Noah's New Plan - 13. Chapter 13

Noah spent the day looking at apartments. So far hadn't found anything that jumped out at him.

His list of wants didn't seem that outrageous. He didn't know why it was so difficult. He wanted a second floor apartment with a balcony. The appliances should be new. A fireplace would be nice because he liked to curl up and read a good book in the wintertime. The main view must overlook trees or a pond, not a parking lot. And it had to be within a head librarian's budget.

That wasn't so impossible, was it?

With only one place left on his list, he headed to the city's art district. He was to meet the landlady in front of the corner coffee shop.

Looking up and down the street front, Noah wasn't sure what to make of it. There was a tattoo parlor, a sushi bar and a bookstore on this block. A rainbow flag flew over the bookstore's door. Noah had been to that bookstore a couple of times to purchase some gay-themed books.

Noah looked up at the apartment over the coffee shop. Yeah, he wasn't feeling it. He would have turned and left if the landlord wasn't already there smiling, holding out her hand.

"It's nice to meet you, Noah. I'm Melanie."

Noah shook her hand. "Thanks for showing me the apartment."

"Oh, you're quite welcome. I think you're going to love it."

Melanie pulled out a ring of keys and Noah followed her to the nondescript doorway between the coffee shop and the sushi bar. After unlocking the door, Melanie trotted up the stairs with Noah right behind her.

Okay, so it was a second floor apartment. That was on his list.

The landlady flipped through the keys until she found the right one. She opening the door and held out her hand in a flourish. "Home sweet home!"

Noah frowned, but quickly put on a smile for Melanie.

The place was smaller than what Noah had hoped for. It wasn't much more than a single room with a bedroom and bathroom. It wasn't dirty, but it felt like it was. New paint on the walls would have freshened the place up.

The appliances weren't so bad even though the kitchen was tiny. There was no fireplace, naturally. Plenty of windows, but the view was of the street below.

"Take a look around," Melanie encouraged.

As Noah walked into the bedroom, his cell-phone beeped. He pulled it from his pocket and looked at the screen. It was from Eli.

What ya doing?

Looking at an apartment in arts district.

Cool. That's real close to me. I'm in h-town.

Noah stared at his phone and blinked. Eli lived in the city's historic village? He didn't seem like the historical home kind of guy. Many of the homes in that part of the city were being revitalized after having been neglected for so long.

Then again, Noah didn't know much about Eli.

I'm not sure if I like it. It needs work.

I can help. I'm good with my hands wink wink

Noah laughed.

"Did you say something?" Melanie asked from the other room.

Noah returned to the living room. "I'm fine."

"So what do you think?"

Disregarding everything on his list, Noah said, "I'll take it."

* * * *

It was Saturday night and Noah sat on the floor of his living room packing away his personal belongings.

Good times.

He didn't realize until that moment how many pictures he had of him and Derek. Besides the framed pictures scattered around the house, there were also a bunch of photo albums under the coffee table.

What the hell was he supposed to do with them all? It wasn't like he was going to display them in his new place. Should he toss them in the garbage? It seemed wrong to throw away twenty years of memories, but he honestly didn't want them.

Noah dumped the photo albums and frames into an empty box. He'd figure it out later.

When his phone beeped, he wasn't surprised. He had been half expecting the message.

Eli had taken to texting him on a regular basis. They were supposed to be keeping it casual, but Noah didn't exactly object to the man's attentions. He liked chatting with Eli over text. It seemed a lot less serious than actually talking on the phone.

Heading to the night job. What do you think?

A second later, a picture appeared in the chat window. Noah tapped it to enlarge it and his jaw dropped.

The bouncer wore a black T-shirt that was at least one size too small. In large bold letters, the front of the shirt said "CAUTION: CHOKING HAZARD". His worn jeans were snug, the denim was faded and almost threadbare in his bulging crotch.

Was Eli really going to wear that to work?

Noah tapped his screen. Seriously?

LOL jealous?

"Jealous?" Noah scoffed. Whatever....

Okay, so maybe a little. Eli was going to have men all over him tonight. But damn, he looked good. That picture was making Noah horny.

Come down to the club

Noah was tempted even though he already had plans to go out on a date with Eli tomorrow night. He needed to exhibit some amount of self control, especially if he was going to keep this casual. But damn, Eli was making it hard. Literally.

Noah tapped on the screen's keyboard. I can't. I'm in the middle of something.

Ouch. Pass deflected.

Huh?

Football? Ever heard of it?

Is that the game with the big men in tight pants?

OMG I'm dating a big gay nerd.

Noah couldn't help but laugh. I'll see you tomorrow