Page 157 of Stop and Seek
“You didn’ have sheets!”
Theo stared at him.
He stared for a solid minute, and then it hit him—
Sheets. That’s what started all this. No sheets.
Of all the batshit reasons to violate someone’s privacy,thatwas the one?
The laugh punched out of him, sharp and breathless. It started low in his chest and grew until his sides hurt and tears stung his eyes. He couldn’t stop.
“That’s sostupid,” he wheezed, gasping.“Who does that?”
Attempts were made—God, Theo fuckingtried. He tried to get Noah water, to take a piss. No such luck. Every single time Theo moved an arm’s length away, Noah would latch on again like some grief-stricken child, refusing to release him for more than a few seconds unless one of them needed to turn or adjust toget comfortable. It was like dealing with an octopus. Or maybe a koala with roaming hands and attachment issues.
After a dozen different negotiations, bribes—he’d even offered pancakes, and hehatedpancakes—Theo gave up. He lay there like a hostage in his own bed, arms pinned awkwardly while Noah muttered shit against his neck that didn’t make a whole lot of sense.
Truth be told, Theo didn’t mind it as much as he kept telling himself. Heshouldmind. He should still be pissed off. Yes, he was still furious—Noah had scared the shit out of him.Broken into his fucking apartment.That wasn’t romantic. That was an arrestable offense. But here they were. The same guy who’d terrified him minutes ago was now curled up like a sleepy dog, rubbing his nose against Theo’s face and whispering “I missed you."
The weird shit about Jagger had stopped. Now, every other sentence was some variation of,I missed you. I thought about you. I wanted to see you.And as fucked up as he knew it was—and hedidknow, he wasn’t delusional—he couldn’t help but enjoy it a little. The possessiveness. The way Noah clung like he was anchoring himself to something solid.
He smelled like the floor of a dive bar and felt even worse—sticky with sweat, blood under his nails, ankle numb like he’d lost a fight with gravity somewhere between the sidewalk and Theo’s door. Not that he could remember exactlyhowhe got here. Only that he had to get here. Immediately. His entiresouldepended on it.
Theo was cool and soft beside him. Heaven. Fucking heaven.
“No,” Noah slurred, tightening his grip around Theo’s waist when he felt him move. His bicep flexed, more reflex than threat. “Don’ get up. No gettin’ up. I’m comfy.”
“You smell so bad,” Theo said.
Noah nuzzled into his neck like that would help. It didn’t. Even he could smell the tequila on his breath. His body was a warzone of aches—bruised ribs, head splitting, sharp sting in his back—but wrapped up in Theo’s blanket cocoon, it was worth it. He’d crawl through glass to get here again.
“I saw you,” he whispered, thick and tight. “He told me you were meetin’ him. I was there, y’know. I knocked on the window and everythin’, but you wouldn’ look at me. I jus’—I did it foryou,baby.”
“Did whatfor me, Noah?”
“I… I took care of Jagger. Permanently”
Theo went very still.
Noah nosed along Theo’s jaw, pressing lazy, open-mouthed kisses down the side of his throat. “I wasn’ gonna go that far, it jus’ sorta happened. Now you won’ leave, right? We can be together ‘n shit.”
Togetherforever. Not right now. Not for the nextweek.
Theo’s hand braced against his chest, firm but not pushing. “You killed him.”
It didn’t sound like a question, or an accusation. But it really wasn’t the truth either.
“He’s gone,” he said instead. “Then Max’s people came—”
“Max’s people?”Theo bit out, eyes huge, and Noah kept right on talking.
“And I went to the Roots and you wouldn’ look at me, and I got sad. I swear, I hadonedrink.”
Theo scoffed. “More like a gallon.”
That could’ve been true. Honestly, the night kind of... slipped sideways.
Noah’s vision swam and he closed his eyes, curled tighter around Theo. “I’m gonna deal with the other asshole in the video.”
