Chapter 10 #2
Aspen raised one of their own eyebrows and turned back to look at Noah, whose poor face might never return to its normal color. “Uhm…I think of it more like an affectionate nickname? It’s sweet, not mocking.”
“Well, if you’re giving out endearments, I’ve been dying to call you handsome since the moment I laid eyes on you. I just wasn’t sure if you’d like it,” Aspen said.
Charlie’s cheeks didn’t color the way either Aspen’s or Noah’s did. They sort of sprouted pink and then red, like flowers pushing up through the dirt.
Noah shifted, keeping his arms around Aspen, but circling around behind them. He rested his chin on their shoulder, so they were both looking at Charlie. “You are quite handsome,” Noah murmured.
Charlie huffed and crossed his arms over his chest, doing some very appealing things to his biceps. “Well, what are you two going to do about that?”
Given that Aspen had absolutely not been expecting any of this to happen an hour before the fundraiser started, they were going to do a whole lot of nothing.
From the almost constant texting they’d been doing with Charlie in the group chat to some of the individual texts they’d exchanged over the past several weeks, Aspen had begun to form a real connection with him–but he was Noah’s friend.
They’d never discussed what would happen if their trial relationship and exploration into polyamory intersected with existing friendships.
If this were happening with one of Aspen’s friends, they would hope Noah would talk with them about it first.
Aspen hugged Noah’s arm to their chest before pulling out of his grasp. “I’m going to distribute these leashes to everyone who needs them, so you two can talk about all the fun little things we’ve just learned about each other.”
Both men gaped at Aspen as they quickly gathered up the leashes and scurried out the back door of the shelter. They really wished they had time to debrief with Blair about this, or to run out to the front of the shelter and talk with Rachel.
There had been a second revelation on New Year’s Eve.
Rachel was on her own self-discovery journey, and with the help of Blair and through her friendship and exploration with Noah and Aspen, she’d reached a conclusion.
She was polyamorous and wanted to continue sleeping with and loving Aspen and Noah the same way she always had.
At the same time, though, she also wanted to find a partner who would one day want to live with her, entangle their lives together, and become an anchor for her.
Both Aspen and Noah had agreed wholeheartedly that they wanted to continue seeing her, but neither saw themselves in that role with her.
Aspen had coined them “sexy bestest friends,” and Rachel and Noah had immediately adopted the term.
While Aspen had always had an easy time talking with Rachel, the added clarity about their relationship helped ease their mind.
Now they felt like they could share the deep, nitty-gritty details of their trial with Noah, and not risk hurting or dismissing anyone’s feelings.
Unfortunately, by the time they finished arranging all the relay supplies and prizes behind the shelter, there was less than half an hour left, and they still needed to check in with the other stations.
It took the remaining time to drop off the leashes, distribute the fundraising flyers, and ensure the volunteers were ready to collect waivers from attendees.
When they finally made it to Rachel out front, she had just begun admitting guests, and Aspen was beyond thrilled to see the line wrapping around the parking lot.
They’d tapped every contact, friend, and connection they had to spread the word about the fundraiser.
Frankie had put out announcements on the Rainbow Bean’s social pages and even had his sibling announce it at their weekly drag show.
Aspen and Blair had told all their clients, and Rachel and Noah had shared it with their colleagues.
Aspen approached Rachel with an eager grin, but her brow was furrowed. They hurried to her side and threw an arm around her back.
“Is Noah okay?” she whispered before turning back to hand the man in front of her some raffle tickets and a receipt.
He beamed at her, complimented Aspen on their hair, and then followed the tape Aspen had laid down earlier that morning to guide guests into the shelter and to the next station.
“Noah’s fine, hon. I think you answered a question he hadn’t really been asking, but I know how his brain works. He’ll appreciate having the information when he’s ready to process it.”
“Okay,” Rachel murmured, accepting another credit card and running it through the small card reader Noah had helped Charlie get for this and hopefully future fundraising events. “I just don’t ever want to push someone out of the closet for queerness, neurodiversity, or anything else.”
Aspen kept their arm around her back, squeezing her again as they both told the woman in front of them to have a great time.
“You definitely didn’t push me out of any kind of closet,” Aspen whispered. “You just gave me the information I’ve always needed to describe my brain. I think that’s the same for Noah. Hopefully, you just gave him a word to understand himself better.”
Rachel nodded, handing the couple in front of them an adoption form when they asked for it, and ringing them up for five raffle tickets. “I just know that you both aren’t super into labels or titles.”
Aspen snorted. “You’re not wrong, but regardless of that little asexuality revelation, I think things are about to get even more complicated with Charlie joining the mix.”
The credit card reader beeped loudly when Rachel jerked the card away too soon. She placed it gently on top of the reader, and this time it went through.
“I am going to need a full debrief later,” she said, gently hip-checking Aspen back towards the entrance. “But right now I need to focus.”
“Of course, and fine, I will accept that,” Aspen said, smiling widely at the couple as they walked past. “Thank you, by the way.”
“What for?” Rachel asked, handing a little girl a doggy coloring page.
“For everything,” Aspen said, blowing her an air kiss before heading back inside.
They didn’t see Noah or Charlie for the next several hours as the first relay race took place, followed immediately by puppy pile photos in the fenced-off dog park. Aspen ended up holding the leash for a scary-looking miniature poodle, and naturally, that was how Charlie found them.
“You know, pumpkin, for someone who says they don’t like dogs, you chose one of the more challenging ones to walk.”
“Oh, no, absolutely not. I was just holding her leash after the race,” Aspen said, frantically shoving the handle of the leash into Charlie’s hands. They were large and warm, with calluses that Aspen bet would feel amazing on their skin—when it wasn’t chapped from the cold.
How had Noah had this man’s hands on him for all these years and never wanted to sleep with him?
Reciprosexuality. That was why. What an interesting concept.
Aspen definitely couldn’t relate, but the more they thought about it, the more it made sense for Noah.
He’d had his fair share of hookups and relationships, but as Aspen rubbed their hands together for warmth and tried to subtly lean into Charlie’s space to steal his body heat, they realized Noah had never once made the first move, at least as far as Aspen had seen.
He would frequently return advances, but he never initiated them.
Aspen glanced up at Charlie. “Why did you wait so long to admit you were interested in Noah?”
Charlie hummed in thought as he looked out across the back lawn, taking in the dozens of folks scattered around.
“I think part of it may have been not wanting to upset the status quo. I don’t have many friends, because I tend to like dogs more than people.
Noah’s always been different, and I didn’t think it was worth risking our friendship over. ”
“So, what made you decide now was worth the risk?”
Charlie smiled, one of his dimples popping out as he looked down at Aspen.
“Your trial period has changed him. He’s talking about things like polyamory, and he’s questioning all the shit his parents put in his head.
I think he’s still figuring it all out, and when the opportunity arose, I thought maybe it wouldn’t hurt to throw my hat in the ring of folks who wouldn’t mind figuring things out with him. ”
The butterfly looped happily in Aspen’s chest, even as their stomach flopped around like a dead fish.
The way Charlie spoke about Noah was beautiful, and so much bigger than the silly crush Aspen was clearly developing on Charlie.
Charlie and Noah had been building something between them for years, yet it had been almost two months since Charlie admitted he was interested in Noah, and neither had pursued anything.
Noah hadn’t even told Aspen the conversation had happened.
“I’ve really liked getting to know you the past few months,” Aspen said slowly.
“But you don’t owe me anything just because I’m friends with or in a trial relationship with Noah.
I hope you know, and that Noah told you, that he’s allowed to pursue things outside of his trial with me.
I would never want to get in the way of you two exploring things together. ”
Charlie’s dimple disappeared as his lips slanted into an almost grimace. “I’ve really got my work cut out for me with the two of you, haven’t I?”
Aspen bristled, not sure what the heck that meant, but pretty sure they didn’t like—