A/N: Hello, kittens! Welcome to my new old book! Confused? NOAH is a book I wrote a couple of years ago, but it's new for Wattpad. I decided to post it here for two reasons: one - I feel guilty about not giving you new content, and two - maybe editing an old book will get me into writing again...

Enjoy the first three chapters! ❤

~ Dex ~

I'll be in town next week. Do you want to meet up?

I kept staring at the message on my phone even as my feet carried me home. Writing 'no' and blocking Julian's number should've been easy. It was something I should've done right after the bastard betrayed me and broke my heart. But it wasn't that simple to erase the two decades of history that we shared. First as friends, then as lovers.

I should've known better by now, but every time he texted me, I hesitated. I remembered how good it used to be... Before he'd decided that I wasn't the most important thing in his life and moved out of Plymson.

And against my better judgment, I usually typed 'yes' as a reply to his texts. And even in the cases when I'd managed a 'no', he'd show up at my doorstep and I'd look at that familiar warm smile, get lost into those familiar brown eyes, and...

I shook my head as I walked, still staring at the text. My finger hovered over the N on the keyboard. A horn blared, I felt a pull at the back of my jacket, my balance was ruined and I fell backward.

Pain lanced through me as my ass and hands collided with the concrete sidewalk. The first thing I noticed was the drumming of my heartbeat inside my head; the second was the labored breathing. I looked around me. A small crowd had gathered, some with their phones out and aimed at me, others murmuring to themselves, and some talking... What were they saying?

'Oh, my God!' and 'Are you guys alright?' seemed to be the most common phrases.

Guys... Guys?

Plural.

A hand landed on my shoulder and I turned my head to see its owner, my breath catching in my throat as a pair of genuinely worried green eyes searched my face for... What exactly?

"Are you alright?" The guy with the worried eyes asked.

Was I?

I felt... Confused.

I remembered Julian's message, I remembered the pain it brought me as if my heart was tearing again, then a horn and a new pain - not as strong, and this time not metaphorical.

"I think he is in shock." The voice belonged to a curly-haired woman this time. She crouched down; I was still sitting on the sidewalk and the green-eyed guy was kneeling next to me. Then she asked: "Do you remember what happened?"

I looked about.

Most of the crowd had dispersed and the few people lingering around barely glanced at us. My phone was a few feet away, screen down. My hands and my ass still hurt. My brain was still a mess.

"I... Fell?" I tried.

The woman shifted her gaze to the green-eyed guy and then back to me.

I attempted to reconstruct the scene: me walking towards the zebra crossing, not paying attention to anything but the text, the loud horn, the pull, the pain after falling.

"I was about to get run over," I spoke again, my voice low. "And then," I turned to the guy, "then you pulled me back to the sidewalk and we fell."

He exhaled, his slender frame relaxing and a tiny smile manifesting on a set of beautiful large lips. I gulped, my throat dry as I watched them part to say:

"Thank God! You were so out of it the past few minutes, I thought you'd really had gone into shock."

A few minutes?

It felt a Hell of a lot longer than that as my brain tried to catch up, or more precisely to wake up from what felt like a dream. Did people usually get this psyched about almost being hit by a car?

I felt my face heat up under the gentle stare of the stranger who had pretty much just saved my life and who - unlike me - hadn't just gone through an embarrassing meltdown in public.

"He still seems somewhat out of it to me." The curly-haired woman told the guy I was staring at; I realized it was rude, but couldn't find the strength within me to look away.

"My name is Yadira Medina," she continued. "I'm a nurse at Plymson General and was heading there for my shift. I think you two should come with me. Him," with my peripheral vision I saw her point with her chin to me, "for the stress, and you for your hand."

"His..." I began, looking first at the hand that was still on my shoulder, then at his other one, which he was holding away from his body, the palm up and reddened with blood.

"Your hand!" I moved to kneel as well and reached for it just as his eyes rounded in a sudden realization.

"Oh, God! Work!" He jumped to his feet with enviable elegance. "I got to go." He took a few steps, then paused, those captivating green eyes on me still kneeling with my arm reached out to him.

"Do you think you'll be alright?" He asked me, and then: "You know what to do, right?" This time aimed at the curly-haired woman.

"Of course, but..." She began, only to be immediately interrupted by my savior:

"Good. I have to go. I'm sorry, but..." He was already walking backward. "I'm really sorry, but I need this."

He gracefully swirled on his heel and ran in the direction I'd just come from, his lithe form getting lost within the crowds, my eyes following it for as long as I could before my useless brain finally got into gear and I realized I had not even asked him for his name.

~ Noah ~

I ran towards the club as fast as my feet let me. I was a dancer, built for elegance, not speed. But I had to rush if I wanted to make it in time for the job interview at Nightfall. And I wanted to. I needed to, as my current part-time job at Marv's Groceries was not enough for me to pay my bills. I knew I could ask Helen for money if I really needed it, but my aunt had already helped me more than enough throughout my twenty-one years of life and I didn't want to be a burden. Successful as her dancing academy was, it was high time I took care of myself. Perhaps moving to a new town was taking my attempt at independence a bit too far, but what was left for me in Grandfort?

My father had left my mother so long ago, I didn't even remember him; my mother was always too busy trying to make it into show business to pay attention to her children; my brother was a homophobe; I'd keep running into the ex who'd cheated on me 'only that one time' or so he swore... Even my best friend Kyle had packed his bags and left to pursue a career in the adult entertainment industry of all things. But that was just the way Kyle was; he enjoyed sex, so why not make money out of it?

No.

I'd miss Aunt Helen and her long-term boyfriend Ben, I'd miss a few friends, but moving to Plymson was a good decision. I just had to turn my new apartment into my new home... Or, as things were now, concentrate on finding a second job and keeping said apartment so I could turn it into my new home further down the line.

The building that Nightfall was part of was now in my sight, but I didn't let up. True, I'd left the apartment early so I could be here early, but when I'd made my plan for the day, I hadn't taken into account the possibility of pulling an incredibly hot guy away from a speeding car. He looked so torn as he stared at his phone, the tension and sadness almost rolling out of him and taking on a physical form, and that was why I'd noticed him. Good thing too, because he'd been too distracted to watch where he'd been going.

Panting, I stopped at the back door of the club. Those had been the instructions. Arrive at the back door and someone would let you in for the interview. There were two someones there, chatting: a large, bear-like guy with a bushy beard and a man bun, and a woman with a short, military haircut and a tank top that showed muscled arms and a bunch of tattoos I would've asked to take a closer look at if I wasn't freaking out I was too late for my meeting with my potential future boss.

"I'm..." I paused to take in a breath as both Army Woman and Bear Man looked me over. "I'm Noah Valentine. I'm here for a..."

"Oh, yeah. The interview. Ash said to let you in." It was the woman who spoke, her voice softer than her tough-ass exterior made me imagine it would be.

"What happened to you?" Bear Man asked, nodding towards my bleeding hand. It'd clutched a bunch of paper tissues in hopes that applying pressure would stop the bleeding. As feeble as the trickle was, I had not managed to get rid of it.

"I fell." I decided to go with the short version. 'I fell while saving a guy from being run over' sounded like bragging. Or like something I'd made up, trying to impress them. I did want to make a good impression, but with my cocktail-making skills, not because I did what most people in that situation would've done.

"And you decided tissues would help?" The disapproval was obvious in Army Woman's voice and sigh. "Come on." She waved at me to follow her and opened the door. I walked after her into a narrow hallway, Bear Man in tow.

We took a turn through another hallway, then through a door, and found ourselves at the edge of a large dance floor.

"First aid kit," Army Woman shouted towards a tall blond man behind the bar, then pushed me - surprisingly gently - towards him.

"Take a sit," Bear Man offered, pointing at one of the stools as the bartender bent down to rummage in what I imagined was a cupboard beneath the bar top.

"In case someone gets injured on the dance floor," Blondie explained when he emerged with the first aid kit. "I'm Erik, by the way. So, what are we working with here?"

I showed him my hand and, after he raised an eyebrow at me, repeated my brief explanation from earlier.

"I see."

"Start by cleaning it up," Army Woman said.

"I know what I'm doing, Gracie."

'Gracie' - a gentle name and yet again something I wouldn't associate with her tough exterior.

"This will sting," Blondie - no, Erik - said as he patted my wound with cotton dabbed in disinfectant.

I cringed and jerked on instinct; his touch was light, but the disinfectant still stung the small cut on my palm, courtesy of me falling on a seemingly harmless pebble, lying on the sidewalk.

"Don't worry," Bear Man spoke, "we'll fix you right up, and then you can go to your meeting with Ash."

This was the second time they'd addressed their boss by his first name which meant there was a good chance he wasn't an asshole who ruled them with an iron fist. Discipline was good, but I strongly believed that a sound working environment required a dose of camaraderie not only between equals, but also with those higher up the ladder.

But even so, I couldn't completely relax. I needed a second job and I wanted this well-paying job with its potential for good tips. Besides, I'd taken a course in mixology and discovered it was something I immensely enjoyed.

"So I'm not late?"

Gracie glanced at the watch around her left wrist - yes, a watch; not the time on her phone - and shook her head.

"The interview should start in a few minutes, but Ash would understand if you are a bit late."

Bear Man's deep chuckle and large smile helped me relax another tiny bit.

"Yeah," he said. "Ash is a grumpy bastard, but beneath all the complaints, and eyerolls, and frowns..."

"And grunts," Erik added.

"And grunts," Bear Man agreed, "the guy has a heart of gold. Just don't say that to his face."

"We are kind of deceptive here." Gracie said. Erik had already cleaned my wound and she'd taken my hand and started wrapping a bandage over it. "Grumpy Ash is actually a good guy and so is this big ol' lump here." She nodded to Bear Man whose eyes twinkled with amusement.

"Yeah, he looks like the type," I said as I reclaimed my hand.

"What type?" It was Erik who'd asked.

"Like a grizzly bear on the outside and a teddy bear on the inside."

The three of them laughed, Gracie slapping Bear Man - now Teddy Bear in my mind - over his back before saying: "Yeah, that pretty much sums him up."

"Hey, if I'm a Teddy Bear, then you are Momma Bear 'cause you flip and go all protective when someone messes with your loved ones."

"Guess so." The woman shrugged, then grabbed two plastic bottles of mineral water from the bar and handed me one of them. "Drink some and let's take you to Ash."

"Erm, before I go, who are you?" I asked, turning to Teddy Bear. "I mean, what's your name?"

"Oh." He gaped only for a moment before letting out another deep, rumbling chuckle. "Mackenzie Callahan, but just call me Mac. Me and Gracie are two of the bouncers you'll be working with."

"If I get the job," I added, trying to hide how nervous I was, but I was sure the slight quiver in my voice had betrayed me. "I'm all patched up now, so how about you take me to your leader?"

"Don't worry," Gracie patted my back reassuringly then gave me another gentle push, steering me towards the wall opposite the door we'd came in through. "I think Ash will like you. As long as you have the right skills, the job is yours."

My skepticism must've shown on my face as she sighed and, still walking, added:

"One of the things Ash is looking for is someone who would get along with the rest of the staff and the other guy who applied? Well," she led me up some stairs, "let's just say we did not see eye to eye on some important issues."

She ushered me into another narrow hallway and my nerves intensified once more, my back going rigid.

"What issues?" I inquired, but before she could reply, a door opened and a very angry-looking, tanned guy in his late twenties popped out through it. He took two quick stomping steps, saw us, and halted.

"That the guy?" His grey eyes shot daggers as he gave me a quick, angry once over.

"Yep." Gracie put a hand on my shoulder and gave me yet another push. "Noah Valentine, meet Asher Bailey. And, Ash," Gracie continued, before I could react to the introduction with anything but 'Oh, fuck' going through my mind, "Noah was here on time, but he injured his hand and we patched him up. That's why he is a couple of minutes late."

Her boss' gaze flickered down, stopping only for a moment on my bandaged hand before he sighed.

"Come on in," he said as he turned around and went through the same door he'd stomped out of a minute ago.

I glanced at Gracie who gave me an encouraging smile and two thumbs up before nodding for me to follow Ash inside. I smiled back, hoping it masked my nerves, and entered what was obviously an office.

"Sit." His voice was still somewhat gruff.

I did as told, making sure to position myself all the way to the back of the chair instead of perching at the very edge. No need for him to know how nervous I was. Perhaps he would've seen it on my face, but his eyes were on a couple of papers that I guessed were printed versions of the CV I'd sent him. His next words proved my conjecture right:

"It says here that you've taken a class in mixology and that you have three months of experience as a bartender at a place called Karma. Why only three?"

"I moved out of Grandfort back in June."

"So, you left on your own accord?" His attention was still on the papers.

"Yes."

"And now you are working at Marv's Groceries?"

"Yes," I said again.

"And you plan to keep that job?"

It was a good thing he still wasn't looking at me, because I winced.

"Yes." Again, this time with a hesitant note, not because I wasn't sure I'd keep that job, but because I didn't know how he felt about his employees having more than one occupation. A lot of people worked two jobs, but that didn't mean their bosses were cool with it.

He lifted his head, those grey eyes targeting mine, and held my gaze. I stood still, willing my hands not to fidget, controlling my breath as his unreadable gaze penetrated me. I was too scared to blink.

"Do you think you can handle shifts at both places?"

"Mhmm," I muttered, barely opening my mouth, then cleared my throat. "Yes."

His skepticism was apparent in the lift of his right brow, but after a moment of silent scrutiny, he released my gaze with an 'Okay' and looked back down towards the papers.

I let out a silent breath and took the opportunity of him not looking at me to roll my shoulders.

"Because if you can't, I'll fire you," he added.

"Does that mean I'm hired?" I asked quietly, hope and desperation creeping into my voice.

"We'll see." He threw the papers on his desk and leaned back into his leather chair, his unnerving gaze examining me once more. "I have a few more questions."

I clasped my hands in my lap, wincing again as I unconsciously squeezed my bandaged hand.

"How did you get injured?"

"I fell," I answered for what I felt was the hundredth time today.

"So you didn't get into a fight?"

"No."

"What about back at your home town? Any fights? Any problems that might follow you here?"

"No. I left because I wanted to be more independent."

He nodded and for the first time, I saw something that could be described as approval emerge on his face.

"Are you always this nervous?"

The question caught me off guard and it took me a few heartbeats before I managed an honest:

"Not always. But I really want this job." And then I decided to take a risk: "And you are a bit intimidating."

He smirked, amused instead of angered.

"Do you have any questions for me?" He asked.

"I'm gay; would that be a problem?"

"No. So is my brother and three members of my staff. Two of them are dating. Gracie's girlfriend Jess is a waitress here. Gracie is the one who brought you upstairs."

"I know. She introduced herself, and so did Erik and Teddy Bear... Mac."

That earned me two raised eyebrows and I almost chuckled. Now that he wasn't radiating annoyance, it was much easier to talk to him and I realized I was a great deal more relaxed than when I'd entered his office.

"He just looks like the type," I said, not going into detail at first, but when Ash kept staring at me, I added: "Rough on the outside, snuggly on the inside."

"Mhmm," he muttered, obviously not impressed with my nicknaming skills. "Any other questions?"

"Well, I already know what your policy on dating co-workers is. Not that I'm looking for a boyfriend," I hurried to add. "I guess I'd just like to get general information on what will be expected of me."

He was quiet for a moment, musing over something in his head before he said:

"You are the most promising candidate, but I still want to see how you'll work with my team. We can start a test period - a paid test period - next week. You'll work under Erik as he's been here from the start. You'll have two weeks to show us what you've got. If you are doing well, I'll hire you permanently. After that, I imagine it will be pretty much like what you've been doing at the club in your hometown."

I smiled, almost all of the tension gone now. I knew I'd been good at my previous job. I'd memorized a lot of cocktail recipes and even made up a few of my own that had taken off; I'd also gotten a lot of tips, so, obviously, my customers had been satisfied with my work.

"Do you have your grocery store schedule for next week?" He asked.

"Yeah, it's on my phone."

Ash slid a sheet of paper and a pen over the desk and towards me.

"Write it down and we'll work on your hours for the club. We'll also go over payment for the test period and your salary, if you are hired."

"Tip policy?" I asked as I began penning down my schedule.

"No splitting," he said. "You keep what you earn."

My smile returned. Back when I'd worked at Karma all tips were placed in a jar and then split equally between employees. That had screwed me over since I'd had a couple of colleagues whose skills were less than impressive or they were just too distracted and tended to make the wrong drinks so they'd barely gotten any tips from clients. I was relieved I wouldn't have to suffer the same thing in Nightfall.

"Here." I handed him the sheet - now no longer blank - and the pen back. Ash perused it for a couple of minutes and then:

"Okay. Here's what we'll do."

-----

So, did you like the first chapter?

By the way, all the people and places I mention are made up. The only exception to this is Yadira, who I've named after one of my Patreon supporters as a thank you to her.