“Ehi, stranger!” 

Nick turned around, surprised to see Brian standing on the other side of the street and near the side entrance of Central Park. 

“Ehi stranger -  He exclaimed, catching up with him as soon as the traffic light turned green. – What are you doing here?” 

With a natural act, Brian put his arm around Nick’s waist as they started to walk on the paths winding through the green. “I know that you always come here for your lunch break so I decided that it was the perfect day for a picnic.” 

“And you have willingly left the bar in the hands of Aj?” Nick asked, pretending to be shocked but pleasantly surprised. 

“I know, I know. It seems like a miracle, right? – Brian replies, letting out an amused laughter. – But Jay had literally thrown me out when I told him about my idea. “Go out and have fun. Finally.” – He added, imitating the friend’s voice close to perfection. - Can you believe him?” 

“Well, he isn’t that wrong.” 

“You’re agreeing with him only because you’re gonna benefit from it.” 

“That’s not true since I was going to see you tonight anyway. Still, I prefer seeing you under the sunlight.”

“You know what they say about flattering...” The words were muffled by Brian’s laughter. 

“And then where would be the fun in that? – Nick replied, rubbing his nose against Brian’s. – I love seeing you blushing.”

Brian’s reply didn’t come in the form of words: on the tips of his toes, he left a simple and quick kiss on the corner of Nick’s lips before walking again. It was really a perfect day to spend outside: the sky had colored itself with the most incredible and light shade of blue; the spring-like sun, spreading warmth with its rays, made the green of the grass shining and the flurry colors of the flowers were mixed perfectly creating an infinite painting. In the silence, only interrupted by the squeaks of the squirrels and the birds’ singing, the couple reached that corner that had become their usual place, a little corner hidden near the bank of the river, with a secular and majestic oak offering them shelter from the sun.

After eating and neatening everything, Nick retrieved his notebook and started drawing quite immediately while Brian sat beside him with a book he took with him. Hours passed by and soon the sun was about to prepare itself to leave his place to the moon: Nick looked up for a second and found himself attracted to Brian, smiling maybe for something he just read. That smile, so natural and for that reason so beautiful, was like a magnet, making hard and impossible to go back to his drawing and inspiration.

“Do I have something on my face?” Brian asked puzzled.

“No. – Nick answered, placing his notebook on the grass and coming closer to Brian. – I love your smile. Simply that.”

After putting a bookmark between the pages he was reading, Brian put down his book and with a hand he grabbed the collar of the shirt Nick was wearing. “And I love you.”

Nick’s reply didn’t take too long to arrive: his hands grabbed Brian’s, pushing the boy towards him while his lips, touching and caressing, whispered quietly those three words he still couldn’t find the courage to say out loud. Still, he knew that one day he would be able to look into those blue eyes and say the same thing to Brian.

Yes, one day he was going to say “I love you”.

And he kinda had the feeling it was going to happen very soon.