“I really can’t ever thank you both enough,” he said, the deep timber of his voice traveling from Aspen’s ears all the way down to their toes, which curled in their fuzzy boots. They were especially thankful they’d thought to dress to impress, in theircutest winter coat over top of a flannel tied up into a crop fit at the waist, and their own ass-hugging jeans.
Noah also looked amazing, pink-nosed and bundled up in a puffy jacket and work pants. Aspen wanted to drag him into the backroom and have their way with him–but instead they grabbed him by the hand and dragged him inside to give him a piece of their mind. They hadn’t been anticipating Charlie following them, but he did, so they all ended up trooping through the shelter until they came to one of the storage rooms. There was a series of tasks that needed to get done in here, all laid out on the clipboard Noah was holding, and other volunteers were going to be coming into the room soon to grab things, but right now, Aspen didn’t care.
The second they got inside, they wheeled around and pointed their handful of flyers at Noah. “I cannot believe you have been hiding Charlie from me all this time!”
“What–” Noah tried to say, but Charlie began to laugh, a gravelly sound that stuck to Aspen’s skin like glue.
Aspen turned on him next. “And you! How have we been texting for almost a month, and you never thought to send me a single photo? All it would have taken is one picture for me to know that not only are you sweet and kind to Noah, and funny and patient with me, but you also look like… like…”
Aspen couldn’t find the words, so instead, they let out a high-pitched noise and gestured up and down his body several times. “It didn’t even need to be a full-body shot! I just think that I deserved a bit of a heads-up, or some kind of warning. Like…a headshot, or even a basic selfie. Anything to prepare me for the fact that you look likethatand havedimples!”
By now, Noah was doing a pretty poor job of containing his bewildered laughter, and he laughed even harder when Aspen grabbed him by the front of his coat and shook him back and forth.
“Dimples, babe! Fucking dimples!”
“Until Charlie sort of hit on me, I didn’t realize that he was sexy,” Noah said, fighting to speak through his laughter. “So, if it makes you feel any better, I’ve only really been hiding how hot he is for a little less than two months.”
Rachel, who was carrying an empty laundry basket they planned to use to collect donations, paused at the entrance to the backroom. “Oh, you never told me you were reciprosexual, Noah.”
They all turned to look at her, and she froze, her eyes going as wide as one of the scared dogs at the shelter. “Did…you not know that’s what that’s called?”
“Recipro like…reciprocation?” Noah asked slowly.
“Uhm, yeah. It falls under the asexual umbrella, like demisexual, but instead of needing to know the person well before feeling sexual attraction for them, you need to know that they feel sexual attraction for you first.”
“Huh,” Noah said, blinking slowly at a spot above Rachel’s head. “I never really stopped to wonder if there was a name for the way I feel, but that’s…interesting.”
Rachel swallowed audibly and looked anxiously between Noah and Aspen. “Sorry, I feel like maybe I should stop accidentally outing you both to yourselves.”
“Feel free to do me next. I love learning about myself,” Charlie said, the low rumble in his voice shooting straight through Aspen like an electric shock.
Rachel, on the other hand, didn’t look nearly as impacted by his voice. Instead, probably at his words, she looked a little like she’d sucked on a lemon. Noah quickly excused her from doing any more personality magic tricks. She grabbed a folding chair, which she must have been coming to retrieve, and scurried out of the room.
Noah turned back to Aspen, who was still clutching the front of his jacket. “Have you heard of reciprosexual before?”
Aspen shook their head. “No, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Rachel picked it up from Talia, her new aroace roommate.”
On New Year’s Eve, Blair had shared the unfortunate news that her roommate, Evan, was moving out with little notice. Rachel still hadn’t found a more permanent place to live, and after some brief discussion, she had decided to move into the empty room. Blair was thrilled to have a continuous flow of rent, but Aspen knew she was also thrilled to have Rachel close by. Aspen was beyond excited. They secretly hoped that her close proximity meant they could keep seeing her after the trial relationship ended.
“Aroace?” Charlie asked as he began pulling leashes off a hanging board on the wall. They would need them for attendees to walk dogs with, as well as for the relay race Blair would be running in the back.
“Aroace means someone who’s aromantic and asexual,” Aspen said. “They’re both spectrums, and Talia knows a lot about the different kinds of identities that fall under them. I’m definitely not an expert; I've just heard her mention it from time to time.”
“Hm,” Noah said, but Aspen could see the corner of his jaw begin to pulse.
They released Noah’s jacket and brought their hand up to his cheek at the same time Charlie put down the leash he was holding and placed a solid hand on the back of Noah’s neck. Noah let out a noise from deep in his chest, and it shot through Aspen even faster than Charlie’s sexy rumble.
“It’s…really nice having you two finally meet,” Noah said softly, tilting his head into Aspen’s hand as he leaned his entire body back into Charlie’s grip. There were a lot of emotions wrapped up in that one sentence, and based on the way hisjaw continued to pulse, Aspen bet some of them weren’t easy. While Aspen would love to unpack them with him, now probably wasn’t the time.
“Don’t think I missed what you said earlier, babe,” Aspen said, because a little distraction never hurt anyone. “You started thinking Charlie was sexytwo months ago?”
“I believe it was the day before Thanksgiving,” Charlie said, stepping right up behind Noah until his body heat filled the small corner they were standing in. “He was telling me about his developing trial relationship with you, and sexual exploration with Rachel, and I said I would also happily have sex with him if he was ever interested.”
Aspen licked their bottom lip and pressed up against Noah’s chest. His heart was beating steadily, and he curled around Aspen, much the same way he did in his sleep, almost like it was automatic for him to want to be close to them. His jaw was still pulsing, only a little slower now, so Aspen decided to keep on with the distraction tactic.
They peered around Noah’s shoulder, up into Charlie’s deep brown eyes. “And tell me, Charlie, what did our dear Noah say back?”
Noah wrapped his arms around Aspen’s lower back and pressed his face into Aspen’s neck. It wasn’t cold in the shelter, but it had been cold outside. Aspen’s skin was chilled just enough that they could feel the blush begin to rise on Noah’s cheeks.
