Page 114 of Something Like Hail
“Oh.” Felix still didn’tseem to get it.
Did the idea not appeal to him? Then itclicked into place. The ex-boyfriend—whatever his name was—theundeserving jerk had never held him! His loss. Noah moved intoposition, lying next to Felix and pulling his hips near untilshoulder blades were pressed against chest. He wrapped an armaround the narrow torso and kissed Felix on the back of his neck.How could anyone not want to do this with such a sweet person?
“I love you too,” he said,determined to give Felix the sort of relationship he deserved.Whatever Noah’s true feelings might be, they were close enough tolove to make this claim. “Anyone would be crazy not to.”
Felix sighed, as if in the midst of apleasant dream. “Can I stay the night?”
He could stay this night and the next andthe next, as far as Noah was concerned. Then he remembered againthe reason why that wouldn’t work. His job. For the first timesince it had all begun, he felt a pang of regret. “Of course youcan stay,” he said, dismissing any potential consequences. The restthey could figure out later. For now, all that mattered was makingthis special person feel loved.
Chapter Sixteen
Noah awoke to findhimself being used as a body pillow. Felix’s arms and legs weredraped over him, his head resting in the nook between arm andchest. That was cute, except that Felix was a drooler. Noah’sarmpit was so wet that he expected it to squelch as he methodicallymoved away one limb after the other so he could slip free. He soonrealized that Felix was a heavy sleeper and therefore he didn’tneed to be so cautious. Noah gently rolled him to one side. Thiscaused some incoherent mumbling, but for the most part, Felixremained unconscious. The lucky dog. Noah remembered sleeping thatwell before life on the streets made him jumpy.
In the gentle light of a new morning, thosedark days seemed far behind. Noah used the restroom, went to thekitchen to make coffee, and wondered if his guest would like one aswell. While waiting for the coffee to brew, he worked on cleaningup the mess they had made the night before. During all of this, hecouldn’t help sneaking back down the hall a few times, just tocheck on the slender body with a tangle of blue hair. Gosh he wascute!
After the third such trip, he returned tothe kitchen and heard his phone pulse. He hurried to answer it andbarely had time to read the caller’s name. Tim Wyman. The voice onthe other end didn’t wait for him to say hello.
“We either do this today,or we don’t do it at all.”
Noah looked at his coffee longingly andwished he’d had time to drink more. “What?”
“The visit with Ryan,” Timreplied. “I know it’s a bad idea but I’ve talked myself into it. Soif you really want this to happen, it has to be now.”
“Okay,” Noah said. Hisgroggy mind scrabbled to remember what day it was. They couldn’tjust show up at the prison anytime they liked, but he was prettysure it was the weekend, so they should be okay. “It’s a two-hourdrive. When do you want to head out?”
“Now.”
“Like, rightnow?”
“Yeah. I’m ready. Areyou?”
“Sure,” Noah lied. Judgingfrom Tim’s tone of voice, he barely had this fish hooked. It waseither reel him in now or let him get away. They haggled over whowould drive, Noah agreeing that Tim should pick him up just to buyhimself time. Evidently he lived outside of Austin, which helped.Noah disconnected the call and dashed for the shower.
Five minutes later, he was out and wearing atowel around his waist. He had nearly forgotten about Felix untilhe returned to the bedroom. Felix was awake now and sitting up,squinting against the light of the morning, one eye remaining shut.Then he noticed Noah, smiled, and reached out his arms. “Come backto bed!”
“I can’t,” Noah said,inching toward the closet. “Work called. Well, not exactly. I’llexplain later, but right now, I need to get ready and go. I’ll beout of town for most of the day.”
Felix put on a pouty expression. Thenanother idea occurred to him and he smiled. “Do you have time for aquickie?”
“I really don’t.Sorry!”
“Oh. Can I at least see younaked again?”
Noah laughed and let the towel drop. Felixlooked him over and sighed. Then he squirmed deeper into thecovers. “What if I’m still here when you get back?”
Noah chuckled. “I’d love that!” Of course hemight have a client, meaning it would be even later. As he duckedinto the closet, he debated calling Marcello to cancel. Then again,he wasn’t on his boss’s best side right now. Not with the wholeRyan situation.
“I should probably gohome,” Felix said when Noah emerged again. “Make up with my sister.In my family, we never stay mad at each other for long. None of uscan stomach it.”
“Sounds like a good idea,”Noah said, wishing his family was the same. “Just let yourself outwhen you’re ready to go. There’s coffee if you want any. Oatmealtoo. Not cinnamon and spice, but I’ll grab some on the way home.For next time.”
Felix grinned and clutched a pillow to hischest. “I like the sound of that.”
“So do I.” Noah meant toleave. He even made it to the door, but when he turned around tosay goodbye, he struggled to tear his eyes away from the welcomescene. Forget about Ryan! Noah would call Tim and tell him the dealwas off. Then he would get back in bed and spend the rest of theday there. He had always liked this apartment, but with Felix here,Noah loved it. “Just a second. I’ll be right back.”
He went to the kitchen and opened one of thedrawers, then another, searching each and trying to remember wherehe had left the spare keys. When moving in he had been presentedwith three sets, despite only needing one. The tips of his fingerstouched a cold ring. Noah grabbed it, identified the right key, andworked it free. Then he returned to the bedroom, slowing on theway.
This was a big step. He and Felix were stillgetting to know each other. More dates needed to happen before theycould even consider cohabitating. Then again, he wanted this. Felixmade him happy, and this was a surefire way of giving back some ofthat joy.