Noah

The morning has been slow at the office. My paperwork has been light and my workload thin. With Sunday out of the office and Brazen just feet from me, I can’t help but daydream about my weekend. I lost control, and it felt good. The only thing that mattered while I lay in Brazen’s bed was my own pleasure. All of his focus was on me. The firm control he had in his voice still sets me on fire.

“What are you thinking about?” Brazen asks, as if he doesn’t already know.

I don’t bother to answer.

“Come here,” he sweetly tells me.

I’m in his lap within seconds.

“You’re thinking about the other day.” It isn’t a question. “I’ve been thinking a lot about it, too.” His hand goes to my jaw before he pulls me in for a kiss.

“Slow is hard,” I admit. “Even for someone who’s never experienced fast.”

Brazen stiffens beneath me, and I know I’ve somehow put my foot in my mouth.

“What?” I probe. “What did I say wrong?”

“You didn’t say anything wrong. Promise.”

“Then, why did you go tense beneath me?”

Brazen sighs as his fingers trace my lips. “You’re young, Noah.”

“Yeah, and?” I’m well aware of my age.

“Young and innocent. I want you to be sure before we take things to the next level physically. I don’t want to rush you, and I’m afraid I might have done just that.”

“If I remember correctly, I’m the one who rushed things. You were the one who made me slow down. It was perfect, and I won’t let you show regret about it now.”

“I don’t regret anything. I’m sorry, Noah, but you brought up your inexperience, and I was reminded of the reality.”

He shakes his head, looking shameful, and I hate it.

“And what exactly is the reality? We didn’t do anything that I haven’t already done myself. The only difference was, this time, you were really there, and your voice wasn’t just in my head.”

“Noah … wait! What? What are you saying?”

Me and my freaking mouth! Whatever. I’m not embarrassed. I’m attracted to Brazen, and he’s been the star of all of my fantasies since we met. I’ve touched myself most mornings, imagining something very similar to what we did the other day. Except, in my fantasies, I would get off by his hands and another part of him inside me.

“Maybe you thought the other day was some sort of masturbation magic, and I just instinctively knew how I liked to be touched. However, that wasn’t the first time I’d gotten myself off. I might not have loads of experience, but, hell, Brazen, I’m not even a virgin.”

That last part totally just slipped out.

“You’re not?”

Oh, yeah, he totally thought I still had my card.

“No, don’t get any ideas. I mean, your impression of my innocence is pretty spot on, but, no, I’m not a virgin.”

“Huh,” he muses aloud.

A ringing from Brazen’s desk impedes his thought. He leans forward with me still on his lap and reaches for his phone. His eyes apologize as he answers it, interrupting our conversation. I see Sunday’s name on the front of his screen.

“Hello?” he answers. “Sunday, slow down.”

I’m practically thrown from his lap as he leaps from his chair.

“Where are you?”

My ego is bruised more than anything else.

“I’ll be right there.” He doesn’t even look at me before racing to the door.

“Shit! Noah, I’m sorry! I have to go! You can go home for the day.” He doesn’t halt his pace once as he throws the excuse over his shoulder.

Something in his movements, in his voice, within the emotion on his face tells me not to ask questions. Obviously, something happened, and she needs him right now. I can understand that, but deep down inside, there is a small piece inside of me that feels left very much on the outside when it comes to him and his best friend.

Brazen told me to go home for the day, but I find myself sitting at his desk, unable to leave. I roll a pen across the cluttered surface, thinking. The fear in his voice during that phone call rings through my head.

Sunday and I aren’t best friends. She’s not going to call me to go have a girls’ night or start dusting off the skeletons in her closet for me, and I’m okay with that. She’s sarcastic, and I like the playfulness she sparks in Brazen. When those two are together, it’s clear that they have a genuine friendship.

I’m worried though.

Minutes tick by into hours without any sign of Brazen returning.

I can’t sit back any longer. With a wild hair up my ass, I call an Uber and head for Brazen’s. When I arrive, his car is parked in the driveway. They’re here. On shaky legs, I walk up to his door. I don’t know why, but I already feel like coming here was a mistake. Yet I still find myself at his front door where I can hear them yelling as I knock.

Sunday and Brazen.

I can’t make out the words, but it’s clear that the voices belong to my bosses.

The door flies open, and Brazen stands before me, looking like I’ve never seen him before. With one hand behind his back, his nostrils flare, and toxic anger pours from him. I take a step back, filled with anxious jitters. The second he realizes it’s me and not whomever he was expecting, he softens but only a little. There is movement behind him, and when Brazen turns to see what captured my attention, I see what he’s hiding behind his back. Shiny metal catches my eye, and it doesn’t take me but a glimpse to know that he answered the door, holding a gun behind his back.

I take another step back, pausing my retreat when I see Sunday.

He couldn’t have done that to her. There is no way.

She flees from my view, but I’m positive of what I saw.

Sunday—bruised, battered, and bloody.

“Now really isn’t a good time, Noah,” he tells me.

“I can see that.” I click my tongue.

“You can’t be here,” he insists.

“Give me one good explanation for what I just saw, and I’ll walk away without another mention of this. You damn sure need to give me something because I can’t just walk away and pretend I didn’t see what I did.”

“Some secrets aren’t ours to tell. This is one of those.”

“You’d better tell me something because, right now, I’m not even sure I should be leaving Sunday alone with you.”

He flinches, but I don’t care. If he did that to her, which isn’t something I really believe he’s capable of, there is no way I’m leaving her here with him. No. Way.

“You think I did that to her? That’s the conclusion you’ve jumped to?” Brazen projects sadness, disappointment, and hurt my way.

“Brazen, what am I supposed to think?”

“I don’t know. Not that though. I have to go, Noah. We’ll talk about this tomorrow.”

As the door is closing, my hand juts out and makes contact, stopping it.

“I can’t just walk away without knowing she’s safe here,” I tell him flatly. “You can’t just dismiss me.” I push open his door that he’s no longer holding and call into the house, “Sunday, are you okay?”

She rounds a corner and stops, not taking another step. “Brazen didn’t do this. He would never do anything like this. I’m here because I’m safe here, and he’s home because I called him. Please go, Noah.” Her voice cracks and is coated with anguish.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Please.”

Sunday moves back out of sight, and Brazen sighs, looking defeated. I don’t know what to say. My lips move, but no words come out, and then the door is closing. This time, it closes in my face, and I hear the lock click before I can say I’m sorry.

Hell.

I know he didn’t do that, but someone did.