Balance

well and that he’d be able to talk about it now. At least Cooper hoped he’d be able to make sense of the mixed signals Nando had been sending him.
    It took another three nights of stalking Nando outside of his shop before Cooper got up the nerve to confront him. He waited near the entrance door until Nando closed up and walked outside.

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    “WHAT the hell! What are you doing here?” Nando looked both spooked and relieved when Cooper stepped out of the shadows as Nando was locking the front door. “This isn’t the kind of neighborhood you can just hang around on the street after midnight! People get mugged here all the time.”
    “I’m sorry,” Cooper apologized. “I didn’t want to just barge in while you were working.”
    Nando smiled wryly. “Next time, just come inside, okay?
    I’m pretty used to people opening the door while I’m tattooing.”
    “I don’t know if there will be a next time,” Cooper replied hesitantly.
    “Oh?”
    “Can we go somewhere and talk? I think we need to clear some things up.”
    Nando wasn’t sure how to react to Cooper’s offer. For the last two weeks, he’d tried hard to forget what had happened, but he found he couldn’t. He’d been back to the club but had told the club manager that he was too busy with his new business to break in other guys for a while.
    There was no way he could tell him he’d met a man who had made such an impact on him that he couldn’t even contemplate being with someone else right now. On the other hand, he wanted as little to do with Cooper as possible. He was afraid his obsession would only get worse.
    “There isn’t much open around here at this time of night,” Nando replied. “Expect maybe McDonald’s.” He chuckled nervously. “It should be pretty deserted about now.” He couldn’t believe he had accepted Cooper’s offer, but Balance | Zahra Owens
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    they were going to a public place to talk. Maybe it would be easier to turn him down there, because really, what did they have in common?
    Nando locked the gate over the front door and pointed across the street to the golden arches. The street was pretty deserted, but they let a lone car pass before jogging across the avenue. Like Nando had predicted, they were the only patrons, and the bored-looking night attendant found his best smile to greet them.
    “You want something to eat?” Nando asked.
    Cooper shrugged. “No, thanks.”
    Nando ordered two coffees and a hot fudge sundae.
    “Sweet tooth, hey?” Cooper teased as they sat down near the back, at opposite sides of a table.
    “It’s been a long day,” Nando sighed. “Didn’t have time to eat.”
    “You should have said something. I know a place where you can get a decent dinner at any hour of the night. It’s across town, but—”
    Nando shook his head so Cooper stopped talking. “It’s okay. I’m used to it.” He wanted to add he didn’t need rescuing, but decided not to be too defensive. Cooper was being patient with him, sitting across the table with a hint of a smile on his face, drinking his coffee. He seemed relaxed, or at least trying to look it, and somehow this calmed Nando down too. He was tired, and maybe that was making his resistance a little weak, but despite his earlier misgivings, it felt good to see Cooper again.

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    “So what did you want to talk about?” Nando asked a little apprehensively.
    “Us,” Cooper answered, seemingly without thinking.
    “There is no us,” Nando was quick to answer. “We did a session. I made one of your fantasies come true. That doesn’t mean we’re in a relationship.” The words sounded too loud in the empty restaurant, and Nando wished he could take them back. He looked around to see if the guy at the counter had overheard them, but if he had, he didn’t let on.
    “I know we’re not in a relationship. We hardly know each other—”
    “We don’t know the first thing about each other,” Nando interrupted.
    “And I’d like to remedy that.”
    Nando had to give it to Cooper. He wasn’t easily put off or insulted. And he seemed like a decent man: a determined, but decent man.
    “So what do you suggest?”
    Cooper pursed his lips as if he was thinking about it, but Nando had a sneaking suspicion he’d already thought about what he was going to say.
    “I’d like to take you out to dinner one night. Just so we can talk. You don’t work every night until midnight, right?”
    “I