Page 50 of Something Like Hail

Noah shrugged. “I’d feel lucky if a guy likeHarold noticed me, even for a little bit.”

“How sweet,” Marcello said.“You really do care for him, don’t you?”

“Yes. It’s not just thathe’s handsome. He seems like a nice guy, and he makes me laughand—You know how adorable it is when a guy has a dog? Harold islike that with his house. He values it more than anything, eventhough he could have the world. Don’t you think? If Harold wantedto marry some rich guy or backpack across the country or get animpressive job, he could. I figure Harold could have whatever andwhoever he wants, but he chooses to stay at home, building modelsand getting high.”

“And you find thisendearing?”

“Not many people understandhow precious a home is. When you don’t have one, sometimes it’s allyou can think about.”

Marcello nodded thoughtfully. “I oftenwonder if attraction is based on us recognizing what we ourselveslack.”

“Everyone wants to feelcomplete,” Noah said.

“I suppose so.” Marcelloclapped his hands together. “Very well! You shall have your date.At another time. I’m tired of competing with these other boys, bothpast and present. You’re supposed to be my date!”

Noah pantomimed clocking in. “I’m allyours.”

“All but one part,”Marcello said. “It sounds as though your heart is already spokenfor.”

True enough. Noah wasn’t sure if what hefelt could be called love, but adoration, affection, infatuation,and so much more kept pulling him toward one destination. He onlywished he knew how Harold would react once he got there.

Chapter Eight

Noah shifted to the right where sunlightmade the sheets glow. He let this warm his face, entertaining allthe memories he had made. Marcello had flown him to New Orleans, aspromised, and after an amazing meal, walked with him through thestreets of the French Quarter, pointing out significantarchitecture and telling the most scandalous stories of localhistory.

Not wanting to leave, they checked into ahotel (a suite!) and spent the next day shopping, eating, andplaying tourist. They had arrived back in Austin late last night.Noah felt recharged. More than that, he felt cleansed. His past wasfinally behind him, the future full of promise. Especially thecoming evening. With that in mind, he rose from bed and consideredhis little room in Jerusalem. He needed to put away the new clothesMarcello had bought him and find a place for the goofy souvenirs.What was he going to do with a costume mask or a jester’s hat? Ithad been a long time since Noah owned anything frivolous.

First he decided to shower and eat, and seeif the shelter needed help. They did. New beds had arrived, meaningmany of the old frames had to be taken apart and the more tatteredmattresses thrown away. Noah was glad to be of use. He hadn’tworked for more than a week. As fun as his trip to New Orleans hadbeen, he didn’t leave the city feeling fulfilled.

By late afternoon when the work was finallydone, Noah was ready for a little recreation. He had worked upenough of a sweat to justify another shower. Once back in his room,he felt his phone vibrate. Noah picked it up, grinningautomatically when he saw the text message was from Harold. Had heheard the news? Did he know what tonight was going to bring?

Hey! I heard you’re back in town. Are you athome?

Yup, Noah texted back. He sat on the bed.Did you miss me?

Yeah. I really did. What are you doing?Busy?

Just hanging out,Noah texted, eyes darting up a line to reread it.Harold had missed him!What aboutyou?

I’m parked outside your place. I was in thearea. Wanna hang out?

No! Well, yes, but this was bad! Haroldwasn’t waiting outside the shelter. No doubt he was at the nearbyapartment complex and wondering which door belonged to Noah. Theanswer, of course, was none of them.

Bad time?Harold texted.

Notreally, Noah responded.I’ll be right out. Just give me a few minutes.He’d need more than that. Currently he was wearingnothing but his underwear. He stood and grabbed a shirt, but beforehe could put it on, another text distracted him.

No invite? I wanna see your place.

His fingers flew torespond.It’s too messy.

You’ve seen where I live. It can’t be muchworse than that.

Next time? I’ll be out ina minute.Noah tossed the phone on the bed,ignored it as he finished getting dressed, and hesitated despitethe time crunch. He wanted to look nice, not just grab an outfithaphazardly. He ended up changing shirts twice. Then he struggledto locate his wallet and keys. Once he finally found them, he felthimself sweating again. What a disaster! He should be reveling inthe fact that Harold had sought him out this time, hadmissed him, instead ofscrabbling to maintain another lie. Did the apartment complex haveany vacancies? If so, maybe after another week or two of work, hecould get a place there and bring some truth to this ridiculousdeception.

Noah rushed from his room and the shelter,rounding the corner of the busy street and aiming for a quieterneighborhood. How much time had gone by? Twenty minutes? More? Hechecked his phone again, seeing a text from a few minutes ago.

Should I go? We can meet later.