Page 38 of His Middle

That’s not how Noah viewed things, not now that they’d decided to make a go of it. At the same time, he respected Sawyer’s stance. He supposed that heavier discussions regarding combining their world on a practical level would come after they’d established their relationship some more.

“You know I totally trust you, right?”

“I do.” Sawyer rubbed his nose in Noah’s hair and sucked in a deep breath. “But I also need to show you respect.”

Noah hugged Sawyer even tighter than Sawyer had hugged him. “You’re the best.”

“No, you are.”

They both laughed and played a silly game of who was more amazing for a bit, then Sawyer interrupted the fun with a slow, toe-curling kiss.

Sawyer patted his butt again. “We should give Arlen a call before we sit down to breakfast.”

“Yeah, I’m starving.”

Sawyer scooted out from under Noah then helped him to his feet. “In that case, I’d better make my boy something to eat.” He tugged Noah’s jeans up then started to button them. “Why don’t you get in touch with Arlen while I do that.”

“Sure.” Noah stole a kiss from Sawyer. “Can I have pancakes?”

Sawyer shook his head with a chuckle. “Let’s have a sugar-free day. Then I’ll consider making them tomorrow.”

Noah held up his palm. “Whoa. Does this also include the one soda a day allowance?”

Sawyer let out a big sigh, but his smile remained. “You can have one soda.”

“Now, when you say one, how many ounces are we looking at? Because a two-liter should rightfully count as one since it’s all in the same container.”

Sawyer crossed his arms. “Don’t push it, boy. There are other non-erotic punishments I could implement. How big a fan are you of sitting in the corner with your nose pressed to the wall?”

Noah gulped. “Not a huge one.”

“Then keep that in mind.” He narrowed his eyes a tad. “You can have a twenty-ounce bottle today and that’s it.”

“Thanks, Daddy.”

He gave Sawyer a quick peck on the cheek. Honestly, he’d been worried Sawyer was about to limit him to one of those stupid mini soda cans.

“Call your buddy while I get started on breakfast, then come help me set the table.”

Noah followed Sawyer out of the den so he could grab his cell phone from upstairs. Unlike a lot of people, he didn’t have it glued to him twenty-four–seven. It took him a while to wake all the way up in the morning, and the phone was banished whenever he was in middle mode.

After grabbing his phone from the charger, he plopped on the bed and called Arlen.

Arlen picked up almost immediately “Hey, what’s up?”

“Hey. I wanted to let you know that me and Sawyer will be in a little later today. Can you open?”

“Absolutely.” Arlen cleared his throat. “Are you sure you’re cool with me managing the club? I don’t want to step on your toes if you’re still wanting to be in charge.”

“Me. In charge. That’s freakin’ hilarious. You’ve seen how wellthat’sworked out for me so far.” Noah sighed. “Look, my dad gave you the shift leader promotion, right? And I’m sure the only reason you never had a chance at floor manager was because Jonathan had been in the job for a zillion years.”

“Oh! That reminds me. When I checked the club voicemail remotely yesterday, there was some guy calling for Jonathan. And get this, he totally thoughtJonathanwas the owner, not your dad.”

Noah frowned. He supposed that could’ve been an honest mistake, an assumption because Jonathan used to handle the bookings and hiring, but at the same time, Noah wouldn’t put anything past that snake—not after his extreme reaction to the reading of the will.

“Did you call him back to find out what he wanted?”

“Yeah. I made sure he knew that not only was Jonathan not the owner, but he was long gone. The guy was cool about it, said that was fine. Then he asked when he could speak to you, so I gave him your hours at the club. I know better than to give out your cell.”

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