Chapter Twenty-Two

When Jordan woke, Noah was gone. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes, threw the covers off him and searched the room for enough of his clothes to be considered decent. Once he was dressed, he quietly closed Noah’s bedroom door behind him and padded downstairs.

Noah was in the kitchen, like he usually was this time of morning. He was pouring himself a cup of coffee. There was already another one sitting on the counter waiting for Jordan. He grabbed hold of it gratefully and took a long sip.

“Good morning,” Noah told him.

Even all these hours later, there was still this freshly fucked glow about him. Jordan returned his smug smile in kind.

“Morning. Where’s Lucy?”

“She’s still asleep,” he answered. “That girl’s been sleeping like a rock.”

Jordan nodded and held his coffee close to his face, soaking in the warmth and the intoxicating smell. Meanwhile, Noah was looking Jordan up and down as if he were some fine produce he was looking to buy. Jordan had no idea what he was searching for in his physical appearance, but he must’ve been pretty pleased with it, because he was smiling like a man in love. Jordan couldn’t help but reciprocate.

Jordan set down his cup and took several steps closer to Noah. He stood on his tiptoes and gave the other man a peck on the forehead. Noah’s smile deepened, and he wrapped Jordan in a warm embrace.

“You wanna help me make some breakfast?” he asked, cheek pressed against the top of Jordan’s hair.

“Sure,” he said. He could tell that Noah had something on his mind. This was coming to be a pattern with them, cooking together to work out their nerves before any long or nerve wracking conversations. Jordan couldn’t really complain. He liked cooking with Noah, and delicious food was always welcome.

They made a full spread worthy of the new year, complete with pancakes, eggs, bacon, hash browns, and cinnamon sugar toast. By the time they had cooked and neatly laid everything out, Lucy had emerged from her dungeon and joined them.

“Nice timing, Bugs,” Noah told her, scooping her into a nice, side hug. “Come eat.”

Lucy yawned and sat down at her usual spot at the table. Jordan got her a plate without really thinking about it. She thanked him and started piling food onto it, not bothering to wait for her father to dole it out for her.

“What time did I fall asleep last night?” she asked around a mouthful of pancake.

“About an hour before midnight,” Noah answered. “Close, but no cigar.”

Lucy made a face.

“Lame.” She took a bite of her eggs. “So, what time are we taking Jordan into the city?’

Jordan and Noah shared a meaningful look.

“We uh, we don’t know yet,” Noah said. “I think we’re just gonna play it by ear.”

“What does that mean?” Lucy asked.

“It means, we’ll see how it goes,” he clarified.

Lucy immediately perked up and turned to Jordan.

“Wait, so you mean you might not be leaving today?”

Jordan glanced at Noah, unsure of how to answer that question.

“I don’t know,” he said. “Maybe.”

“That’s awesome!” Lucy said. “I wish you’d never leave.”

Jordan popped his last bite of toast into his mouth and chewed. Honestly, he couldn’t agree more. Lucy was preaching to the choir.

“That’s enough Lucy,” Noah said in a rare display of annoyance. “We’re playing it by ear, remember?”

It was only then that she seemed to realize that something had shifted between Jordan and her dad. She was looking back and forth between the two of them like a puzzle that she couldn’t quite figure out. She scarfed the rest of her breakfast in contemplative silence.

“I’m gonna go play in my room,” she said, standing up to put her plate in the sink. “So, you guys can talk or whatever.”

Noah thanked her and waited for her to disappear from sight.

“That girl is too smart for her own good,” he said with a sigh.

Jordan nodded his agreement.

“She is right though, we do need to talk about this.” At that, he reached across the table and linked their fingers together.

Noah sighed.

“I know we do, but I don’t even know where to begin.”

Jordan’s heart gave a painful lurch.

“You’re not having regrets about last night, are you?”

“No!” Noah said. “Of course not. It’s just. There are so many ways things could go from here. It’s kind of scary, you know? I don’t want to accidentally make the wrong choice, and screw our relationship up before it even gets started.”

“Is that what this is?” Jordan asked. “A relationship?”

Noah furrowed his brows.

“Yeah, what else would you call it?”

Jordan held up his free hand in defense.

“Hey, I’m just making sure we’re both on the same page here. So, to clarify, you don’t want to be friends with benefits or anything like that? You want to actually date me, and do that whole sappy, happy boyfriend thing, correct?”

“Yes.”

Jordan beamed. He felt like he’d just won the lottery.

“Okay,” he said. “Good. I want that too.”

“But, I still think you should move into my dad’s apartment,” Noah interjected.

“Oh,” Jordan said, face falling.

“Don’t get me wrong,” Noah explained. “I want you here, always. But it’s such a good opportunity for you. I think you’d do really well in the city. Try new things, make new friends, actually build your life again. I don’t want you giving that up for me.”

Jordan hung his head. Of course, he’d have to fall for someone with an actual conscience.

“So, what do you propose we do?” he asked.

Noah folded his hands in front of him.

“I think we spend a few more weeks together, have you move into the apartment, and then try keeping things going long distance. That is, if you want to.”

“I want to,” Jordan said. “I really do. It’s just...sad, you know? When I first got here, all I wanted to do was leave, and now I can’t stand the thought of being so far away.”

Noah traced Jordan’s knuckles with his thumb.

“Yeah,” he whispered. “I’m probably going to be cursing myself for this in a few months when I’m alone and desperately missing you, but I still think it’s the right thing to do.”

Jordan sucked up a lungful of air and nodded. He knew that Noah was right. He knew from personal experience that you couldn’t build a life around one specific person. That never worked out well in the end.

“So, are we gonna tell Lucy?” Jordan asked.

Noah grimaced.

“I don’t know, should we?”

Jordan shrugged.

“I mean, she’s probably going to figure it out anyway. In fact, there’s a good chance she already has.”

“Okay,” Noah said. “I’ll sit down with her first to test the waters, and then we can break the news together. Maybe later today, if you’re feeling up for it.”

“Whatever you want, babe,” he said. It was his first time ever using that term of endearment, but it felt just right on his lips. Noah was a babe. His babe, in fact.

“And just so you know,” Noah continued. “I’m going to be a really needy, long-distance boyfriend. I’m gonna call you multiple times per day, video chats with Lucy at night, arguing over who has to hang up first, the works.”

Jordan’s mouth twitched into a smile.

“Sounds nice. I’ll do my best to be a little less exhausted for you.”

“Good. And we’re gonna come visit you once a month and bring you all kinds of food to fatten you up.”

“Okay,” Jordan said. “Anything else?”

Noah tapped his fingers on the table a few times, then placed his free hand on top of their joined ones.

“And, we’re gonna live happily ever after.”

They ended the conversation there, with both of them feeling pretty good about things. After that, they went about their day. Noah went upstairs to get some work done. Lucy played with toys and hung out with Jordan. They sat down to a nice normal family dinner and told Lucy that they were dating. To say that she took it well was a vast understatement. The kid was through the roof excited. She also proclaimed that she knew something like this was happening about a dozen times. When it was time for them to go to bed, Jordan automatically started following the familiar path down to the basement.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Noah asked, stopping him in his tracks.

“Uh, my room?” Jordan said.

Noah shook his head and crossed his arms.

“If you’re moving out soon, then I want you sleeping in my room. I need to pack in as much boyfriend time as possible.”

It was only the second or third time Noah had used that word for him, but it still caught him off guard. He had a boyfriend. Noah Andrews was his boyfriend. And he was super-hot, and kind, and funny, and an amazing dad. If he hadn’t experienced the steps that led him to this moment firsthand, he would have been inclined to think it was all just a pipe dream.

Jordan shook his head in blissful disbelief and followed Noah up the stairs. For the second night in a row, he had the pleasure of falling asleep wrapped in the larger man’s arms. He couldn’t remember ever feeling so comfortable or safe. He drifted off to sleep, and stayed asleep, until a loud, constant buzzing sound punctured a hole straight through his unconsciousness. 

Noah groaned and rolled over, granting Jordan access to his phone on the nightstand. He picked up the device, squinting against the blinding blue light, and wondered, not only who could be calling at this time of the night, but just who could be calling him at all. He could think of maybe eight people tops who actually had his number. He glanced down at the display. It wasn’t anyone in his contacts, but the structure of the number did seem vaguely familiar.

Jordan pressed accept and put the phone to his ear.

“Hello?” he said.

“Hi, so sorry about the disturbance, but is this Jordan Mitchell?”

“Yeah. Who’s calling please?”

“This is Dr. Cindy Armenta from Aurora Health. I’m afraid we’ve got some news about your uncle.”

Jordan’s stomach dropped out from underneath him.

“What kind of news? Is he okay?”

It was at this point that Noah sat up to see what was going on. Jordan reached out and fumbled for his hand in the dark.

“He is stable for the time being, but we don’t know for how long. That’s all the information I can give you over the phone, but I would recommend that you come in as soon as you possibly can.”