by Alan Wild
Noah said, “I did want to talk to you about what Owen said. Do you think that someone can fall in love after knowing each other for just a few days?”
Oliver said, “My answer would have changed depending when you asked me. If you asked me six years ago, I would have said that it is possible. If you asked me three years ago, I would have said, Hell no! But now that I know you, I say 100% yes. Noah, because of you, I believe in love.”
Noah couldn’t help but smile because Oliver made it sound like he was working it out in his head. Noah already knew how he felt; he just wasn’t sure how to put it into words. Something close to butterflies fluttered his stomach, but it could have also been his nerves. He wasn’t exactly sure how Oliver felt before, but now that he knew, he felt like the curtain of his life was being raised, and he saw everything in a different light. Noah realized that he was starting to breathe fast, and he hadn’t said anything. Oliver told him that he liked him and wanted him in his life, and Noah could not say a word.
Oliver pulled back, “I understand if you do not feel the same, and I get that it may be too soon. I just wanted to put it out there and clear up how I felt about you and what I would like to happen.” Oliver stood quickly, feeling rejected. Anger started to take hold as he thought, “I should have known that he wouldn’t want to be with me after the case is over. I know I am a handful. I overbuy everything, hell, I've even been called a hoarder and OCD. So, what if I like my shirts folded perfectly or my clothes sorted by color.” Oliver crossed his arms, not wanting to speak in fear of what he might say.”
Noah could tell Oliver was upset with his lack of response. Standing, Noah said, “I like you. I could lose myself and picture our lives together. I spent my life closed off and tucked away so that I couldn’t be seen or noticed. But you came along and made me feel like everything would be okay, better than okay. I can easily get caught up thinking that I could have a happily ever after. Then, I have to be realistic, Oliver, you are smoking hot, and you could have anyone in the world. Why would you want me? I am flawed, scarred, and have panic attacks. I don’t like crowds, and I don’t have any friends, so I don’t know how to react to people. I hate folding clothes, and I am nowhere close to being as clean and neat as you are. I’ve never had a boyfriend, and I have no idea how I need to be.” Oliver tried to wrap his arms around Noah, but he pulled away before he lost his nerve. He started to take off his shirt and pants. His actions spoke to Oliver, but Noah’s face said something completely different. Noah was crying, and Oliver realized what Noah was doing. He was exposing himself so that Oliver knew what he was getting himself into. Noah stood there in his underwear, crying.
Oliver slowly ran his hands up Noah’s arms, the light touch causing goosebumps. Oliver kissed Noah very softly, then pulled back and kissed his shoulder. He continued to kiss Noah on his scars. He kissed him on his stomach and Kissed him on his leg. Oliver said, “I am so honored that you trusted me to show me all that makes up who you are. I am so sorry that the monster put you through that horror. I can’t even begin to understand your pain. Noah, this is a part of who you are. I am sorry that you can’t see the beauty that I do. There isn’t much that would keep me from wanting to be with you because I see you, the real you. The flaws we have are what make us beautiful. Oliver wrapped his arms around Noah and held him, and the tears fell. They fell for the way Noah was treated in the past, for the way Noah saw himself, and finally, for what they both were going through. They were both the target of a deranged psychopath.
Oliver dried his eyes, took Noah’s mouth, and kissed him with intense passion. He explored Noah’s mouth with his tongue. Noah moaned and joined in with the well-synchronized dance of passion. Noah found his body responding in ways that he never expected was possible. His hands moved on their own. Noah found his hands under Oliver’s shirt, and he was feeling the thick hair on his chest as well as the smooth skin on his back. He wanted more, and he refused to hold back.
Noah raised Oliver’s shirt over his head and tossed it on the floor. They stood there in an embrace while kissing. Oliver sucked Noah's bottom lip, and the sound alone stirred excitement in Oliver. He started pressing against Noah with an intense desire to feel as one. Noah broke the kiss and started kissing Oliver's neck and down to his chest. Noah rubbed his face on Oliver's chest and inhaled a deep breath, trying to take in the intoxicating musk that was all Oliver. Noah moved to Oliver’s nipple and ran his lips over the little nub, then he stuck his tongue out, tasting Oliver’s nipple, and he teased him with a little nibble. Oliver let out something between a moan and a gasp. Noah ran his hands all over Oliver's body, and he finally stopped when they were on his ass. Oliver decided it was his turn to explore.
Thinking about what was about to happen, he started to panic. Oliver quickly became lost in his thoughts as he undressed, “I love touching this man. His body feels amazing. I’m not sure if I am ready. Fuck, my body says that I am ready, I just can’t make my mind comply. I know he isn’t Anthony. He treats me well. He respects me and acts like he enjoys my company. I can do this.” Oliver realized he had tears. He wiped at his eyes and explored Noah’s body with his hands. Noah pulled back with a look of horror on his face; he said, “I knew this was too good to be true. I know that I am hideous. I just thought you would be different.” Noah began to gather his clothes as he began to cry. Oliver stopped him and asked, “Can we talk about this? It has nothing to do with you. You are beautiful. This is about me. Noah stopped for a moment, looked at Oliver with his fists clenched around his clothes, and said in an angry tone, “I’m not stupid.” Oliver instantly became angered, lashing out, “And what? Am I? Say it, if that is what you think.”
Looking like Oliver just slapped him, Noah said, “That is not what I said. I said that I am not stupid.” Wiping angry tears, Oliver said, “That is what you implied. I just wish you would say how you feel. Get it out.”
Feeling defeated, Noah inhaled deeply and let out a sigh. “I don’t think you are stupid, quite the opposite. You are far from stupid. I’d say brilliant.”
Growling with frustration, Oliver wiped more tears “I already told you that I love everything about you. It is like I said, this is about me. I am nervous, okay? I love touching and feeling you. It is hard for me to trust. I mean, fuck, I’m fucking everything up.”
Walking over to join Oliver, Noah places his hand on the man’s shoulder and, in a voice, barely louder than a whisper, “Why is it hard for you to trust me?”
Oliver had his hands over his face. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he fell back and ran his hands through his hair. “It’s not that I don’t trust you.” Feeling the pit of his stomach clench, he continued, “I used to love sex, before Anthony. All I can remember now is the pain, and it freaks me out.” Not fully understanding what Oliver is telling him, Noah asked, “How did he hurt you?”
“I shouldn’t have said anything. I’m fine. I’m sorry. I love feeling you against me, feeling your bare skin on mine. I love smelling you on me. I was excited; I thought I would be ready.”
With a better understanding, Noah crawled over and laid next to the beautiful man. Noah put his head on Oliver’s shoulder and said, “I hate that he hurt you. I am sorry that you even have to think about that. You told me that you would be honored if I chose to share all of myself with you. I want to tell you the same thing. When you are ready, let me know. I would love to share my first time with you.”
After laying together, having Noah on top of Oliver. Oliver said, “I could stay like this for hours.” Oliver was soaking in everything that was Noah when his phone began to ring. Oliver let out an annoyed growl, and he told Noah, I better get that. Noah moved and made his way to the shower. Oliver was talking softly and disconnected the call. Oliver padded over to Noah, where he was working to figure out what buttons to push to get the fancy shower to turn on.
Oliver said, “We are going to have to save that for later. There has been a development. Ray’s on his way over and will be he
re in five minutes. They both redressed and took a look at each other. They were going so fast they put on each other's underwear. Oliver was slightly uncomfortable because Noah was one size smaller. Noah saw Oliver adjusting, and he smiled and asked, “Do we have time to switch back?” Shaking his head, Oliver said, “I can just go without.”
“Um, No! I wouldn’t be able to focus on anything but the fact that you are not wearing underwear,” he said.
Oliver reassured him “It will be tight, but I will be fine, I enjoy having something of yours so close to my skin. We better get down there and find out what is going on.”
As they made their way down the stairs, the doorbell rang. Oliver checked his phone and walked to let Ray and Nate in. Just as they got in, the security company pulled up. Oliver was about to call out to Owen to ask him if he would wait here and show the security installers where they would like the additional cameras placed. He opened his mouth and detected movement at Noah’s house.
Someone was on the side of Noah’s house, and to his knowledge, they were waiting for testing to come back before releasing the property. There shouldn’t be anyone there. Oliver yelled over his shoulder, “Ray, we have a problem.” Nate was by his side first, then came Ray. Both had their hands on their department-issued weapons, ready to draw. Oliver asked, “are you expecting anyone to be at Noah’s house?” Ray said, “No, we told everyone to stay the fuck away, why. Oliver said, “There was movement on the side of his house.” Then I saw the gate open and close. Whoever it is, they are fast.” Ray looked at Nate and told him to go to the left side of the house, and he will enter through the right.
Oliver stayed on his front porch while he watched as the sergeant and the detective made their way to the back yard. Within minutes Oliver heard gunshots. Oliver wanted nothing more than to run over to help his friends, but he swore that he would make sure Noah was safe. Everyone was concerned after hearing a single gunshot ring through the air.
Ajay and the rest of the team had gathered by the front door watching for any movement. Ajay said he had his gun, and he was going over to help. Just as the man was making his way across the street, they heard sirens. Oliver told Ajay to come back because he didn’t want to risk his life if they mistook him for the perp. Noah was standing behind Oliver, and they both gasped the second they saw not only police but an ambulance as well. Oliver said, “God, what the fuck is going on over there. This is driving me crazy. Noah asked if it was possible to hear the police over the airwaves if they had a police scanner app. Oliver said, “That is a great idea. We can’t get the information on police movement because they changed the law, so they don’t broadcast police movement or activity, but they do broadcast on ambulance activity.” Oliver asked if anyone had one on their phone. Noah already had his app open and tuned into the correct city and location. Oliver suggested they move inside and watch from a window. Owen asked, “Wow, is it always going to be fast-paced and dramatic?” Oliver said, “God, I hope not” Oliver looked over at Noah, and he knew that they were both hoping that this nightmare was over.
As they waited for any news on what happened, Owen walked the security installation crew around to show where they wanted the cameras installed. He had the window replaced when they were upstairs. Oliver silently said a prayer of thanks for Owen accepting the position. If Oliver had to deal with all of this, he couldn’t possibly keep Noah safe. Oliver looked over at Ajay and asked, “What is going on? You said there is a new development, and you called Ray, why didn’t you just call me?” Ajay blushed and said, “I thought that you and Noah had a rough night, so I didn’t want to disturb you; plus, you are both the target, also making you the client. We agreed to contact Sergeant Matthews, so; I made the call. Willa and Summer made a discovery.” Ajay looked at Noah and told Oliver that it would be best to wait and see what is going on across the street. Oliver grabbed Noah’s hand, and as they made their way to the sofa, Owen came in and said “We have a problem in the backyard” Oliver explained that it isn’t a good idea for Noah and him to go. Oliver asked Ajay and Summer to go check it out.
The two investigators were not gone more than a few minutes before returning. Ajay spoke first and said, “Someone spray-painted hateful shit on your house and painted over the cameras. Oliver said, “What the fuck. Someone painted on my house. What did they paint? Let me guess; they didn’t paint the Mona Lisa. Did they just spray the house and cameras, or did they just spray something else?” Ajay said, “Slow down there boss, you are firing questions off faster than we can answer.” Oliver took several deep breaths. He felt the buildup in his eyes as he realized that Noah was rubbing his back the same way he rubbed Noah’s to calm him down. The sentiment alone was what broke the flow of tears free. Noah was the one that was trying to comfort and soothe Oliver. The difference, though, was that Oliver didn’t stop crying while he tried to talk. It all came out as a jumble of words. Noah understood a few words, enough to piece together what Oliver was trying to say. Noah looked up at the team staring at the two of them embracing, and he said, “This is upsetting for Oliver because he thinks that his, I mean, our freedom is being stolen from us. He knows that the murderer is doing all this to draw us out of the house, and that makes him feel helpless. He is worried about Ray and Nate, and it is all building up for us both”.
Summer walked over, and she wrapped her arms around both men, and she told Oliver, “You were there for me when I needed a friend the most. You quickly became more than a friend; you are family, and family takes care of each other. We have you covered, and not one person on our team will allow either of you to be hurt.”
Ajay said, “Guys, they are loading someone in the ambulance, and Sergeant Matthews is walking back to us. Oliver dried his eyes and pulled himself together. He made it to the front door just as Ajay opened it. Ray told Oliver that there was someone,” we think it must have been the perp. He was in the house, and when we went in, we split up. The piece of shit was hiding behind a door or something. He surprised Nate and stabbed him twice; then, he took off and disappeared.” Ray said, “I’m heading to the hospital now.” Oliver said, “We will go with you.”
Ray said, “We need to think about this; having you leave this house is going to make you both an easy target.” Oliver said, “we are going!”. Ajay looked at the team, and he said, “we can make this work and get you to the hospital. We will have two people go with you, one security detail for each of you.”
Oliver was getting impatient and asked, “Is this is all necessary?” Ajay replied, “Yes! absolutely, yes, it is! You are both targets.” Oliver looked at Ray and said, “We are possibly looking at two suspects in this case. As our attention was on what was going on at Noah’s House, someone was in the back yard of my house spraying paint on the cameras and homophobic slurs on the wall.” Oliver agreed with whatever the best plan was to keep them both safe. He looked at Noah and told the group, “Tell us what to do; after all, we are trusting you with our lives. Just do what you do best.”
Ajay said, “Great, let’s get going.”
Chapter 11
Noah Blain
Noah and Oliver both sat in the back seat of the SUV. In the front of the vehicle sat Ajay and Dario. The ride was uneventful. Once the men made it to the hospital was when all shit hit the fan. There were news vans and reporters everywhere. Ray drove his police-issued vehicle full speed with the lights and siren on. Ray made it to the hospital first, and he found out where they needed to go. He needed to make sure Oliver knew where to go, but he didn’t want to wait. As he made his way to the family waiting room, he sent Oliver a text and told him where to go once they arrived.
Feeling relieved once they got to the hospital because they were sent to a waiting room separate from the crowds. While waiting, Oliver grabbed Noah’s hand and thanked him for being there with him. Noah said, “I am sorry that Nate was hurt in my house. I feel responsible,”. Oliver told him, “There is no way that he was responsible for what happened.” Noah offered a slight s
mile but couldn’t shake the sinking feeling that somehow whoever was doing this was doing it because of him.
Noah knew he couldn’t let anything happen to Oliver. While Oliver spoke to Ajay, Noah told everyone that he needed to run to the restroom. Ajay told Noah, “Hold up, I’ll go with you.” Once Noah and Ajay were out in the hall heading to the bathroom, Noah stopped and looked at Ajay and asked, “Do you think Oliver’s Life is in danger because of me? Ajay took a moment to think about the question.
Ajay said, “At first, that is exactly what I thought. But the more we dig into this case, I don’t think that anymore. I think having you both together in the same house is just making it easy for this psycho to stalk you.” Noah agreed but asked, “Will it help if I leave and go to the hotel?” Ajay told Noah, “It wouldn’t make a difference at this point.” He explained his theory, “I think that Oliver is a target because he has surveillance footage of something that this guy doesn’t want anyone to see. When you look at the cameras on his house, they look like any other surveillance system. There is no way anyone could look at them and know how far advanced it is. Oliver went all out with his security system. It is cloud-based as well as backed up to a hard drive on location. Oliver is thinking about becoming an authorized retailer, and he wanted to test the product first.” Noah didn’t know any of this. That really got Noah thinking that he didn’t know much about Oliver at all.
Once they found the men’s room, Ajay went in with Noah and made sure that the bathroom was clean. Ajay stepped out to allow Noah privacy, and he leaned against the wall and pulled out his phone. He had a notification that he had an unread text message. Ajay read the message then re-read the message. Noah walked out of the bathroom, and Ajay grabbed his arm and told him, “We have a new development; we need to get back to Oliver. Together they rushed through the hospital halls. They walked into the waiting room, and while they were gone, they found out that Nate was in surgery. The damage wasn’t too bad, but they needed to stop the internal bleeding. Once Noah and Ajay had been updated on Nate, Ajay spoke to the group. Ajay said, “There have been a few things happen since we left Oli’s house. Darian and Owen were outside in the back. They were going over what needed to be fixed. Owen called the security company to come back out. As it turns out, they were not finished with the installation of the hidden cameras. Darian and Owen were making a list of the things that needed to be repaired. Darian was wondering how in the hell someone got up to spray the cameras. They found a table in the back by the fence. It had blood on it, so whoever sprayed the cameras must have fallen at some point and scraped their legs then used it to get over the fence.