Page 84 of Something Like Hail

Edith was the most likely answer. Noah felta pang of guilt. The social worker had always worried about him,and done her best to help when he was still at the shelter. Theyhad stayed in touch after he moved out but with decreasingfrequency. He told himself that she had more pressing concerns,other people she needed to help, when really he wanted to distancehimself from his own past. Now he questioned that decision. Noahchecked his voicemail, and sure enough, Edith’s lightly accentedEnglish politely asked him to stop by the shelter at his earliestconvenience.

He made a note to do so, then went to take ashower. When getting dressed, he decided on a casual T-shirt andjeans, again not wanting to feel like he was working that night. Heput on some music, made a salad, and ate it while catching up withTV shows he liked. He still had time to spare, so he searchedNetflix for documentaries on gaming, figuring it would at leastgive him and Felix something to discuss if their date gotawkward.

He found one, but struggled to maintain hisfocus while watching it because he felt… Nervous? About going on adate? He grinned and decided to embrace the sensation. Noah hoppedup, went to check his hair, floss, brush his teeth, and put oncologne. He kept the casual clothes and watched the clock, decidingto leave early in case of unexpected traffic. He reached thecommunity college with time to spare. His heart was actuallythudding as he circled the campus, trying to guess which door Felixwould exit from.

This wasn’t love, or even a crush, becausehe knew too little about this person. Still, it was kind ofexciting. Anything could happen. Felix might not even show up! Buthe did. After what might have been his tenth loop, Noah spotted himstanding next to the curb, wearing a black dress shirt while bitinghis bottom lip and looking slightly panicked. Noah parked the trucknext to him and hopped out, intending to open the passengerdoor.

“Wow,” Felix said, eyessparkling, but for the vehicle instead of Noah. “This is just like…I bet you’re a big shot movie producer. You’re just trying toimpress me, aren’t you?”

Noah looked to the rusty truck, then back tohis date. “Are you making fun of me?”

“No! It’s like the videoforMaterial Girl.You know how in it Madonna doesn’t like guys who try to impress herwith money, so the movie producer pretends he’s poor just to gether in bed. Her fault for having such weird standards.” Felixgrimaced. “You don’t know what I’m talking about, doyou?”

Noah decided to spare him furtherembarrassment by ignoring the question. “Are you a big Madonnafan?”

“Yes! Although I likeBritney more, and Lady Gaga is the absolute best! Lately I’ve beenlistening to a lot of Beyoncé. Have you heard her latestsingle?”

“Sure,” Noah said, mostlyso the topic wouldn’t be drawn out further. “Hop in.”

Felix climbed into the truck. Noah shut thedoor, grinned at him to make him blush, and went around to thedriver’s side.

“Ready?” he asked oncebehind the wheel.

“Actually, I have onequestion.”

Noah’s hand was on the ignition, but he letit drop. “Okay.”

Felix’s brow knotted up. “What’s yourname?”

Noah laughed in surprise. “You don’t know myname and you agreed to go on a date with me?”

“I should have lookedcloser at your credit card,” Felix said. “I usually try to remembermy regulars’ names, but it was your first time, and I—”

Was nervous about leavinghis phone number, but Noah decided to spare his feelings again.“You were busy drawing that awesome cat, which Ilovedby theway.”

Felix perked up. “Really?”

“Yeah.” He extended a hand.“I’m Noah Westwood.”

“Felix Ramos,” came thereply.

The hand that touched his was warm and alittle sweaty. The fingers were dainty and the grip gentle. Most ofall, it felt strangely intimate. Despite all the things Noah did ona regular basis, somehow this simple gesture felt more significant.He let go, despite not wanting to, and moved his hand back to theignition. “Ready?”

“Are we going to Bottoms1UP?”

“Yeah! You still want to,right?”

Felix winced. “There’s something I need totell you. I’m not twenty-two.”

“No!” Noah said, pretendingto be shocked.

“I’m so sorry! I’m onlytwenty. Almost. My birthday is next month, so it’s reallyclose.”

Noah made a gimmie motion with his fingers.“ID. Let’s see it.”

Felix complied, shifting to pull a nylonwallet from his back pocket. From it he took his driver’s licenseand handed it over.

Noah looked first at the photo, which showedan even younger Felix with a squinty-eyed smile so wide that mostof his teeth were on display. Adorable! And those ears… Noah lookedto the current Felix, who had only gotten better with age. Then hechecked the birthdate before he allowed himself to get any moreinterested than he already was. Felix had told the truth. He wasnineteen on the verge of turning twenty.