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David shrugged. “Nope. I figure I make the first guy who says anything bleed, and he’ll put the word out, and everyone will shut their mouths. Though I might need a lawyer or bail money.”
“You’re on your own there. I don’t bail people out of jail. But I am pretty good with a Band-Aid.” He leaned forward.
“Why don’t the two of you kiss, make up, and get out of here so I can finish closing down the bar.” Sal washed the last of the glasses and put them all away. Noel slipped off the stool, and David put an arm around his waist.
“Come on. It’s late.”
“I know, and I have a ton of homework that I need to get done this weekend.”
“Do you have your books with you?” David asked. “If not, we can get them, and then tomorrow you can study while I figure some cost estimates for work.” He helped Noel with his coat.
“Are you serious? You know I have to be ready for class on Monday,” Noel said, and then shrugged.
“I promise to behave, and I put the cat carrier in the car. I thought Wiggles might like to come over and have a play date with Oscar. Maybe if our cats get along….” He nuzzled Noel’s neck, and in an instant, he found it difficult to think.
“Okay. Let’s go. I need my beauty sleep.”
David chuckled as they reached for door. “Who said anything about sleeping.”
Noel waswarm with David pressed to his back, a cat by his feet, and another right up against his chest. Wiggles and Oscar had formed an interesting kitty detente. After hissing at each other initially, they circled each other for a while, and then after he and David went to bed, they staked out their own domains.
“Hey…,” David said, squeezing him a little closer.
“Is that a stick or are you just happy to see me?” Noel teased, and David drew back, rolling Noel over before pressing him to the mattress.
“You know your phone is vibrating,” Noel said, wanting to throw the danged thing across the room.
David groaned and snatched it up. “Yeah…?” he snapped. “You want to what? Tonight?” David sighed. “Just a minute.” He muted the call. “This is Clive. The guys are inviting me out for the evening. It will be dinner and drinks. Nothing too big.”
“I can go home this afternoon and finish my homework.” Noel could already see how things were going to work.
“No. I mean do you want to come? Or maybe we could have the guys here, though I’m a basic cook, but they can bring stuff.” He smiled, and Noel could tell he was becoming excited about the idea.
“And you want me to join you?” Noel said as David nodded and returned to his call.
“We can have dinner here. And hang out. Noel is going to join us, and you all have to promise to be nice.” David slipped an arm around Noel. “I don’t want you all to scare him away.” He smiled and then added, “Be here at six, and tell the others to bring something… and not just beer.” He chuckled and ended the call. David lay back down.
“Are you sure about this? I can just go home, and you can have fun with your friends.” As much as he’d said that the way David’s father and stepmother treated him didn’t hurt, it did.
David rubbed his back. “If that’s what you want to do.”
Noel lifted his head from David’s chest. “I don’t know what I want. That’s the hard thing. You have me all turned around—you have ever since you gave me a ride home.” He began getting excited, but not in a good way. “You make me want things I don’t know if I can have or deserve. Your father and stepmother will never like me, and I can live with that. But what if your friends hate me? What if I let this… thing… between us go on and it falls totally apart? What do I do then?” He closed his eyes and tried to calm himself.
“I don’t understand…,” David breathed.
“Of course you don’t. You’re a good person, and you’re surrounded by good people. I’m just a kid with no parents and no family who is trying to get through life without stepping in a pile of crap each and every day. That’s all I try to do. And then you come along, and you’re everything I could hope for.” Noel glanced around the room filled with things that cost more than he made in months. “And I’m worried that if I believe this is real, that something between us can happen… then what do I do if it’s all yanked away?” Damn, he even sounded whiny to himself. David’s world was so different from his own, and it was filled with people, like his parents, who would never accept or understand him.
“It is real already.” David drew him upward. “This—whatever is between us—is real. And do I know what will happen?” He shook his head. “But if you think that things between us ending wouldn’t hurt just as much for me as they would for you, then you’re wrong. And I want you to meet my friends. They’re good guys, and I’d like you to get to know them. And I’d like to meet your friends too.” David’s voice broke a little, and Noel held him. “This isn’t about me having some rescue complex or anything else. I stopped that night and offered a ride….”
“Because you’re a good person,” Noel interrupted.
“And I kept coming back because you captured my attention. You’re sassy, and you don’t take any crap from anyone.”
“But what if I say something wrong to your friends?” Noel asked. “What if they don’t like what I have to say? What if my opinions are different from theirs?”
“I’m sure they might be, and if one of them is out of line, put them in their place.” David gently stroked Noel’s cheek, and he leaned into the touch. “All I want from you is that you be yourself. Let them like you for who you are.”
“But what if I’m not good enough?” And there was the core of his fear. Noel felt it coming to the front—that thing that always sat in the back of his mind.
