do that, okay? And then we’ll stay in bed for the rest of the day. I…” Noah bit his lip, a flash of vulnerability in his gaze. “I want you to fuck me tonight. I’m… I’m ready.” He scratched the back of his neck and flushed. “I mean, we’ve done all that practicing.”
A bolt of pleasure shot through Alex as he thought about all the ways they’d prepared Noah over the last couple of weeks. Playing with Noah’s ass had become a staple in their bedroom, Noah clearly enjoying the sensations, and Alex’s cock perked up every time he thought about all the times he’d managed to get Noah off with his fingers in Noah’s ass or using one of the various toys Alex had found in a box that had been tucked away under Noah’s bed. They’d thoroughly tested out each and every one.
“Oh fuck, do you really expect me to let you go now?” Alex grumbled.
Noah took a step back and smiled. “Delayed gratification. It’s a thing.” He pressed one last kiss on Alex’s lips. “Two hours,” he promised.
Alex didn’t move from his seat in the bathroom as he listened to Noah put on a shirt, slip his feet into a pair of loafers, and grab his keys and phone from the little shelf by the door.
The snick of the front door sounded way too loud in the quiet apartment. Alex sat for a couple of more moments, shoulders slumped, but then he got up. Noah would be back in two hours.
And Alex was going to clean the apartment because, fuck it, he trusted Noah, but he needed something to do with his hands, otherwise the two hours would be endless.
Two hours turned into three, then four. Alex sat on the couch, unable to do anything but stare at the clock. With each passing minute, it got harder and harder not to draw parallels to that day in Portland, ten years ago. The TV was turned on, but Alex barely noticed it, even though he’d turned it on to get his mind off the past. The apartment had been too quiet, but the noise didn’t seem to help either because the problem was deeper than just filling the space with sound. Without Noah, the apartment felt empty, and it had been ridiculous to think that Netflix could solve that problem.
Alex turned the TV off and went to the window. Distraction. He needed a distraction. The day was sunny. Maybe later, when Noah got back, they could go for a walk. Better yet, maybe they could take a drive. Somewhere down the coast. They could even make a weekend out of it and go to a hotel, spend the night. They still had most of Saturday and Sunday to do what they pleased once Noah got back.
If he got back.
Alex rubbed his palms over his eyes, pressing his fingers against his temples hard. He was going to drive himself crazy if he allowed that line of thinking. Noah was just a bit late. Maybe his lunch ran long? God knew he had a lot to discuss with his mother. Or it could always be traffic. Even Saturdays were not safe from traffic jams.
The buzz of his phone on the coffee table made Alex nearly face-plant on the floor as he hurried toward it.
He didn’t even bother to check the display as he lifted the phone to his ear. “About time,” he said, forcing out a strained chuckle, attempting to sound normal. Like he hadn’t spent the last hour trying to create permanent foot tracks on the floor.
There was a long silence at the other end of the phone and then…
“Alex?” The last person Alex wanted to hear from spoke on the other end of the line. To be fair, hearing from anybody other than Noah was unwelcome at that moment, but Alex’s father’s voice was at the top of that list.
“Alex?” his father repeated. “Are you still there?”
“Yeah,” Alex rasped. He did shit all to hide his disappointment, and he didn’t care.
Another long silence that made Alex’s nerves feel like somebody was rubbing them with sandpaper over and over again.
“What do you want?” Alex barked into the phone, tired of waiting for the silence to end.
“You haven’t been in contact with me for nearly a month.” Was that something akin to worry Alex detected in his father’s tone? Seemed there was a first time for everything.
“I’ve been busy.”
“With?”
“Life,” Alex said shortly.
For twenty-nine years, Alex had tried and failed to