Rome was gloomy. All the buildings with heavy history made the weather bearable, but around three in the afternoon, I pulled Drew inside a pizza house. The rain had begun pouring too hard for us to keep walking around.

I asked for a cappuccino, while we decided on what pizza to get. Drew opted for plain water. I had quickly learned that he only drank water while he was on duty.

After browsing the menu several times I decided on a Margherita, while Drew chose the one with salami.

“Think they’d add some pineapple on it if I say prego?”

“First, I can tell why you get along with Emmett so well. Pineapple on pizza? Excuse me while I’m gonna barf. Second. Prego means you’re welcome from what little Italian I know. You could try per favore, but then again…they might bring the last remaining relative of Capone and kill you. Pineapple on pizza is blasphemy!”

“I agree,” a think Italian accent said from behind me.

I turned to see our waiter smiling friendly. I returned the smile.

“But if you want that, we can have it arranged,” he said, still looking at me.

“We’ll have Margherita and Salami pizzas,” Drew ordered for us.

The waiter nodded. “Anything else you might need, call for Antonio.” He pointed to his name tag.

“Who would have thought Italians were so friendly? I had a biased opinion about them,” I mused.

“He was flirting with you. Of course, he was friendly.”

I frowned. “Are you sure? I didn’t catch it.”

“Because you only have eyes for Brian.”

I drank from my warm beverage, sighing. “I barely saw him three hours in total since we landed in Rome yesterday. I knew it was going to be crazy, but not like this.”

“And this is just the beginning. I joined his Security team when he arrived at the White House, but Ben and Will have been with him all through his campaign as well. Campaigns are brutal.”

“So I should decline his invitation to join him in America, too?” I chewed on my lips.

“He asked you to … Believe me, it’s draining. I have it easy now, watching over you.” He stopped talking, pulling out his vibrating phone. “Yes,” he answered. “At some restaurant, waiting for our food.” Drew glanced at me, then turned to look out the window. “It’s pouring, man.”

I hoped that whoever was on the other end of the line didn’t want us to move anytime soon. My feet hurt from walking so much and I was famished.

“How’s that gonna work?” Drew’s sarcastic comment grabbed my attention. “Fire alarm? Empty the whole establishment because he can’t keep it in his pants?”

I lunged for the phone, checking the caller ID. Ben. Good, at least I knew him.

“Tell him it’s a terrible idea. Even though I want nothing more than to see him right now, I won’t scare and evict a whole restaurant based on…” I trailed off as Brian's Caddy pulled up in front of the pizzeria.

“I can’t stop him, Justin.”

“Holy fuck.” I shot up. “Tell Antonio to pack our food.” I was running to the door before Drew moved. I arrived at the Caddy just as the back door was opening. I dived inside, toppling over Brian.

He eyed me amused, quickly shutting the door.

“We have to abandon Boyd,” Ben said urgently, already peeling off from where we were parked. “That was so stupid! I don’t even know whose fault it is.”

“Did anyone see Justin getting in?” Brian asked, steadying me when I was flung into his side while Ben took a sharp turn.

Drew’s phone was still in my hand. When it started vibrating I stared at Ben’s name. “Why are you calling me? Shit. Fuck. I took Drew’s phone.”

“He’ll get back to the hotel on his own,” Brian pacified me. “I bet he’s been abandoned before on a mission.”

“But this isn’t a mission, with all due respect,” Ben muttered, dialing another number. “Hey, Will. We have a situation…”

Brian pressed the button for the window dividing the front and back of the car. We were encased in silence and the sound of rain hitting the metal roof and the windows.

“Do you usually go around closing food establishments only to have your way?” I joked.

“Only when the people inside them are in between me and my man.”

I beamed, snuggling into his side. “You have the rest of the day off?”

“I have a brief conference with the States later tonight, but I’m all yours. What do you want to do?”

“I’m still hungry,” I mumbled, embarrassed.

The divider window rolled down. “Bad news. Justin was seen climbing into the car. There’s already a picture in the media, but he’s a blur of black jacket and blond hair.”

I took my jacket off, chewing on my lower lip.

“It will be fine.” Brian rubbed my back.

“I’ll drop you off at the back of the hotel. There will be someone to escort you to Brian's room.”

I nodded seriously.

“It’s my fault. I didn’t think of the consequences of jumping into the president’s car.”

“It’s my fault, if you want to blame anyone,” Brian said harshly. He snatched his phone out of his pocket. “Not now, Rick.” He hung up the next second.

Ben slowed as he approached the employee entrance of the hotel. I was barely out of the car when Ben accelerated, splashing water over my jeans. The next second a tall security agent was next to me, an umbrella over my head.

I was ready to dismiss him, but I slumped my shoulders, walking to the door. An employee was coming out for a smoke, and he gave us a double look when we passed him, but I was beyond caring. I was numb from the cold and the eventful past half an hour.

The man by my side never said a word as he took me to the elevator, standing in the corner to make room for more people to step inside. As the doors slid closed, I saw Brian and Ben coming through the front doors.

We walked silently to the presidential suite. My shadow produced a key card, and I was grateful for that. Mine was in the jacket I had left in the car.

The door shut behind me, and I was surprised the agent hadn’t followed me inside.

I went straight for the bathroom. Despite how hungry I was, I needed to get warm. So I started a bath, while waiting for Brian.

“I don’t want anyone to disturb us. The world can end,” Brian shouted, before the suite door was slammed shut.

I was already in the bathtub when Brian appeared in the doorway of the bathroom.

“I’m really sorry, Justin.”

“Well, it was bound to happen. I didn’t expect it to be so soon.” I pulled my knees up, hugging them.

“I ordered room service.”

“I wonder if Drew will bring our pizza whenever he gets back.”

“Will is on his way to rescue Drew.” He knelt at my side, touching my cheek.

“Join me,” I whispered.

Brian left his clothes in a rumpled heap on the bathroom floor as he joined me.

“Good thing it’s raining. I’m gonna abuse my hoodies,” I tried to lighten the mood.

“Ben’s right. I was so incredibly stupid…” He took my hands, stroking his thumbs over my skin. “But I missed you so much.”

“I missed you, too,” I admitted.

Brian parted my legs, leaning between them to kiss me. “Having you here is so convenient,” he said against my lips. One of his hands ran down my thigh, clamping down behind my knee.

I couldn’t help but groan in pleasure. That spot was so sensitive for me.

“What would you have done if I weren’t here?” I had to know.

“Drew would have called a very discreet and select company that provided amazing stress-relief.” Brian was bent over my neck, kissing up and down as he talked.

I could feel my blood turning to ice. “What,” I hissed, pushing him away.

“What?” He frowned, watching me confused.

I stood up, water dripping from my body. “Do I mean that little to you? Am I really convenient?” I snapped.

Brian stared up at me from his spot kneeling in the bathtub. When his eyes widened, I knew he figured out what he had said. He caught my wrist, before I could step out of the tub.

“Shit, Justin! That’s not what I meant. I mean, I’m no saint, but….” He ran his free hand through his hair. “Fuck. I don’t know what I’d be doing right now if you weren’t here.”

“Would you have told me?”

“Would it have made you feel better if I told you that I was sleeping around?” he challenged.

I gulped thickly, feeling tears at the back of my eyes. “The thought would have counted.”

Brian stood, helping me out of the tub.

While we toweled in silence, I thought of how difficult it must be for him. All the more reason to stop his ways of getting some, now that I was in the picture.

“Look, I can hear your wheels turning. Since I first met you, I’ve only had a handful of escorts. It was mostly in the beginning…And in the past month, when I was probably a lot to handle to everyone, Sam, one of my security guys, walked me to my room from the office. He whispered that he took liberties to relax me.” Brian rubbed a hand over my shoulder. “The man waiting in my room was nothing I wanted. I let him blow me before I told Sam to kick him out.”

If I thought his honesty would make it more bearable, I was mistaken. I had a blowjob or two at Babylon too, but we hadn’t been so serious back then.

“The next day, I packed up and went to Lindsay’s. I never had second thoughts about my sexcapades, but I couldn’t help but see your disappointed face in my head. The same face you have now.”

I met his eyes, blinking back the tears in mine. “Thank you for telling me.”

“I never had this. I don’t know how to do steady, Justin.”

“Like I do?” I could hear my voice raising on the edge of hysteric. “I’m an artist. I fall in love too quickly, then someone new catches my interest.” I reached up to touch his slightly stubbly cheek. “Until you.” I knew we weren’t at that point where heavy confessions were made, but I had to tell him how I felt. “I never felt like this before.”

“That makes two of us,” Brian whispered, wrapping his arms around me. “Tell me we’re okay.”

“If this is the worst we can fight, I can handle it.”

He smiled against my forehead. After planting a kiss on my hair, Brian pulled me to the bedroom. “Make-up sex is something else. Or so it’s said.”

“Let’s find out.”

I jumped on the bed, just as there was a knock on the door.

“There better be an alien invasion,” Brian muttered, snatching a robe, before heading to the door. Soft words were exchanged, then Brian joined me on the bed. “Drew’s back. Your pizza is in the sitting room.”

I grinned, remembering how hungry I was. But food would have to wait. My hunger for food dimmed in comparison to my hunger for Brian.

“Why is there a heart shaped post-it note on the box?” Brian asked, as he rolled a condom on his erection.

“I made an impression.” I laughed. “Drew thought Antonio was flirting with me, but I couldn’t tell. I only have eyes for you, Mr. President.”

“Jesus. That’s the epitome of corny, Painter Boy.”

“Just get your dick inside me,” I said impatiently.

Smirking, Brian crawled between my legs, breaching me slowly with lubed fingers. It never ceased to amaze me how careful Brian was every time we had sex. When he deemed me ready, he pushed into me slowly. His head was thrown back and all I wanted was to suck on his Adam’s apple.

God, this man was going to be the death of me.

We clung to each other, moving slowly, sweaty skin sliding against sweaty skin. I didn’t want to name what we were doing, because it would mean admitting to myself how hard and fast I had fallen for Brian.