Ramin swallowed his wine and stared. Noah was so nonchalant about it. Like he thought they reallycouldfall in love.
Jake shook his head. “Can I get triple presents if you do?”
“We’ll see.” Noah ruffled Jake’s hair. “You drive a hard bargain, buddy.”
If you do.
Could Ramin fall in love with Noah Bartlett?
Yes.
Ramin knew, deep down, he could.
thirty
Noah
Noah had forgotten it could be this way.
The ease of walking side by side with someone. The little smiles as you thought of each other. The unbridled joy when a new text came in.
It had been that way with Angela, for a long time. Before they drifted apart. Before they fell out of love.
Falling out of love had been its own strange ache. Noah hadn’t realized how long he’d carried it around.
But now his chest was light. His heart was full. He couldn’t stop smiling.
He really liked Ramin.
He really, really,reallyliked Ramin.
After their day together—and after Angela’s meeting with the lawyers—the Death March of Fun had resumed, so Noah had been limited to hurried texts, late night calls, or once, a quick breakfast together.
He couldn’t get enough.
Still, just knowing Ramin was thinking of him made it better.
Angela took them to museums, and parks, and famous landmarks.She took them to lunch spots she’d found on Google, pasticcerias Nonno and Nonna had recommended, a Michelin-starred restaurant she’d booked them reservations for even before she bought their plane tickets.
Noah loved every minute of it, even if he wished Ramin was there, too.
Jake seemed to wish the same. He kept asking Noah to text Ramin on his behalf. (Noah and Angela both agreed: no phone until Jake hit middle school.)
Angela covered her annoyance as best she could, but Noah could tell she was frustrated.
He couldn’t help it if Jake liked Ramin, though. Noah was on his best behavior, not texting Ramin at the table, not calling him, being focused and present during the day.
Nights were another story. He and Ramin would stay up way too late talking. Ramin would tell him about whatever remote work he was doing, what he’d seen in the city, what he’d eaten. They’d talk about nothing until it was Jake’s bedtime.
Then Noah would retreat to the bathroom with his phone and a private browser to do some research. He knew Ramin had more experience, but that didn’t mean he was a babe in the woods. He might not’ve had much sex with other men, but he had a data plan, some mental notes about what Ramin liked, and an anonymous account lurking on the r/kink subreddit, just to be sure.
He had a right hand for when his research got a little too stimulating, too.
Twenty Years Ago
“What’re you working on?”
Noah looked up from the charcoal portrait of Stacy he’d beendrawing for the last week. Her birthday was coming up soon, and he thought it’d be a nice gift. More personal than another pair of earrings from Claire’s, at least.
