Page 15 of Overeager
Not that Noah would ever say as much to him.
“It’s fine, dude. Let me take a look.”
Chase stood from the table, setting his empty bowl in the sink. “I told him we can just call the fridge repair guy.”
Spencer scoffed. “Why call someone for something we can just fix ourselves?”
He meant somethingNoahcould fix, but the sentiment still stood. Chase was the reason they could afford such a spacious apartment so close to campus, each with their own room. His family was loaded, enough that he’d given up his sports scholarship for lacrosse the year before and his parents hadn’t even cared. But Spencer and Noah were a little different. Spencer’s mom was more broke than he was, and while Noah’s parents did fine, they also had a lot of kids. There wasn’t exactly a ton of extra money floating around.
He and Spencer were both scared to push Chase’s parents’ generosity too far.
Luckily, Noah had a good amount of experience fixing things around the house. Stuff tended to break when you had a pack of kids running wild, like he and his siblings had. “Lemme look. Did you try adjusting the thermostat?”
Spencer gave him a wounded look. “I’m not a complete idiot.”
“Debatable.” Noah opened the fridge, spotting the problem immediately. “You’ve just packed it too tight. Your oat milk is blocking the vent.”
“The what now?” Spencer asked, looking over his shoulder.
Noah sighed, digging items out of the top shelf. He spent the next ten minutes rearranging the fridge, and then cleaned off the vent thoroughly, just in case buildup was the real issue. When he was done, he washed his hands, telling his roommates, “We’ll recheck in an hour, make sure it’s cooling right. If that’s not the problem, we might need to call someone after all.”
He dug his phone out of his pocket, checking it again, even though he would have heard the telltale ding.
Chase settled against the counter next to him, knocking his shoulder. “Texting your omega?”
“I can’t. I don’t know his number. I left him mine, but—” Noah shrugged, trying to play off nonchalance and probably falling completely short. Maybe he should have woken Eli up after all, made absolutely sure of the number exchange before leaving.
He’d never even considered that Eli wouldn’t take him up on it.
“He’ll call.” Chase knocked his shoulder again, gentle but reassuring. “You know how many omegas have tried to get your number?”
Noah frowned down at his phone. “Notthatmany.”
“More than you think. Spence runs interference on half of them.”
Spencer grinned shamelessly. “I’m selfless like that.” He clasped his hands in front of his chest, all faux earnestness. “Tell us, Noah. Tell us of the one who finally stole your heart.”
“Um …” Noah wasn’t sure what to tell. He could talk about Eli’s kind eyes. How warm they were, even with a stranger. Or his scent, the way it had caught Noah’s interest immediately, lovely and subtle and perfect. Or the way Eli had held himself so seriously in the beginning but giggled like a kid when a bit of humor caught him off guard.
But he found himself wanting to keep all that close to his chest for now.
“He’s a teacher,” he said instead.
“Oh yeah?” Chase asked. “What grade?”
“Shit.” Noah shook his head. “I’m such a dick. I didn’t even ask. Maybe elementary school? Or middle school? I could see him being good with older kids. He’s … patient.”
“Okay, tell us the truth.” Spencer dropped his clasped hands, settling them on Noah’s shoulders. “Did you come in five seconds, or did you make it to ten?”
Monday morning came much too soon,and Noah had to fight not to put out grumpy dick vibes as the three of them walked to campus.
Chase and Spencer seemed content enough to start classes back up. It wasn’t surprising—they were both decent students, and the three of them had all planned similar schedules for the semester, maximizing hang time outside of school and work. Their first class on Monday was at a reasonable ten a.m., andNoah had made them all eggs after Spencer had nagged at him for long enough.
Plus, it was hard to be miserable when the start of spring semester was always so fucking gorgeous, the Arizona heat lowered to a perfect temperature at the beginning of January, the skies sunny and temperate.
Noah should have been just as stoked as the other two, but he was finding it hard to muster the excitement. Eli hadn’t texted Saturday. Or Sunday, for that matter.
Maybe he wouldn’t text at all.
