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Talia smiled just a little. “I think I can manage that.”
“Good,” Noah answered with the same small wink he used to use on Adam to make him smile. “Do you want something to drink?”
Awkwardness settled again, but luckily, the door opened, and Adam saved them from any real small talk. His arms were laden with to-go boxes that bore the mark of No Cilantro, and Noah’s eyes got a little hot.
“I hope you’re hungry. Enzo basically threw all this shit at me after I made his boyfriend cupcakes.”
There was a hint of dishonesty in his tone. Noah knew because Adam couldn’t let things be easy either. But the unspoken truth was enough. “I’ll get forks,” Noah told him. “You two get comfortable.”
Adam was almost a stranger in the apartment he’d grown up in now, but it was okay. That’s what happened when you moved on with your life. And it stung. It was empty nest syndrome, Noah knew. It was change, and he had never liked that. It had always been forced upon him, but he wanted this to be good.
He gathered silverware and drinks, and together the three of them sat around the coffee table on the floor, and it was almost—almost—normal.
* * *
Fresh from his shower,Noah slipped into his room and sat at his desk. With Adam and Talia there, he’d all but forgotten about the video until he saw the envelope icon with a little number one hovering over it.
His heart beat in his throat. It could be anyone, anything. Could be a porn bot or some company advertising CBD gummi bears. His finger hovered over the icon, and then he clicked it.
@SylentOfficial: U Deaf?
@BubbesBakes: No, sorry.
@SylentOfficial: LOL y u sorry?
Noah’s face burst into heat like he was on fire, and he pressed hands to his cheeks because he wasn’t expecting a response. He wasn’t expecting anything. What the hell was he supposed to do now? Tell this man he had seen him twice on campus before his life went to hell, and he’d spent the last few years wanting him so bad he could come at the mere thought of him?
Even that made his dick hard.
@BubbesBakes: I don’t know. Sorry, I’m awkward.
@SylentOfficial: u say sorry a lot. It’s fine. Thank u for ASL video.
@BubbesBakes: I thought it might be nice to have something in your language. I’m not good at it.
@SylentOfficial: better than most. Better than my brothers.
@BubbesBakes: I’m…sorry?
@Sylent Official: LOL.
@SylentOfficial: Ur Acct. Bubbes Bakes? In LA?
@BubbesBakes: No. I’m in Savannah, GA.
@SylentOfficial: 2 bad. I wanted cupcake. u run social media?
@BubbesBakes: Sort of. I own the shop. My bubbe left it to me when she died.
@SylentOfficial: Sorry. :(
@BubbesBakes: it’s fine. Um.
@SylentOfficial: is a good job? Bakery?
@BubbesBakes: it’s a job. It’s not doing well.
He stopped. “Fuck, fuck. Fuck! Noah, what is wrong with you?” He dropped his head to the desk and took in a ragged breath. He’d spent so long keeping this to himself, and look how fast he’d cracked to a total stranger.
