that was something.
Noah hovered in the doorway, seemingly unsure of what his next move should be. Eventually, he stepped in and grabbed a pair of gloves to himself. It was as if a silent communication was taking place between the two. They didn’t exchange a word when Noah climbed up on the trailer that had brought the bales and Alex stayed down on the floor. Noah started throwing the bales to Alex, who stacked them in neat towers on the barn floor.
After about an hour, they stopped and took a break. Alex threw Noah a bottle of water and tried hard not to stare as Noah drank it. A drop of sweat ran down Noah’s temple. His brown hair was messy. Little bits of hay had gotten stuck to Noah’s sweaty skin. The way Noah threw his head back when he drank made Alex want to curse. He really needed to get a grip.
Noah leaned his ass against the edge of the trailer and regarded Alex with an inscrutable expression. It would have been easier just to get back to work and try and ignore Noah. Stick his head under the sand until the hard part was over.
“About last night,” Noah started, but before he could continue, Alex lifted his hands in the air in front of himself.
“We really don’t have to do this.”
Noah studied Alex. “Do what, exactly?”
Alex rubbed at the back of his neck. “Look, we have a choice here. You can tell me that it was all a mistake, and that it can never happen again, and that you’re really sorry, but we’re better off friends. Or, and let me be clear that I’m rooting for the following option, we can just pretend that nothing happened. Go on as we used to.”
Noah cocked his head to the side as he listened to Alex. Then, he straightened himself and took a few measured steps toward Alex until they were standing so close to each other that Alex could see the flecks of silver in Noah’s eyes.
“Are those the only options you can come up with?” Noah asked quietly.
Alex swallowed. His mouth was suddenly dry and each gulp felt like he was trying to force sand down his throat. “What else could there be?” he asked, voice hoarse.
Noah took another step closer. Slowly, he moved his hand until the two of them were touching, and then he wrapped his pinky finger around Alex’s.
“I was thinking,” Noah said. “How about after work tomorrow, you and I take a drive? Go to Portland, maybe? It’s nice there. We could catch a movie, or go to dinner, or maybe laser tag?” He swallowed, and Alex could have sworn he felt Noah’s hands tremble. “There’s also stand-up, or a hike, maybe. Mmm, there are a couple of arcades, or we could go see if there are any cool bands playing.” Noah’s voice trailed off for a moment. “Is… do any of these things sound appealing?” Noah bit his lower lip. The uncertainty in his eyes had grown with every option he mentioned, which was fucking adorable and made Alex’s heart jump into his throat and slam against his windpipe like it was trying to break free.
“Are you asking me out on a date?” Alex asked, disbelief warring with elation in his tone.
“Yes?” Noah said, and a tremor ran through his hand, which was still connected to Alex’s with the help of their pinkies.
“Yes,” he repeated with more conviction.
Instead of answering, Alex hooked his hand behind Noah’s neck and pulled him closer until their lips sealed together. The kiss was brief. Alex was very much aware of the fact that Carl was somewhere nearby, and Alex was not going to be an idiot and jeopardize his date no matter how much he wanted to deepen the kiss and throw caution to the wind.
“So that’s a yes?” Noah asked when Alex pulled away.
The smile came easily. “That’s a hell yes.”
Alex was just getting out of the shower when his phone rang. He wrapped a towel around his hips and dried his hands before he padded out of the bathroom to go and pick up his phone. For a moment, he was worried it would be Noah, conveniently coming to his senses and calling to cancel their date, but he dismissed that idea. He was going to trust Noah.
He groaned at the sight of his father’s name on the screen. “Perfect,” he muttered to himself before he answered the phone.
“Father, dearest. To what do I owe