“Yeah, I’ll come. Just, what am I even supposed to wear?”
Teresa giggled again. “We can pick you something nice to wear together. My treat. How does four o’clock at the Norbe Mall sound?”
“Four works for me.”
“Lovely. I will see you tomorrow, then, dear. Have a good night.”
Noah held the phone up to his lips and exhaled into it, pushing off the wooden lamppost. It was a rule of his to avoid Teresa as much as possible, but this was… an excellent opportunity to pretend it wasn’t the case while not having to actually be alone with her.
A congratulatory message from the city hall jerked him out of his thoughts, the screen lighting up with the notification. He opened it, skimming through the usual propaganda they sent out every month. Because of the Peace Week celebration, it was slightly longer and included a link to a raffle full of useless trinkets that he didn’t bother entering. Closing the text, he adjusted his playlist and resumed his jog back home.
Despite his body pleasantly tingling and his accommodating mood after his quick shower, he couldn’t conjure up his visitor tonight either, so he pulled out one portrait, settled it onto the easel and just looked at it. He knew every line he’d put down, every curve and splotch of color, all of it working together to bringhimto life, to render his breathtaking beauty, his perfection. If there existed someone who embodied all of what Noah wanted in a man, then it washim—his looks, the way he watched, even his silence.
Noah didn’t have a name for him, just like he didn’t have a voice or the impression of what his touch would feel like. He hoped he would know them all one day, that he would have the complete picture of the demon man, evenif he only lived inside Noah’s head and Noah couldn’t ever have him in reality.
Entranced, Noah kept his eyes on the portrait and got comfortable on his bed. He unfastened the belt of his bathrobe and coiled his hand around his hard cock, gliding his fingers up and down in lazy motions as he dragged his teeth along his bottom lip. Maybe he was crazy, after all, because he didn’t think it was normal to lust after something imagined in the way he did, but he didn’t care. He could function like a normal human being, so it was no one’s business if he had his fun at night, pretending to be watched by another man in the privacy of his bedroom and mind.
4
Teresa waved at Noah, noticing him the moment he entered the Norbe mall. She was standing by the gilded marble statue of a five-meter angel that loomed like a sentinel over the area of the escalators, an impressive structure that hadn’t been there prior to the end of WW3.
“Noah, dear!” she called out, her face beaming. The cream pencil dress she wore was topped with a black belt that made her waist seem thinner than it was, while a black sheer shawl billowed over both her shoulders and gave her an air of elegance. “What a downpour! I was starting to fear it wouldn’t let up and we’d have to change venues for tomorrow.”
Noah pinched his eyebrows together. “Why would we need to change venues if it rained?”
“Oh, my! Did I forget to send you the itinerary?” she asked, then simply dismissed her forgetfulness with a wave of her hand. “We’ll be showing the representatives around town… I do hope you didn’t have any plans for the day already?”
He didn’t, but did he really want to spend the entire day babysitting foreigners? Dinner was one thing, butknowing Teresa, she’d picked the most pretentious activities one could do in Lisbon so she could impress the visiting delegation. Then again, it would put him in a good position to hold it over her next time.
“I suppose I could rearrange my schedule,” he lied, pretending her request had troubled him. “I wouldn’t want to leave you hanging,” he followed up with, flashing her a smile he knew looked charming.
Chuckling in her signature little girl way, she held onto his elbow and guided them up the elevator to an outlet on the fourth floor.
“Do you have any preferences, dear?” She led them over to a stack of shirts with too many zeroes on their price tags.
“I’m not sure,” he confessed, since he didn’t really know much—if anything—about high fashion or clothes that cost more than his salary for three months. “I’ll leave it to you to pick something appropriate for the occasion?”
The satisfaction her expression morphed into confirmed how thrilled she was at his suggestion, though it also looked a little predatory. Still, she had an enviable sense of style, he’d noticed that, so whatever she decided to dress him up in would certainly make him look good.
“With pleasure, dear.”
Half an hour later, Noah was decked out in his outfit for tonight and tomorrow—a pair of white fitted trousers, a brown dress shirt with golden accents along the cuffs, and a light jacket that matched it in color.
“You look stunning,” Teresa fawned over him as he stood in front of the mirror and examined his fancy-looking self. “But seeing as we have another hour to spare, shall we get your hair done,too?”
There was no point protesting; she was going to drag him to do that regardless of what excuse he made. He didn’t think he needed a haircut, but she was offering, so it couldn’t hurt to get a trim. A further half an hour later, Noah had his sides cropped and the top part of his hair slicked back instead of sideways in a style that matched the overall pretentiousness of his outfit.
“Have you thought about growing it out?” Teresa asked on the way to the taxi she’d ordered. “It would look good on you.”
Maybe it would, but Noah preferred the no-fuss type of hairstyles. “No, I like it short. I imagine it would be a hassle to take care of if I grew it long anyway,” he mused, slipping into the car after her.
“You could have your future wife help you out with that… Or you could have it shoulder-length like mine,” she said, bunching together a few strands to emphasize her point.
Noah stifled down a shudder. A future wife was simply not happening—he would long be gone from this country by then.
“That’s still too long for me,” he replied, his tone a little clipped even to his ears.
“Well, it would take away from some of your boyish charm, I agree,” she tossed his way in a flirty lilt, brushing her hand against his arm.
