far from here. What do you guys think?"

"I'm up for a walk," says Shawn.

"Why not?" I say.

Mark leads Shawn and me down a few blocks and we soon get to the park. There are a few other people in the park, mostly just enjoying the nice night. There isn't a cloud in the sky and the moon is helping to illuminate the wooded path. "Hey Josh," says Shawn. "Look."

He points to my right and I look where he's pointing, but I don't see a thing. Just some trees and lampposts. "What am I...?" I start to ask.

I feel something in my pocket and see Mark pulling out my phone. He waves it in front of my face with a devilish smile. "Catch us if you can."

Mark and Shawn turn and take off running down the path. "YOU ASSHOLES!!"

I chase after them through the park. Mark and Shawn run down the path at top speed with me running after them as fast as I can. Where the hell are they going?

Mark and Shawn take a sudden right down a less taken path and I quickly follow behind them, but as soon as I turn the corner, they're gone. There isn't even a hint of where they went. I slow my pace to a walk and look around, trying to find my two dicks for friends.

As I keep walking, I start to notice something. There's a delicious smell in the air, the smell of cooked meat. I follow the smell and it starts to get stronger the more I walk. I turn another corner and stop dead in my tracks at what I see.

In the middle of the park, sits a single table. The table is covered in a white tablecloth with two dining sets on both sides of the table along with two chairs and even two candles. "May I seat you, sir?"

I look to my left and see my model-looking friend, Nelson. "Nelson!" I say. "What is all this?"

"You'll find out in a few minutes," he says with a smile. "May I seat you?"

Uh...sure?" Nelson walks me to the table and pulls out a seat for me. I sit down and look back at him. "Nelson, what's going on?"

Nelson doesn't say a thing. He just smiles and walks off, leaving my question unanswered. "Would you like some water?"

Justin's standing next to me, holding a pitcher of water. "Justin?! What're you doing here?!"

"Giving waiting a try," he says. "Water?"

"I...guess?"

He pours water in both glasses and walks away before I can ask another question. I look at the table and find my phone next to my spot and slip it into my pocket. But I also see that the cloth is satin, the glasses appear to be crystal, and the cutlery is so polished, it's shining in the candlelight. "Do you like it?"

I look across the table and see Leo, dressed in a black collared shirt, dark jeans, a light grey vest, a dark grey tie, and his black boots. He has a smile on his face and it makes me smile too. "Leo, did you do all this?" I ask.

"I had a little help," he says as he's sitting down.

"But all of this was your idea?"

He smiles even brighter. "Yeah."

"Why? What's the occasion?"

Leo leans over the table a bit and he stares right into my eyes. "Josh. Six months ago to this day, I saw you for the very first time. And the second I saw you, you took my breath away. I've loved you every minute since then. Four months ago, we kissed for the first time, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about that first kiss.

"Josh, being with you has been the most amazing experience of my life. You're the nicest, most caring person I have ever met. To think I almost lost you when I broke up with you. I never want to be apart from you like that ever again."

Leo's eyes start to water a bit, but he quickly wipes them dry. "You're the love of my life, Josh. I arranged this to help celebrate the six months I've known and loved you. You've helped me whenever I needed it, you've been there for me, and have loved me as much as I love you. I can't thank you enough for being my boyfriend. I love you."

I smile back at Leo and wipe my eyes as well. "You love me so much you went through all this trouble?"

"It was no trouble at all, Josh. I love you so much, I would want to do this every day for you. But the guys would kill me if I had them do this every day."

"I love you too, Leo. So much..."

Leo holds up his water glass. "Here's to six months that we've had together and to the many more we're going to have."

I take my water glass and lightly clank it with his. Mark and Shawn suddenly appear to my left, both holding a plate. "Dinner is served," says Mark.

He and Shawn place two plates in front of Leo and me. A large steak, covered in mushrooms and a dark red sauce with assorted vegetables sit on both plates, delicious smelling steam rises off the food. "That smells awesome," says Leo.

"Thank the chef," says Shawn. "He cooked every bit of this."

"Who's the chef?" I ask.

"That would be me."

To my right stands Danny, wearing a full on chef outfit and a black bandana on his head. "You cooked all this, Danny?" I ask.

"Every bit, even the dessert that you're gong to get later."

"Were those ingredients you got at the market for tonight?" I ask. "I thought you said your mom's boyfriend was cooking that."

"Are you kidding? Steven needs help making cereal correctly. He tried cooking a grilled cheese last week and almost burned down the kitchen. I hope you like the food. I need to go check on that dessert."

Danny walks off and Mark and Shawn quickly follow. "How is he cooking out here?" I ask Leo.

"You know Nelson's boyfriend George?" I nod. "He's owns a catering company. He lent me a portable kitchen area and Danny used that to cook dinner and dessert."

Suddenly, soft music starts playing. I see Brian standing about ten yards away, a violin in his hands. "Brian plays the violin?" I ask. "I thought he played drums."

"Brian's a musical prodigy. He plays almost a dozen instruments and can sing too. But you're still my favorite musician."

I grin at Leo. "Well, we shouldn't let this food get cold, should we?"

The food is fucking fantastic. Who knew Danny could cook so amazingly? Leo and I talk throughout the whole meal, even with mouths full of steak and vegetables. Mark and Shawn clear the plates and Danny comes out holding two more plates. "Ready for dessert?" he asks.

"Hell yeah," says Leo.

Danny sets down two plates, both with what appears to be a tall piece of cake in the shape of a log. "This is baumkuchen," says Danny. "It's a traditional European dessert, which literally translates to 'log cake.' Be aware, it's very rich because of the amount of sugar and butter in it."

"You made this too?" I ask.

"There's enough for seconds, thirds, and fourths if you want more. Mark, Shawn, there's some for you guys, Justin, Brian, and Nelson."

"Sweet," says Mark.

Danny takes Mark and Shawn to the dessert and Leo and I look to our plates. "If he doesn't go on a television cooking competition when he's older, I'll kick his ass," says Leo.

I laugh and Leo and I dive into our cakes. And holy crap, it's amazing. Every bite fills my mouth with a rich, sweet taste, making me want more. That's before I have half the cake. After that, it's difficult to eat another bite it's so rich. "Ugh, I'm full," says Leo.

"Same here," I say.

Leo and I stare at each other for a few minutes, not saying a word. I stare into his dark blue eyes, the same eyes that captivated me six months ago and still pull me into a trance to this day. "What's say you and I get out of here?" Leo asks.

"Are you sure?" I ask. "Shouldn't we help the guys clean up?"

"Don't worry. They agreed to clean up after you and I finished dinner. C'mon. I have a place I want to go."

Leo grabs me by the arm and pulls me out of my seat. He slips his hand into mine and we walk through the park hand in hand. We soon walk out of the park and I see Leo's motorcycle and the two helmets, the second I'm going to start calling mine. "Hop on," Leo tells me.

"Where're we going?" I ask as I put on the helmet.

"You'll see."

I take my rightful place behind Leo and wrap my arms around his stomach. Leo's bike revs and he takes off through the streets. I rest my head between Leo's shoulder blades, zone everything else out, and just breathe. There's nothing else but me and Leo and I breathe in Leo's scent.

The bike soon stops and I come back to reality. "We're here," says Leo.

"Where's here?" I ask, taking off my helmet.

Leo points to his right and I feel my mouth fall open. Leo's pointing at The Lumière, Santa Ana's nicest hotel. A night here is costs upwards of almost a thousand dollars. "You and I are spending the night here," Leo tells me.

I look at Leo, my mouth still open. "How did you get a room here?" I ask. "It's insanely expensive..."

"My dad's good friends with the manager of The Lumière. I asked him for a favor and he lent me the presidential suite for the night. No charge."

I smile at Leo and I take his hand again. He and I walk into the main lobby of The Lumière and I already feel like my wallet just flew out of my pocket. We walk up to the front desk and the woman behind the counter smiles at us. "Good evening," she says. "Welcome to The Lumière. May I help you?"

"Yes," says Leo. "I have a reservation for Leo Trigon?"

"Okay sir. Let me just check that." She quickly types on the keyboard next to her and looks at the computer monitor. "Yes, here we are. Leo Trigon, presidential suite, one night stay, all expenses paid. May I just see some identification?"

Leo reaches into his pocket and shows the woman his driver's license. "Perfect," she says. She takes a room key and quickly scans it into the computer and hands it to Leo. "The presidential suite is on the top floor. I hope you enjoy your stay."

Leo and I thank the woman and walk over to the elevators and ride up to the top floor. After walking a bit, we find the presidential suite, distinguishable by its double doors. Leo slides the car in and opens the door and we walk in. We don't even take two steps.

This room is gigantic! There's enough room in here to fit at least a hundred people. Leo and I act like little kids for a few minutes, looking in every room and gawking at how nice the suite is. We both stop when we get to the bathroom. While the bathroom is beautiful, a large shower takes up most of it.

Leo and I look to each other and grin. I grab him before he can grab me and hold him close to me. "I love you so much," I whisper.

"I love you too," he whispers back.

I quickly press my lips to Leo's and our tongues do most of the work for us. Leo and I haven't kissed like this since the last time we made love. I've actually forgotten how good Leo tastes. I feel Leo grab the base of my shirt and un-tuck it from my pants. I pull away from Leo and smile at him. "I got it."

Leo smiles back at me and un-tucks his shirt too. We both quickly undress and are left standing in our underwear. Leo grabs me by the hand and pulls me toward the shower. We both step inside and find there's plenty of room in here for the two of us. We step to the middle of the shower and the showerheads immediately turn on, the water the perfect temperature.

Our underwear is quickly soaked and through the fabric of Leo's underwear, I see his gorgeous cock. "Let's get you out of that," I say.

I grab the waistband of Leo's underwear and pull it down to his ankles. I'm now face to face with the half-foot behemoth Leo calls his penis. "You look a little uncomfortable with that bulge," Leo tells me.

I look down and see my own dick sprouting a hard-on of its own. I stand back up and pull my own underwear down and kick it off my feet. Leo and I stare at each other wet and naked bodies. My sex drive takes over and I pull Leo into another hard kiss, my tongue trying to feel every bit of Leo's mouth.

Leo's cock pokes me in my lower abdomen and I grab it with a tight squeeze, causing Leo to suck in a deep breath. "Please...let's save it for a little later," Leo manages to get out.

"Okay," I say. I reach other and grab an available bar of soap. "Let's at least get clean first."

"So we can get dirty again?"

"Exactly."

Leo laughs and I begin rubbing his body down with the bar of soap, being sure not to miss a single inch of his hard body. I get to his ass and thoroughly rub every nook and cranny there is. Between his legs I see Leo's cock dripping precum onto the stone shower floor. It takes every bit of willpower I have not to spin Leo around and hungrily swallow his hard cock.

I finish cleaning Leo and stand back up when he takes the bar of soap from my hand. He runs the soap across my chest, spending extra time on my nipples, which harden in a split second. Leo gets to my cock and rubs it down with the bar, making me shudder in ecstasy.

Leo and I stand in front of the jets of water and wash the soap off of each other. "Now...how do we turn off the water?" Leo asks.

The water suddenly stops, leaving both Leo and me confused. "Oh, don't tell me," I start.

"On," says Leo.

The jets of water shoot back on, making Leo and I laugh. "Voice activated shower," I say. "If only we all had this. Off."

The water turns back off and Leo and I step out of the shower. We grab two towels and quickly dry each other off, helping each other wipe the water off our bodies and drying our hair. "I want you in the bed right this minute," Leo says.

He grabs my hand and pulls me out of the bathroom and into the large master bedroom, which holds one of the biggest beds I have ever seen. Leo wraps his arms around me and pulls me into the bed, kissing me before we even hit the bed. Leo lies on top of me, his taught, muscular skin pressing against my own.

I reach down Leo's back and find his ass and give each cheek a hard squeeze, making Leo moan. Leo slides down my, his tongue licking down my neck and chest. He stops on both nipples for a second and gives both a soft bite, goose bumps breaking out with each bite. Leo keeps going down my body and gets to my semi-hard cock.

He takes my shaft in his hand and gives it a few pumps and squeezes, making me groan in delight. "Please Leo," I beg. "Please suck my dick. I can't wait anymore..."

I see Leo smile a bit and his tongue slowly slides up my cock, stopping on the quickly swelling head. His tongue circles my cock head and slides over my piss slit, making me squirm. Leo opens his mouth and starts to take my cock. He quickly takes every inch and moves up and down the shaft.

Screams erupt from my chest every time Leo slides back down my hard shaft. He's gotten so good at sucking cock that his mouth feels like velvet and I don't want him to stop. I open my eyes long enough to see Leo's in as much joy as I am. "L-Leo, I want to suck your cock too..."

Leo grunts in response and swings his legs over my head, his mouth never releasing my cock. Leo's hard dick sits in front of my face and I grasp it firmly in my hand, making Leo shudder. I slide my tongue over the head and swallow Leo's cock in one gulp, taking every inch no problem.

We're in perfect unison as Leo and I blow each other, sloppy slurps coming from both of our cock-filed mouths. Leo slides off my dick and pulls his own cock out of my mouth. He turns back around and sits on my pelvis. "When did you get so good at sucking cock?" Leo asks me with a smile.

"I guess it's thanks to you," I say with a similar smile.

And some online tutorials...

Leo hops off me and reaches over to the nightstand and into the drawer. He pulls out a bottle of lube and holds a bottle of lube in front of my face. "You really prepared didn't you?" I ask.

"Only for you."

Leo pops the top on the bottle and lets the lube flow into his hand, and he isn't stingy with it. He pours about half the bottle into his palm, letting the extra slide between his fingers and drip onto my body. The gel feels cold, but I'm too hot right now to care. Leo takes his lubed hand and slides it all over my chest and body, his hands making me even hotter.

His hand slides down further until it reaches my ass. Without warning, Leo slides two finders into me, causing me to scream in both a little pain and a lot of delight. "Sorry," says Leo. "Was that too fast?"

"I-It's just been a while since last time. Go ahead. I want it..."

He waits a second for me to adjust, and Leo starts fingering me. He's neither too hard, nor too soft. It's just right, and it feels great. He slides in a third finger after a few minutes and spreads me even further, enough to fit his huge cock.

Leo pulls out his fingers and reaches back over to the nightstand. He pulls out a condom and rips it open and swiftly slides it on his hard cock. I lift my legs up as Leo position's himself over me, the tip of his cock awaiting access. "Ready?" he asks.

"Fuck me..." I breathe out. Leo's cock slowly glides into my ass, inch after inch being swallowed. Despite almost two months having gone by since Leo and I last had sex, I don't feel an ounce of pain. "I need you now, Leo. Please...fuck me hard. I want to feel you inside of me..."

Leo's cock begins to slide out of me and with one hard push, forces it's way back in. And out, and back in. Leo is fucking me at a perfect rhythm. He's hard enough to make me scream in ecstasy, yet soft to enough to where it doesn't feel like I'm being ripped in two. Leo sounds like he loves it as much as I do, because his yells and moans are just as loud as mine.

The bed sheets are already soaked with my sweat and Leo's just as wet as I am, droplets falling from his forehead and nose and sliding down his neck. His chest is rising and falling hard and fast, labored breaths escaping his throat.

As my head flies back from pleasure, I suddenly feel two hands grab my sides. I open my eyes and Leo flips me over onto my stomach, his cock never leaving my ass. "Get on your elbows and knees," Leo sexily says.

I follow his command and he proceeds to fuck me doggy style. With a new position come new amazing feelings. Shocks I've never felt before radiate throughout my body, causing my hairs to stand on end and heat to explode out of every pore on my skin.

Leo holds his arms tightly around my waist and leans his torso onto my back, his hips smacking against me with every thrust. I reach back and grab Leo's head and pull him into a kiss as his fucks me, the feeling of kissing Leo as he fucks me adding to my bliss. "F-Fuck, Josh. You feel so good..." Leo moans between kisses.

"I feel amazing, Leo. O-Oh fuck...harder! Fuck me harder!"

My screams escalate to pure howls as Leo fucks me with more force than ever before. Shrieks of rapture fill my ear as Leo holds me even tighter. "J-Josh! I'm cumming! I'm going to...c-cum!"

"Cum on me, Leo! I-I want it! I-I'm cumming...too!"

Leo's cock pulls out of me and I flip back over and jerk my cock with Leo. I feel my cock start to surge and use my free arm to pull Leo into my chest. "Cum with me..." I whisper into his ear.

I take Leo's hand off his cock and grab it with my own. He grabs mine and pumps vigorously with me. "A-Ah! I'm cumming!" Leo screams.

"I-I'm cumming too!"

With a final hard pump, jets of white cum shoot up between our bodies, flying onto both of our chests and faces. Every muscle I have contracts and bliss washes over me. Leo collapses onto my chest, both of us breathing hard, and looks into my eyes. "That was..." he starts.

"Beautiful," I finish.

Leo smiles and presses his cum-coated lips to mine. We take a few minutes to get some strength back before we climb out of bed and walk back to the shower to clean up. Once we get dried off again, I make a quick call home to Mom and Dad, telling them I'm spending the night at Leo's.

Leo and I walk back to the bed, hand in hand, and fall in together. As Leo starts to pull the covers over us, I see something on his left shoulder I didn't notice before. "What's that on your shoulder?" I ask.

Leo glances back at me before smiling at me. "It's a tattoo."

"A tattoo?"

"I got it a few weeks ago. I wanted it to be a surprise for tonight, and now looks like the best time to show you." Leo turns his back to me and I look at his shoulder. What is see is the most beautiful black cursive calligraphy I have ever seen. "Go ahead and read it out loud."

I take a quick glance at the words and recognize the sentence underneath the first seven words. The second I see it, I feel two tears fall from my eyes and smile brightly at it. "Go ahead," Leo says. "I want to hear you say it."

"'For Josh, Who I Will Love Forever. I Love You, Not Only For Who You Are, But For What I Am When I Am With You.'"

Leo turns back around and I see he's crying with me too. "Josh, I love every single thing about you and I love you with all my heart. But I also love you because you bring out the best of me and I can't thank you enough for it. These six months with you have been the best and I will never forget every minute I have spent with you. I love you so much, Josh..."

More tears fall from my eyes and I pull Leo into a hug, kissing the side of his head. "I love you too, Leo. I'll never forget the first time I looked into your dark blue eyes. I still feel my heart skipping that beat to this day. I love you as both my best friend, and as the love of my life. I love you..."

I look into Leo's dark blue eyes, the same skipped beat coming back to me. Leo kisses me and I kiss him back. I reach over to the nightstand and turn off the lamp, darkening the room, and slide into bed with Leo. He pulls the covers over us and I wrap my arms around Leo. "Happy six months," he says.

"Happy six months. I love you, Leo."

"I love you too, Josh. Good night."

Leo turns over in my arms and I pull him even closer to me, pressing my chest to his back, the tattoo directly over my beating heart.