“Peanut?” Charlie said, his eyes still only on Noah.
“That works for me. But…” Noah’s arms reflexively crossed over his chest. “I think I’d like to keep the boxers on for tonight. Either mine or yours.”
“Of course,” Charlie said.
He grabbed some clothes for them from a large dresser in the corner of the room before taking his pile into the bathroom to shower. Aspen used that time to wander around the room, looking at all the photos and fidget toys. Meanwhile, Noah stood awkwardly next to the bed. There was a tangle of emotions sitting at the base of his throat, and he wasn’t sure what to do with them. There were definitely nerves, but also something a little darker. He had no idea how they were going to configure themselves logistically tonight, not that it would be impossible, but there were a lot of different moving parts he wasn’t used to, and he hadn’t come into today prepared for any of this.
“You doing okay?” Aspen asked, not looking at Noah, giving him space to answer.
“I’m fine. I was just thinking about logistics. We have a lot of different preferences and limits.”
Aspen bounced up on their toes a few times before dropping back onto their heels. “We do, but I think it will all come together, just like with Rachel. We just need to keep communicating.” Aspen grimaced. “And not cross any more of Charlie’s boundaries.”
Noah held open his arms, and Aspen dashed into them, shoving their hands up and under Noah’s sweater. They waited for Noah to nod his approval before they yanked it off him and pressed their bare chests together.
They both sighed, and Aspen nudged their forehead against Noah’s chin. That was usually Aspen’s sign that they wanted Noah to tip down his chin for a kiss, but he wanted to say this first.
“I’m going to follow your lead tonight, just like with Rachel.”
“I promise I won’t lead you astray,” Aspen said, tapping his chin again before tilting their head back.
Noah skimmed his lips over theirs, and Aspen surged up onto their toes, capturing Noah’s mouth in an unyielding kiss. Thankful for the distraction, Noah opened to the kiss, allowing Aspen to take control of him with purposeful strokes of their tongue and rough hands in his hair.
That was how Charlie found them several minutes later, and he made no attempt to hide the bulge under his towel. Aspen hummed and gave Noah one more kiss before sauntering by Charlie into the bathroom. Noah considered going with them, since they showered together all the time, but when his eyes landed on the dark trail of hair leading under Charlie’s towel, he froze, and Aspen closed the bathroom door without him.
It took only a few moments for the sound of running water to come from the bathroom. At Noah’s house, loud, out-of-tune singing would usually follow, but Aspen was silent today, perhaps still figuring out their dynamic with Charlie.
Clearly, they were all figuring things out, because Charlie crossed his arms over his chest and studied Noah from several feet away. Noah reflexively mirrored him, and tension began to collect between his shoulder blades as they stared at each other.
“I missed you,” Charlie said, and Noah’s arms fell back to his side in surprise.
“I…missed you, too,” Noah said, inexplicably breathless. “I’m sorry we haven't gotten to catch up. Everything’s been so busy since I got back from my trip. Aspen made these two new friends we’ve started seeing a lot of, Rachel was getting settled into her new place, and we’ve been getting everything ready for the fundrais?—”
“You don’t have to explain yourself to me,” Charlie said, his voice as sincere as ever, but his usual easy smile was nowhere to be seen. “I was just saying, I missed you, and I’m glad you’re here,”
They’d only met up once in the almost three weeks since the new year started, to finalize plans for the fundraiser. Part of Noah was still reeling from his trip, and while he’d told Aspen a little about it, he really wanted to talk with Charlie. He wasn’t sure whether they would restart their weekly dog-walking sessions or if there would now be rules about hanging out as pairs versus as a trio.
Rachel had at least clarified her intentions with him and Aspen over the holidays, but Noah had next to no clue what was going to happen with Charlie. Hopefully, they would go from friends to more than friends, but whether that put them in the same category as Rachel, he didn’t know, and he wasn’t sure what that meant for going on dates or big events like, oh, say, a shotgun wedding.
It’s such a shame we still have an empty chair at the dinner table. It’s been months since we spoke about this, and it’s likeyou’re not even trying. I just don’t know what else to do to make you care about me and this family.
Even though his family was the last thing he wanted to think about right now, Noah couldn’t keep his mother’s voice at bay. How would he ever explain that he was bringing two partners home? And if he couldn’t, would that mean he always had to pick one of them? There was less than a month left of his trial with Aspen. In Charlie’s warm, inviting kitchen, they’d decided to do things as a trio, but how would that work in reality? Were they going to start a new trial with Charlie, or did that extend the existing trial? Did Noah want to extend it or was he ready for more, or less, or–
“Peanut. Take a breath for me.”
Noah blinked and found Charlie standing in front of him, his tawny chest hair glistening with water droplets. As Noah watched, a large drop ran down his barrel chest, across his furry belly, and under the towel. The urge to follow it with his tongue was almost as strong as the urge to ask for his own bear hug and a thirty-minute debrief session on all of the out-of-control thoughts pounding away in his head. The first option seemed to be more in the cards for tonight, but he had no idea how to go from best friends to “licking each other’s chests” friends, and he should probably wait for Aspen to get out of the shower anyway.
So, with no idea what else to do, Noah thunked his forehead against Charlie’s pec.
“We don’t have to–” Charlie tried to say, but Noah immediately wrapped his arms around Charlie’s broad back, and he fell silent.
Noah kept an appropriate distance between their crotches, but he slowly pressed their top halves together until he was damp and warm and covered in Charlie’s smell. It seemed to originate from some sort of earthy soap or maybe from his actual skin. Either way, he smelled wonderful, almost…homey.Like some new version of home that wasn’t filled with broken expectations and crystalline fears. A home where warmth, laughter, and hugs were the norm.
“That’s it,” Charlie crooned, running his large, callused hand up and down Noah’s naked back. “I could see you thinking some very not Gordy Simple thoughts there for a second. But this…”
“This feels Gordy Simple,” Noah mumbled, pressing in even harder until they were touching from collarbone to thigh, and he could feel Charlie’s very impressive length against his hip. It wasn’t sexual, even though he was definitely hard. It was intimate. An intimate moment to help bridge the gap between the friends they’d been that morning and whatever they were going to become that night.
Charlie nudged the side of Noah’s head with his cheek. Noah tried to lift his head, only for Charlie to press his lips to Noah’s forehead, holding him firmly in place. Neither of them moved. They just stayed like that, and Noah tried to memorize every freckle and mole on Charlie’s neck, while Charlie’s hands explored his back.
