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“Congratulations!” Jax raised his empty beer bottle ina toast.
“So, what are you planning to do to escape the matchmakers?”
“What makes you think they’ll go after me? They don’t even knowI exist!”
“A babe in the woods, boys,” Parsons chimed in with a smirk. “College students are the biggest gossip mongers in the world. Their mothers and grandmothers and aunties are gonna know you’re single by the end of the daytomorrow.”
“Stop it! That’s just not credible!” Jax shook his head and ordered another beer and some loaded French fries.
“Don’t say we didn’t warn you,” McKoy said, draining his beer. “One more round, guys? Dave’s coming back from a business trip soon, and I want to be home when he gets there.”
Whoops and teasing followed that revelation, and before he knew it, Jax was heading back to his new home. He had updated his address with the post office and with his department, and already he had mail in the box when he got home. A card from Noah and his dad welcoming him home, and one from Jim, with photographs of the family. His mother had sent him a letter with a hundred-dollar bill in it, widening the smile he already wore from the other things his friends hadsent him.
It was a ritual she’d started with each child when they first left the nest, as she called it. Every time they moved, she sent them a hundred dollars for groceries, “Because you’ll forget to eat, and you need your strength to move.” He’d call her after he had a bite to eat.And then he’d FaceTime Noah.
“How was your day, Prof?”
Jax took in the sight of his lover sprawled across his bed wearing nothing but boxers, and his heart sang.
“Long, but it’s better now that I’ve seen you. How about you?”
“Papiand I have started the big clear out. I’ve never had to do it with him before, but I persuaded him to save the money he normally spends oncleaners.”
“Ah, free labor!”
“Isn’t that why our parents keep us around?” He laughed softly, then added, “We should be done by the end ofthe week.”
“So are you free for the wholeweekend?”
“I am.”
Jax watched as Noah’s smile turned seductive, and he wagged his brows. Playful Noah was as much of a treat as passionate Noah, and he needed to have him for more than a random weekend now and again. If Noah agreed to live with him, he’d have his wish. But he’d only just asked him to move in the night before, and he didn’t want to seem too eager or pushy. He was the older man, and he was expected to have better impulse control.
“I’ve been thinking about what youasked me.”
Jax let out a soft sigh. Was Noah reading his mind now? Didn’t that level of connection between partners take a longer time to happen? Whatever the reason, he was grateful that at least they’d both been thinkingabout it.
“And?”
“I’d want to pay my way.”
Not what Jax was expecting to hear next. He had no ready response aside from “No,” and he suspected that that wouldn’t go over well with Noah. But he didn’t want him paying rent. He wasn’t interested in being Noah’s landlord. He wanted a forever lover. Would Noah understand that?
Maybe you need to be clear, Jax.“Look, Noah, I know you need to be independent, and I understand that you don’t want to be a kept man, but I don’t feel comfortable with the idea of you paying your way. What does that even mean? I’m not asking you to be my tenant, and the thought of taking your money never crossed my mind.” He sat forward, needing Noah to understand. “I want you with me as my partner, Noah.”
“Don’t partners share expenses?” Noah lifted a brow.
“I suppose they do, but I don’t think it’s negotiated like a business arrangement. It’s an agreement they come to when they choose to cohabit with each other.’
“Well, if I choose to cohabit with you, I’ll want such an agreement.”
Jax sighed again. He wasn’t going to win this argument. “We’ll discuss all of that later. But the discussion would be moot if your answer to my invitation isn’t yes. So do you choose to cohabitwith me?”
“Yes.” A cheeky grin accompaniedthe word.
“Tease!” Jax chastised him.
He didn’t really mind because he’d gotten what he wanted. All that was left was the proposal. But that would wait. They’d have to see if living together would work for them beyond a night of wild sex. He didn’t think it would be an issue, but he would wait until he’d had a chance to prove that his theory was accurate. A Christmas proposal sounded nice and romantic. Four months was surely enough time to know if they were compatible outside of the bedroom.
