Page 40 of Saving Noah

“What the hell, Conn?” Zach demanded when his friend started to breeze past him to follow Jordan to the locker room. “You were with Wayne last night, weren’t you? A real date? In case you’ve forgotten, Conn, I think Wayne’s a good guy. He doesn’t deserve you jerking him around like this.”

Connor snorted. “Yeah, I don’t think that’s going to work out. Let’s just say that we didn’t see eye-to-eye on some things.”

Zach’s frown deepened as he swung his leg back over the bench and stood closer to Connor. “Wayne’s a good guy, Conn. What’s up?”

Jordan cleared his throat and asked, “You coming? It’s okay if you’ve got something else going on.”

Flashing the other man a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, Connor answered, “Yeah, I’m coming. I’ll be right behind you.” Turning to Zach, he said, “You’ve already said Wayne’s a good guy. I heard you the first time. Did you hear me say it wasn’t going to work out?” His tone dripped with sarcasm.

Noah hadn’t seen Connor mad before. Sure, he’d only known him a little over a week, but he was consistently funny and friendly, nothing like what he witnessed now. “Are you okay, Connor?” he asked.

“I’m fine, John,” Connor answered in a much friendlier voice. He clapped Zach on the back. “I’m good, Zach. It just isn’t going to work out between Wayne and me. No biggie. It’s fine.”

“You were so excited. Give it some more time. See what happens,” Zach urged.

Jordan started walking away. Without another word to Zach, Connor followed him.

Noah stood up next to Zach and watched with worry as Connor ditched them without a backward glance. “He doesn’t look happy. Who is this Wayne guy? Is it somebody you trust? If it isn’t, I don’t think I like him very much. Something happened last night to upset Connor.” He looked at Zach. “Connor’s always happy.”

“Yeah…it’s weird. Wayne is a nice guy, but I guess I don’t really know him well. He’s an EMT and comes into the hospital on a regular basis. He was there the day they brought you in, and I thought I was going to have to step between him and Cameron.” Zach laughed. “Actually, truth be told, we both wanted to kick Cameron’s ass but managed to hold our tempers at bay.”

“Does Connor date a lot? While we were waiting on you to walk Denala, he told me all about his upcoming date. I don’t know him that well, but he was awfully excited. I mean, it seemed like more than just a normal date.”

Zach stared off in the direction Connor went, brow furrowed as if thinking through the possibilities. Then he shook his head slightly, wrapped an arm around Noah’s shoulders, and said, “Let’s hit the steam room. I’d like to take a quick shower, grab some breakfast from the restaurant, and then fuck you until you scream loud enough for the neighbors to hear, but now the showers are suddenly off limits.” He tugged Noah toward the hallway leading to the steam room.

They quickly ditched their clothes, wrapped white towels around their waists, and stepped into the steam room. Noah automatically went straight for the corner, because that was where he always went, head down and invisible to anyone inside. When he’d settled into his corner, he looked up at Zach and found the mountain of muscles staring at him with a confused look on his face.

“What?” Noah asked.

Shaking his head, Zach walked the few steps that would place him right in front of Noah and then, shocking a yelp of surprise out of Noah, he reached down and lifted him up and into his arms.

“Stop squirming,” Zach growled as he settled both of them in the center of the longest bench. “No more corners for you, babe. When you’re with me, I want you to feel safe enough to talk to other residents, look at something other than your sexy feet, and sit anywhere you damn well please, not the corners meant for hiding. Will you try for me?”

Noah blushed in embarrassment. Was it that easy for people to see how hard he’d been trying to hide? Funny, there was a good chance he would’ve preferred being called crazy over being called a coward.

“Well, I’m not going to sit here in your lap, Dr. Meadows. If somebody walks in, we’ll be the talk of the building.” He wiggled out of Zach’s lap and perched on the wooden bench next to him. He had to admit it was nice not to be in the corner.

Zach’s husky laughter echoed off the walls. “Oh, honey pie, we’re already the talk of the building. They started talking about us the first day we walked into the gym together and you were looking at my ass instead of the floor or your feet. Tell me you’ve noticed all the whispers and blatant stares?”

“Uh, yeah, I’ve learned to block that stuff out,” Noah quipped. “If I let myself get distracted by people talking about me, I’d be trapped in a never-ending distraction wormhole.”

Smiling sadly, Zach answered, “I know, babe. I know. Those days are behind you, though. They were interested in you before because you’re a really hot guy who never gave anybody the slightest bit of attention. They all wanted to be theoneto lure you out of your shell. Now they’re looking at you because you’re walking funny since I’m fucking you silly.”

“Ha-ha,” Noah said. “I am not walking funny.”I am definitely walking funny.

“Whatever makes you comfortable, babe. Tell yourself whatever you need to,” Zach teased. “Now…lie down and put your head in my lap. I want to be able to see your eyes while we’re talking.”

Noah felt a tad foolish, but followed Zach’s instructions anyway. Following Zach’s lead always led to fun times. Once he was laid out on the wooden bench, towel still tucked properly in all the right places, and his head in Zach’s lap, he looked up to find Zach watching him. “I’m not blowing you in the steam room, Zach. Get that look off your face.”I’d totally blow him in the steam room if he asked me to.Hell, Zach might not even have to ask.

Gently, Zach swiped Noah’s damp hair out of his face and then toyed with the silky strands. “You were dead-on when you said how excited Connor was last night, and to answer your question from earlier…no, Connor doesn’t date. He bar hops. He blows and gets blown by strangers in club bathrooms. He fucks. He rarely dates. Connor is all about the fun. Somehow, this felt so different. I don’t know what could’ve turned things around so quickly.”

Zach’s fingers moved from testing the texture of Noah's hair to massaging his scalp. Noah nearly melted into a big puddle of satisfaction. The gentle touch felt so fucking good.

Noah forced himself away from the magic of Zach’s fingers and back into the conversation. “Maybe you could ask Wayne? Connor sure didn’t seem to want to talk about it, that’s for sure.”

“Maybe,” Zach answered noncommittedly. “Connor doesn’t shut down often, but when he does, you might as well get ready to just wait him out. He’s a master of the silent treatment.”

Noah visited the gym every day, and on most of those days, he visited the steam room. Even though it had become a daily routine, he never really felt safe. But with Zach watching over him, barely touching him physically but stroking his soul mentally, an intoxicating calmness consumed him.

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