When their lips met, it was quiet and careful, drenched with significance. Jay swallowed Aaron’s soft gasp as they melted into the tender kiss.
“What?” Aaron whispered when they pulled apart, his fingers flying up to clutch at Jay’s shirt.
“Which part?”
“All of them. I think I just hallucinated an entire monologue. You love me?”
“Mmhmm,” Jay hummed, planting a soft peck on Aaron’s cheek.
“And I said it first?”
“Yep.” Jay swept down to nibble on Aaron’s neck.
“I didn’t… What?” Aaron took a step back and bit down on his lip. “I mean, I do love you. Of course I love you. I’m crazy about you. But I’m also pretty sure I’ve never told you any of this.” The color drained from his cheeks. “Was I sleeptalking last night?”
Jay patted down his pockets, glad he had the presence of mind to grab his phone before dragging Aaron away. He unlocked it, made sure the chatroom app was still up, and turned it toward Aaron.
The sun was beaming down on them, making the vibrant green of Aaron’s eyes even more pronounced as he wordlesslystared at the screen. A mixture of confusion, hope, and embarrassment flickered across his face before he looked up at Jay.
“I didn’t know it was you,” Jay rushed to say, suddenly afraid Aaron would think he’d been tricking him. “Not until the picture. I just saw it while you were talking to Mark. It took a moment to put two and two together. I wanted to wait before bringing it up, but…” He shrugged.
“You’re a member ofKink Talk?” Aaron didn’t look convinced. “Why? You’re perfectly—” He cut himself off, and a puzzled smile tugged at his lips. “No way. Domicron?” he asked, the realization settling in.
“In the flesh.” Jay gestured to himself with a flourish. He felt giddy. Buoyant. Like he could glide on air.
“That’s a hell of a coincidence,” Aaron said.
“It is,” Jay agreed. “Maybe it’s fate.”
Instead of answering, Aaron came closer and wove his arms around Jay’s neck, pulling him into a hug. There was a slight quiver to his body, a barely audible hitch in his breath every time he inhaled. “I love you,” he whispered, the soft-spoken words floating to Jay’s ears on the breeze.
Jay dipped down to capture Aaron’s lips with his own, sealing the promise. His tongue slid along the seam of Aaron’s lips before dipping inside. Jay could taste a hint of mustard and ginger ale, bubblegum and Aaron’s own sweetness.
He wanted to lose himself in this moment forever.
“Jay! We need ice!” Layla’s voice carried across the yard. His bossy big sister loved to yell out instructions into the void, and she probably wouldn’t even notice if someone beside Jay got the ice. Still, making out against the side of her house wasn’t the best idea. Eventually, their absence would be noticed, and Jay didn’t want Aaron to be embarrassed at being caught.
Reluctantly, he pulled away and ran his thumb across Aaron’s kiss-swollen lips. There was a hint of beard burn on his chin, stirring a strange feeling of possessiveness in Jay. He liked Aaron wearing his mark, wanted to cover his smooth skin with evidence of their connection.
“Sounds like you need to go get some ice,” Aaron said, raising his eyebrows with amusement.
“Probably a good idea.” Jay sighed and peeked around the corner to make sure no one was paying attention. Between Aaron’s red lips and Jay’s wrinkled shirt, it would have been all too obvious what they’d been up to.
They slipped back into the party without any issue. Aaron strolled over to where Jasmine sat with the kids, while Jay headed inside the house to grab a bag of ice.
Later, after they’d had seconds and thirds, after watching distant fireworks while holding hands, after every member of Jay’s family gushed over Aaron and invited him over for dinner, Jay dropped Aaron off in front of his building.
As much as he wanted to spend another night together, they both had work in the morning, and for once, Jay would have to dress up and be on time. Not only was it his first day as a senior developer, but they were also conducting interviews for the positions he would supervise. His stomach fluttered every time he thought about it.
Aaron could tell. “Are you nervous about tomorrow?”
Jay shrugged.
“Do you want to meet up at the coffee shop before work? I can give you a pep talk and tell you how handsome you look.” Aaron threaded their fingers together and squeezed.
“That would be amazing.” Jay brought Aaron’s hand to his lips and kissed his knuckles. “I’m so glad you changed your profile picture. Who knows how long it would have taken me to build up the courage to tell you I love you otherwise.”
“We would have gotten there eventually.”
