Chapter Ten
Sage woke first and watched Bryce as he slept.
Bryce was on his side, one hand under the pillow, the other on Sage’s chest. Sage didn’t move for a few minutes.
He continued to watch Bryce as he thought about what had happened between them.
The sofa. Bryce’s mouth on him. Tight wet heat and Sage’s orgasm.
“Morning,” Bryce said, voice rough.
“Morning.”
Bryce blinked at him, then at their hands. He didn’t pull away. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” Sage said.
They got up slowly and had separate showers, then coffee. The normal things they’d done before their relationship had changed course. Bryce bumped his shoulder by the sink, and Sage put Bryce’s mug closer without thinking.
By ten, they split for classes. Bryce had Bio, and Sage had circuits. He zipped his jacket, then checked he had his notes and the work he needed for his class.
“Lunch?” Bryce asked as they hit the door.
“Workshop at twelve,” Sage said. “I’ll text.”
“Okay.” Bryce hesitated, then leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to the corner of Sage’s mouth. “Have a good one.”
“You too,” Sage responded and watched him go.
***
The lab was a wash of fluorescent light and half-finished builds. The prototype’s LED refused to behave. Gage stood over it with a pencil behind his ear and a puzzled look on his face. He crossed his arms over his chest and sighed.
“Your board’s sulking,” Gage said.
“It’s the resistor,” Sage muttered. He swapped it, checked the meter, and watched the readout settle where it should. “Fixed.”
Gage made a ta-da motion. “Everest saves the day.”
Sage cleaned up the leads and taped down a wobbly cable tie. Work steadied him, and he needed it right then. Last night kept replaying in his mind, but being here settled him. He could live here most days if he were allowed to.
Gage leaned in, his voice low. “So. You and Bryce.”
Sage didn’t look up. “What about us?”
“Dan can’t keep his mouth shut,” Gage said. “The closet story’s doing laps. Just—you two looked…not annoyed.”
Sage checked his pulse with an annoyed kind of curiosity and found it normal. “We weren’t.”
“Cool,” Gage said and meant it. “Are you happy?”
Sage looked up. “Yeah.”
“Okay,” Gage said again and let it drop. He slid a packet of wipes over. “You’re bleeding through the bandage.”
Sage peeled it back, seeing a thin line of red where he’d caught it earlier. “I’ll live.”
“Try not to drip on the 5-volt rail.”
They worked. By noon, the LED chain behaved. The TA signed their checkpoint and told them to tidy. Sage washed his hands, re-bandaged the knuckle, and checked his phone to see Bryce had text him. Done at 12:15. You done?
Sage responded. Yeah. The lab problem has been defeated for now. Meet outside?
It took Bryce less than a minute to reply. On my way.
Sage packed up, slung his bag over his shoulder, and stepped into the winter day.
The cold air bit deep, and he shivered, pulling his coat closer.
Students streamed past, and he spotted Bryce cutting across the quad, black hair under a beanie, shoulders loose in his jacket.
He raised a hand without thinking. Bryce saw him and changed direction.
“Lunch line’s a mess,” Bryce said. “Walk?”
“Walk,” Sage agreed.
They went two blocks to a corner place that did soup in paper cups and bread that cracked just right. The cashier had her hands full, and as they waited to be served, they made small talk. Midterms. A stupid meme Ben had sent. Dan’s playlist ban. Nothing heavy.
They found a table by the window and sat close enough that their knees brushed under the table. Sage let it stay. He could feel eyes sometimes—real or imagined—and tried to tune for it. He felt fine, so decided to ignore it.
Halfway through the soup, a voice hit their table like a pebble. “Hey, Everest.”
Sage looked up to see two guys from one of his classes. They weren’t real friends. Just a couple of guys he talked to occasionally. One of them smirked in a way that asked for a reaction, which Sage refused to give.
“Spin the bottle, huh?” the smirker said. “Classic.”
Sage held his spoon and shrugged. “Classic. You need something?”
“Nah,” the other guy said, looking embarrassed. He nudged his friend, and they moved on.
Bryce watched them leave. “Is that going to be a thing?”
“Not if we don’t allow it,” Sage muttered. He met Bryce’s eyes over his soup and found the question there anyway. “You okay?”
“I’m okay if you’re okay,” Bryce said.
“I’m okay.” It was true, and he smiled at Bryce, who returned it.
The rest of the lunch went easily. They split the last slice of bread and left when they’d finished. Outside on the sidewalk, Bryce said, “I’ve got a recitation. You?”
“Classes, then lab work again.”
Bryce hesitated, then caught Sage’s wrist, and pulled him into an alcove by the cafe door, out of the foot traffic. He gave Sage a quick kiss, then asked, “Text me later?”
“Yeah,” Sage said.
***
Back in the lab, Gage raised an eyebrow and didn’t ask. The board behaved. The TA nodded. Sage went home early to shower off the smell of solder. He put his bag down, checked the place, the put water on to boil. He didn’t plan dinner. They could sort that out when Bryce came home.
The door opened twenty minutes later. Bryce came in with the quiet kind of tired that meant he’d been focusing all day. He kicked his sneakers off and leaned his shoulder on the doorframe, watching Sage move around the kitchen.
“Hey,” Bryce murmured.
“Hey,” Sage said. “Soup round two?”
“Whatever you’re having,” Bryce said. He crossed the room and pressed his mouth to Sage’s cheek. “You okay?”
“Yeah, actually I am.”
They ate at the table and talked about their day. Dan apparently thought they should crowdsource playlists now, which sounded like a bad idea. Lizzie had text a brownie photo with the caption protein and six laughing emojis. Sage sent back a picture of celery.
After the dishes, they drifted to the couch and sat. Sage stilled, then looked at Bryce and leaned closer to him. “Okay?” he asked softly.
Bryce grinned. “Come here.”
The kiss started soft and slow and then gradually deepened. Sage whimpered when Bryce’s hand slid into his hair, tugging on the ends as he pulled him closer. Sage sucked on Bryce’s tongue, feeling his body jerk, then kissed along his jawline before sucking a patch of skin on Bryce’s neck.
“My turn,” Sage whispered. He swallowed as he lifted his head and let his hand drift over Bryce’s chest.
“You don’t have to,” Bryce murmured. “I did it because I wanted to.”
“I want to.” Sage licked his lips. “I want to taste you too.”
Bryce’s eyes flickered between his and then he nodded. “Don’t try to take too much at once.”
Sage nodded and moved off the sofa and kneeled between Bryce’s feet. He reached up and, with Bryce’s help, pulled his jeans and underwear down. Bryce was hard, the head red and leaking, and Sage inhaled, smelling Bryce’s deep musky scent.
Looking up at Bryce, he saw he had his lip between his teeth, and Sage raised up onto his knees, reaching out to pull Bryce forward so they could kiss. “I want this.” Bryce nodded and watched him, his eyes hooded as Sage took hold of his hard cock and stroked it.
“You’re thicker than me.”
“You’re longer.” Bryce hissed, his hips arching off the sofa when Sage tightened his grip on his cock. “I like it tight and a twist at the head.”
Sage nodded and did what Bryce had said, hearing him moan. Bryce moved his legs farther apart, and Sage leaned over his cock, taking another deep breath. He swallowed, looked up at Bryce, then wrapped his fingers around the base of his dick and took the velvety head into his mouth.
Bryce’s taste flooded his senses. He thought he would be prepared for it, but he wasn’t. He pulled off, licked his lips, and sucked on the head, letting his tongue roam around the soft glans. Bryce moaned and bucked, then muttered, “Sorry.”
Sage didn’t respond. He continued to suck the head, taking more of Bryce into his mouth. Something he never thought he’d want to do, but now he was, he wanted more. Moaning, he let Bryce’s dick slip from his lips, then kissed down the hard length. “You like your balls being played with?”
“Yeah. Pull and tug them. I like that.”
Sage took them in his hands and did what Bryce said he liked, hearing Bryce groan loudly. He leaned down and stared at them, swallowing hard at the thoughts running through his head. Pushing them away, he leaned in and licked over the wrinkled skin, only pulling back with Bryce whimpered his name.
“Okay?” Sage asked.
“You don’t have to.”
“I want to.” Sage returned to Bryce’s nuts and licked them again, feeling them tighten. He knew what he liked, so he did it to Bryce, hearing his moans and groans and the way Bryce whispered his name. It told him he was doing it right, and that gave him the confidence to keep going.
Licking his way back up Bryce's cock, he sucked on the head, then took more into his mouth. He felt the way his lips stretched around Bryce’s thick width, his saliva running down the length, and he lifted up, wiped his mouth and sucked him back inside.
He bobbed his head, hearing Bryce’s whimpers, felt his body shake and tremble.
Bryce’s hand held his head, his hips stuttering, then he gasped, “Close.”
Sage moaned and rubbed his own hard dick, then quickly pulled it out of his jeans and began stroking it as he sucked on Bryce’s.
“You’re jacking off?” Sage looked up to see Bryce watching him. “Shit, that’s hot.”
Sage didn’t respond. He couldn’t with his mouth full of Bryce’s dick.
He bobbed his head, sucked harder, and stroked his own hot flesh until Bryce shouted, “Sage!” The first splash of Bryce’s come hit his tongue, and he paused as the taste hit him.
Swallowing, he didn’t move away. He sucked harder, swallowing Bryce’s come as it flooded his mouth.
Seconds later his own orgasm hit, and his body shook as waves of pleasure rushed over him.
When he opened his eyes, he had his head on Bryce’s thigh, with Bryce’s fingers sliding through his hair. He lifted his head and blinked at Bryce, seeing a soft look on his face. “Hey.” Sage swallowed and looked at his hand covered with his come and stood on shaky legs. “Let me clean us up.”
In the bathroom, he looked at himself in the mirror and smiled when he saw Bryce come in after him. “Are you okay?”
Nodding, Sage cleaned up and then turned to Bryce. “I like it.”
“It’s a surprise, isn’t it?” Bryce came over and kissed him, then held him close. “I want to do that to you again.”
“Yeah?” Sage slipped his arms around Bryce’s waist and rested his head on his shoulder. “I wasn’t sure if I would like it. I’ve always wanted women, and now I want you.”
“I know what you mean. It’s a bit of a shock discovering that about yourself when you thought you had it all figured out.”
Sage nodded and kissed Bryce’s neck. “I like figuring it out with you.”
“Me too.”
Sage sighed and closed his eyes and let Bryce hold him. Yeah, he could figure this out with Bryce.