I've been in love with my best friend for years.

The problem?

He thinks I'm straight.

And now that I share a dorm with him, his insistent need to cuddle -and lack of clothes- are blurring the careful lines I've drawn.

I'm struggling to keep my defenses up.

I love him but I'm afraid.

Afraid I'm not enough to make him stay.

Afraid he'll rip my heart out.

Afraid he won't love me back.

But I see a side of him no one else does.

In the security of our room, he lets his mask fall.

Lets me hold him.

Something lurks in the dark recesses of his mind that keeps him from going all in.

He's just as hesitant about this as I am, but I don't understand why.

Can I convince him to let me love him the way he deserves...

or will he take my heart and run away with it?