It didn't take long for Alex to slick his fingers and slide the first into Michael. It wasn't like it had been that long since the last time they'd been together, but he didn't want this to be rushed. He didn't want this to feel like this was just sex.

Maybe a part of it was remembering Michael's comment about how he'd stayed. He didn't want to feel like that the next morning. He didn't want Michael to think that he had to leave.

Or maybe he didn't want to find out for sure that Michael was braver than he was.

He leaned in to kiss Michael's shoulder when he slid his second finger in.