Jake giggled.
Ramin just blinked at her.
“Uh… okay?”
Angela’s cheeks reddened. An embarrassed smile slashed across her face.
Suddenly she seemed a lot less intense.
“Sorry. Just, my sister’s a lesbian, and she’s my best friend.”
“Oh… kay.” She might’ve been less intense, but Ramin still didn’t know where she was going with this.
They reached the fourth floor to let off Angela and Jake. Angela stepped out but held the door.
“Just, I wanted you to know I don’t have a problem with gay people. If I came across gruff today, it’s because of family stuff, and not anything you did. You’ve gone above and beyond to help us out, and I wanted you to know how thankful I am. And sorry if I ever made you feel unwelcome.”
Ramin could feel Noah practically shaking from holding in a laugh.
“Plus you have an awesome face,” Jake added.
That broke the tension, and Ramin managed a smile. “I was glad to. Really. And no worries.” It had never even occurred to him that she might be homophobic. Just… intense.
“Uh, have a good night.”
When the doors finally closed, Ramin let out a breath. “Was it just me, or—”
Noah barked out a laugh. “That was super weird. But she’s alwayslike that. She gets stressed and cranky and then gives the most weirdly sincere apologies.”
The elevator let them out on the fifth floor. Ramin led the way to their room, keenly aware of Noah at his back. He’d never been well and truly alone with Noah before. His back tingled. His heart raced.
This was not good.
“Here we are,” he said, way too brightly, as he tapped his keycard and let Noah in first.
“Oh, Ramin,” Noah sighed as he took in the room.
It wasn’t the fanciest room ever—Ramin had stayed in some truly ridiculous hotels for work over the years—but itdidhave huge floor-to-ceiling windows facing the lake. The last bit of daylight had turned the sky a murky blue. From up here, the rain rippling across the surface of the lake looked like the result of some giant child, twirling their finger in the water.
“Is this okay?” Ramin asked. The view was great, but there was still a problem.
A single queen-sized problem.
“I bet this’ll look beautiful at sunrise,” Noah said, turning back to Ramin. “Huh? Did you ask something?”
“Is this okay?” Ramin gestured around the room, toward the single queen bed.
Noah’s eyes softened. His voice dropped low and gentle. “It’s amazing. I can’t thank you enough. Really.”
But then he let out a little shiver. Rain soaked his shirt. The white fabric clung to his torso, translucent where it stuck to his shoulder blades and collarbones.
“You want the bathroom? You’re cold and wet.” Also, Ramin desperately needed a moment to reset his brain.
“So are you. It’s your room. You go first.”
Normally Ramin would’ve taarofed. Insisted Noah go first. Deployedany number of very effective Persian deflections to make sure Noah was taken care of.
But this wasn’t a normal situation, and Ramin desperately needed to escape.
