sides and longer on top. He used to be in shape, but now he was like a poster boy for fitness, all muscular thighs and firm chest that made Noah’s throat dry and fingers twitch with the need to touch.
His features were sharper. Whatever remnants of teenage years had been there ten years ago were all gone now. The easygoing exterior had taken some hits, and in those cracks, Noah could see weariness and cynicism that hadn’t been there before.
Noah couldn’t believe it. The boy he’d loved, ached for, dreamed about, and missed for the last decade was standing right in front of him. Only this wasn’t a boy anymore. Sometime over the last ten years, the boy had grown into a man even more striking than the boy had been.
“Alex,” Noah said hoarsely, cutting off Hannah’s explanation of how she’d injured herself. Everything Hannah was saying had turned into a muffled buzz the moment Noah realized who else was there.
He took a step closer, not that he had any intention to actually touch Alex, but it felt vital to erase at least some of the distance between them.
Noah had thought about what it would be like to see Alex again. Of course he had. Ridiculous fantasies on the nights he was too tired to reel in his imagination. There had been many long, sleepless nights over the years when he’d dreamed about their reunion.
In the cold, harsh light of the morning, though, he’d always known Alex would not welcome him back into his life with open arms. Knowing how the two of them had parted ways, Noah had expected anger, disgust, hatred. There were so many possibilities. What he hadn’t expected was the expression of total confusion on Alex’s face that, for a terrifying moment, made Noah consider that maybe Alex didn’t remember him.
“Noah.” His tone was monotonous, no warmth, no feeling behind it. Noah didn’t know if anger would have been worse. Probably not. At least the presence of anger would suggest there was something there. Something unresolved. A flutter of a feeling.
The indifference hurt.
Noah cleared his throat. “It’s good to see you,” he whispered, unable to find his voice.
Hannah looked between them with a frown. “Wait, you two know each other?”
“Yes,” Noah said just as Alex replied, “Not really.”
Salt to the gaping wound.
Noah winced.
“We used to work together ages ago,” he said to Hannah and forced himself not to look at Alex again, even though all he wanted was to keep staring at the man. Commit even the tiniest of detail to his memory. Sear everything that was Alex into his brain so that he could dig it out during sleepless nights and torture himself with the images.
“That’s a coincidence,” Hannah said, more subdued than Noah had ever seen her. She had clearly caught on to the fact that it wasn’t a happy reunion.
“A major one,” Noah agreed, and Alex nodded.
Hannah eyed them both with an expression that Noah was well acquainted with. It was the one that screamed, I’m scheming. But before Noah could intervene, Hannah was already at it.
“You should come by the clinic!” she said. “You two could reconnect.”
“The clinic?” Alex asked and turned his attention to Hannah.
“Well, Noah here is a vet, and he runs his own clinic.”
Alex’s inscrutable gaze connected with Noah’s for just a moment before he looked away again. “Is that so?”
“It’s the best one in Seattle,” Hannah said and smiled at Noah.
“I don’t know about best,” Noah mumbled.
“You always were good with animals.”
Noah’s head whipped toward Alex. He swallowed hard.
“Thanks.” Noah wanted to say something else. To keep Alex talking. To hear more of that voice that was at once so very familiar and yet felt brand-new.
“You two clearly need to do some catching up,” Hannah said. “Oh, let me give you Noah’s contact information.”
Noah felt like he was watching the whole exchange from somewhere high above. He felt removed from the situation, whether from the shock of seeing Alex or the regret that slammed into him, he couldn’t say. And it was a good thing, since there was a very real chance he might have started crying when Alex smiled politely and said, “Thank you, but that’s not necessary.”
Hannah frowned. “Okay. I guess you can look the clinic up online? Although, boss here is on vacation now, so it’d be better if—”
Alex spoke over her. “Yeah, listen, I hope you’ll feel better, but I have to go now.”
Alex took off without a backward glance, going back to his