13. Home

THIRTEEN

HOME

The address Jack had given me was in—if you could call it that—downtown Seastone. His apartment was in the only three-story building on the boulevard, next to ten empty and abandoned storefronts. The trees lining the snow-covered sidewalks had lost all their leaves, and it wasn’t clear if that was because it was winter or if they were dying because no one was taking care of them. His apartment building stood out because, unlike the others, its facade looked like it had recently received a fresh coat of gray paint.

I arrived ten minutes after our call and spent the waiting time on my phone searching for apartments in Seastone. Funny enough, only two apartments came up that were in the exact same building where Jack lived. It was probably a little premature to be looking at all, but I took it for what it was: a manifestation of my desire to stay with Jack. After ten minutes, the fatigue of a sleepless night caught up with me. Instead of taking a nap, I got out of the car. The cold greeted me like an old friend, but I decided to walk the streets anyway. I couldn’t risk falling asleep now and arriving late. Not if I wanted Jack to give me, us , a chance.

I strolled through the neighboring streets. I found more closed shops and empty buildings that told stories of a glorious time long gone when the city was full of life, as well as a small town hall that looked newly renovated, but its windows weren’t lit either. The streets were empty except for a man in his late fifties driving a plow truck, who eyed me as if he thought I had suspicious things in mind.

I checked my phone, and with only twenty minutes left, I headed back. As I walked around the corner, a familiar red Ford Escape was now parked in front of his building, letting me know Jack was already back. I rushed up to the glass front door, found an intercom doorbell on the left, and pushed the button on top as Jack had told me. Ten seconds later, a buzzing sound alerted the entire street to my visit. I pulled open the door and sprinted upstairs. Only one white light bulb per floor lit the windowless stairwell. It was so quiet and cold in here that it was obvious the other apartments weren’t rented. I sprinted all the way to the third floor, where I found a massive door slightly ajar, Jack standing inside, still wearing his yellow jacket.

“Hey,” he said, but my arms wrapping around his back drowned out his words. I pressed my chest so close to his that he had to take a step back to keep from falling over. I buried my face deep into his collarbone, breathing him in. His warmth, his touch, and the scent of pine smelled like home.

Jack leaned his chin against my head, brushed his nose into my hair, and took a deep breath. His arms trembled. “I’m sorry, Noah,” Jack sniffled, holding me close as if he was afraid to let me go. “I shouldn’t have bailed on you yesterday.”

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” I replied, his jacket muffling my words.

“No, it does. Not meeting you was the stupidest decision of my life. When I came home yesterday, everything felt so empty. The apartment seemed even smaller than I remembered, and the ceiling looked like it was going to cave in on me. I wanted to forget everything and push the memories of you away because I couldn’t handle the thought that this was it. But when I saw your name on my phone earlier, I couldn’t lie to myself anymore. I wanted to hear your voice. And then you said all those things, and I realized all I did was take away the last chance we had to be together. Please forgive me.”

I pulled my head back but not my hands. “If you had spent the night, I might not have reached the right conclusions. So... I guess I should actually thank you.”

“You’re... welcome ?” He wrinkled his nose and made a puzzled face. “Sorry. Who’s apologizing to whom now? I’m confused and exhausted. I couldn’t close my eyes last night.”

I chuckled. It was probably inappropriate, but the fact that we both couldn’t sleep somehow relaxed me. “Well, we’re here now. And I don’t want to be anywhere else.”

“You can’t imagine how happy it makes me to hear that. Come on, let’s go inside.” He pushed the door open a little more and led me into his apartment.

The room behind it was cramped. On the right, there was a single bed, a desk with an old computer next to it, and a TV mounted above it. Otherwise, the walls were bare, and the ceiling was low. Two doors in the left corner led to what I assumed were an equally tiny kitchen and bathroom.

“Welcome to my humble abode,” he said.

“Thank you for having me. It’s cozy.”

“It’s mostly cheap and located close to everything important.”

He took off his coat and hung it over the desk chair. “You can put yours on the hook if you like,” he said, pointing behind me.

I closed the door and found a single coat hook, which now became the home of my jacket. When I turned around, Jack was leaning against the door next to the desk. We looked at each other, and it took me a second to realize that I was really here with him . After twenty-four agonizing hours, we were finally together again. I rushed over and pulled him into another hug. It was probably the trillionth time we had held each other, but it still felt better than before.

“I missed you so much. I know it was only one night, but it felt like a thousand,” Jack said, loosening his grip. His hands went to my cheeks. He grabbed them and paused for a moment, taking me in. His eyes were red. His head swayed slightly from side to side. “You’re really here.” He gave me a little kiss before pulling away and looking at me. “This isn’t a dream, is it?”

“No, this is real,” I laughed.

He pressed his lips to mine again, only to pull away once more after a second. “There’s so much...” He kissed me again. “...we have to...” And again. “...talk about...” And again. “...Noah.”

“This counts as talking,” I said, kissing him back.

A smile crossed his face. “That’s fine with me...” The electricity that shot through my body as our mouths met turned off the last bit of worry I had. This—coming here and just being with him—had been the right decision. He pulled me close as if he could never do it again. His weight was so overwhelming that when I stepped back with my right foot to keep my balance, I rammed it into the bed frame, accomplishing what I had tried to prevent.

We fell on the mattress, causing the whole apartment to shake.

“Are you okay?” Jack asked. His whole body poured over me, comforting me like a weighted blanket.

“You bet I am.”

His face was only an inch away from mine. “Was that a sign?”

“What else would it be?” I pressed my lips to his. My hands moved to his back, unhappy that the fabric of his shirt was between us. They rushed to the hem to crawl underneath, but when they landed on his ass, they took the opportunity to feel it up.

Jack’s mouth traveled from my lips to my neck, kissing every inch along the way. His hands raced under my sweater, pulling the fabric with them as they reached for my nipples.

Whatever we had to talk about didn’t matter anymore. At least not for now. This moment was just for us to enjoy each other and celebrate our reunion.

I spread my legs and wrapped them around Jack’s groin, pulling his bulge into my ass. I grabbed the hem of his shirt, and as I tugged at it, Jack leaned up so I could pull it off him. I tossed it to the floor and unbuttoned my jeans. Jack rocked down to the edge of the bed, stuck his fingers under the waistband of my briefs, and pulled them down along with my jeans. They got tangled at my feet for a moment, but Jack kept pulling until they turned completely inside out and finally let go of my body. I slipped out of my shirt, threw it against the wall, and fell onto his pillow—naked, hard, and ready to give myself completely to him. His eyes roamed over my body as if trying to capture as many mental images as possible.

His eyebrows shot up as if he had an idea of what to do with me. “Turn around,” he ordered.

Without questioning anything, I rolled over onto my stomach and wrapped my arms around his pillow. It had the same fresh pine tree smell as him, and as I inhaled, his scent made my dick twitch.

Jack pushed his thumbs into my hamstrings, pulling them apart to give himself more room to nestle between my legs. His mouth replaced his fingers. He licked my right inner thigh, running his tongue over my skin as if to make sure I could only focus on the spot he wanted me to. He licked all the way to the edge of my ass cheek, but instead of plunging in, he stopped, moved to my left thigh, and started all over again. Only when his tongue reached my ass for the second time did it go all the way into my crack, giving me the pleasure I had longed for.

He pulled my ass cheeks apart and buried his mouth right between them. He licked my ass as if I was his breakfast, lunch, and dinner in one. His tongue in my crack, swirling around my hole, made everything tremble, and the only way to get through it was to let out every single last moan that was in me until my voice would give in. The small room made my cries of pleasure echo right back at us.

Jack reached for my shoulders without taking his mouth off my ass. He pressed his thumb into the sore muscles around my chest. The combination of having to divide my attention between two parts of my body helped me let go. My shoulders released all the tension they had held. My groin melted into the bed, opening further for Jack.

After one last taste, his tongue slid out of my crack and up my back. His bulge settled into my ass. “Why are you so damn sexy?”

His words shot into my head and into my dick. I turned my neck as far as I could and kissed him. While his tongue caressed mine, he unbuckled his belt, unzipped his pants, and pushed them down. He only paused briefly from kissing me when his jeans caught up with his feet, but he quickly kicked them off and jumped right back on top of me. His chest nestled into mine as if we were made for each other, and his dick landed where I wanted it—in my crack. He leaned to his left and pulled a bottle of lube from under the bed.

He squeezed some in his hand, rubbed his palms together to warm it up a bit, and went straight for my hole. His thumb entered me and was quickly joined by his index and middle fingers to prepare me for the real thing.

After a minute, they were replaced by the tip of his cock. He moved carefully as if he still wasn’t sure if I was ready, but by then, I was so horned up that I couldn’t wait anymore. I pushed my ass onto his dick to speed up the process. My insides gave way to him like the snow gave way to the plow trucks.

Jack moaned and wrapped his arms around my shoulders as he slid into my ass until he was buried completely inside of me. We were finally connected.

His moan became a growl. His hips moved, quickly picking up speed. He thrust in and out of me, holding me tight. His breath caressed my neck. His chest rubbed against my back.

“Please don’t ever stop,” I said. It had only been a week that we had been together—a week so intense that it felt like months, almost like we were making up for the relationship we couldn’t have had during our college years. This wasn’t something I wanted to end. I wanted to fall asleep in his arms as much as I wanted to wake up to his sweet smile. I wanted to eat every meal with him, try more cooking techniques he learned from his old lady friends, and read more dirty books to him while he stroked my belly. And I wanted him to fuck me like this every damn day for the rest of my life.

He slowed down and kissed my neck, whispering in my ear, “Do you want to ride me?”

My dick twitched so hard that a bit of pre-cum dripped out of it just at the thought. “Fuck, yes.”

He pulled his dick out and dropped onto the bed next to me. I climbed on top of him as fast as I could, his hands holding my hips, aiming my ass over his straight hard cock. My fingers roamed over his chest. He bit his lips, not taking his eyes off me as he entered me again. I leaned down and kissed him, bobbing up and down on his cock. His right hand cupped my dick and stroked it.

I was ready to come at any moment, but as if he could sense that I was trying to hold back, he slowed his hand movement, increased it, and then slowed it again, enjoying watching my body twitch. My mouth fell open. As much as I wanted to come together with him, I couldn’t hold it back any longer.

“I’m going to…”

He increased his speed again, helping me over the edge. My load flew all over his chest. Four thick ropes—as if I hadn’t been coming at least twice a day for the past week.

“That’s so hot,” Jack said, his hand wrapped tightly around my dick, his eyes taking it all in. My chest buckled over him for a moment, but since he hadn’t come yet, I activated my last energy resources and kept moving. He thrust his hips in sync with mine, and half a minute later, he closed his eyes, tilting his head back into the mattress as his dick throbbed and grew, shooting its load into me.

Everything shook and prickled.

I leaned down and kissed him again, enjoying the feeling of his dick pulsating inside me—three, four, five times before it subsided. His hands on my back made me feel safe. His index finger moved in circles, just like my thoughts.

We stayed like that for another minute before he pulled out.

I slid to the side, now lying beside him but keeping my leg over his. I rested my head on his shoulder. “Good talk.”

He laughed so hard at what I said that I had to pull my head back because his chest was shaking. It took him a minute to calm down. “You always know how to crack me up.”

I didn’t even do anything.

“We need to talk, though,” he said, his smile fading a bit. “What are we going to do now?”

I pushed myself up and leaned against the back of his bed. “I haven’t thought it completely through, to be honest. All I know is that I want to spend more time with you, or rather, all of my time. If that means staying in Seastone, then I want to do that.”

“What about your job at the FDA?”

“Have you forgotten that I have an offer here as well?”

Jack huffed. “As much as I’d like you to stay, I don’t want you to take a job that makes you sick for my sake.” His eyes went to the ceiling. “I don’t make much, but if we plan carefully and stick to a budget, I think I can support us both until we find a better solution.”

“You’re sweet. But you don’t have to provide for me. This might actually be good. I have to pay off my student loans eventually. I can’t just not use my degree. Is it a risk? Sure. Who knows if working as a vet will suck again? Will I fall back into the spiral? Who knows how things will turn out? But when in life do we ever know? Besides, being a vet has always been my dream—a dream that I thought was too much to bear in the end, sure. But with you around, I’m hopeful that things will be different. We survived a damn snowstorm together. I will survive going to work. I just have to learn to... set boundaries. I think I can do that with your help.”

“I’m happy to support you in any way I can.”

I turned to him and put my hand on his cheek. “So, can I crash here for a while?”

His eyes became teary as he looked at me. “If you don’t mind being with me and this...” He gestured around the room. “...then you can stay here as long as you like. I know it’s small, but you can have the bed. I can sleep on the floor for a while. Or we can get rid of the desk and get something bigger. And now I have to stop talking because, judging by your face, I shot way over the finish line.”

I couldn’t stop smiling at him. His already thinking about how he could accommodate everything for me was the most Jack thing ever. “We don’t need to change anything here. I already know that as long as I’m with you, everything will be fine.”

We exchanged more kisses and held each other. After a few minutes of warmth, a few tears rolled down Jack’s chin.

“They’re happy tears, I promise,” he reassured me as I wiped them away. “I just can’t believe how much I like you.”

“I like you, too... roommate .”

Jack chuckled. “ Roommate , huh? I think I can get used to that.”