The little three dots came dancing at the bottom of their chat, a chat that flirting had entered and left.
Why was his heart beating so fast?
Why were his palms sweating?
Noah’s reply came back, and it made Quinn weak at the knees for all the wrong reasons.
Might have had something to do with you liking this.
And then that photo,that photo,with the topless Noah on the beach, with the sun highlighting every muscle on his toned body, from his pecs to his six-pack, to that V-line, dipping down underneath those red shorts, those thick thighs, toned legs, covered in a dusting of hair.
He sent it in the chat. So now here it was, in a private space, forced to be admired again.
He knew Quinn liked it!
Curse his clumsy fingers!
He hadn’t replied quickly enough, and he was making it obvious that he lusted over the photo once again. He needed to say something, anything.
I hope you know I liked that photo for the beach.
Oh, I didn’t think you liked it for any other reason.
Good. Because it was just the beach.
Yeah. Of course.
If Quinn were on a quiz show, and they asked him the colour of the bird in the blue sky, or the shade of the ocean, he would fail every answer. Because he hadn’t looked at the beach. Or the bird, if there even was one.
You should get some rest, Quinn. You’ve got a busy day tomorrow.
Quinn stared out at the dark room, lost in thought. After everything Noah said, their moment together yesterday, it wasn’t too late.
Want to come over?
He knew it was daring. Knew that he was playing with fire. Noah did his best writing at night. Judging by the way he talked about Hay, he did his best exploring at night, too. When the locals couldn’t whisper. Because if they knew he was entering Quinn’s apartment again, they’d gossip. Not maliciously. But speculatively.
Thudding heart pounding in his ears. No response. He shouldn’t have done it. He’d crossed a line, asking Noah over. In all honesty, he wasn’t sure where the bravery came from.
But then the dots appeared.
Typing.
Be there in ten.
And then Quinncouldn’tsleep because he was as excited as a kid on Christmas eve.
ChapterThirty-One
‘What took you so long?’
Noah buzzed in, because this time Quinn had locked the downstairs door, and he looked amused. His hair was messier than usual, and he was dressed in a thick coat and relaxed jogging bottoms. It was quiet in Hay and late at night, so Quinn was optimistic that he got in without being spotted.
Noah smiled. ‘Had to get dressed.’
‘You call putting joggers and a hoodie on getting dressed?’ Quinn said, taking Noah’s coat and hanging it up.
‘You’re not much better,’ Noah said. ‘Besides, I wasn’t wearing anything.’
