~ Noah ~

"So, no more photos of Bear Man?"

"No, Kyle, no more photos of Mac."

Surprisingly, Kyle hadn't started the conversation with that question, opting instead for 'what's up', telling me what he was eating - and probably hinting that I should eat as well - and only then not-so-casually demanding another photo of the bouncer.

"Even if I promise not to jerk off to them?"

"Even then, Kyle." I hopped onto my bed and made myself comfortable on my back.

A groan came through the receiver. "That's cruel, N. He is exactly the type of guy I think about in the shower. That tight white t-shirt stretching over those bulging muscles... It has me salivating."

"I'm sure it does, Kyle." He had a point. Mac was a very good-looking, very fit man with a large smile that could light up the room. And yet, he didn't do it for me. Too much muscle. And his thighs could probably rival an Olympic runner's. And I wasn't a fan of beards.

Dex on the other hand was clean-shaven. And his thighs were...

"So, how are you managing more hours at the club?" Kyle's voice saved me from plunging head first into dangerous waters; Dex had made it clear that he only wanted me as a friend.

I shrugged as I answered Kyle, even though he couldn't see me: "It's fine. I only had to move my Friday shift at the store; everything else stays the same."

"Still working mostly with Callian?"

"Yep." I pulled the pillow from under my head and fluffed it as best as I could without letting go of the phone, before lying back on it.

"You know, if you ever come visit me in Hepburry, you should bring him along. I'll show you two all the fun places and introduce you to my coworkers. Who knows? Maybe you'll leave with 'to bang a naughty movies star' crossed off your bucket lists."

"Yeah, 'cause that's on top of mine."

He chuckled. "Right. That sounds more like my list. But been there, done that. What is on your list nowadays anyway?"

I'd already opened my mouth before I realized I had no answer. I'd had goals - move out of Grandfort, find a place of my own, have enough income to pay my bills, and still save up - but no desires I could put up on a list. No bungee jumping. No holiday to an exotic place. No climbing a high mountain or diving into the sea depths.

"Kyle... I just realized I am a very boring person," I said as I moved to the edge of my bed and rummaged the drawler of my bedside table for a pen and paper. My fingers closed around both items and I pulled them out.

"Then do something wild."

"My version of 'wild' is going along with whatever you're up to."

"And you didn't learn anything from me? Shame on you, Noah Valentine! Shame."

"Well, I'm thinking about it." I uncapped the pen and stared at the first blank sheet in the notepad. And stared, and stared, and stared. Nothing came to mind, except for a list of tasks I had to do. Buy more apples. Don't forget to get the milk. Stop by Mrs. Bates on the third floor and see whether she needed a pet sitter for her cat Milo. My neighbor was crazily attached to her mixed breed and rarely left it alone for more than a couple of hours, but the woman needed regular check-ups at the hospital and those sometimes took a while. When I wasn't working, I'd look after Milo for her. I wasn't getting paid or anything, I just wanted to help the elderly Mrs. Bates out; I also enjoyed spending time with the cat who was an exquisite purr-er.

"Any luck?"

"No, but I think I just came up with a new word." I sighed and rubbed my temples. There had to be something I wanted to do that didn't involve necessities. Why was I feeling so lost?

"Want to know what your problem is?"

"Sure." I had no doubt he would've told me regardless of my reply.

"You're overthinking it, Noah. You do this with everything. Shopping. Eating. Dating. You don't allow yourself to view anyone as a potential partner unless they first meet the criteria on your imaginary list of 'he must have this or it wouldn't work out'."

Dex's smiling face flashed through my mind. Was I doing that to him as well?

Checking off some mental list and deciding not to pursue an attraction because there were too many points in the 'not going to work out' column?

I shook my head, my grip on the pen tightening.

The situation with Dex was different. I saved him, he felt like he owed me, and we couldn't work around that. I remembered the forced smile he'd had on the picture we'd taken last Saturday. Was it there because he'd been trying to convince himself that he'd meant it when he'd said he wanted us to be friends?

But his other smiles when we spoke had seemed natural so... What the Hell had gone wrong on that picture?

And had anything been going on or was it just in my head?

Kyle, Callian, Helen and Ben had all seen it, but no one had mentioned anything about Dex's expression. Granted, Kyle had been heavily distracted by the image of Mac, but he was still himself; there was no way he hadn't checked out the rest of the guys.

"And I bet you are doing it even right now."

"I was not," I denied half-heartedly.

"Yeah, right. Anyway, I got to get ready for a shoot. Talk to you later. And, Noah?"

"I love you too, Kyle."

"Not that. Well, yes, I love you, but what I was going to say was 'loosen up'. Seriously, dude, just try."

"Alright. I will." I absentmindedly scratched the scar above my right hip bone.

"You have no idea how to, do you?" He sounded half-exasperated, half-teasing.

"Suggestions? Other than 'get drunk and get laid'?"

He chuckled. "Let's see then. Ah, yes. Next time you see a guy you are interested in, talk to him without listing reasons why it's not going to work out in the back of your mind. It's nothing big, but... Baby steps, I guess."

"Easier said than done." I looked down at the notepad and realized I'd drawn a bunch of random abstract swirls.

"Promise me that you'll try, N."

"Fine. I'll try," I said, crossing my fingers that the next guy I ran into and found attractive wouldn't end up being Dex.

"Alright, I can go screw in peace now. Love ya."

"Love you too, K."

We hung up on each other and the first thing my mind did was to point out why I shouldn't be interested in Dex, one of the reasons being that we've only met a few weeks ago and the other how we met those weeks ago. Deciding to give myself a distraction, I headed into the living room where I pushed the sofa and coffee table to the side to open up a bit more space in the center of the room. Then I placed my phone on said coffee table, tapped the music player app, selected my classical music playlist, and pressed 'Play'.

And then I began to dance.

~ Dex ~

"Are they ready yet?" Misha peeked around his brother's body, but Caleb shook his head and closed the oven again. Even partially cooked, the steaks smelled absolutely mouthwatering.

"I'm raiding the fridge for ice cream then." The teen said and opened the fridge door. "You two want some?"

"Nah, I'm good," I said from my spot on one of their sleek kitchen stools.

"And I prefer to have my dessert after my dinner," Caleb said and took a seat to my left.

"Suit yourself." Misha shrugged, sitting on Caleb's other side. "Mmm, this is really good." He moaned, a happy smile appearing on his angelic face in between taking spoonfuls of chocolaty ice cream delight.

When I applied the word 'angelic' to Noah, it was because he'd saved me; when I was applying it to Misha though, it was because that was the best term to describe the boy's heavenly beauty: skin so fair it seemed to glow, a delicate, yet angular jaw, and clear blue eyes between eyelashes he'd covered in dark brown mascara as he thought their natural blond color made it look from afar as if he didn't have any.

"Too bad Ash couldn't join us," Misha mused when half of the content of the small container in his hand was gone.

"Can't believe he went out on a date," Caleb said, eyeing his baby brother's treat and probably regretting saying no to one earlier.

"Wait." Misha turned to him, the hand holding the spoon halfway to his mouth, but now frozen in the air. "Ash is out on a date? I thought he was too busy with Nightfall and that was why he was blowing us off."

"Nope. A date," I confirmed and added: "With Yadira. The nurse who was there..." The day I met Noah. Because as twisted as it was, that was how I always thought of that day: as the first time I laid eyes on Noah, not the time I almost died. "... The day I was almost run over."

Misha licked the spoon and tapped it against his lips. "Does she have curly hair?"

"Very long, very curly." The three of us looked at each other after my reply and chuckled. It was a well-known fact that my brother had a thing for women with a frizzy mane. Short, tall, big breasts, small ones, bubble butt or not - these things took second place to curls. It was a trend we'd noticed about him in high school and something we teased Ash about to this day.

"Do you think it's going to work out this time?" Misha got up and threw the empty container in the trashcan before checking on the steaks as well. "He's pretty much married to Nightfall, after all. Not that I could blame him." The blond plopped back onto the stool. "The place looks amazing. I can't wait to see it during working hours."

Being underage, Misha wasn't allowed in when there were patrons, but he'd been inside when the club was closed. Ash had promised him and his best friends - the Bennett twins - drinks on the house when they'd all turned legal. That wouldn't be for another couple of years, but all three teens were looking forward to it.

"Ash put a lot of work into that place," Caleb said. "But you are right: it was worth all the time and every dollar. I bet it will look even better if he manages to get a hold of the rest of the building."

Currently, Nightfall took up only half of the property, the other half belonging to a businessman using the space for storage. Ash had offered the man quite a large sum in exchange for his share, but the guy hadn't been interested. My brother's luck seemed to be improving though, as the man's business had apparently not been a success in the last few months. Ash was hoping the guy would finally agree to sell. It would mean even more work for him - and me; I'd have to set up a new accounting system that would accommodate whatever changes he envisioned for Nightfall - but it would give him a sense of fulfillment to finally have control over the whole building.

As for me: it would mean seeing my brother happy, which would in turn make me happy.

"Okay. Let's hope they're finally done." Caleb got up and opened the oven again. "Looks good to me," he declared after a brief examination and poking the steaks with a fork.

"Should've wrapped them in tinfoil," Misha piped up, getting to his feet as well to grab and distribute the plates. I took three napkins and a couple of forks - Caleb was going to use the one he'd poked the meat with - and placed them on the kitchen counter. Misha brought two beers for us and some fizzy, fruity drink for himself, then started slicing up tomatoes for the salad while Caleb was putting the steaming steaks on the plates. With both brothers busy, I sat down and took out my phone to check if the work-related email I was expecting had finally arrived. The screen lit up, my lips curling up at the wallpaper: it was the photo we'd taken the night Noah's test period had ended. When I took my eyes off the gorgeous guy in question some moments later, I saw the strained smile on my own face and remembered the promise I'd made to myself: friends only.

I liked the guy too much to let my messed-up love psyche ruin what could indeed be a beautiful friendship.

It was a sweet torment to see his smiling face every time I unlocked my phone and I knew it would be best if I replaced the wallpaper. And yet, when all of the food was served and I pocketed the device a few minutes later, Noah still graced my screen.

-----

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please vote and comment if you did!

Misha, this baby... I luv him so much. When I think of all the things I put him through later on... Good thing he's got his older brother, Dex and the gang to look out for him. And yeah, in the later books he's older, and yeah, one of them is about him and his love interest...

See you next weekend! ❤

PS: Totally random, but one of the cats we currently have is named Misha. However, it's not short for Mikhail like in this book; it's a pet name for Mishka which means mouse. He's white and grey. His brother is white and ginger and named Tiger. Should've been Scaridy Cat... Poor kitty is even afraid of slippers. 🙀