Call me.

Sem's curt, two word response was alarming. Especially because Nick had missed a call and didn't discover the message until after a few hours later. Lara and the others had left, and he and Blake were alone with a dozen extremely professional-looking pictures.Sem had sent Blake the exact same message. 

The day wasn't even halfway done yet, and with the camera's, confessions, and commotion it already felt like a bigger rollercoaster than the past few weeks combined. And that was saying something.

Nick sighed. He rested his elbows on his knees, and folded his hands under his chin as he stared down at Blake's phone on the table. "Do we have to?" 

"Afraid so." Blake patted Nick's shoulder sympathetically. "Like, it'll be fine! We're just gonna call him and make it quick and painless, alright?" 

Depending on Sem's mood after waiting several hours, Nick doubted the painless part would be true. Nor the quick part if Sem wanted to yell at them. Before Nick could even utter a 'no wait', however, Blake had already swipe-unlocked his phone and dialled Sem's number. He put the phone on speaker, and then there was little else to do but await their doom.

Sem picked up almost immediately. "I fucking knew it!" he eloquently answered the phone. "Blake, if you're sleeping with him too, you better not be fucking around!" 

"I think we're okay. He only said 'fuck' twice," Blake whispered in Nick's ear with a smirk.

"Uh..." Nick cleared his throat loudly, mostly to announce his presence to Sem before he spoke. "No, it's not just, uh, that. We're dating." 

Sem let out an impressively long string of curses. "I knew it," he repeated. "It was Blake you kissed and you just lied about it, didn't you?"

Blake's expression soured. Nick inwardly cringed and quickly put his hand on Blake's, entwining their fingers. "No, that wasn't a lie," Nick said carefully, keeping a close eye on Blake. "But that's definitely all over. He went home to England, and I'm dating Blake."

Sem was quiet for a moment. "Well, fuck me," he then said. "Not what I expected but finally something happened. I was done watching you sputtering and stammering around Blake like an idiot."

"Well, he may still do that," Blake slyly remarked. "When I'm—"

"No. Stop," Sem cut in. "I'm happy for you, I really am, but I do not need the details."

"Aw, are you sure? They're juicy, and I know you've been rooting for me to seduce Nick."

"I have not."

"Did you know Nick is really good at—"

"Bye!"

Sem actually hung up. Blake's eyes grew wide, and then he started laughing. The sound was so contagious that Nick couldn't help but join in. 

"I was going to say great at making pancakes in the morning when you need a pick-me-up, I swear!" Blake said between snorts. 

"Yeah right." 

Nick didn't believe Blake for a second, but it didn't matter. The relief that Sem knew and was alright with their relationship was way too big for Nick to care about Blake saying lewd things. Nick's parents still hadn't gotten back to him, but they would at some point. They did tend to sleep in on Saturday, sometimes even past noon. 

Blake's smile lingered as he pointed at the laptop on the salon table. "Anyway, now that's out of the way: let's get to work. We still have a picture to choose... out of the, like, twenty, Lara narrowed it down to. If we can even call it narrowing down at this point." 

Chuckling, Nick followed Blake to the couch and sat down next to him. Blake opened the laptop and started scrolling through the, quite literally, twenty pictures Lara had transferred to his laptop.

If Nick was completely honest, he didn't see much difference between the shots. Aside from small changes in colour and angle they were all exactly the same to him. Each picture did depict them looking at each other so lovingly that even thinking about posting himself looking like that online made Nick blush. If people saw this, even if they weren't kissing, there would be no doubt they were together. Not that he cared about that; it was just embarrassing to see himself look so, well, in love. 

"So, what do you think? Which one do you like?" Blake asked as he slowly went through the images for the third time.

"I, uh, I'm not sure," Nick said honestly. He didn't want to admit he saw little difference considering both Blake and Lara seemed to think of the picture itself as very important. "You can choose." 

Nick wasn't being dishonest, but it seemed Blake interpreted the answer slightly differently than Nick had intended it. He stopped scrolling and turned to Nick. "If you're having some second thoughts, it's okay. I understand." 

Blake said he understood, but the sparkle in his eyes dimmed and Nick felt a wave of panic at the sight. The entire reason why he'd been doing this photoshoot was because he didn't want Blake to doubt. This proved that Blake did still doubt a little. It was understandable with their past, but it instantly tied Nick's stomach into knots. 

"No, no, that's not what I mean," Nick hastily corrected Blake. "I only mean I don't see that much difference between the pictures. I mean, why would I not want to be with you and show you off? I can be myself around you, and it doesn't matter that I like dorky things or that I overthink. Or that I don't like certain jokes. I don't have to pretend in... any way" 

Words spilled out of Nick's mouth unfiltered as immediate panic triumphed overthinking, and Nick didn't realise fully what he was blurting until he saw a tinge of red spread on Blake's cheeks. Blake exaggeratedly averted his gaze and turned away from Nick. "Okay, okay. You're going to have to stop now. Mind the inflating ego."

"Mind the ego, or you blushing?" 

Nick purposely leaned over Blake, trying to see his face while Blake jokingly kept twisting further to not look at Nick. 

"Stop it Nick," he complained. "I have a reputation to uphold as being confident and unfazed!"

"Alright, I'll just do this differently then." 

Rather than trying to see Blake's face, Nick changed his strategy. He dipped his head and pressed his lips to Blake's neck, planting soft kisses there. 

A content sigh escaped Blake's mouth. "Oh, you're playing dirty already," he murmured.

It took about second for him to give in and kiss Nick. They had to take another break from choosing a picture from Lara's selection, because they were too busy making out. Kissing Blake was as thrilling as it had been the first time and made Nick's heart pound, but at the same time it was comfortable now. They still had a lot to discover about each other, but Nick was looking forward to that. He'd try to talk more, even about topics he found difficult, and take away that last remaining doubt Blake still seemed to nurture. Starting right now. 

After a few more kisses, Nick pulled back. "Okay, enough stalling." Nick looked at the screen and pointed at a random picture at the top left. "This one."

Blake magnified the one Nick picked, narrowed his eyes as he appraised it, and then he nodded. "Yeah, that one is fine."

"Good." 

Nick let go of Blake and scooted to the edge of the couch, leaning forward to grab the mouse. He opened Instagram and dragged the picture they wanted directly from the folder into the post. Blake just watched while Nick centred the photo, and skipped the filters. All his perfectionistic tendencies and claims that the picture 'needed to look perfect' seemed gone now. Nick was even more aware Blake was watching him closely as he moved the mouse to the share button. Any hesitation now would be noticed, and frankly, Nick didn't hesitate. Not really. He fought off the fear, took a deep breath, and then clicked the button. 

"There we are. Gone into the wide world," Nick joked lightly, glancing at Blake. 

Blake was absolutely beaming. The same way he'd beamed when Nick kissed him near the football fields, and put his arm around him at the supermarket. Nick showing him off or showing affection in public seemed to be a big deal to Blake, whether it was online on in real life. Nick had a hunch as to why that was and he didn't feel the need to ask.

Looking at Blake's sparkling eyes calmed the last of Nick's nerves. The fallout that would follow now was worth it. Being with someone who made him feel like he could be completely himself without being judged was worth it. Damn everyone else and their opinions. Nick had already wasted enough time chasing the wrong people. Now, he would make sure the right person knew they were the right person. 

Nick closed the laptop and put an arm around Blake. "Well, posting that was fun. But know I'm going to wreck you at the Ace of Spades tonight as revenge for inviting Lara to tug on my hair for two hours." 

Blake grinned. "We'll see about that, babe. See how well you'll be able to focus with my foot riding up your leg under the table."

"That's cheating!" Nick called out. "Fine. Maybe I'll lift my shirt then to distract you back."

"And before you know it, we're having sex on the table, geez." Blake laughed. "But I always like taking a bet. What are we betting for? If I win the Ace of Spades tournament, we spend the night together?"

"And if I win?"

"We also spend the night together."

"And if neither of us win?"

Blake wrinkled his nose. "Not an option. Either you or I win. Shake on it." He jutted his hand out for Nick to take in a very official manner.

Nick laughed as he shook Blake's hand. "Fine. Deal," he said, realising he was genuinely looking forward to the Ace of Spades tournament and beating the competition together with Blake. And... he also realised he hadn't thought of football today. He thought about it a lot less with Blake and the others; it only snuck up on Nick during the quiet moments to make him sad.

"And you're staring into the distance again with a frown. Should I be worried about the next big plan you're coming up with right now? Does the plan involve me?"

Nick blinked as Blake waved a hand in his face, snapping him out of his pondering. Blake grinned widely when Nick focused on him. 

Nick returned Blake's smile. "Yes, is does involve you. Be very afraid." 

"I am. I'm absolutely terrified of what you'll do to me." 

Blake bit his lip and leaned back on the couch. A quiet but obvious invitation for Nick to lean over him and kiss him again. Who was Nick to say no to that? As their lips met, Nick looked forward to the next moment when their kiss deepened. And the moment after when they retreated into the bedroom, with Blake laughing as he tried to brush his fingers through Nick's hair but failed because Lara's hair products had turned it into one hard chunk.

He was looking forward to learning more about Blake, watching fantasy movies together, and even laughing at the comments on Instagram later. Maybe Nick wasn't running towards a goal, literal or figurative, but he was going somewhere he liked for the rest of the day. And that was good enough for now. This was good enough.