Noah found Zeke’s hand and interlaced his own with it, squeezing it tight. The fast, high-pitched melancholious song of a nightingale drifted down from the trees across from the vegetable patches.
“Do you think he’s right to be concerned?” Zeke asked at last.
“I think… I think we need to promise each other that we’ll follow protocol in the field. That we won’t let this”—Noah gestured between them—“impact any decisions we have to make.”Easier said than done.
Zeke nodded. “I’ll do my best. What are you going to do about your uncle?”
“I haven’t decided.” Noah sank against Zeke’s chest. “I have no idea what to do. The more I think about it, the more it hurts my head.”
Zeke pulled back to whisper, “No matter what happens, I’ll be there with you.”
Noah wanted so badly to believe him. The clouds parted to reveal a bright, full moon illuminating Zeke in a mellow, serene wash of moonlight. Noah traced the shape of his face with his fingertips. How was he so lucky that Zeke had entered his life at just the right time?
Zeke lifted his chin up to kiss him, tentative and butterfly-light at first, deepening quickly into hungry desperation.
“Not here,” Noah hissed. It was unlikely that anyone else would venture this far from the fire pit, but he didn’t want to risk it. He entwined his fingers with Zeke’s and pulled him to his feet before leading him over to the shed door. Hopefully, it would be unlocked—work in the allotment died down somewhat by December, but bulbs were still planted and carrots and cabbage harvested.
The metal door was stiff from rust, but gave way after two hard budges. Earthy aromas of soil and plants filled the air as they made their way inside. The moonlight from the single grimy window danced across the cluttered shelves and workbench, revealing a layer of dust that covered everything.
Noah fiddled with a spade for a moment, attempting to prop it against the door to form a makeshift lock.
“We seem to be developing a habit of locking ourselves into small spaces.” Zeke leaned back against the wooden workbench, arms folded, magnetic eyes liquid pools of desire.
Noah crossed the space and placed his hands on either side of him, locking him in place. He pushed up against him, relishing the friction when he rolled his hips into Zeke’s.
“Is there something wrong with your bedroom?”
Noah traced the outline of Zeke’s jaw with his mouth to whisper in his ear, “Too far away,” before nipping at his lobe.
Zeke’s hands slid underneath Noah’s hoodie, his icy-cold fingers only adding to the sensual experience as he glided his hands up and down his back.
And then they were kissing, pressing into each other so hard it was as if their lives depended on it. A fire ignited in Noah’s heart, Noah’s essence, Noah’s everything as he crushed his mouth against Zeke’s, pushing his tongue deeper and deeper in. Breathing was no longer important. Waves of lightheadedness hit him and he could have sworn the pair of them were spinning in circles, wrapped in a dizzying embrace.
The sensation of Zeke’s growing erection jutting into the side of his hip only added to his fervour. He broke apart their kiss to nibble at the space above Zeke’s collarbone as he rubbed his groin through thick tracksuit bottoms. A low, throaty groan came from Zeke’s mouth and Noah felt his hair being tugged free of its band before Zeke fisted it almost to the point of pain.
“Hold on,” Noah half-whispered, half-panted, and stumbled away from Zeke—who made the most adorable noise of protest—to open a cupboard in the corner of the cluttered shed. It took him a while to find the pile of burlap sacks he was looking for. After kicking the contents of the floor—plastic plant pots, trowels, packets of seeds—into a pile under the workbench, he tossed the pile of hessian fabric onto the floor, arranging them as best he could in the dark.
Zeke laughed. “These are the sort of organisational skills you need to apply to your bedroom.”
“Shut up and come here.”
Zeke removed his glasses, carefully placing them by a plant pot, before tumbling to the floor and smothering Noah with his body. His weight comforted Noah like a blanket, and finally some of the stress of the day started to drain out of him.
Noah pushed them back upright slightly, and Zeke pulled off their coats so violently, it was as if the garments offended him.
“You’ll be col—”
Zeke’s mouth silenced his worries. Their tongues danced together in long, wet kisses before Noah’s aching cock couldn’t take it anymore. He pulled Zeke’s hips towards him and ground up against him again and again, in the familiar rhythm he’d gotten far too accustomed to. Every tiny moan that left Zeke’s mouth sent a fresh wave of ecstasy through Noah at the knowledge thathewas causing his pleasure. Small stones jutted uncomfortably into his back, even through the sack and his hoodie, but it was a small price to pay for the exhilaration of feeling Zeke on top of him.
Simultaneously, they reached for the other’s trousers, and tugged them down their legs in a tangle of hands and fabric.
When Zeke pushed his body back on top of him, and started to gently suck his skin just above his collarbone, Noah became lost in a fever-dream of skin and stars. But it was Zeke taking both of their lengths in his hand at once, and moving his hand up and down, that truly wrote him off.
“Hold on,” he hissed—reluctantly—because there was one thing that would make this even better. He kissed Zeke on the forehead before leaning past him to rummage through his rucksack. He brought out a small bottle of clear, thick liquid, half full. Zeke squinted at it in the moonlight, taking a few seconds to recognise what it was. He blinked in surprise, then a complicated expression crossed his face. Noah inwardly grimaced. Was he being too presumptuous? Or was Zeke wondering where he got it from?
He wiggled the bottle. “I got it from Leo.”
This didnothave the desired effect. Zeke’s face crumpled in annoyance and horror.
