Espresso in The Rain

Noah stirred awake to the scent of coffee and something warm wrapped around his waist.

For a moment, he was disoriented, his body still lingering in the haze of last night—of Elias' touch, his voice, the way he had unraveled him completely. Then reality sank in.

He was in Elias' bed.

With Elias.

His eyes fluttered open, and he found himself pressed against the man's bare chest, Elias' arm draped lazily around his waist, holding him close. The steady rhythm of Elias' breathing was oddly soothing, his body warm against Noah's own.

Noah swallowed, heart pounding as memories of the night before rushed back.

The way Elias had touched him. The way he had whispered his name like it was the only thing that mattered. The way Noah had let him.

His face burned.

Carefully, he tried to shift, but the arm around his waist tightened.

"Where do you think you're going?" Elias' voice was thick with sleep, his grip firm as he pulled Noah back against him.

Noah froze, heat crawling up his neck. "…Nowhere."

Elias hummed, nuzzling into the crook of Noah's neck. "Good."

Noah bit his lip. He wasn't used to this—waking up beside someone, the lazy intimacy of tangled limbs and soft morning voices.

It scared him.

Because this felt real.

Too real.

Elias pressed a kiss against his shoulder, his fingers tracing absent patterns over Noah's skin. "Regretting last night?"

Noah stiffened.

"…No," he admitted quietly.

Elias shifted, propping himself up on one elbow so he could look at Noah properly. His dark eyes searched Noah's face, serious in a way that made Noah's breath hitch.

"Then what's wrong?"

Noah hesitated. He didn't know how to answer that.

That he was afraid? That he didn't know how to do this—how to let himself have something that felt this good?

That he wasn't sure how long this could last before reality crashed down on them?

"I just…" He swallowed. "I don't want this to be a mistake."

Elias' gaze softened.

"It's not," he murmured, brushing a thumb over Noah's cheek. "Not for me."

Noah's chest ached at the sincerity in his voice.

He wanted to believe him.

But as Elias pulled him into another slow, lingering kiss, Noah couldn't help but wonder—

How long before this moment slipped through his fingers?