Page 24 of His Middle

“Ooh. Bagels.” Noah leaned over the built-in stove to peek into the bag. “Six? Wow. Can I have an onion one?”

“Of course. That’s why I got it. There’s cream cheese and lox in the fridge.”

Noah scrunched up his nose. “Cream cheese is fine.”

The corners of Sawyer’s lips twitched. “Have you ever had lox?”

“Gack. No.”

“I bet you eat sushi, though.”

Noah plucked out the bagel he wanted. “I wouldn’t bet too high, ‘cuz you’d lose.”

Sawyer tilted his head. “Really? Huh. You don’t like seafood?”

“Nope.” Noah grabbed a couple bread plates from the cupboard. “Before you comment, I realize I live in one of the most awesome seafood locations in the world, but sorry. Not my thing.” He handed Sawyer a plate then went to the fridge to retrieve the cream cheese. “I don’t eat a lot of fancy foods and my dad never pushed it on me. He was great, and always made sure I was well taken care of, but he didn’t have time to…”

How could he describe the situation without sounding as if he were criticizing his father?

“Didn’t have time to what?”

“You know, do a bunch of stuff with me.” Noah stood on the other side of where Sawyer sat, also the same as they’d been each morning while sharing coffee and breakfast. He was more interested in staring into those baby blues of Sawyer’s than sitting at his side. “Dad put in long hours at the club.” Noah snorted. “Which I totally get now more than ever. Plus, Mom disappeared on us pretty early on. I don’t even remember one moment of our lives as a family that involved her.”

Sawyer regarded him with compassion. “You were so young. I’d be surprised if you did.”

Noah finished slathering gobs of cream cheese on his bagel. “True. And same with the rest of my dad’s family. He only had the one brother, but once Uncle Oscar and his folks discovered his big gay secret, they were done with him.”

Noah sucked some rogue cream cheese off his finger and could’ve sworn he heard a low rumbling from Sawyer. Totally unplanned, but not a bad idea to tuck away for another time.

“Mom’s family was the same, I guess.” He handed the knife to Sawyer whose flushed cheeks were giving him away. “Dad never talked about them.” Noah paused long enough to take a sip of his coffee. “I guess what I’m saying is that I’ve pretty much stuck to the basics over the years. Nothing too exotic.”

“Hmm.” Sawyer eyed him as if he were a mystery to be solved. “I’m thinking it might be fun to broaden your horizons a bit.”

I know of something you could broaden.

Noah choked on a bite of bagel, and before he knew it, Sawyer had rushed around the counter and was pounding on his back.

“Are you okay?” The worry in Sawyer’s eyes made Noah feel bad.

“I—” He coughed again then took a sip of coffee before clearing his throat. “I’m fine. Swallowed wrong.”

Sawyer absentmindedly brushed Noah’s shoulders, almost a rub, but his hand drew away before Noah could completely lose himself in the soft touch.

“Be careful.” Sawyer padded across the kitchen to where the glasses were kept. He grabbed a cup from the shelf then poured some filtered water into it before handing it to Noah. “Here. Take some slow sips.”

Horror filled Noah at the ‘Yes, Daddy’ that almost flew out of his mouth.Holy shit. Not that he didn’t ache to say that very phrase to Sawyer, but until he had a clear sense of where Sawyer’s mind was at, he didn’t want to give him an excuse to charge back to the AirBnB. At least he’d been able to discover that Sawyer was single when he’d casually asked him if working at the club would get in the way of his personal life.

Noah did as he was told then set down the glass. “Thanks. All better.”

Sawyer regarded him for a bit then went back to his chair. As they both bit into their bagels, Noah wondered what all the studied looks and intense stares were about. Sawyer had been continuously eyeballing him since he’d first arrived. Was Noah all that much of a mystery? He couldn’t figure out what Sawyer was thinking. If he wasn’t such a big chicken, he’d ask.

“So.” Sawyer wiped his fingers on a paper napkin then dropped it onto his empty plate. “I was thinking it would be nice to get out today and do something relaxing. Something that has absolutely nothing to do with the club.”

Noah perked up. “Yeah? That sounds cool. Like what?”

This worked out perfect. Noah had been wondering how to angle things so they spent the day together. It would be the first time since Sawyer’s arrival where they wouldn’t be shackled to the club.

“Well, I bet poor Bob misses you. We could start there.”

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