when you drink?”
They’d eaten lunch, but dinner had been forgotten in their effort to finish the job and do the nightly chores with the animals. Alex waved toward the house. “I’m pretty sure there’s something you can use to make sandwiches.”
“How come I get the kitchen duty?”
Alex motioned toward his beer. “I graciously provided the beverages, so it’s only fair for you to carry some of the weight, too.”
Alex didn’t feel like getting up. So he’d get drunk quicker. Wouldn’t be the first time. He sort of enjoyed the almost dreamlike state he was in. He was tired and overworked and the sharp edges of physical exhaustion were dulled more and more with every sip of beer he took.
The day had been long, but Alex wasn’t going to complain. It felt like sitting there with Noah was his reward for hard work. He should inform his school about that incentive. Maybe he’d make more of an effort if they’d give out Noah-time as a prize.
Noah fell on his back next to Alex and yawned. “I guess we’ll just starve, then.”
Alex smiled. Noah’s arm was so close to Alex’s that he could feel heat radiating off Noah’s skin. He could smell their combined sweat as a soft breeze tickled over them, but it was not unpleasant. In fact, it kind of turned Alex on. Whatever the fuck he was doing, Alex couldn’t find it in him to care. The whole day he’d watched Noah’s sleek muscles on display as they dragged all the useless junk out of the shed, until Alex had felt like he was vibrating with the need to touch Noah. To smooth his palms over Noah’s skin and to run his fingers through Noah’s hair.
This whole thing was a train wreck waiting to happen. What the hell was he thinking, lusting after Noah?
Only, the way Noah had been subtly eyeing him the whole day, made Alex increasingly certain that he wasn’t alone in his fascination.
He concentrated back on the beer and the issue of their nonexistent dinner. “You know, beer is made of crops, so we’re pretty much eating bread right now. Russians even have a saying about beer being liquid bread. Did you know that if you drink one bottle of beer, the energy you get from it is equal to seven slices of bread?”
Noah gaped at him. “That’s some weird factual knowledge to have.”
“Told you I’m not just a pretty face.”
“Indeed you did.”
The crickets were chirping somewhere right above Alex’s head. He wasn’t sleepy, just in that hazy, drowsy state that you got right before falling asleep, only Alex wasn’t going to do that. He had Noah to himself for the evening. No chores. No Carl lurking around like a hulking chastity police. Alex was going to enjoy it. Who the hell knew if he’d ever get to spend time with Noah like that again?
“I underestimated you,” Noah said with a yawn. “I was sure you’d be useless today.”
“Hey!” Alex said, affronted. Okay, so he could see why Noah would think that, but still. If he was honest with himself, manual labor had felt good. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d done a job where the result could be seen right away. It had felt nice.
Noah put his arm under his head, eyes locked on the stars. Alex couldn’t keep his eyes away from Noah’s profile. He looked elegant, sharp angles combined with softer lines. Alex wished he could reach out his hand and slide his fingertips over Noah’s cheeks to see if they were as soft as they seemed. He didn’t want to ruin the moment, though.
“You’re not lazy. Not at all,” Noah said and turned his head to the side. They were so close, only inches between their faces. “I think you like to put up a front. Make people dismiss you by presenting yourself as this shallow, overconfident asshole, but that’s…” Noah stopped talking, seemingly deep in thought for a moment. “You’re an orange,” he finally said.
Alex snorted at that. “And you’re cut off. Man, you’re a lightweight.” He started to turn his head away, but Noah must have thought he was getting up because he grabbed Alex’s hand in his and squeezed it before letting go. “No. Listen. You’re an orange. If people only scrape the surface, they don’t like the taste, right? It’s all bitter and acidic, and not very enjoyable. But if you peel the thing, it’s delicious.” Noah looked proud and smug at the same time as he