Page 18 of Becoming Us

He rolled his eyes, but a small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “Yeah. Or ‘timeout,’ if you’d rather be obvious.”

“No, I like it.” I tugged gently on his hand, and he shifted a little closer. “I think the ridiculousness helps. Might even lighten the mood.”

In one fluid motion, Atty reached for my neck and rested his forehead on mine. I leaned into him, closing the space between us.

“Don’t be scared of having these talks with me.”

I nodded, threading my fingers into his hair, grounding myself. “I won’t.”

“If this is going to work, we’ve got to put in the work, Noah. That means a lot of uncomfortable conversations.”

He was right. So fucking right.

“I’ll have ’em. All of them. You can even throw another phallic vegetable at me when you feel me shutting down.”

His laugh echoed through the room, chasing the heaviness away. God, that sound. It was everything. Hard-earned, just like his smile. Worth every second of the work.

I brushed my nose against his. “Can I tell you how much I love you?”

His laughter faded, but the smile stayed. He nodded.

“I love you, Atty. So fucking much. I’ll put in all the work—whatever it takes not to lose you again.”

He leaned forward and kissed me, and just like that, the world steadied beneath my feet.

“Do you mind if I take my time saying it back?” His lips brushed my cheek. “You know I do. I just… I need a little time.”

“Take all the time you need. We’ve got time.”

He kissed me again, lingering this time. My thoughts blurred like they always did when he touched me.

“Do you mind if we stay here instead of going out? I’m really tired. And I don’t want you to go yet.”

“Yeah.” I pressed another kiss to his mouth before pulling back. “I’ll order something. We can watch a movie.”

His whole face lit up. “Sure. Just get enough for Ezra. He’ll be back in, like, an hour,” he added, checking his watch.

We curled up on the couch, his arm slung over my shoulders, movie playing while we waited for Ezra and the food. When they both arrived, we ate, and for the first time in a long time, everything felt…okay.

Being with Atty never stopped feeling good. It was partly this—the normalcy, the ease. No one was drunk. No one was mad or high. From the very first time I’d hung out with him, I’d craved this. He made me believe I didn’t have to choose between being alone or being wrecked. That maybe, just maybe, this kind of life could be mine too.

We picked another movie, and I nestled into him, soaking in the closeness of being allowed to have this again. I had no clue what it was about—I was asleep before I could find out.

At some point, Atty woke me. Ezra was gone. He didn’t ask questions. Just took my hand and led me to his room, where we slipped into bed together.

I buried my face in his neck, wrapped my leg over his. He slid his hand up my back and held me close. This, I had missed like hell. Falling asleep with him wrapped around me. Breathing him in. Nothing in the world had ever made me feel safer than this.

And that was the last thought I had before sleep pulled me under.

There was a hot tongue on my neck.

Open-mouthed kisses burned into my skin, sending sparks straight to my dick. I hiked my leg up, chasing the feeling and grinding against something—no, not something. Someone.

My head spun, trying to focus, but all I could do as he rocked his hips into mine was moan.

He sucked at my skin, nibbled, then smoothed his tongue over it like he was trying to soothe the sting. My hands tightened in his hair. I didn’t even know when they’d gotten there, but it was a good thing they had, because I used the leverage to pull him up to my lips.

Atty’s kiss was nothing short of ravenous, and I was more than here for it. As the sleep fog lifted and gave way to a much hotter one, I registered that I was still in his bed. This wasn’t a dream. This was a very real Atticus, kissing me like his life depended on it, sucking on my tongue like he’d die if he let go. Igroaned into his mouth as he shifted over me, settling his weight between my legs.