Ulric sucked in a shaky breath, his eyes growing wide. “But that’s—”
Gage kissed his back. “See, I don’t care what you look like. I mean, I care, but you look fine to me.”
“I don’t look great,” Ulric muttered.
“Then do something about it. But it’s not something I need you to do. I’ll be here regardless.” Gage snuggled against him, holding him tight, trying to convince him that he was perfect just the way he was.
“Let me—” Ulric swallowed. “Let me think about it.”
“Okay.” Gage brushed his knuckles along Ulric’s jaw, stroking his shoulder. Just small touches to show he cared. “Mind if I poke around on your TV?”
Ulric shrugged, looking down at himself. “Go ahead.”
Gage kissed the back of his head. It was a lot for Ulric to absorb—Gage understood. And Ulric would need time. So Gage pulled off his own shirt and tucked it under Ulric’s chest, as an exchange for the shirt Ulric had given him.
Then he left Ulric’s bedroom quietly, hoping that Ulric would take his words to heart.
15
Burn
When he was properly dressed, his dignity scraped back together, Ulric stepped out of his bedroom. The house was quiet. Night had fallen, cloaking everything in shadow.
Neither of Gage’s rooms were lit. The bathroom was dark, and so was the living room. Ulric assumed that Gage had gone out, all the way until he saw light from the TV flashing across the couch.
Gage was sitting alone, his gaze transfixed on the screen. Had he silenced the TV?
Curious, Ulric padded down the stairs. Then came a soft groan—not from Gage. And a quiet, rhythmic slapping began.
Oh.
Ulric froze, his face starting to burn. He hadn’t meant to intrude on that. He hurried off the stairs, halfway to the kitchen when Gage said, “Hey.”
His voice had turned husky, a sweet rasp that curled down Ulric’s spine. Ulric’s breath snagged in his throat. “Yeah?”
“Come over here for a sec. Watch this with me.”
Ulric wasn’t sure he’d heard right. Watching porn with Gage? Was Gage serious? Ulric didn’t even like omegas that way.
But if this meant that Gage was going to jerk off... Ulric couldn’t resist the urge to peek. He made his way back to the couch, his throat dry. “What’re you watching?”
Gage nodded at the screen. “I found this in one of your folders.”
Ulric’s stomach dropped. “What?”
“You said I could poke around on this.” Gage raised his eyebrows. “Should I not have?”
Ulric couldn’t move. He had a few lewd movies stored on the TV—some were his favorites, some he’d saved to watch later.
None of them contained any omegas at all. Had Gage noticed that? He had to have, if he was halfway through the current movie.
“You’re not...” Ulric tried to gesture with his hands. “You’re not watching something else?”
Gage shrugged and grabbed the remote, pausing the video. It froze with one alpha’s cock halfway into another alpha’s ass, both of them looking like they were on the verge of blowing their loads.
It was one of Ulric’s favorites. Did Gage... find it weird?
“Sit down.” Gage patted the couch next to him.
Woodenly, Ulric planted himself on the couch. What were the chances of Gage actually jerking off to this? Probably close to zero. Disappointed, Ulric glanced at Gage’s pants. Was that his bulge...?
“You like alphas,” Gage said quietly, meeting his eyes. “Not omegas?”
Ulric’s face scorched. He must’ve been an idiot, if he thought he could keep that a secret from Gage. “I like omegas as friends. Like—Like Flores. He’s married to one of the firefighters.”
“You wouldn’t marry one, though?” Gage looked thoughtful.
Ulric huffed. “Funny story—I was also engaged to Flores.”
Gage’s eyebrows crawled up. “You were? What happened?”
“Arranged marriage some years back. His alpha crashed the wedding. I was so jealous.”
“Because he had an alpha?”
Ulric’s face betrayed him with all that heat. He looked at his hands, folding his fingers together. “Does it matter?”
“Yeah.” Gage shuffled closer, bumping their arms together. “Why didn’t you just find an alpha?”
“No one wants this face,” Ulric hissed, his old wounds reopening. “I had one, and he left me for an omega. He said I’m too—”
Ulric looked down at himself, wishing this wouldn’t keep coming up. He needed to shed some weight, he needed to just... look normal.
“Ulric.” Gage leaned in, kissing his cheek. “You’re perfect.”
“Fuck off.” Ulric stood, suddenly angry with himself for being so hopeful. He wanted Gage. He would give just about anything to suck Gage off, and it hurt that Gage kept saying shit like that. Because they would be friends, and nothing else.
Gage caught his hand, yanking him back. “Wait.”
“Quit asking me to watch porn with you,” Ulric snapped. “You don’t even like this anyway.”
“I don’t mind trying it.”
Fuck. Ulric closed his eyes, his chest tight. He knew the risks. He knew the reasons why he shouldn’t get closer to Gage, and yet... he kept lapping up all the intimacy Gage gave him, desperate for more.
“What do you want?” Ulric asked, his heart sore.
“Sit with me,” Gage murmured. “I want to understand.”
He squeezed Ulric’s hand. Ulric swallowed hard, sinking back onto the couch.
“Let’s be bros.” Gage leaned into him. “We can jerk off to the same things, right?”
Fuck, fuck. Ulric wasn’t ready for this. Especially not for Gage to find out what things made him come. “You do it. I’ll just... I’ll just watch.”
Gage huffed. “It doesn’t work that way.”
No, it didn’t. Ulric squirmed, tempted to say yes. Just to see Gage’s cock. He glanced up to find Gage watching him, Gage’s eyes warm, his lips full, looking ever so soft. Ulric’s throat tightened. He wanted a kiss from Gage, too. He’d been dreaming about it, he’d imagined Gage kissing him just a bit further to the left, he’d imagined turning his head so their lips met.
There was another way to get a kiss from him. It wouldn’t be a real kiss, but...
Ulric wet his
