Page 15 of Sugar

Juno threw up his hands. “Not to Jupiter. I mean, seeing it through one of those powerful telescopes. Where you can see the moons and shit? There used to be a planetarium near where I went to school, and during the summer, they had nights where you could go see the planets. I never had the money for it, but it was always something I wanted to do.”

“Hmm. What about Saturn and her rings too?” Piper offered. “They’re both out during summer nights.”

Juno sat up, almost clocking him in the face with the side of his head. “Hold up. You know people, don’t you?”

“I know people,” Piper confirmed.

Juno swallowed heavily. “You’re getting ideas, aren’t you.”

A small part of Piper wanted to deny it for the moment, but he couldn’t. He realized he’d do just about anything to give this to Juno, and so far, what he wanted wasn’t hard. He reached out and squeezed the side of Juno’s neck. “What else, sugar? What else would you see?”

Juno began to wring his hands—a sweet, absent little gesture of excitement, and Piper fought the urge to bring those knuckles to his lips and kiss them. “If cost wasn’t a problem, I’d pick the Northern Lights. But that shit’s all the way in, like, Iceland and Finland. I don’t have the budget, and I’m pretty sure I don’t I have the time.”

Piper bit his lower lip. He knew someone who posted photos of them all the time. Somewhere they could drive to. “What about Michigan? You can see them in the upper peninsula sometimes.”

Juno’s eyes went wide and watery. “I…I can’t. I can’t drive there. I can’t take the risk driving a car if it all goes to shit in the next week.”

“I can drive,” Piper said without hesitation. “And I have a friend who works at a small private observatory in Marquette with a really nice telescope.”

Juno looked like he wanted to cry. “You’re serious, aren’t you? You can make this happen.”

Piper nodded and met his gaze. “I can probably make this happen. But I am very serious, yes.”

“Would it be weird for me to kiss you right now?”

Piper couldn’t help a small smile. “I won’t say no, but please know I’d do this even without the kissing.”

Juno either didn’t hear those last words or he didn’t care because he crawled into Piper’s lap. His legs were too long for the couch, and the position was awkward, but he didn’t miss a beat as he cradled Piper’s face and pressed their lips together. It was soft and careful at first, then a little more desperate.

Juno was still young, his libido raging, and he was hard as he rocked against Piper’s limp dick. Piper hated his body for it. He’d only managed to get half-hard when he’d been sucking Juno off, though it was the most erotic he’d felt in a long damn time. But his dick hadn’t worked in two years, and he’d stopped trying.

But this was new. It was different. Having his arms around Juno, his fit, lithe body rolling against his own made him feel wanted. Needed. Desired. He shuddered and dipped his tongue into Juno’s mouth, who groaned and rocked forward against him.

“You’re not hard,” Juno said, pulling away with a small gasp.

Piper nodded. “I know. Like I said before, it’s not you.”

“Are you sure?”

Piper met his gaze, holding it tightly. His left eye wandered a little, but he didn’t draw attention to that. “I promise. I’ve been struggling over the last few years.”

“Space ruined your dick?” Juno asked.

Piper burst into laughter and held him tight. “It wasn’t space, and we can worry about it later. Making you feel good makes me feel good. Can that be enough for you right now?”

“I don’t want it to be like I’m using you,” Juno said very softly.

Piper eased him back and curled one hand around his jaw. “That’s not what this is. That’s not what this will ever be. You can’t use me for things that I’m more than willing to give. It’s a different kind of pleasure for me, and I like it just as much.”

“Okay.” Juno kissed him again, but the heat had fizzled. They touched tongues a few times, and then Juno broke apart with a series of small pecks over Piper’s neck. He nestled in close, arms wrapped around his torso, and he just breathed.

“You okay?”

“I am. I just…” Juno pulled back and looked up at him. “You’re actually serious about going to see those things with me.”

“I am,” Piper repeated. “And not just those things. Anything we can reasonably add to the list. If you’re going to close down your shop, then we have as much time as your eyes will allow. So let’s do it. Let’s hit the road.”

Juno’s chin trembled. “How, though? Your job?—”

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