He’d expected it to be very different. To feel weird, even repulsive. In hindsight, that was stupid.
As he backed away, he realized that these revelations were something he’d do some soul searching over later. He’d never thought of himself as homophobic, but he’d assumed that being straight meant he’d be vaguely disgusted by kissing a dude. Maybe that wasn’t how it was meant to be. Most straight guys never tried it, so they wouldn’t know.
“I hope you two have a great life.” The clerk grinned at them. She seemed nice, though Jace had been too nervous to even catch her name, and he didn’t want to stare at her name badge now.
His heart was still pounding in his chest at havingkissed Noah. That was all he could really concentrate on right now.
“Thanks.” Noah said, grabbing Jace’s hand. “We’re going to.”
“You’ll receive your certificate in the mail in a few weeks. I just need some autographs on these forms, and you boys can start your honeymoon.”
“Oh, Jace is flat out at the hospital, so we have to hold off on that.” Noah took the pen he was offered and started filling out the form. Jace watched him sign his name with a flourish, taking note of his ridiculously neat handwriting. For a guy who worked on computers all day, his handwriting was amazing.
“You’re a doctor?” The clerk asked.
“He’s a pediatric nurse,” Noah said. To Jace, he sounded more proud of that than he could ever have been of marrying a doctor.
Noah had always been impressed by his job, which was part of why Jace liked him so much. He’d never implied that Jace should be aiming at being a doctor someday, or might be better off as a paramedic. It was nice to have someone get that nursing was his calling, and not to want him to be anything else.
“That’s so sweet,” the clerk said, still smiling. She was obviously well-suited to her job, too.
Noah handed Jace the pen when he was done, and Jace tried to keep his handwriting as neat as possible. It still looked like a toddler using the wrong hand compared to Noah’s, but at least it was legible. Legible-ish. Clear enough to count as legal, anyway.
“And that’s it!” The clerk took the form away. Thankfully, Baltimore county didn't require a witness at the wedding ceremony. Part of Jace wished they could have invited some of their friends, but he didn’t want to drag anyone else into this. Not anyone who could reasonably know Jace was actually straight. “Congratulations.”
“Thank you.” Noah smiled at her. “I’m so glad I found him.”
“Yeah, me too,” Jace mumbled. Noah was still holding his hand.
He didn’t remember to move until Noah tugged him away, giving the clerk one last wave. Once they were out of the room, Noah let go of his hand, but not as though he was sick of holding it. He was probably doing it for Jace’s comfort, which made him feel a little guilty. Was Noah in the habit of doing that? He seemed like a touchy-feely kind of guy, and Jace was as well. He would have likedmorecontact with Noah, not less.
Jace kept following him anyway, since he seemed to know where he was going. The way in had been a blur, a maze of corridors which Noah seemed to have memorized.
“I’m sorry you had to kiss me,” Noah said on the way down the steps outside. “I should have thought beforehand. We could have done a kiss on the cheek or something, mentioned that we just weren’t used to kissing in public.”
“It’s fine. It was way less weird than I thought it’d be.”
“I’m just that good,” Noah joked. “Seriously, though, you took it well. I almost couldn’t tell you were straight.”
“Howcouldyou tell?” Jace asked, curious now. Not that he intended to start kissing guys, but he wanted to know all the same. If he knew where he was going wrong, it might improve his kissing technique in general.
“I’m very attractive, so people who want to kiss me usually don’t hesitate.”
Jace laughed. “Yeah, yeah. Humble, too.”
Noahwasattractive, but Jace didn’t see any reason to inflate his ego further. At least, Jace thought he was attractive. He didn’t know what gay guys looked for in other guys, but Noah’s features were all nice—warm eyes, dark hair, and a smile that was infectious and mischievous. Those were things Jace looked for in girls, and he was quickly realizing how little difference there really was.
“So you should let me buy you dinner, as a thank you for this. And because I landed my first long-term freelance client.”
Noah had apparently decided to freelance while he looked for another job, and he seemed less drained by it so far. He’d done a couple of small jobs since he’d moved in with Jace, and it meant that he insisted on cooking most of the time.
Jace felt a little guilty, but made up for it by making a rule that when he was home before dinner time, he cooked. So far, it seemed to be keeping everyone happy.
“Congrats!” Jace grinned. “Told you people would want you once they saw your work.”
He’d never gotten a new roommate after his last one moved out years ago because he’d never felt as though he was good at living with other people. Noah was showing him that as long as it was the right kind of other person, it was fine. Jace actually liked having him around. They got to watch TV together, talk about crap at work, and hang out all the time this way.
Jace had realized since Noah moved in that while he thought of Noah as his best friend, they didn’t spend nearly enough time together for his taste before. Now that they were living together, life already seemed easier. It had only been a week, but Jace was confident they’d made a good decision.
