Chase’s POV 

As if in a trance, my face inches closer to Diego's. I can see the pores on his face and even those are perfect. Diego's breathing hitches as he no doubt can feel my breath fanning across his face. Other than that he remains completely still. The smell of sweet mocha latte mixed with a hint of manly musk drifts up into my nose, further scrambling my already incoherent thoughts. 

I move even closer and just as I'm about to connect our lips my hand collides with the decorative paper of the bouquet bringing me crashing back to reality. I gasp and hastily retreat. Was I really going to kiss Diego! Why did he have to close his eyes and give me full access! 

I glare at Diego, who still hasn't opened his eyes. Why is he so hot! Why is he making me want to kiss his stupid lips! I'm not ready for any of this! 

"Why did you close your eyes?” I ask and I flinch at my harsh, irritated tone of voice. 

Diego lets out a nervous chuckle, still keeping his eyes closed. “So you could stare at me without glancing away whenever I catch you. You seemed like you really wanted to check me out, I'm sorry if I misinterpreted that. Can I open my eyes now?”

I understand that he was just trying to be considerate of what I wanted but I'm still upset with him for some reason. I feel like I was tricked into wanting to kiss him. "No."

Diego rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. "Okay. I'm really sorry if I upset you, Chase. I won't do anything like this again," Diego replies.

I sigh and bite the inside of my cheek. I don't know how to decipher my feelings. My body wants Diego and seems to already trust him but my mind is still playing catch up. I'm still worried about getting hurt. I can't deal with another betrayal. 

Why am I such a mess! 

I like that Diego is flirty and that he was considerate enough to let me stare at him without having to worry about getting caught. But I can't help the hesitation that I'm feeling; the tiny hint of doubt telling me that once I kiss him and change the nature of our relationship, all he'll want is sex and I'm definitely not ready for that.

My eyes drift back to the beautiful man in front of me who obediently hasn't opened his eyes and I involuntarily smile. "You didn't do anything wrong. I overreacted and I'm really sorry about that." 

The soft smile instantly returns to Diego's face, causing my smile to widen. "It's okay, little lamb." 

I want to tell him that I like him and me not kissing him has nothing to do with the undeniable attraction I feel towards him but the words get stuck in my throat. I want to ask him to be patient and to let me take things as slow or as fast as I want to but I know that's not fair to him. 

"I can't see you so I don't know what's happening but I already told you I have a lot of patience and that you can ask me out if or when you're ready. I haven't changed my mind about that and don't worry, I don't think there's anything you can do to scare me off. Unless of course you really don't want me to show interest?" A warm fuzzy feeling spreads over me at Diego's mini monologue.

"Wow how dumb would I look if Chase isn't here and I'm just talking to myself," Diego mumbles and pouts after not hearing a response to his question. 

I giggle and pick back up my half eaten pack of M&Ms, popping one into my mouth. "You're so cute when you pout!" This time I'm saying it deliberately because he really is cute when he pouts but also because I do want him to keep showing interest, though I can't bring myself to say it directly. 

The smile that graces Diego's face at my words is bright enough to light up the whole world. "Can I please open my eyes?" Diego whines and I giggle and nod before I realize that he can't see me. 

"You can!" I say, stuffing more M&Ms into my mouth. 

"Aww you look like a chipmunk!" Diego exclaims, blinking rapidly as his eyes adjust to the light. 

I giggle and continue chomping away at my M&Ms. I shiver lightly at the cold breeze blowing against my skin. Now that the sun is setting and I've cooled down from our run, I'm starting to feel a little chilly. 

Diego smiles gently before getting up and going inside. He comes back a few minutes later with two duvets and a bunch of blankets and pillows. "Oooh do you want help setting those up?" I ask, quickly emptying the rest of the delicious chocolate into my mouth before throwing away the wrapper. 

I help Diego spread one of the duvets and half of the blankets on the ground and then he arranges the pillows. Once it's all set up, I sit down on top of everything and marvel at how soft it is. 

"Are you going to tuck me in?" I say in a teasing manner and giggle. 

Diego smirks and throws the other duvet on top of me. I shriek and fight my way out of it while Diego laughs his head off at my struggle. I finally manage to free myself and I pout before lying down. I giggle as my head sinks into the pillow and I cover my top half with the duvet. Diego carefully adjusts it so that it also covers my lower half. 

I look up at the purple and orange sunset sky and watch the clouds drift by. I feel Diego lying next to me and I turn my face towards him, watching as he wraps himself in some blankets. He finally stills and looks up at the sky and I also return my gaze to the clouds. 

We lay there in comfortable silence watching the sky darken until we can see the stars. "Diego?" 

"Yes darling," Diego answers and I smile at his honey-like tone. 

"Do you want to be my workout buddy?" I've been thinking about it a lot over the past few minutes and I realized that I'm very comfortable around Diego and I would love to spend more time with him in person. I really enjoyed our short run earlier today so doing something that we both love together should continue to be fun.

"Of course! I usually go four times a week; on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. You're welcome to come on any of those days though I can adjust my days if those don't work for you?" Diego replies and I hear him shuffle. 

I turn towards him and almost gasp at how gorgeous he looks under the moonlight. I twist a little to lie on my side. "Diego?" My voice comes out barely above a whisper. 

"Yes, little lamb," Diego coos, also shifting to lie on his side. 

It could be because it's darker now or because we're lying facing each other or maybe it's because I'm more comfortable around him now, but unlike during the evening sun, I seem to have no problem openingly gaping at Diego's face.

As I continue to stare at him, I feel the urge to touch him. I really want to touch him. Not only because I want to test my theory that I won't recoil like I usually do when others touch me but also because his skin looks so soft. "Will anything change between us if I touch your face?" 

I don't know if I want him to say no or yes. I don't want things to change because I don't think I'm ready for anything more right now. But I want things to change because the more time I spend with him the more I want him to hold me in his arms and never let me go. 

"Things will change only when or if you want them to and you can touch anywhere and you'd like, whenever you'd like," Diego responds with a soft smile. 

I giggle before saying, "Even your hair?" 

Diego chuckles and nods. I bite the inside of my cheek and free my hand from the duvet. Going at the speed of a snail, I very carefully move my hand towards Diego's cheek. Diego becomes a statue and I really can't tell if he's breathing. My hand hovers above his face, mere centimetres away from connecting with it. 

My gaze which is glued to Diego's cheek moves towards his face and his eyes immediately captivate me. They're looking at me as if I'm the most beautiful and precious treasure in the world and my heart flutters. I definitely like him and the crazy thing is, I think he likes me too. 

Still staring into his eyes I let my hand gently fall onto his face. A pleasant tingling feeling spreads from my hand, where it is in contact with his cheek, throughout my entire body, and I release a breath that I didn't know I was holding. I feel Diego's cheek move under my palm as he grins. 

I giggle as I place delicate strokes on his cheek. I slide my hand down to his cheekbone and gently caress it before gliding my hand up to play with his hair. Diego chuckles at the tiny gasp that I release upon feeling the divine softness of his hair. 

"It's so soft! I'm happy you made me the exception!" Diego chuckles and gently nuzzles into my hand as I continue to play with his hair. 

I don't know how long Diego lets me play with his hair and stroke every inch of his face but it's absolute heaven! Everything is so serene and perfect. 

Click! 

I look up and yelp as I see Jesse, Shawn, Bryan and Dean leaning over us. Jesse has a huge grin on his face and he's holding up his phone. "I can't believe I was so worried about you two spending time alone together! You're so cute!" 

"Why are you spying on me! I thought you were joking when you said you would keep an eye on me," I shriek, scrambling up from the ground. 

Shawn giggles before saying. "Dean and I stopped spying on you after you came back from your run." 

"We only came here because it's getting late and we should go. Then I saw you, and baby bro you looked so happy. You both did. I just had to take a photo. Do you want to see?" Jesse asks with a bright smile. 

I nod and he gives me the phone. My mouth hangs open at how happy and peaceful I look. My facial expression is as if I have no worries and I'm just living in the moment. Diego is wearing a jovial smile and is looking at me like I'm his entire world. 

"We do look happy," Diego whispers and I hear the admiration in his voice. "Can you send this to me?" I hear Diego ask but my brain can't focus on anything other than the picture. 

I'm really happy that Jesse was able to capture this moment but I’m still not ready for anything more right now. 

There was no kiss but there was a little bit of skinship hehehe. Hope you liked the chapter.

Also, today is mother's day where I live so Happy Mother's Day to any mothers that may be reading this!

Thank you for reading! ❤ If you enjoyed the chapter, don't forget to vote and/ or leave comments!