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“Are you listening to me?” Zach asked with a laugh.
“Of course, I’m listening,” Noah lied. His heart listened, but his ears may not have been paying close attention to Zach’s words. With a naughty grin, he said, “Tell me again, though. I listened but I might not have heard you.”
“I asked if you thought I should just mind my own business. Let Connor handle this shit himself. It’s not like Wayne’s a close friend. Maybe I step aside and let whatever is supposed to happen, just happen?”
Noah snorted. “Trust me, minding your own business is always much better than getting involved. I wished to hell I would’ve minded my own business instead of worrying about Moretti’s pathetic son. If I hadn’t been sucked into that bullshit, I might not be afraid of my own shadow right now. Being a coward is so damned time-consuming.”
Zach’s gentle strokes halted. “You aren’t a coward, Noah. The Moretti family’s bad fucking news. They do bad things to good people. Being concerned for your safety is a perfectly acceptable reaction when faced with that kind of evil.”
“Let’s get back to discussing Connor,” Noah said. “Forget what I said about minding our own business. Let’s talk Connor.”
“How about Cameron? Let’s talk Cameron,” Zach countered. “Have you been talking to him any? Has he been over while I’ve been working?”
Zach didn’t trust Cameron. But Noah thought he was way off base thinking Cameron could be intentionally doing him harm. Was Cameron actually concerned about his well-being? No, absolutely not. Did Noah blame him? Hell, no. Cameron was only a few years older than Noah and, surely, he had better things to do than babysit a grown man.
“No, he hasn’t been over, but I’ll probably have to give him a grocery list before long or he’ll get suspicious. Me starving to death might not look good on his FBI resume. I’ll make a list of the usual stuff and send it to him this afternoon.” Glaring up at Zach, he said, “Then you can take it all away like you did with my other goodies. You’re such a mean, mean man. Sugar is not my enemy, contrary to what you keep telling me.” Noah would never admit it to Zach, but he already felt much better since he’d stopped the majority of his sugar and caffeine intake. He wasn’t sure if it was the loss of the unhealthy foods or the reduction of his medication. It was probably a combination. Either way, his head was clearer and some of the paranoia he fought on a daily basis seemed to be easing up.
“That’s me,” Zach acknowledged with a smile. “Maybe you could just tell him you’ve decided to try for a healthier lifestyle and get him to pick up things you actually need. That way, you won’t be wasting food and money.”
“Nah, he’d never believe it. Hell, half the time I don’t even believe it. Did you know it’s been over one hundred ninety-two hours since I had a bite of chocolate?”
“Hmm, it has been a while. Maybe you’ve earned a reward.”
“Can it please involve melted chocolate and your naked body?” Noah asked with a sly grin. “Because I would lap that up like a kitten with cream, purring the entire time.”
Laughing, Zach answered, “It can definitely involve those things. I do love to hear you purr.”
“I like purring, so we should get along just fine, Doctor.”
Zach cleared his throat, looked away, cleared his throat again, and finally, looked back down at Noah. Noah knew what was coming. By putting Cameron off for this week’s session, he’d only bought himself some time. Zach didn’t seem like a jealous man, but he did come across as possessive.
“Go ahead. Say it,” Noah told Zachary.
After taking a deep breath, Zach said, “It’s time for one of your photo shoots this Friday, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” Noah answered, not intending to make it easy on his new lover. Zach needed to understandwhyhe did the photo shoots. Zach needed to respect his decision to continue working and, more importantly, still respect him afterward. Noah had a hard enough time respecting himself after a session. He didn’t need Zach judging him, too.
“I, uh, was thinking,” he stammered before he stopped altogether.
Noah waited…and waited. Finally, he said, “What were you thinking, Zach?” He tried not to sound irritated, but he failed. He couldn’t help it. Zach’s condemnation pissed him off.
“Well, it’s painfully obvious I’m not interested in sharing you with anyone, much lesseveryone.”
“It’s necessary,” Noah answered through gritted teeth. “And, before you suggest it, I won’t allow you to pay me for a private photo shoot. I’m not a charity case, Zach. I get it. You don’t like what I do to earn money. I don’t like it, either. We can agree on the fact it sucks, but don’t ask me to stop and don’t suggest you will pay my bills. It’s insulting and pisses me off.”
Zach coughed out a laugh. “Damn, babe, you’re a firecracker. Remind me not to ever piss you off. I don’t want to meet your evil personality in any alleyways.”
“Lucky for you, this building doesn’t have any alleyways and I can’t leave. You should be perfectly safe…as long as you don’t treat me like I’m fragile. When I’m with you, I’m all man.”
Zach reached a hand down and lifted the white towel wrapped around Noah’s waist, taking a quick peek at what was underneath. “Don’t I know it, babe. You’re definitely all man, but the problem is you’remyman.”
“Don’t ask it, Zach. It’s going to get ugly.” Noah hesitated and then added, “Don’t make me feel worse about myself than I already do.”
“What I was going to suggest was you ask Cameron about me doing the photoshoot with you,” Zach said calmly. “Me and you, nobody else. That should give the viewers what they’re looking for, right? I’m mean…I’m an okay-looking guy, right? We could even spice things up a little more than what you usually do. Go rogue on your subscribers.”
Noah stared up at Zach, not believing what he’d just heard. Zach would pose with him? Zach? He couldn’t have heard him right. That wasn’t possible. Zach was a respected doctor, not a man-child afraid to leave his own apartment. Noah remained silent as he had conversation after conversation on a continuous roll in his head.
Finally, Zach said, “I mean, if you don’t want me to, that’s okay too. I’d been trying to think of a way to make this work for both of us. You mentioned you weren’t crazy about having to do it and didn’t like the other men getting close to you, so I thought maybe being with me would be better. I’m not as hot as you are, but I do okay in the looks department. I guess.” Zach blushed. “Just forget I mentioned it. It was obviously a stupid idea.”