Chapter Eighteen

Inspired by his uncle’s pep talk, Jordan returned home to the Andrews residence determined to tell Noah how he felt about him. Best case scenario, he’d say that he feels the same way and they’d get together. Worst case...well at least he knew where the nearest homeless shelter was.

A few blocks away from the house, Jordan texted Noah to see if he was still at his parents’ house. He texted back right away saying that he was at home cooking dinner. Jordan told him he’d be there in a few minutes and then shoved the phone and his freezing hands back in his pockets.

As much as he was looking forward to getting out of the cold, every step closer to the house was making him more and more anxious. He hadn’t done anything like this since he’d asked Maddie to the junior prom when he was sixteen.

When he finally made it to the house, he took his time getting up the steps. There was ice everywhere, and he did not particularly want to go back to the hospital tonight, nor did he want to make his romantic declaration from the back of an ambulance.

Having conquered the steps, Jordan twisted the knob on the front door and let himself in. The house smelled like something fattening and wonderful. Even though Jordan had just eaten with his uncle, his stomach released a growl.

“Hey kiddo,” Jordan said, spotting Lucy. She was painting something on an easel with one hand while holding a palette in the other. There was also another brush, dripping with green paint that she was currently hanging onto with her mouth. The living room had been absolutely carpeted in old newspaper. She made an indistinct grumbling sound around the paintbrush that Jordan took as a hello. Jordan waved at her and followed the smell of delicious food into the kitchen.

Noah was bent over a bowl, mashing potatoes, while a couple of pots gurgled on the stove and berries were rinsing off in a strainer in the sink. The oven was also making the intrusive beeping sound it made whenever it was finished preheating. Noah’s ‘world’s best dad’ apron was splattered with stains in every color.

Jordan gave him a lopsided grin and quirked his brow.

“Need a hand?”

“Yes please,” Noah said, smiling sheepishly. “That tray of asparagus needs to go in the oven and those berries need to be put in that saucepan with some nutmeg, cornstarch, and a half cup of sugar.”

Jordan followed those directions, while Noah finished his potatoes and stirred his pot of homemade mac and cheese on the stove.

“So, how did things go with your uncle?” he asked, digging out his pre-made pie crust.

Jordan continued adding the proper amount of sugar to the berries and shrugged.

“Oh, you know. Same old same old. Nothing too special. We mostly just hung out and talked about TV shows,” Jordan said, which technically wasn’t even a lie. “How were things with your parents?”

Noah rinsed his hands and wiped them off on one of the many strewn-about dishrags.

“Great,” he said. “Actually, I’ve got some stuff I wanted to run by you real quick when we get done with this.”

Jordan’s hands suddenly became so sweaty that he had trouble holding onto the spoon he was stirring with.

“Oh, really?” he said, trying for nonchalant. “Because there was actually something I wanted to talk to you about too…”

Noah smiled at him and it made Jordan feel warm all over. This man was gonna be the death of him.

“All right. But first let’s show this dinner who’s boss.”

For the next half hour, they worked together in perfect harmony. They got the pie and the ham and the biscuits into the oven. They got all the side dishes prepared and set aside. Noah set a few different timers just to make sure he didn’t burn anything and then pulled off his apron. Then he pulled up the collar of his shirt and used it to wipe his sweaty brow. The gesture revealed a pale stripe of skin on his lower belly. There was a trail of brown hair leading from his belly button and disappearing beneath the waistline of his pants. Jordan had never wanted to touch something so badly in his life.

“Okay,” Noah said, completely oblivious to Jordan’s internal struggle. “We can talk in my office.”

Noah’s office was pretty much exactly how Jordan had pictured it. Warm, inviting colors in various shades of brown and maroon. Walls covered with awards and pictures of every type of animal he could imagine. There were two bookcases, one that was filled to the brim with camera equipment and one that was filled with memoirs and books about animal behavior. In the far right corner was a small oak desk, perched atop it was an expensive desktop computer and a matching laptop. Both devices were overflowing with connected external hard drives. On the wall directly above the desk was a blown up portrait of Lucy with an exotic bird perched on her shoulders.

“Wow,” Jordan said. He walked from one end of the room to the other. “Did you take all of these pictures?”

“Guilty,” Noah said. He seemed sort of uncomfortable with the close scrutiny of his cherished work.

“It’s incredible.”

Jordan ran his fingers over the edge of one of the prints.

Noah shrugged.

“They’re okay,” he said. “I would have shot them differently today.” Noah walked over to where Jordan was standing and pointed up at the picture Jordan was looking at. “That bear was not happy to see me,” he admitted.

Jordan’s eyes went wide.

“What do you mean? Did it attack you or something?”

“Just about. I was standing pretty far away, but I forgot that the flash was on and it startled her. I snapped a few more pics really quickly and then made a run for my truck.”

Jordan looked at Noah with newfound respect.

“Does that happen often?”

Noah shook his head.

“Nah, every so often maybe, but I’m usually pretty good about not disturbing the animals. I’m just there to observe them and document things so that other people can feel like they observed them as well.”

“Well I think that’s pretty cool,” Jordan told him.

Noah smiled and ran his fingers through his hair. That signature red color was seeping into his cheeks again.

“Thanks,” he said.

There was a short pause and then Noah cleared his throat.

“So, uh, this conversation we’re about to have, do you wanna go first, or should I?”

Jordan’s heart lurched. He’d been so engrossed in Noah’s story that he’d almost forgotten why they were up here. His nerves returned to him with the force of a deadly tidal wave.

“You go first,” he squeezed out. He didn’t know what Noah was planning to say, but there was a chance that he wouldn’t want to say it any longer after Jordan had poured his heart out. Best to get that out of the way now.

“Okay, well I was talking with my parents about your situation earlier. Just filling them in on what had happened during the shooting and why you’ve been staying with us and stuff, and I think they might have just come up with the perfect solution for you.”

“Oh?” Jordan asked. He wasn’t quite sure he liked where this conversation was going.

“Yeah, well, I think you might have already figured this out by now, but my family is pretty wealthy. Specifically, my dad. He does a lot of business all over the world, but specifically Detroit. He has an apartment there and everything.”

Noah paused to see if Jordan was following along. Jordan nodded for him to continue.

“Well, my father said that he wouldn’t mind letting you stay at his apartment for a little while. He only needs it a few times a month anyway.”

“I can’t afford to move to the city,” Jordan said hollowly. He knew he should be happy to have these new prospects, but he felt like he was being gutted from the inside out.

Noah gave him a lopsided grin.

“Yeah, well. That’s the other thing. My mom owns an insurance company that has an office about five miles from my dad’s apartment. She can get you a job answering phones there. It’ll pay almost $80,000 per year with benefits and you won’t have to be on your feet while you’re recovering. Isn’t that great?”

It was great. Too good to be true even.

“But what about my uncle?” Jordan whispered, desperately hanging on to the one excuse he had left to deny this generous offer and stay here with Noah and Lucy.

Noah reached out and placed his hands on Jordan’s shoulders, rubbing soothing circles with his thumbs.

“I know you’re worried about your uncle,” Noah said. “But you and I both know that he’d want you to get back on your feet instead of worrying about him or working yourself to the bone just to stay afloat. Even if you’re in a different city, you can still talk to him every day and you’ll only be a few hours away in case of an emergency. Lucy and I could even go pay him a visit from time to time if you want. My mom says you can start working as soon as next week. What do you say?”

Jordan said yes. He had to. Even though he was absolutely heartbroken over the thought of leaving so soon, he couldn’t kick such a generous gift horse in the mouth.

“Thank you,” he whispered. His throat was hoarse with held back tears. Noah only smiled on, undoubtedly thinking his emotions were coming from somewhere else entirely.

“No problem bud. Anything for you. Lucy and I will drive down with you this weekend and help you get settled.”

Jordan nodded and let his eyes fall closed. This is a good thing, he kept telling himself. This was the kind of break he’d been asking the universe for, for years. So what if it meant that he’d have to move away and that he’d probably never see Noah and Lucy again? He’d only known them for less than a month anyway. Saying goodbye should be easy, but just the thought of it was turning his heart to ash.

“So, what was it that you wanted to tell me?” Noah asked.

Jordan opened his eyes. Noah was looking down at him with an expression that was so open and hopeful and kind. Technically Jordan could still tell him what he wanted to tell him, but he wouldn’t. It would just be cruel, especially if he was leaving in a week.

“Nothing,” Jordan lied. “I just wanted to thank you again, for the watch, the room, everything.”

Noah smiled and opened his mouth to say something, but he was interrupted by the oven timer going off downstairs.

“I’ve gotta turn the asparagus,” he explained before turning tail and exiting the room.

Jordan stood there in silence for several more minutes, feeling like a dam had just burst inside him. He took a bunch of deep breaths and tried to remind himself that he had survived so much worse, and with time and effort, hopefully he’d survive this too.