by Max Hudson
“We can be rather gifted as humans in hiding our true emotions.”
“I'm no stranger to that. When I was with Trevor, I got good at masking my pain.”
Ari knitted his brows together. “I'm sorry you had to do that.”
“But not anymore. I'm happy to wear my emotions on my sleeves.”
“I feel the same. I trust you to see the authentic me.”
Noah grinned. “I feel the same way.”
He wrapped his arms around Ari's neck and tugged Ari down to him, tasting Ari's lips once more. The oven beeped to his right and he broke away to place the baking sheet in the oven. He waved at the pumpkin seeds before closing the oven, reaching over the stove to set the timer.
“Ten minutes? Thirteen? How long do seeds cook?”
Ari chuckled. “Did you forget?”
“Your kisses make me dizzy.”
“It's the magic. Set the timer for ten minutes and we'll check them.”
Noah smiled. “Yes, sir.”
“Oh, don't start that up.”
“Why not? Is that a thing for you?”
Ari stifled his sheepish grin and went to set the bowl in the sink, turning away from Noah as Noah burst with giggles. Noah sidled up behind him and circled his waist. While Noah embraced him, he sighed.
“It might be,” he admitted. “But only occasionally. Don't go wild with it.”
“Yes, s—” Noah chuckled and licked his lips. “Of course.”
“Thank you.”
“Do you want to go back outside?”
Ari turned to embrace Noah. “Yes, that would be nice. Let's grab the apple cider on the way out.”
Noah kissed Ari's chin and turned to walk through the living room. He grabbed the two mugs of apple cider, shuffled out to the porch, and sat down, holding one mug out for Ari to take. Ari accepted the mug gratefully.
The air erupted with magical sounds that swirled around Noah. He turned to Ari and smiled warmly, his eyes nearly closing to slits with how high the corners of his lips dug into his cheeks. Ari noticed the grin and smiled humbly, lowering his gaze.
“What?”
Noah shrugged. He set his mug down, took Ari's hand, and traced the ridges of Ari's knuckles carefully, slowly, as though by touching them he could remember them forever.
He met Ari's gaze and whispered, “Just looking.”
“Do you like what you see?”
“Oh, darling. I love what I see.”
“I love you, Noah.”
Noah beamed. “I love you, too.”