When The Nights Get Long

The Only One With A Key

"But don't not date him just because you think he's still in love with your brother. Could he be, yeah," Aiden stated. "But don't you think that you could be wrong as well? Don't you think that he could actually be in love with you?"

"He's not in love with me, he just loves me," they emphasized.

"But it was enough to cause him to fall out of love with Luke in the first place, wasn't it?" Alister questioned, and Aiden nodded along with him. "Open your heart up to heartbreak. That's how you learn to love and write a Grammy award winning song," he teased, prompting Aiden to toss a pillow to Blue to whack Alister with.

Was Blue in love with Andrew? No. But that didn't mean they didn't love him either. They weren't even sure if they loved him or not. All they knew for certain was that there was some form of romantic feelings for the man. They enjoyed the pleasantries of his gentle caresses and wanted to reside in the comfort of his welcoming embrace, but until they knew for sure whether or not he was over Luke, they couldn't agree to do anything with him.

^^^

Blue made a promise, and they intended to keep it. Though they were not ready to face Andrew, they still entered the apartment and called out their arrival. They weren't, however, expecting to find a beautiful woman to be sitting on the couch. She wore her ginger hair over her shoulder with a single, tiny braid in the mix. Her freckles were as prominent as the smile on her face, and her green eyes were elevated with a thick coating of mascara. Though her attire was a professional pencil skirt and blouse, Blue had the feeling there was something more suspicious going on.

"Welcome back," Andrew stated as he entered the room. "I made some coffee if you'd like some."

"Wow, cereal and coffee. You're a real chef, you know that," they tsked as they entered the kitchen.

He was quiet a moment. "Sorry, I forgot to laugh. Ha, ha," he smirked as he sat down across from the woman.

"Is that them?" the woman giggled as he glanced over her shoulder at Blue. "They're even more beautiful than you described them to be."

"You're talking about me?" Blue questioned.

"Oh, he wouldn't shut up about you a moment ago," the woman blurted, turning to fully face them. "He was worried sick you wouldn't come home."

They poured themself a mug of coffee. "I told you I'd be back, and I'm a man of my word."

"You can't blame me, though," he shrugged, his voice trailing off. "After last night-"

"We don't need to discuss last night," they firmly stated. Approaching the woman, they smiled and held out their free hand to her. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Blue Sutton."

"Marcy Goldbloom," the woman stated, shaking their hand.

"Oh, so you're his editor," they chirped. "Man, I should have recognized your voice from those video chats down the hall. I'm surprised I didn't."

"It's not a problem," she assured. "I'm excited to meet the Blue behind Andrew's latest book."

"I'm in your book?" As they spun around to face Andrew, his face remained composed, but they could spot the tiniest bit of hesitance in his eyes. "Why am I in your book? What book am I in?"

"His newest boys love novel," Marcy responded as she held the packet up to them. "It was a shame to have the protagonist break up with Luke, but Blu certainly seems like a far greater match in heaven. He makes Luke look like chopped liver in comparison to him."

Snatching the manuscript out of her hands, Blue feverishly began to read it. The delicate nature in which they were addressed was uncanny to their natural self. Everything about them seemed to be written to utter perfection on who they were, yet they seemed to be the favorite of the author and editor. Was this Andrew's way of announcing how he was over Luke and now loved them instead?

In the corner of their eyes, they noticed Andrew staring at them expectantly. But when they turned to face him, he quickly averted his eyes back to the pages in front of him. Unsure of what to think, they dropped the manuscript onto the table and marched into the kitchen.

"Well, I think I should head out. I need to send this in before the end of the day," Marcy chirped as she packed her belongings.

"Make sure to lock the door on the way out," he nonchalantly responded as he followed Blue into the kitchen.

"Of course. It was nice meeting you, Blue," she sang as she exited the apartment, the click of the door locking ringing in their ears.

Leaning against the island counter, Andrew stared up at them with a bashful smile on their face. "How was your night with Aiden?"

"Good. It was the two of us and Alister."

"Who's that?"

"He's our roadie. He's an incredible dancer. We have a class together in the fall," they responded. Before he could comment on the boy, they quickly asked, "So, Marcy has a key?"

"Yes," he slowly responded.

"Is she your only editor?"

"No, I have a few others on my team."

"Do they all have keys?"

"No. Only her."

Only her, and she seemed to come around often if he asked her lock the door on the way out. Was she more than just an editor? It was a stupid thought to have, but it was quite convenient for him. She did seem excited to meet them and all, but who knew if he was getting over Luke with the help of more than just one person.

"I see," they stated, regretting it the moment they did. There was nothing to worry over. She was his editor, and they were not dating Andrew. They hated the idea of living with a liar, though. Someone who claimed to possibly fall in love with them when it wasn't true. They despised that thought.

"Ignore her," Andrew commanded. "That woman is not worth stressing over."

"Well, when you put it like that," they sarcastically quipped. Walking past Andrew, he reached out to gently grab their wrist. They instantly turned to face him, finding his face in close proximity to theirs. And they were patiently waiting for him to kiss them. They wanted him to kiss them, to allow them to feel the euphoria of desire on his lips again.

Instead, he pulled away, releasing their arm in the process. "Sorry. I almost broke my promise."

They didn't care. They wanted him to kiss them and settle their nerves. Ignoring them was not going to help Blue's problems go away. But it was better to face it before rather than during their time together, if they decided to be in a relationship at all.

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