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“But that I look like the type of guy who wouldn’t want too many friends?” I clarify. “Maybe you are right. I do have a best friend, though. You probably saw her during the exhibition.”

“Oh, is she the one who handled the press with you?” he asks.

I nod. “Lynn. To be honest, she probably is my only friend, so your take isn’t completely wrong.”

Noel just shrugs. “Mateo and Ster are my only true friends. I like my co-worker and my roommates, but they are just acquaintances.” He pauses. “Quality over quantity, you know?”

“That’s one way to put it,” I chuckle. “I do enjoy the silence,” I admit. “And to just spend a quiet evening at home.”

“Not the party guy, huh? Figured.”

“And you?”

“I just work at a club, but I hate clubbing.” He grimaces. “My dream place is a small cottage in the desert or at an empty shore by the ocean.”

Here it is again, the slight melancholy around him. “Hm, I can see how that would be alluring.”

At 2 a.m., DeeDee closes the bar, and we are forced to leave. It’s about time anyway. “Well then,” Noel says. “We are seeing each other—”

“I am not going to leave you stranded here,” I say. “I am taking a taxi. I will make sure to drop you off at your place.”

He furrows his brows. “Then you know where I live.”

“I also know where you work and where you hang out,” I chuckle.

Noel sighs. “You are right. I wasn’t particularly careful, huh?”

“Technically not,” I say.

“Sterling would kill you if you did something.” He shrugs before getting into the taxi. “I guess it’s okay.”

And I guess we need to have a talk eventually, about being more careful around someone who is technically still a stranger. Well, at least I can drop him off safely now. Noel doesn’t live toofar from his workplace. The area of the city isn’t as bad as where his bar is located, but it’s not too pleasant either. I am glad he agreed to let me take him home.

I don’t push him anymore, however. When he gets out, I decide not to be too overbearing and accompany him to his door. He doesn’t seem like the type of person who would want that.

Or is he?

Noel walks to the door of his apartment complex slowly, turning around to gaze back at the cab. There is this vulnerable look in his eyes again. Fuck, I am goner when he looks like that, totally under his spell.

I unbuckle my seat belt. “Please wait for me here,” I tell the driver, before making it out of the car.

Noel’s eyes widen when he sees me, stopping in his tracks. Once close to him, I take his hand, gently squeezing it.

“Did you have fun this evening?” he asks.

“It was a great first date,” I say.

“So… it was a date, wasn’t it?”

I smile. “I guess we can call it that.”

To my surprise, Noel suddenly wraps his arms around me, leaning his forehead against my chest. I am not sure what made him act like that, but once again, he is being surprisingly vulnerable. I wrap my arms around him, holding him. I can feel him letting out a couple of shaky breaths.

When he draws back, he looks close to crying. I grab his face between my hands and look into his beautiful eyes. It looks like the doors to his soul are open right now. “Are you working tomorrow?” I ask.

“I have a night shift,” he says.

“Tell me when you are home safely afterwards?”