The date is Nicholas’s idea. He doesn’t call it that. He just says, “Come with me tonight,” like it’s an order softened by hope. Like he’s bracing for rejection even as he pretends he isn’t. Rafe hesitates only a moment. “Okay,” he says. And something fragile and dangerous blooms behind Nicholas’s ribs. They leave the café just before sunset. Rafe locks the door carefully, double-checks the sign, straightens the chairs like the place might collapse if he doesn’t. Nicholas watches from the curb, hands in his coat pockets, memorizing the way Rafe exists when he thinks no one important is watching. He’s wrong. Every version of Rafe is important. They don’t go anywhere loud. Nicholas would never. He chooses a quiet restaurant tucked between a bookstore and a florist — warm lights, low music, too soft for violence. The kind of place that feels like a promise instead of a threat. Rafe looks around when they sit. “This place is… nice,” he says. Nicholas nods. “It doesn’t bleed
Last Updated : 2025-12-14
