“Now you’ve done it. You’re going to be up until two in the morning,” Aspen teased as they wandered into his kitchen to put down the pastries. Aspen could probably chug that entire coffee, and they’d be able to fall asleep an hour later. Caffeine didn’t affect them the way it did Noah. It never had.
“I think the wine will counteract whatever damage I just did with the coffee,” Noah said, taking another sip like he was ready to spit in the universe’s face.
“Alright, dear, whatever you say.”
Aspen canted a hip against the edge of the counter and surveyed all the ingredients spread out on Noah’s kitchen island.
Their apartments were identical, except in reverse. The kitchen was directly across from the front door, and in Noah’s apartment, the living room and bedroom were to the left of the kitchen island, and in Aspen’s, they were to the right. They spent so much time at Noah’s place that Aspen sometimes got turned around in their own apartment and would run into the counter when they meant to turn towards their couch.
“Stir fry?” Aspen guessed, and Noah nodded, walking around Aspen to get to the fridge. When he returned with a few more ingredients, he pressed right up against Aspen’s side, his hand coming to rest on the middle of Aspen’s back like it belonged there.
And if Aspen didn’t manage to mess this up, it might.
“Yeah, I thought that would be easy enough for me to do while you monologue about your hair.”
Aspen gasped and threw a hand up to their forehead, almost dislodging their hat. “I do not monologue!”
Noah’s grin was tiny as he grabbed a carrot and placed it on his wooden cutting board. “You’re right, that implies a level of grandeur. It’s more like an unskippable cut scene.”
Aspen gasped so hard they nearly choked. “How dare you, sir!”
Noah rolled his eyes and began chopping. Meanwhile, Aspen was reconsidering their entire plan to wax poetic about their confusing feelings. Maybe they should just state them outright, be short and concise, and let the chips fall where they may. Because Noah was right. Ethan had always said that Aspen tended to drone on and on when they got worked up, and they didn’t want to bowl Noah over, or worse, risk overwhelming and upsetting him if Aspen got too far along in their speech and Noah wasn’t actually interested–
“Asp?” Noah said. The sound of his rhythmic chopping continued, even as he nudged Aspen with his hip. “I was just joking. I’ve been looking forward to seeing and hearing about your hair all day. Please don’t let my teasing stop you.”
The smell of fresh bell peppers filled the room, and Aspen was shocked to see that while they’d been fretting, Noah had finished cutting the carrots, a block of tofu, and half a bell pepper. While neither of them was vegan or vegetarian, Aspen had been on a health kick this year, and Noah made it a priority to cook at least one healthy meal with Aspen per week. Usually, Aspen was at least a little bit helpful, but right now their stomach was in knots, and all they wanted to do was grab Noah by the front of his soft-looking shirt and…
Fuck it. They would wing it, like they did most everything else.
Aspen ripped off their hat, taking a moment to appreciate the way the soft locks fell into place across their forehead, before tossing the cap towards Noah’s couch with a flourish. The sound of chopping stopped, and despite feeling surprisingly shy, theyrisked a glance at Noah’s face. His cheeks were still a little pink, and they darkened as his eyes rounded, a dozen emotions flashing across them.
“Wow…you…wow,” Noah said.
His lips stayed parted, and he absently licked his bottom lip.
“Wow?” Aspen pushed as they stared at the slight wetness Noah’s tongue left behind on his lip.
“You…look incredible,” Noah tried again.
“Blair did an incredible job.”
Noah was staring at the shaved side of Aspen’s head, his eyes roaming down past Aspen’s pierced ear to their exposed neck. “She should be really proud. You’re like a marketing ad for her phenomenal work.”
Aspen made a noncommittal noise because, while he was right, Blair’s hairstyling prowess wasn’t really what they wanted to talk about. Unless…
A wild idea came to them, and before they could think better of it, they murmured, “She said I look good enough to kiss.”
Noah’s lips pursed as if he was imagining what it would be like to kiss Aspen…or, more likely, wondering why Aspen would say something so fucking weird.
“Oh?” he said slowly, his gaze dropping to Aspen’s lips before darting back up. “Did she make good on that statement?”
Aspen barked out a surprised laugh. “No, we don’t fuck around with coworkers. It’s too messy.”
Noah inclined his head in agreement, but Aspen didn’t want to give up this chance. It wasn’t how they’d planned to start this conversation, but it seemed like as good an entry as any. “It’s more like she’s rooting for me to get back out there and start dating now that the divorce is over and done with.”
“Is that something you think you’re ready for?”
Aspen hopped up onto the counter next to the cutting board and motioned for Noah to continue chopping. It would be easierfor Aspen to get through this if his eyes weren’t drinking in every one of their expressions.
