Page 60 of Noah

"Perfect. We'll see you then."

I ended the call. I would have a shower and do some work before heading over there. First, I had to deal with the animals. I wandered out into the living room and opened Patricia and Philip's cage doors. They had free reign in the house during the day.

"Good morning, lovelies," I said.

"Asshole," Philip squawked.

"Yes, it is a beautiful day, Philip. Thank you for saying so."

"Fucker."

Patricia started making kissing noises, so I leaned forward and kissed her beak.

"Good morning." She bobbed her head repeatedly until I petted her feathers. The cats were circling my legs, yowling, and stretching up to use my calves as a scratching post. Bentley was still asleep. He was sleeping longer and longer. I didn't disturb him. Just went into the kitchen to prepare everyone's morning meals. The cats had their kibble, and the birds would get pellets, and some cut-up melons and cucumbers. The hedgehog already had food in her dish, and it wasn't a feeding day for the gecko. I dumped some senior formula wet dog food into Bentley's dish.

My phone dinged.

Noah: Good morning, boyfriend.

I smiled.

Me: It is now, boyfriend.

Noah: Yum.

I laughed. We were like a couple of high school students. I'd never been asked to be anyone's boyfriend before. It made me feel special and seen and exhilarated.

Noah: What's your plan for today?

Me: I'm going to the centre.

Noah: Same time as me?

Me: Yes. I want to see you.

Noah: Maybe we can sneak in a kiss.

I bit my bottom lip as I looked at the screen. Imagining kissing Noah again made me feel squirrelly inside as if I might bust open due to the commotion in my gut.

Me: I'd like that.

Noah: See you in a few hours, boyfriend.

This time I didn't feel strange about responding with a red heart. My heart was tied up tight in the emotions of this change in our relationship. I was hopeful Noah felt the same.

Everyone fed, I went to my home office and opened my laptop. After working for a few hours, I had just enough time to have a shower and be at the centre by two. I was ten minutes early.

Once inside, I headed for the library. Noah and I could find each other later. He'd probably be in the gym playing basketball again today. I imagined he enjoyed it. It was another topic of conversation we could have. Our childhoods. It would be a heavy one, but I felt like I was in a place where I could trust Noah enough to tell him about our family's sordid history. He could tell me about how growing up with his parents had been and what activities he had enjoyed.

Kyle was sitting in his usual spot. I was glad to see the bag for the emotion cards sitting beside him. He had the cards in his hands, and he was mouthing the questions.

My presence didn't throw him off. He just looked at me and then went back to practicing. I sat beside him, ensuring I didn't touch him. I sat with him for half an hour before I spoke.

"Are you finding those helpful?"

Kyle nodded.

"Do you practice with your mom?"

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