“Who was this guy?” Val, who had been suspiciously quiet, narrowed his eyes and asked, “Do we know him?”
Noah swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
“Oh, shit. Wedo!” Theo exclaimed. “Of course we fucking do. It’s not like you’re gonna screw a rando.”
“Noah?” Val pressed.
“It was Kaj, okay?” A wave of shame washed over him, and he ruffled his hair, annoyed.
Val and Theo remained silent for way too long, so he raised his head, only to find them staring at him with something that looked like pity and concern.
“What?” he snapped.
“Nothing,” Val said.
“What?” he repeated, his tone harsher.
“I was just thinking... Do you think he’ll tell Mads?”
“I don’t know if they talk about that crap, but they’re in an open relationship. It’s not like it really matters.”
“I get that, but—” Theo hesitated for a moment. “Mads is friends with Zach.”
Shit.He hadn’t thought about that.
“Maybe, just to avoid any further damage, you should just talk to him...”
Noah frowned, taking a deep breath through his nose.
“Just be honest with him,” Val suggested.
“Easier said than done.”
“I know...” He flashed him an understanding, weak smile.
Noah liked Zach. He really did, even if sex with him had never been like it was with Kaj the previous night. Even if he could never love him like he’d loved Kaj in the past. Zach was the best fucking thing that had happened to him in years, and the thought of hurting him made Noah sick to his stomach.
He hated the prospect of hurting Zach. And most of all, he hated that this was all his fault.
On Thursday, Noah finally met with Zach after two weeks without seeing each other.
They had been texting throughout his trip, sharing memes and photos almost every day—him of the amazing landscapes on the USA’s West Coast, and Noah of Rocket. They had also video called and, of course, discussed the yellowish bruise on his eye and the still visible cuts on his eyebrow and lip.
Although what he had done was always in the back of his head, he’d muted the noise from time to time, convincing himself that Zach would understand and not care about it. But who was he kidding?
“Hey, pretty boy,” he greeted, leaning on the doorframe as he opened it.
“Hey.” Noah smiled.
“I kinda missed you.” Zach stepped forward, cupping Noah’s face with both hands and joining their mouths in a slow kiss that had their lips molding like they belonged together.
“I missed you, too.”
“Good thing we have the entire place to ourselves.”
Fuck.
“I... I thought we could go for a walk? Grab a coffee or something.”
