Unhinged(Necessary Evils #1)(47)

“You remember all of it?” Noah asked, both sad for Adam and a little jealous that he’d escaped the torment of having to feel the way Noah did.

“I remember it all in that hazy way people remember things that happened a long time ago. But I don’t feel any kind of way about it. I can’t. I’m not built that way. But you are and I’m not going to judge you for how you get through it, you know?” Adam asked with a shrug before adding, “Besides, I tend to kill my problems, so there’s that.”

Once more, Noah smiled in spite of himself, just a little. “Can we order pizza?”

Adam met his gaze. “We can fly to Chicago and eat pizza at Lou Malnati’s if it will make you smile,” he promised.

Noah somehow both laughed and sobbed at the same time, his brain unable to process two separate but equal feelings at once. “I don’t want to put pants on,” he finally managed.

Adam leaned into Noah’s space. “Good. I like you without pants.”

He was close enough to kiss Noah but then hesitated, like he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to touch him. He cupped Adam’s face and closed the distance, pressing their mouths together in a chaste kiss. Adam looked relieved. Noah felt a little bit relieved, too. “I’m sorry about all this.”

“Don’t apologize. I want you here, with me, always.” He scanned Noah’s face, smirking. “Even covered in snot and vomit.”

Noah wasn’t even offended. He was sure he looked and smelled awful. “If you keep feeding me candy and pizza on top of this vodka, there’s a very good chance you’ll be cleaning up my puke again before morning.”

“Whatever it takes,” Adam promised, taking another swig from the bottle before using an app on his phone to order the pizza. “Let’s go watch this on the big TV downstairs. You can bring the blanket and your emotional support vodka.”

Adam bagged up the candy and took the comforter, too, stating his fear of Noah falling down the stairs. He wasn’t wrong. Noah clung to the railing, his steps wobbly. Once downstairs, Adam turned cartoons back on and wrapped Noah in his blanket burrito before sitting on the end of the couch and patting his leg for Noah to join him.

Noah knew he expected him to lie down on the couch with his head on his leg like they’d done last night but, instead, he just crawled into his lap fully burritoed. Adam seemed surprised, but when Noah rested his cheek against his chest, Adam just tucked him beneath his chin.

“Is this okay?” Noah asked hesitantly, even though he knew Adam would never say no to him.

“This is perfect.”





The next morning, Noah woke to a room filled with sunshine and groaned, certain his head would crack like an egg at the slightest touch. He felt like he had to peel himself off the sheets just to roll over. Beside him, Adam sprawled naked, face down with a pillow over his head. Noah had no recollection of why or how Adam lost his clothes. He couldn’t remember much of anything after he’d eaten his body weight in pizza.

Noah’s underwear was still on. If he’d had any kind of sex with Adam, it was either unreciprocated—which seemed unlikely—or Noah had put his underwear back on afterwards—which seemed even more unlikely given his inebriated state last night.

Adam could just like sleeping naked. Noah definitely didn’t mind it. Adam in clothes was hot, but Adam naked… His body was art.

Noah couldn’t stop himself from running a hand along the sleek expanse of his back, trailing fingertips down his spine, following the generous swell of his ass down one hairy thigh before moving back up to start the process over again. He loved touching Adam, and his chest felt full at the knowledge that, somehow, Adam’s fucked up brain had taken one look at Noah and decided his equally fucked up brain was what he wanted.

Yesterday had been one of the worst days of his life but Adam had chased his demons away. For now, at least. It was like he’d had a vivid nightmare that, upon waking, disappeared, leaving a lingering sense of dread. It wasn’t over. At some point, Noah was going to have to face what happened to him, but not today. Today, he just wanted to enjoy the peace, hungover or not.

He rose, kneeling between Adam’s splayed legs before blanketing his body over him. Adam didn’t even stir. Noah slid his hands beneath his chest, resting his cheek between Adam’s shoulder blades. The warmth of his skin bled into Noah’s, thawing the chunk of ice lodged in his belly for the last however many hours. That was where he stayed, letting the steady rise and fall of Adam’s back and the reassuring thud of his heartbeat lull him back to sleep.

Noah dozed there for a while before he felt Adam begin to rouse. His arm rose up to take the pillow off his head, squinting as the light hit his face. He tossed the pillow then reached both arms behind him to cup Noah’s ass. “Morning.”

He loved Adam’s sleep-soaked gravelly voice.

Noah placed kisses wherever his lips fell along Adam’s skin. “Morning.”

He gave Noah’s ass a gentle squeeze, then rolled, dumping him beside him on the mattress. Before Noah could even be mad, Adam’s mouth was on his, kissing him slow and deep in a way no two people should ever kiss before brushing their teeth. Especially after last night, but Noah didn’t care.

“Are you feeling better?” Adam asked, kissing his cheek, then his ear and his shoulder. There was no heat to it, no promise of something more.