Page 98 of Stop and Seek
“You’re staring,” Noah mumbled around a plastic fork. “I can strip again, if that made you hot and bothered.”
“I was concerned about the water damage to my carpets,” Theo grabbed a noodle dish from the bag. “Why did you think I was pissed off at you? I’m not, for the record. You’re funny to think I’d give you the time of fucking day.”
It was supposed to be a joke.
Supposedto.
But the absolute silence was chilling.
Theo could hear the damn refrigerator.
He glanced over, and Noah’s face?
Not good.
The smile was gone. Hooded eyes glazed over.
It wasn’t the anger Theo was used to seeing—blown over in half a second—but the kind that made the little hairs on the back of his neck stand up.
“Laugh,” Theo whispered. He nudged Noah’s leg.
Nothing.
Suddenly, Theo regretted more than just whatever happened in the classroom. He regrettedpunchingNoah. Because if Noahhit him back?He’d be a goddamn chalk outline.
“Play a game with me,” Noah said flatly, dropping his fork into the empty white Styrofoam box.
Theo cleared his throat. “I lost the last game I played. So did you.”
“There’s no winners or losers.” Noah slung his arm over the back of the couch and turned to face him. “Twenty questions. You ask ten, and so can I.”
Theo laughed—jerky and short. Forced as hell.
“Wait.” He put the noodle container to the side. “This is like, icebreaker shit. You wanna do this now?"
“What’s something no one knows about you?” Noah asked, instead of answering. He had that tone that made Theo’s heart skip one too many beats to be comfortable.
The question was an easy one, though.
“I hate being called Teddy. It drives me fucking bonkers.” He paused, wiping the sides of his mouth. Everything tasted like chili oil and ginger. He couldn’t feel his damn tongue. “Same question.”
Noah shot him a look. “Don’t ‘same question’ me. You can’t do that. At leastrephraseit.”
“How about, what’s something you’d never tell anyone?” Theo fired back as he stood.
Holyshit, he needed a drink. Like, two minutes ago. Whatever Noah ate was spicier thananythinghe’d ever had. Even his throat burned. There was a fine line between enjoying heat and sacrificing taste buds.
“That’s a different question, but I’ll take it,” Noah said when Theo sat back on the couch and chucked a can of soda at him.
“How is that a different question?”
“You’re down two. You better keep track.”
“Asshole.”
Noah grinned. “Something no one knows is a secret you keep fromyourself. The other is a secret you keep from everyone else. I—” He popped open the tab. “—hatewhen people think I don’t do shit. I’m a busy little bee behind the scenes, and most of it goes unnoticed. There’s absolutely nothing I wouldn’t do for the people I care about.”
Halfway through chugging his soda, Theo had to let that sink in. That soundedloaded. Plus, the way Noah was looking at him? That fucking manic intensity like he had in the game? It gave him goosebumps again, and he couldn’t decide if they were good or bad.
