Page 168 of Echoes of Us

A smile started coming on. “Thanks.”

He winked. “I can give you something nicer after you shower,” he joked, sticking his tongue out.

I smiled at that.

There you are.

My eyes burned from relief. I pushed off the chair and headed towards him, wrapping my arms around his neck and pressing his back against my chest.

“I’m not done yet.” He chuckled.

“Thank you.” I hugged him tighter before kissing his cheek.

“I’d wait for a taste test before thanking me so much.”

“I’ll take a quick shower and come back.”

I kissed his cheek again before I left. He was mumbling under his breath along with the music. The bedroom was fixed, too, and the bathroom.

I changed and walked out to Noah’s proud face. I sat on the stool, and he rubbed his hands on my shoulders and nuzzled his face in my hair.

“Atty.”

“Yeah?” I was too scared to say anything more. I didn’t want to break this, whatever it was.

“I’m sorry about yesterday. About everything. I think you’re right about the distance.” His fingers went into my hair. “I was thinking we could spend the day together, and then you could stay over at your new apartment tonight. Without me.”

I blinked at him. “Are you sure?”

He smiled. “Yeah, it’ll be good for us.”

“Are you going to get help?” Silence fell between us again.

“Can we just…” He took a deep breath which I mimicked. “Put a pin in it and talk about this tomorrow? We’ll figure it out. You and me.”

We could do that. I guess we could. This problem wasn’t just going to leave.

“Are you okay with spending the night alone?”

A tiny crease formed between his brow and I almost flinched, expecting him to lash out.

“I’m three years older than you, Atty. I’m a big boy, I’ll be fine,” he told me kindly.

I breathed out, relieved. “Okay, we can try. I’ll come back if you need me to.”

He smiled. “I’ll be fine, but sure, I’ll let you know.”

“And we’ll talk tomorrow?”

“Yeah, Atty. We’ll talk tomorrow.” His hands held onto me tighter than usual, but his smile stayed the same.

Noah moved the stool close next to me and tucked himself under my arm as he ate. I smiled and wrapped my arm over his shoulder. It seemed like a million years ago the first time he had gotten this close to me in this very spot, and now I was so used to his body.

I texted Colin, telling him I was staying over. I saw Holly’s name and realized I had never sent her the text. I had typed it in and not hit send. I considered it, looking up at Noah, and decided to send it later. If I could keep this up a little longer, it would be worth it.

Noah seemed set on us having a good day. We went out for a walk, he showed me his favorite bakeries along the way, and we stopped to get an overly sweet croissant he devoured in seconds. He took me to a restaurant for lunch and chatted animatedly the whole time. When we went back to the apartment, he guided me to sit on the couch with him, playing a movie and leaning his back on my chest as we watched. We spent most of the afternoon curled up there.

Noah played music, and we sat looking at each other, his fingers running lazily through my hair as he mumbled the lyrics.

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