“This is the crowning moment of your career, huh? So far, I mean,” Gabriel said as they joined the crowd filling inside, each of them showing invitations before being let into the room they were using.
“Yeah, I guess it is,” Reid agreed.
He was excited—and honored—by the award, but it didn’t compare to the knowledge that Gabriel was there with him.
That he hadn’t lost him.
That things were going to be okay.
He would have cheerfully traded any award for Gabriel. Life was lonely without someone to share it with.
“Reid? Is that you?”
Reid turned at the familiar voice, smiling when he caught sight of who it was.
“Mia,” he enthused, grinning at his old classmate. “That dress looks amazing on you.”
She always came to these things looking good. She’d always been big on attention to detail, and she’d gotten him out of a scrape or two in college.
“It’s so good to see you,” she said, glancing at Gabriel.
Reid blushed, realizing belatedly that he was being rude.
“Uh, this is Gabriel. He’s a rocket scientist who just got back from space.”
“Wow.” Mia looked between them, blinking. “Quite the power couple.” She beamed. “You must be so proud of him.”
“I am,” Reid said, moving his hand to squeeze Gabriel’s.
He was proud.
Not just of Gabriel’s achievements—which were awesome—but of him, for being here, for standing by Reid’s side, for not letting his fear stop him.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Gabriel said, offering his hand. “I’m also very proud of Reid, for the record,” he added.
Mia laughed at that, shaking Gabriel’s hand and grinning at him the whole time. “Well, I like this one best so far,” she said. “Your dates are usually so…”
Reid blushed all the way to the tips of his ears. “Can you not?”
“I’m teasing,” Mia said. “But I can tell this one isn’t just some guy you picked up and offered a free meal, so…”
“Do you… did you do that?” Gabriel asked, turning to look at Reid.
Reid shrugged. “I hate going to these things alone. But now I don’t have to, because I have you.”
“Aww,” Mia said, sighing a big, dramatic sigh. “Cute.” She glanced over Gabriel’s shoulder, waving to someone else behind him. “I gotta say hello to everyone else, but congratulations if I don’t catch you again! Totally worth letting you use all my lecture notes in college.”
Reid chuckled, bending down to let Mia kiss his cheek as she left.
“She seems sweet,” Gabriel said.
“She is. She was a big help to me in college.” Reid squeezed Gabriel’s hand again before letting go. “That wasn’t so bad, right?”
“That was amazing,” Gabriel said, his eyes glittering in the low light of the lobby. “People here know all your secrets. I’m gonna find out so much.”
Reid laughed nervously, but really, there was nothing he wanted to hide from Gabriel. He wanted to be open and honest, always, from here on out.
He wanted a future with Gabriel. He’d never wanted that before, not like this. Not so deep in his bones.
This was one of the best nights of his life, but not for the reasons anyone would have suspected.
“You’re so lucky I’m in love with you,” Reid murmured. “I wouldn’t let just anyone fish for embarrassing stories.”
Gabriel grinned at him. “I promise to defend you if anyone says you’re less than perfect.”
“And I promise that there’s a reward coming for not leaving me to face all these people alone,” Reid murmured, smirking.
He intended to make sure Gabriel had a good night so he’d want to keep doing this.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“Fuck,” Gabriel murmured, digging his fingers deeper into Reid’s hair, trying desperately not to tug. He knew that was bad manners, but Reid’s mouth was so hot around his cock, his tongue working him so perfectly that all Gabriel could do was lean back against the door behind him and go along for the ride.
If he’d known he was going to get a reward like this, he would have agreed to go with Reid in the first place.
He was already so close, speeding toward the edge, pressure building in his gut, his balls aching with every movement of Reid’s tongue against the sensitive skin of his cock. This felt so good, so much better than it ever had.
Because of the way he felt about Reid. Because Reid was more important to him than anything else.
It felt good to have admitted that in public. Even in front of people he didn’t know and would probably never see again. Holding Reid’s hand had been the most free moment of his life so far.
Space barely compared to the way that felt.
Gabriel moaned as Reid took him deep into his throat, forcing himself to keep his hips still. The urge to come was so intense, so strong that Gabriel could barely hold back, no matter how much he wanted to savor this.
Reid’s mouth felt too good, his eagerness was too exciting to give Gabriel even half a chance to last. He sucked hard, hollowing his cheeks, putting even more pressure on Gabriel’s cock, even more heat.
Gabriel’s orgasm welled up in his stomach, a rolling wave he couldn’t stop, couldn’t slow down. All he could do was close his eyes and cry out as he felt himself come, felt Reid swallow around him, his tongue lapping at him greedily, licking him clean as he rode out the aftershocks.
Gabriel panted harshly, his heart pounding. That felt good.
That alone would have been worth being out in public.
Well, out in front of a small, select group of people, anyway. Gabriel could work on being completely out. He knew now that Reid was willing to give him time.
“You’re amazing,” he murmured as Reid pulled back, a string of spit connecting them for a moment before it broke.
Reid’s neighbors probably knew a lot more about Reid’s sex life than they wanted to right now, but Gabriel was having a hard time caring.
He slid down the door Reid had pushed him up against, hitting the entryway floor hard enough to jolt his whole body, make him squirm as his oversensitive cock brushed against his suit pants, hanging open around his hips.
Reid was kneeling in front of him, licking his lips slowly, his own cock tenting the front of his pants.
Despite having just come, a spark of arousal hit Gabriel deep in the pit of his stomach at seeing that. He was never going to get tired of being able to turn Reid on.
“Do you want…?” Gabriel nodded to Reid’s crotch.
“I can wait.” Reid wet his lips. “I’ve, uh. Got something in mind.”
Gabriel let his head fall back against the door, his chest heaving as he recovered.
“If I’d known I was getting a reward like this, I would have volunteered to go with you in the first place,” Gabriel said, grinning. “You got any other important events coming up soon?”
Reid chuckled. “I’m proud of you for coming. Uh, to the event, I mean.”
Gabriel laughed, joy welling up in his chest. “It wasn’t much of an ask to come just now. I’m so gay. And you’re so hot.”
“Good to hear you say it,” Reid murmured, moving to sit next to Gabriel and reaching out to take his hand. “That you’re gay. Not that I’m hot. I don’t think you’ve actually said the words before.”
“Not out loud. Not ever. It feels good, though.”
“Yeah. Good news, that feeling sticks around. Sometimes you’ll watch a guy walk past, and you’ll look at him way longer than you’re supposed to and then you’ll laugh at yourself because you’re so gay. It’s a nice moment.”
“Are you encouraging me to have impure thoughts about other men?” Gabriel asked.
“Sure, yeah,” Reid said. “Then come home and tell me all about them. You’re allowed to enjoy this. I’m not gonna get mad at you for your feelings.”
“Home?” Gabriel asked, raising a
n eyebrow.
Reid shrugged. “I’ll clear out a drawer if you promise me you’ll come over more often.”
“I actually meant…” Gabriel swallowed past a lump that had suddenly formed in his throat. “I’ve been looking for somewhere I’d feel at home for so long. That was what drove me to space in the first place, I don’t think I ever told you. But I just… I feel so at home with you, and I’ve never felt that before.”
“Oh,” Reid said softly. “Well… I feel at home with you, too. I want you around. As often as you want to be here. With me. Anywhere, honestly.”
The lump in Gabriel’s throat only got bigger, but he knew for sure now that he’d done the right thing. Reid was his home, his comfort, the thing he’d always been looking for. It was too soon to know that, but Gabriel knew it anyway.
“I’m meeting someone in the morning to talk about moving to Florida,” Gabriel said. “I’ll cancel,” he added before Reid had a chance to panic.
“Is this for work?” Reid asked. “Because your career is important, and Florida is full of old people. I could start again out there.”
Gabriel shook his head. “I was running away. I don’t want to run away anymore. I’m sure he’ll be happy to know that I’d like to convert the position into a work from home deal. Maybe a few more hours. Maybe so I can see my boyfriend more often.”
“Your boyfriend would like that. He also likes being called your boyfriend,” Reid said, squeezing Gabriel’s hand.
Gabriel turned his head to brush his lips against Reid’s, smiling as they made contact.
This was perfect. This was everything he wanted.
Being in love with Reid was the most exciting thing he’d ever done, going to space included. It had happened without him trying—without him wanting it to happen—and that made it all the more precious.
He wasn’t going to give this up for some lab space on the other side of the country.
“You think you can stand yet?” Reid asked, his lips brushing against Gabriel’s ear. “Because it’s your turn to top.”
Chapter Thirty
Reid arched his back as Gabriel shoved a second finger inside him, his fingers curling into the sheets under him. He hadn’t done this for a while, and he’d forgotten how good it felt, how needy it made him.
Gabriel had been cute when he was bottoming, fun and eager and easily pleased, but when he was topping…
He was hot. All the confidence he’d found tonight was still rolling off him, his tongue held between his teeth as he concentrated on opening Reid up.
“You’re a natural,” Reid said, spreading his legs wider, his knees drawn up high. Paying attention to flexibility had its perks, and hopefully he’d be able to convince Gabriel of how important it was.
Obviously, for his overall health, but also because a wider choice of positions meant better sex. Reid was planning to have a lot more sex with Gabriel.
“I had a good teacher,” Gabriel said, shifting his weight. “And I paid attention.”
Reid laughed at that. Of course Gabriel paid attention.
“I’m ready for this,” he murmured, squirming against the sheets under him. Gabriel had a way of touching him just right, a natural sense of how to make him feel good.
If either of them should have had that, it was Reid, but Gabriel was still full of surprises. Reid hoped he’d never stop surprising him.
“You sure? Because this is fun,” Gabriel said, grinning down at him. Reid tilted his head up to make sure Gabriel was hard again, wetting his lips as he took in the perfect curve of Gabriel’s cock.
This was going to be good. Aside from being smart, funny, and adorable, Gabriel was turning out to be great in bed.
It helped that Reid was in love with him.
It definitely helped. He’d been with plenty of guys, guys with a lot more experience and technique, but sparks lit up his skin whenever Gabriel touched him. That had never happened before.
Reid couldn’t get enough of it. He needed more of Gabriel in every possible way.
“Come on,” Reid begged, spreading his legs even wider, his thighs protesting at the stretch. “I never keep you waiting.”
“You kept me waiting all day the first time,” Gabriel reminded him. “And then sent me home with a handjob.”
“You enjoyed that hand job.” Reid wriggled his hips, rocking them to get a little friction now that Gabriel was distracted and not moving his fingers anymore.
He liked that Gabriel was getting chatty in bed, but he really needed Gabriel’s cock right about now. He was still glowing from the way Gabriel had held his hand in front of all those people. For Reid.
Because he loved him.
If he wasn’t painfully turned on by that, there’d be something wrong with him.
Gabriel took the hint, curling his fingers inside Reid, brushing over his prostate and making him bite down on his lip, a jolt of pleasure hitting him in the gut.
Like he’d said, Gabriel was a natural.
“You like that, huh?” Gabriel grinned again. “You’re so warm.”
“Wait until you get your cock in me,” Reid said. “Soon, please.”
Gabriel rolled his eyes, but a smirk turned up the corner of his mouth. He shoved his fingers in as far as they could go, making Reid hiss with the sudden movement, and then pulled them out, leaving him empty.
Reid squirmed at the sensation, needier than ever.
Gabriel was learning about all his quirks and sensitive spots way too fast. He’d be able to play Reid like a fiddle in no time.
Reid could hardly wait.
“Gabe, please,” Reid complained, his balls aching with the need to be filled again, to feel Gabriel’s cock inside him.
“I love it when you call me Gabe,” he murmured, shifting into position. Apparently, that had been the magic word.
Reid filed that information away for later.
He gasped as he felt the head of Gabriel’s cock pressing against his hole, so close to where he wanted it. His pulse pounded in his ears, the urge to rock back, take what he wanted almost too strong to resist.
“You’ve got about three seconds before I flip us both over and sit on your dick,” Reid said, seriously considering following through with the threat. Gabriel was smaller than he was, but he could take the weight. He’d proven that before.
Another time, maybe.
“Tempting,” Gabriel said, chuckling as he shifted just a tiny bit closer. “But I like you like this,” he added, reaching out to splay his hand over Reid’s belly.
Before Reid could respond, Gabriel rocked his hips forward, pushing his cock inside him in one smooth movement, filling him inch by inch, making Reid groan at the sudden fullness, his cock leaking precome onto his stomach.
Reid grunted at the feeling, rocking his hips in tiny circles to adjust, tightening his thighs around Gabriel to keep him in place, stop him from pulling out before he was ready.
Gabriel’s cock was exactly as perfect as Reid had imagined, hot and thick, curved just right, built as though he was made specifically for Reid’s body.
Above him, Gabriel panted harshly, his eyes screwed shut, his fingers digging into Reid’s knee as he adjusted.
Reid still remembered his first time inside another man. It was intense, and he loved watching Gabriel ride it out, the heat and pressure, unlike anything else. Hotter, tighter, deeper.
Arousal welled up in the pit of his stomach at the memory, and at the thought of how good his body must have felt to Gabriel.
He’d always wanted this to be good, and he hadn’t been disappointed yet.
Gabriel drew a few heaving breaths, his hips rocking just a little, his cock sliding in and out of Reid easily. That felt good, too. Even the tentative beginning of this felt so good, like Gabriel was exactly the person he was supposed to be doing this with.
For once in his life, Reid felt whole.
Maybe that was dumb, but he didn’t care. Gabriel made him feel good. Being with Gabriel made
him feel good.
This was all he wanted, for as long as he could have it.
“This is… this is…” Gabriel said, his chest heaving, his voice breaking on the last syllable. “I…”
“Good, right?” Reid beamed up at him, thrilled to know that Gabriel really was enjoying his body.
“So good. Holy shit.” Gabriel shifted, changing the angle of his hips, lifting himself up a little. Sparks of pleasure coursed through Reid at every tiny movement, his head spinning with arousal, his brain foggy.
“Feels better if you move,” Reid said, wanting Gabriel to really get started, ideally to fuck him with all his carefully-regained strength.
For all that Reid liked to tell himself that he didn’t care about what people’s bodies looked like anymore, Gabriel’s was beautiful. Still thin, still slight, but with lightly toned muscles, strength in his core, in his arms, his thighs.
Not that it had been Reid’s intention, but everything he’d helped Gabriel with made him perfect for this. That was a nice side effect of having been his therapist.
No matter how intimate he was with Gabriel’s body, he wanted just a little more. It was so good to be close to him, so close that Reid could feel his pulse inside him if he really concentrated.
Everything about Gabriel felt like a miracle. He’d practically fallen from the stars and right into Reid’s lap.
He was a gift the universe had bestowed on Reid, and Reid was grabbing onto him with both hands. Never letting go. Not now, not ever.
“Come on,” he murmured, rocking his own hips to encourage Gabriel to move, a bead of precome rolling down his cock and pooling on his skin. He wanted Gabriel so much he almost couldn’t take it. His heart was pounding in his ears, his gut on fire with need.
Reid’s mouth fell open as Gabriel rocked his hips forward, a moan catching in his throat. He arched his hips, pushing down on Gabriel’s cock, biting his lip as he finally got what he needed.
Gabriel leaned forward, grabbing Reid’s shoulder, the thumb of his other hand brushing against Reid’s cock, teasing mercilessly. Gabriel knew exactly what he was doing. He was a quick study, and he’d already figured out so much about Reid.
The Boyfriend Experiment Page 14