“That’s better,” Gage murmured. The words would have been patronizing coming from someone else. Coming from Gage, they were different. “Good. Breathe for me. In and out.”
He was breathing. Easier than he’d been able to all night.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Mm”
Gage was quiet for a beat. Then, “Were you thinking about having sex with me?”
Fallon licked his lips, then decided he might as well be honest. He didn’t think Gage would react poorly. And if he rejected him, he’d do it in the nicest way possible. “Yes. I like you. You’re very sexy, and it turns me on, and I’d like that.”
Gage huffed a breath, but his fingers didn’t still. “I think you’re very sexy too.”
“You don’t need to say that just because I?—”
“I’m not just saying it,” Gage responded quickly, cutting him off. “I’ve been wildly attracted to you since I met you. I didn’t say anything because it felt like fucked-up timing with Charlie.Then I didn’t say anything because I’m in a really bad place and would make the world’s shittiest boyfriend.”
“I don’t want a boyfriend right now,” Fallon admitted easily. “After Charlie, I’m not sure I ever want one again. But I’d like it if we were friends. And I’d like to have sex. But I’d rather be friends than get off if that’s the only choice there is.”
Gage stared, then burst into laughter. Before Fallon could roll away and run, Gage caught him around the waist and buried his laughter in Fallon’s neck. It trailed off, and with it came a silence. And then, as Fallon’s breath hitched in his chest, a soft kiss to his pulse.
He froze. He had no idea what this was supposed to mean.
“You…are you…” he stammered.
“Yes,” Gage murmured. “I’m coming on to you. I’d like you to guide me. I’ve never been with a trans guy before, so please tell me what you like. What you need.”
Fallon closed his eyes. No one ever asked him that. Some people who were trying to make him feel like some kind of manly man assumed he only wanted to top. Some people with more experience thought he wanted only anal.
None of them ever wanted to take their time. To play. To make it feel good. To be tender and rough all at the same time.
None of them ever cared to learn what felt good for him, so it had taken years to trust himself about what he liked.
“I like my dick stroked,” Fallon murmured after a beat. “And sucked. I like to be fingered in both holes.”
Gage shivered and kissed his neck a little harder. “Yeah? I can do that.”
“If I had my strap-on here, I’d fuck you, but I don’t. And I don’t have condoms. I mean, I’ve been tested, and everything was negative, but I want to be careful.”
“My test results were negative too, and I’m on PrEP,” Gage said, a heaviness to his tone. “And I definitely want to be careful. I feel like I just dodged all the bullets from a firing squad.”
Fallon’s interest was piqued, but only for a second. Only until Gage scraped his teeth along Fallon’s tendon and made his toes curl and dick throb. Gage’s hand began to move, down the center of his chest, rucking up his shirt, dipping below the waistband of his pants.
Fallon moaned softly, then turned his head. “Gage, what do you want? How can I get you off?”
“Can I fuck your thighs after I make you come?”
His eyes slammed shut, and he felt those words rushing up his spine. No one had ever done that with him, but he could picture it. His imagination was too intense sometimes, and he felt his boxers go damp. “Yeah. Yes. Okay. Do you have lube?”
“I have lube.” Gage sat up, then swung his leg over Fallon and pressed his hands on either side of Fallon’s head. “Kissing?”
“I like kissing. Not…not too wet. Not too much tongue.”
“Let me try?” His eyes were so wide, so earnest, pupils blown with desire.
Fallon’s words dried up, so he nodded instead and lifted his head just enough to meet Gage halfway. It was a careful, tentative touch of lips at first. Gage’s were a little more chapped, but they were still soft and warm. They pressed down, then parted, and Fallon mirrored him.
The invitation was open, and Fallon braced himself for it to be too wet and too messy, but Gage didn’t do more than dip the tip of his tongue inside, tasting him—teasing him—before pulling back.
