“Maybe we can come back here for another sleepover afterwards?” Aspen asked, bouncing excitedly on Charlie’s lap.
“Another preference you should know for me,” Charlie said, wrapping his hands around Aspen’s hips, stilling their bouncing. “I don’t like to have sex in any room but my bedroom.”
Aspen’s eyes widened, and their bottom lip popped out in a pout. “Okay, that’s totally fine. I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to start anything, I was just excited.”
Charlie kissed the side of their head. “I thought you might be, but I wanted to clarify just in case.”
Aspen looked a little sheepish, and they curled their shoulders in as they stared down at their half-eaten bagel. “I’m sorry.”
The two threads in Noah’s chest quivered. This was clearly not going to be as easy as it had been with Rachel. She and Aspen seemed to shift and shape around each other, like two puppies falling all over themselves. Charlie was more like Gordon, strong and sturdy, but generally immovable. Noah loved all three of them for different reasons, but he appreciated Charlie's stability. Noah always knew what he was going to get with him–well, except for everything that had happened the previous day. That had been surprising, but this morning he was back to the steady presence Noah relied on. He had a place in Noah’s heart, in his life, and now in his bed.
Hopefully, Aspen would figure out their place with Charlie. If things didn’t work out between them, Noah wasn’t entirelysure if he would pursue something with only Charlie. Definitely not during the trial period with Aspen. Right now, he could only picture a future where he stayed friends with them both, or where they were somehow, miraculously, all three together. He still wasn’t sure how that would work, but if someone asked him to give the Gordy Simple truth, that was what he wanted.
“What are you sorry for, pumpkin? Being excited to see me again?” Charlie asked.
“No!” Aspen said, turning around so they were sitting side saddle on Charlie’s lap, their faces only an inch or so apart. “I’m sorry if I’m being too much.”
Charlie scoffed. “The only way you could be ‘too much’ is if there was some baseline I had in my head for you to meet, and I don’t have that. Yesterday was a nice surprise, but as far as I’m concerned, I’m walking into this with no expectations, just excitement to spend more time with both of you.”
Aspen kissed him, and Charlie accepted the kiss for a moment before wrapping Aspen back up in his arms and turning them to face Noah. “That restaurant sounds perfect, peanut, and I’d love to have you both back to my place afterwards.”
And so, January came to a close with them going on their first date. While Noah tried to temper his expectations, just like Charlie said, he was still somehow surprised that their first date had none of the usual characteristics of a first date. With Aspen around, there were never uncomfortable silences. Anytime Aspen went a little too far off on a tangent or got distracted from what they were saying, Charlie guided them back with simple questions and gentle nudges. Noah could listen to both of them talk forever, but each of them took turns pulling Noah into the conversation when he went a little too long without contributing or got stuck in his head.
Their second night went smoother than the first, potentially aided by Aspen and Noah having overnight bags with themthis time. Noah still didn’t end up taking his boxers off, but with Charlie’s explicit permission and enthusiastic support, he donned his strap and fucked Aspen while they sucked Charlie off. That would have been more than enough for Noah, but then Aspen grabbed Noah’s vibe–that Aspen had packed, probably for this explicit purpose–slotted it into place, turned it on, and climbed onto Noah’s lap. They rode him, while Noah writhed on the bed and Charlie gave his nipples more attention than they’d ever gotten before. This, of course, “made Aspen’s nipples jealous.” After Noah finished, he had the immense pleasure of holding Aspen as he and Charlie played with their nipples until they came with a wrung-out groan.
“Three times in one night, pumpkin? My dick is literally cowering just thinking about that,” Charlie said as he cradled a freshly showered Aspen to his chest.
Noah ran his hand languidly up and down Aspen’s spine. “Don’t be surprised if they wake up in the morning and want another one.”
“Oh, that’s a good point! How do you feel about being touched while you’re asleep? Either in a snuggly way or a sexy way?” Aspen asked.
Noah probably wouldn’t have had the nerve to ask that for weeks, if not months, but Aspen was able to ask on their second night together like it was no big deal.
“Snuggly touches are always welcome, awake or asleep. I…don’t think I would want to wake up touching either of you in a sexual way, but if you were touching me with your hands? I think that would probably be a very nice way to wake up.”
Aspen nodded eagerly, and Noah almost forgot about the conversation until Aspen woke him up the next morning with a hand placed gently over his mouth, so he didn’t make any noise.
“Do you want to wake Charlie up with me?” Aspen whispered, their mouth pressed right under Noah’s ear in theway that always made him shiver. “Or do you want me to get you off first, and then we can wake Charlie up together?”
“I’m good, Asp. And you can wake him up yourself–”
“I want us to do it together,” Aspen said, their wide hazel eyes enough to make Noah do just about anything for them.
Charlie had, conveniently, fallen asleep naked, as had Aspen, and it made it easy for Aspen to wrap their hand around his cock while Noah gently played with his balls. This was the first time Noah was touching him like this, and it was intimate and vulnerable–but not just for Charlie. Noah felt like he was being flayed open, and when Charlie woke up, his eyes landed on Noah first, and there was so much want and need and love in his gaze that Noah nearly came undone.
Aspen ended up on their back, with one hand in Noah’s underwear and the other stroking Charlie. Noah, likewise, kept his hand on Charlie’s balls and put his other one between Aspen’s legs, stroking them until all of their hands synced up. Their moans and grunts filled the room, subdued and sleepy, but no less intoxicating. It was almost surreal, like maybe he was still dreaming, and he would wake up alone in his apartment.
Aspen gave his dick a particularly rough stroke, and Noah cried out, coming in his boxers as, one after another, his lovers came apart like falling dominoes.
“I don’t think I can do that every time you stay over,” Charlie groaned, pressing a firm kiss to Aspen’s forehead, before leaning over them to kiss Noah’s cheek. “But for a once-in-a-while thing? That was fucking phenomenal,”
“I’ll ask before I do it again,” Aspen promised, wiggling happily back into Charlie’s arms and tugging at Noah until he settled against them as the big spoon.
They weren’t able to spend long in bed. The morning after the fundraiser had apparently been an anomaly. Charlie usually woke up and went directly to the shelter to feed the animalsbreakfast. He had automated feeders available for holidays and days he had to be away, but he preferred to do it himself.
The following week, for their third sleepover, Noah got up when Charlie did and helped him with the animals while Aspen luxuriated in Charlie’s king-sized bed. Noah only had a queen, and he wondered if they would all fit in it. He didn’t have the space for a king in his current place, but if things progressed, maybe he would need to change that.
The only thing was, he wasn’t sure what “progression” would look like for him. He loved Charlie, and every day they spent together fortified Charlie’s thread in Noah’s chest, but his feelings remained the same as they’d always been. Just like he’d said back in November, he loved Charlie and Aspen, and he could now say he also loved Rachel. It was a little different with her, softer and newer, but it was still there.
