“The group chat,” he murmured, sinking back into the pillows.
Theo grumbled something unintelligible and sighed into the speaker.
The silence hung between them again.
Noah knew it was his turn to speak but he couldn’t get words around the lump in his throat. He had a million questions, but all of them were landmines waiting to explode. What if he scared him off again?
Theo hadn’t ever texted him back—had he?
Switching over to the messages, Noah almost choked on air.
The little bubble read twenty-two.
Theo had texted himtwenty-twotimes. Not a single one made sense.
“Are you drunk calling me?” Noah finally asked with a chuckle.
Theo snorted. “Who’s drunk?” Then, like music to Noah’s ears, he started laughing. “I’m—I’m fine. Just—just everyone’s fucking asleep or ignoring me. I’m so tired of it beingquiet.”
“I’ll stay on. I’m up now.”
Theo paused again. When he spoke next, it was quieter, closer.
“Did Iwakeyou up? Holy shit. You suck, but that’s kinda lame of me.”
“You keep saying I suck. Still haven’t told me why.”
“You just… do,” Theo mumbled, and something rustled again. “I’m tired as hell, but I don’t wanna sleep.”
“You should,” Noah said, turning onto his side. “You’re still in the game, right?”
“No thanks to you. My whole body hurts, and I just… I can’t get like, comfortable.”
“You can’t blame that on me. I’m innocent.”
Even from miles away, Noah could practicallyfeelTheo glaring through the phone.
Their conversation wasn’t going anywhere, but hearing Theo’s voice on the phone? It felt different. Like a tiny piece of the wall had chipped away.
“Next time,” Theo started, trailing off before launching into a full grumble. “Next time you wanna do something... fucking stupid, or reckless, or—I don’t even know what you were thinking, you psycho—”
“You’re rambling.”
“Fuck you.”
Noah grinned, chest warm. “Next time I want to do something stupid…”
“Just like... I dunno. Ask me. Don’t pull that shit again.”
“Which one? We have so many to choose from.”
“Don’t be a damn perv,” Theo said, crunching on something. “I’m serious. The bar… thing with Alyssa. Don’t lie to me.”
Oh. That.
Noah exhaled, staring at the white wall.
Theo wasn’t telling him to stop everything. His rules were simple: don’t take his glasses, and don’t lie to him.