Rare - Briar Prescott Page 0,82

away, clenching his teeth before he continued—“then we all lied and pretended you and I had never happened. It was this whole cover-up. I guess they weighed the risks and benefits and figured out that my blood was so valuable that they could squeeze one eye shut when it came to a couple of blowjobs.”

Alex blinked in surprise, even though it was about what he’d expected.

“It was before the FDA changed their policy. It used to be that any sexual contact with a male earned you a lifetime ban, and that was that. Right now, gay males can donate blood, provided that they haven’t had sex with a man in a year.”

“So we’d have to be celibate for you to be able to donate?” Alex tried really hard to go for a neutral tone and not to let his distaste for the idea show, but he doubted he was doing a good enough job for Noah not to notice.

“I want to have a relationship with you,” Noah said. “A normal one. And that includes a good sex life.”

“Just good?” Alex teased.

Noah’s lips twitched. “Fantastic, amazing, rock-my-world type of sex life.”

“That sounds more like it.”

Noah flicked at Alex’s nose playfully. Alex loved seeing Noah so happy. It practically radiated off him. The consequences of his decision to be with Alex would hit eventually, but right now, they could hide away for a while longer and enjoy each other. In Alex’s opinion, they had most definitely deserved it.

Noah’s expression turned serious for a moment. “There’s more we have to discuss, but can we maybe table that conversation for a bit. I’m kind of drained from the recap. It’s not exactly light banter.”

“Absolutely,” Alex agreed quickly. There was a lot to take in, so he figured it would be good to maybe sleep on it and think about what he’d learned so far before they continued their discussion.

Alex kissed the side of Noah’s head, but that chaste kiss was definitely not enough, so he moved lower and kissed the shell of Noah’s ear, the soft skin between his neck and shoulder blade. Noah was panting and twisting his hips to get closer to Alex in no time.

Alex clenched his ass. Not too sore. He hadn’t bottomed in a while, but it wasn’t too bad. He definitely had another round in him, even if it meant he would walk funny the next day. That wasn’t important. Who said they even had to move at all come morning? They’d just spend another day in bed, order food from the Chinese place they’d passed last night on their way to Noah’s apartment, and have tons of more sex.

“So about this rock-my-world type of sex life… Care for a little preview?”

Noah laughed as Alex pulled the covers over their heads and showed Noah exactly what he’d meant.

18

The week passed in a haze of pleasure. Happiness unlike anything Noah had felt before encompassed his days. It felt like his insides were full of helium—he felt light and carefree and like he could float away on a cloud of joy. Even back in Oregon all those years ago, before everything went to shit, the feelings hadn’t been quite as sharp and all-encompassing, the uncertainty and fear holding Noah back from freely enjoying Alex.

But Noah had gotten a second chance. By some miracle, Alex was back in Noah’s life, and for once in his goddamn life, Noah was going to be selfish.

He pounded up the stairs of his apartment building while balancing a large pastry box full of donuts in one hand and a drink carrier with two coffees in the other hand. He’d left Alex sleeping in his bed and run out for breakfast when it turned out that after spending three days in bed, the kitchen cabinets didn’t magically refill themselves with food. Noah was a decent cook, but even he couldn’t do anything with a couple of carrots, soy sauce, and milk that had come out of the carton in the shape of a cube.

He unlocked the door and got inside quietly, not to wake up Alex, toed off his shoes, and headed to the kitchen nook. He needn’t have worried about the noise. Alex was already standing in front of the fridge, adorably rumpled and sleepy, squinting at the bare shelves. Noah placed the donuts and the coffees on the counter and went and pressed himself against Alex’s back. He was still sleep warm and smelled like sex and Noah.

Noah pushed his nose into Alex’s shoulder