“He said someone like me. Besides, what if…” Jace swallowed. “What if I can’t have sex with a guy? What if I freak out?”
Brian blinked at him again. “You’re a nurse. There is literally no kind of sex you can have that is more intense than shit you go through on a weekly basis. What do you think you’re gonna freak out about? Don’t say anal, I swear to god if I hear a goddamn nurse worried about butt stuff I will walk into traffic.”
Brian had a flair for the dramatic, but he was right.
Jace thought he was probably supposed to be a little apprehensive about the possibility of anal sex, but he’d had his fingers up enough asses in professional situations that it wasn’t really something that bothered him. There was no reason for him to worry about it, and it wasn’t even as though straight guys didn’t try it. His emergency room rotation while he was training had taught him many things about what straight guys would put in their butts.
Anything else was totally, completely something he’d done with a girl. There was nothing to worry about unless he really didn’t want to see Noah naked.
And he did. He wanted to see that a lot. He had no idea how any of this was done with guys, but he knew it was meant to be different. Everything he’d ever learned had told him it was meant to be different.
“I think… I dunno. I’ve never done it before. Not with a guy. I don’t know what to expect.”
“I don’t actually want to know the answer to this, but did you freak out over your first time with a girl? Or were you too caught up in getting to have any kind of sexual contact at all that you didn’t have time to?”
Jace knew the answer, and he could see what Brian was getting at. “Okay, yeah, I see your point. But Noah’s still…”
“Got exactly the same equipment you do. And between you and me, is going to know exactly what to do with it, and doesn’t need as much work to get off. I like girls, but sex with other guys is awesome. I promise you that.”
Jace could feel himself blushing. He was glad he was only gathering supplies and wouldn’t have to check on any patients for another few minutes, because he wasn’t handling this conversation well.
His mind went back to the glimpse of Noah’s ass he’d gotten in the locker room. Asses were gender-neutral, and he could objectively say that he liked what he’d seen. Thinking about it just made him blush harder, but maybe that was the clue that he’d be okay.
Noah didn’t seem different to a girl, except in the most obvious ways. Jace was still attracted to him. Still wanted him. There were also definitely feelings going on. Big, scary feelings Jace didn’t want to examine too closely just yet. The kind of feelings you were really not supposed to have about your best friend.
“Okay,Dr. Love.” Jace smirked, but maybe Brian was right. Maybe he knew what he was talking about, and he was worth listening to. He was the one with all the experience, here. “I’ll think about it.”
“You know, if you don’t want him, I could go for trying my hand with Noah. He’s cute. Not my type, but cute.”
“No,” Jace said immediately, before he could realize that he was being baited. Brian wasn’t interested in Noah. He was just interested in getting a reaction out of Jace.
“See? You do want him, and you won’t be happy if someone else gets in first. You can’t let a little nervousness get in the way of that.”
Brian was right. It’d kill him if Noah got away. “Fine. You’re right.” Jace sighed. “Don’t you have sick people to heal?”
“My shift is over, so I can actually annoy you for as long as I want.” Brian grinned. “But I can take a hint. You should go for it, though. Trust me, I’m a doctor.”
Jace raised an eyebrow. “I’m a nurse, I know better.”
Brian laughed at that, patting Jace on the back. “You’ll thank me later.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Jace said as Brian walked away.
He was right. Jace would have to man up and face his fears, tell Noah what he wanted and hope that they were on more or less the same page.
He’d do it after work. As soon as he got home. No more excuses.
Chapter Twenty-One
Noah caught himself pacing for the dozenth time and forced himself to sit at the kitchen table. Everything was going to be fine. There was no need to panic. He and Jace could handle anything the world threw at them.
Even if that thing just so happened to be Noah’s mother, known to her friends and relatives as the single most destructive force on Earth.
He heard Jace come in, and couldn’t stop himself from standing up and going to greet him at the door. Noah knew he probably looked like a toddler on a sugar rush, but he figured Jace wouldn’t judge him once he knew what was going on.
“Please don’t get mad at me,” he said, hoping the smell of dinner—mac and cheese, one of Jace’s all-time favorites and absolutely not a coincidence—would put him in a good mood.
“Why?” Jace narrowed his eyes, not fooled by the delicious smell wafting from the kitchen.
