we keep living anyway

He’s sitting here by himself, texting his best friend. He’s thinking he should just go home. Before he can do anything with that thought, his phone buzzes. It's Nile.

Want company?

 He’s about to say yes when a man sits down next to him. A gorgeous man, Nicky notices when he turns to look at him. Perfect curls and the man is just close enough that Nicky can see a dusting of freckles across his nose.

Nicky is a PhD student coming off a string of bad dates. After his most recent one, he finds himself in a hotel bar, when he meets a handsome stranger who invites him up to his room. It's not until the next morning that Nicky realizes there's been a misunderstanding. A misunderstanding that he should definitely clear up, except if he doesn't, he's guaranteed to see the man again.

Yusuf considers himself to be open and honest with his emotions, wearing them for the world to see. Yet the man he most wants to share those emotions with appears not to notice. He’s drawn his eyes, his mouth, his hands more times than he cares to admit. He cannot hide his attraction to Nicolò. And yet everything he does is met with indifference. Yusuf is in love with Nicolò and Nicolò is apparently oblivious, so he decides to take advantage of a less-than-ideal situation.