Page 29 of Noah

"Does he ever speak?"

"When he feels like it. Usually when he's enthralled with something."

"What's his favourite thing as far as you can tell?"

"LGBTQ rights and stories about queer people."

Maybe that would be a career path for him someday if he learned to get past the block in his mind. The one that stopped him from expressing his thoughts.

"Keep sitting with him. If he's spoken to you, he trusts you. Over time, he might start to emerge for you. Provide the opportunity. Believe me, there is a flurry of very vivid thoughts and emotions whirring around in his mind. Sometimes, it can be extremely noisy in there."

"You're speaking from experience."

"When I was a young child, the very idea of forming words was too overwhelming on top of everything else going on in my head. I was a reader too. As I got older, the world seemed quieter. Maybe I got used to it … I don't know. Without my mind in overdrive, I started to speak more."

"And now?"

I smiled at Noah. He was looking at me with such sincerity. "I chose a job that puts me in my office on my own most of the time. On days when I have court, I need to make sure I have equal downtime. My townhouse is my safe and quiet space to decompress."

"And the nights when you're at the pub?"

I chewed on my bottom lip. "I have more reason to be there than ever before."

The edges of Noah's eyes wrinkled as his pretty lips pulled into a wide smile. I liked making him smile. I'd only ever made my mom smile. This felt more special than that.

"Will I see you there tonight?" Noah asked.

I shook my head. "It's the weekend. I don't go out for dinner on the weekend."

"Not even just this once?" Noah winked at me.

I went over my meal plan. I'd planned on making lasagne and a salad for dinner tonight. Both would keep until tomorrow. No. It was Saturday night. I'd had a hard week.

"I'm going to pass. If I don't have my down time, I won't be able to perform well at work next week." I hated saying it, but I had a feeling Noah wouldn't hassle me about it.

"You know what's healthiest for you," he said.

I wanted Noah to touch me again. Back up his understanding words with his physical presence on my skin. "Touch me again."

"Mm." Noah crept his hand onto my wrist. I looked from my wrist to his expressive eyes: so much depth in the crystal blue of them, like the purest most serene glacial ice.

And it was melting for me.

God, I was falling for him.

Absolute freaking freefall.

Chapter Seven | Noah

The table for the meeting of the Salish Sea Society was noisy tonight. The guys were debating what the best position for a blow job was. There was a reason I booked a table in a snug at the back of the pub. Some of the topics we launched into weren't heteronormative friendly.

"Wait, wait, " Ethan said, throwing up his hands. "I have an update on accountant guy."

"Let me guess," Owen replied. "He's even nicer now that you're getting to know him."

I patted Owen's shoulder. "Your perfect guy is coming. Be patient."

Owen harrumphed. "Wish he'd hurry up."

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