by Sue Brown
NOEL WASN’T sure what disturbed him, but it broke into his dream of Adam walking away from him at the airport. He woke up gasping and trying not to yell at Adam to come back. His heart raced and sweat beaded across his forehead. Fuck! He didn’t need to relive that moment.
What had woken him up? He listened in the darkness but couldn’t hear anything. Then a gust of wind rattled the windows. The storm hadn’t died down yet. Then he heard a noise and remembered he wasn’t the only one in the room.
“Hold on. Please hold on. You’ll be all right, I promise. Just hold on.”
Noel frowned at Angel’s incoherent garble. Whatever he was dreaming about, it didn’t seem good. He listened, and Angel repeated the words over and over. Noel hesitated, not sure whether to wake Angel or not. But the next time he sounded more distressed than before.
“Angel?” he said tentatively. There was a loud sob, but Angel didn’t move. “Hey.” Noel sat up, turning to shake Angel’s shoulder. “Angel, wake up.”
Angel cried out again. He rolled over onto his back. There was enough light from the porch to see his eyes were open, but he wasn’t focusing on Noel.
“Hey, wake up now. You’re okay.” Noel shook him more firmly this time.
Angel blinked rapidly. Then he looked at Noel. “Oh hi. Are you okay?”
“I was about to ask you that,” Noel said. “Are you okay?”
Angel frowned. “Yeah, I’m fine. Was I talking?”
Crying and yelling more like, Noel thought, but he didn’t say anything. “Was it a bad dream?”
“I’m fine,” Angel said. “Sorry I disturbed you.”
Noel noticed the deflection, but before he could say anything, Angel yawned and rolled over. “G’night.”
Angel didn’t say anything else, and Noel stayed where he was for a moment. Then he lay back down. Angel obviously didn’t want to speak about it. Maybe they could discuss it in the morning. Noel closed his eyes. The wind was even more forceful now. Sleep was a long time coming, and when it did, he had dreams of the chalet sliding down a steep mountainside.
Day 2
THE NEXT time Noel woke, sunlight streamed through the gap in the curtains. Noel groaned as he opened his eyes to the bright light. It was too much to deal with. He looked over at the other side of the bed and noted it was empty. He must have been sleeping more heavily than normal because he had been oblivious to Angel moving around or leaving the room. He could hear noises in the chalet—Charlie banging pots and pans in the kitchen, the sound of voices from somewhere. He was sure the excited chattering was one of the three men and the woman. What was her name? Oh yes, Maria.
He looked at the clock. Nearly eight. Noel sighed. The temptation was to roll over and go back to sleep, but he was there to ski, not to sit on his butt for Christmas. He wasn’t sure about seeing the rest of his chaletmates, but he couldn’t put it off forever. He needed to find his spine and face them.
“I’m sorry, Angel.”
Noel paused in the act of getting out of bed as he heard Don speak.
“This is ridiculous. They promised me a room today.” Angel sounded as though he were on the verge of tears.
“I know, but the airport is still closed, and they don’t want any more people arriving until it’s open again.”
“Until then they can’t guarantee there’ll be a room for me tonight?”
“That’s right, but I’m sure Noel won’t mind if you have to stay another night. You were getting along so well. I can get the cot for you now.”
“That’s not the point. I paid for a room in a chalet, and he didn’t expect to have to share a bed with a stranger.”
Noel frowned. Was he that bad a roommate that Angel was desperate to escape from him? He padded over to the door and opened it. Don and Angel looked almost guilty at being caught in the act. “Is everything all right?”
“No,” Angel growled. “Don has just told me they’re unlikely to have a room for me tonight because the airport is still closed after the snowstorm.”
“I heard. You know you’re welcome to stay in my room.”
Don broke out into a broad smile. “That’s settled then.”
But Angel still looked dismayed. “I don’t—”
“Breakfast is nearly ready. Ten minutes. You need to get dressed, Noel. Nice T-shirt.” Don smirked at him.
“Okay.” Noel grasped Angel’s arm and tugged him into the bedroom as Don disappeared down the corridor.
He shut the door and turned to Angel who was flushed and angry, and obviously close to tears from the way his eyes were shining. “I’m sorry, Angel.”
Angel gave a huge sigh and rubbed at his temples. “What are you sorry for? I’m the one imposing on you.”
“You can stay here for the whole vacation,” Noel suggested. “You don’t have to go looking for another room.”
“I can’t do that.” Angel looked horrified at the idea.
“Why not?” Noel asked tentatively. They’d shared a bed last night. He hadn’t been that bad a sleeping companion, had he? Adam used to complain he hogged the duvet, but Noel thought that was just to deflect from the fact he invaded Noel’s side of the bed.
“You don’t want to share with a stranger,” Angel insisted.
Noel rolled his eyes. “I’ve cried on you. Got drunk on you. If you can cope, so can I.”
Angel pressed his lips together. “That’s not the point.”
“What is the point?” Noel was bewildered by Angel’s adamant refusal to consider the idea. “You look like it’s the worst idea you’ve ever heard.”
“I don’t sleep well. I might disturb you.”
Noel studied Angel and saw the anguish in his expression. “Are you worried about talking in your sleep?”
Angel looked away, refusing to meet Noel’s gaze. “Yeah.”
“Do you remember what you’re dreaming about?” Noel pressed.
Angel hesitated, then he nodded. “Most nights.”
“Does this happen every night?” Noel asked.
“Not all. Some. A lot.” Another sigh seemed to be dragged from the depths of Angel’s soul. “It’s one of the reasons I don’t share with people who don’t know me unless it’s an emergency.”
Noel had a sudden thought. “Do you go back to sleep afterward?”
Angel shook his head. “Not often.”
“Did you go back to sleep last night?” He’d not heard Angel get up so he must have been deeply asleep at the time, probably still in a whiskey-fueled haze.
“No,” Angel admitted.
“What did you do?”
Angel sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed. “I waited until you were asleep. Then I got up and read in the great room.”
“Because you didn’t want to disturb me.”
“Yes.” The word was bitten off.
“You must be tired,” Noel said gently.
“I’m always tired,” Angel admitted.
He rubbed his hands through his hair, and the blond curls took on a manic quality. Noel had to hold back the urge to smooth down the wayward hair.
Noel went for practicality instead. “You need a shower and a shave and then maybe a nap. We might have to wait for the slopes to open after the storm.”
“We haven’t got time before breakfast, and I’m starving,” Angel said.
This time his smile reached his eyes. Noel decided to let it go. “Food is good. Breakfast first, shower later.”
Angel raised an eyebrow. “You’re going dressed like that?”
Noel looked down at himself, still dressed in sleep shorts and a T-shirt proclaiming his love for dick. No wonder Don had smiled. “Maybe not.”
“I mean, I don’t mind, and I’m sure Charlie and Don don’t, but Maria and the wise guys might take exception.”
“I’m pretty sure Maria likes dick or she wouldn’t be in the position she’s in now,” Noel muttered as he rummaged through his suitcase for clean underwear.
Angel chuckled. “You�
��re right.”
Then Noel furrowed his brow. “Who are the wise guys?”
“The three businessmen. They run a car dealership called the Wise Guys.” Angel rolled his eyes. “The name suits. Nice guys, but all they do is talk about their business deals at full volume, not that anyone else understands. Except maybe Don.”
Noel made a face. He stripped off his T-shirt and shorts. “Yeah, I can imagine they’re white-picket-fence, church-on-Sundays, and ten-kids-each types.”
“You get that impression too?” Angel’s voice sounded strangled.
“I’m sure they’re good guys, I just don’t think we’ll be best buddies or anything like that.” Noel looked over and saw Angel staring determinedly out the window. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” Angel didn’t turn around.
Then Noel realized what he’d done. Damn, he’d undressed automatically, used to changing in front of Adam. Not everyone was as relaxed as he was about being naked. He quickly dressed in a black long-sleeved T-shirt and jeans, saying, “Okay.”
Angel took that as his cue to turn around and Noel was about to apologize when there was a bellow from Don for everyone to gather for breakfast. “Jesus, that man has got a pair of lungs.”
“He scares me a little,” Angel confessed, his voice sounding normal.
“He scares me a lot,” Noel retorted. “I don’t get the impression he’s a gentle giant.”
“Nor me, but he adores Charlie. You should have seen Charlie ordering Don around as they served up dinner. I get the feeling Don doesn’t get all his own way in their relationship.”
Even thinking about Charlie and Noel’s relationship made Noel ache. He took a deep breath, just wanting to get the breakfast over and slipped his feet into his Converses. Angel furrowed his brow and laid a hand on Noel’s arm. His hand was warm and it grounded Noel. Angel had his own issues, but he still took time to check Noel was coping.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Angel asked.
Noel laid his hand over Angel’s and squeezed it gently before letting go. “No, but what choice do I have? I can hide in my room for the next six days or I can face the world and enjoy my vacation.”
“Good for you,” Angel said as he stepped away and put some space between them. “You deserve to have fun.”
“I think reality might be somewhere in between,” Noel said.
Angel opened the door. “That’s good too. Do you have your room key?”
Noel held it up, and they left the bedroom. If Noel’s knees were quaking a little, he didn’t say anything.
APART FROM two places next to Charlie, the table was full when they arrived. Angel wished everyone a good morning, and Noel muttered the same. Marv, who was in a cluster at one end of the table with Frankie and Goldie, waved but didn’t break his conversation. Charlie smiled at them, and Don scowled. Obviously being late for meals was not allowed. Noel had the feeling anything that upset Charlie wasn’t allowed in Don’s world.
Noel sat down opposite Maria. She looked tired but managed a cheery “Morning” before she took another mouthful of a pastry.
“You can have pancakes and bacon or eggs, bacon and hash browns, or pastries. Whatever you like,” Charlie said.
Noel looked down the table. Everyone had something different in front of them. Charlie really was willing to do anything. “Coffee and pastries, thanks,” he said.
Angel nodded. “Me too. Thanks, Charlie.”
Don passed the coffee pot, and Charlie passed the plate of pastries. Noel poured coffee into Angel’s mug and then his, as Angel put pastries on Noel’s plate. The domesticity of it struck Noel, knowing he should have been doing this with Adam. Tears pricked his eyes, and he rapidly blinked them away and dumped too much sugar and creamer into his mug as he held on to the slender threads of his control. He felt Angel press his calf against him, and that touch helped to ground him again. He appreciated Angel showing him support without making a big thing of it.
“When will the slopes be open?” one of the guys asked. He was the tall one, quite a bit older than the others. Noel wondered if he was their father.
“They’re hoping to get them open by lunchtime, at least the lower slopes,” Charlie said.
Older guy grunted as though he wasn’t impressed, but one of the younger ones said, “Great, we can have a look in the town.”
“You’re not here to shop, Marv,” the older guy muttered.
Marv waved a dismissive hand holding a fork. Ketchup dripped from a piece of bacon, thankfully onto his plate, but the older guy snapped, “Watch it.”
“Take it easy, Goldie,” the smallest of the three said. “We can explore this morning.”
Noel kept his eyes firmly on his plate and tried not to laugh. He couldn’t imagine anyone less like a Goldie than the older guy. He was more like a Derek or a Brian. Goldie opened his mouth, but the smallest guy just stared at him and Goldie subsided. Interesting. The dynamics of the small group were not what he expected. He flicked a look at Angel, who was staring down the table as though he were watching a nature documentary.
Here we have three businessmen in the wild.
Noel nudged Angel’s leg, and Angel looked at him and shot him a quick grin. He grinned back, feeling better, even if it was at the unwitting expense of the wise guys.
Maria finished eating, leaned back, and belched. She clapped a hand over her mouth. “Oops, sorry, guys.”
Marv snickered, and Angel smirked at her.
“Better out than in,” he said.
She smirked back, and Noel noticed how pretty she was. “You’ll have to get used to it. I belch and fart all day now, thanks to the monster.”
“The monster?” Angel asked.
She laid a hand on her stomach. “That’s what I call him when he’s being a pain, which is pretty much all the time. He’s taken me over.”
“When’s he due?” Noel asked. “I know you probably said yesterday, but I was a bit out of it.”
“Six weeks. His due date is February 5.” Maria smiled softly. “I’d like it if he was born on February 14.”
“You know you’re having a boy?”
“It was obvious on the scan.” She giggled. “Joe was so pleased. Said the baby was just like him. I told him he couldn’t measure for shit.”
Angel chuckled. “Have you got a name for him?”
“He’ll be Joseph, just like his daddy. Little Joe or Joey. Plus Vincent for my papa.”
“That’s nice.” Angel lifted his coffee cup. “To baby Joseph Vincent.”
To Noel’s surprise, the whole table joined in the toast. “Baby Joey.”
Maria blushed, and a tear spilled over onto one cheek. “Thank you, guys. You don’t know how much that means to me.” She sighed and pushed her chair back. “I think I’m going to find a book and sit by your fire, Charlie.”
“I’ll bring you an herbal tea after I’ve cleared away breakfast,” Charlie promised her.
She grimaced. “I’d rather have coffee.”
“I know.” Charlie smiled sweetly. “Tea it is.”
Maria huffed and got to her feet. “See you later.”
All the men around the table rumbled variations of “Later,” and then she was shuffling down the hallway.
“We’re gone too,” Marv said as he got to his feet. He wore a cranberry cashmere sweater and dark dress pants, in contrast to the hoodie and jeans of his companions. “I’ve got shopping to do.” He singsonged shopping, and Goldie groaned.
“Kill me now.”
“Come on, big guy,” Marv cooed. “Someone’s got to hold my bags.”
Goldie looked horrified. “Oh dear God, shoot me.”
The other guy shook his head, but he stood, wincing as he put weight on his legs. “It’s going to be a long day.”
As they vanished down the corridor, Goldie still grumbling at Marv, Noel noticed the other guy—he really had to find out his name—walked at a slower pace than his companions and he had a definite limp.
Then they were gone with a click of a door, and Don and Charlie vanished into the kitchen, which left Noel and Angel alone. It seemed much quieter without the five men.
“Have you brought swim shorts?” Angel asked.
“Yes.” He’d bought a new pair just for the trip, because his old swim shorts had been washed so often they were barely decent.
“Dip in the hot tub?”
“Straight after breakfast?”
Angel raised an eyebrow. “Have you got anything better to do?”
Noel didn’t have to think about that too hard. He shook his head. “No, not really. Hot tub it is.”
Chapter 4—Day 2
three days before Christmas Eve
morning
“IT’S SO cold.”
Even Noel could hear Angel’s teeth chattering as they scurried around the porch to the hot tub, slipping and sliding on the decking.
“This was your idea,” Noel pointed out, trying hard to keep his own teeth under control. He was dressed like Angel, in swimming trunks and the soft white robe the lodge provided. His balls felt like they were about to climb up inside his body, it was that cold.
“Don’t remind me,” Angel groused.
Behind him, Noel grinned. Angel was all kinds of cute when he was grouchy.
When they reached the hot tub, Angel lifted the lid and sighed. “This looks wonderful.”
It did, but there was something Noel wasn’t looking forward to. “But first we have to take off our robes.”
“Last one in is a frozen cod,” Angel called out, flinging his robe onto an Adirondack chair and exposing swim shorts with a startling flamingo pattern and miles of creamy skin.
Noel rolled his eyes. “A frozen cod?”
“It was all I could think of,” Angel confessed as he sank into the hot water. “This is so good.”
His words trailed off into a little moan that did things to Noel’s insides. Noel hurriedly climbed into the hot tub and emitted his own noise of appreciation.
The hot tub was situated facing the trees, with a line of mountains in the background. It would have been beautiful in the summer. Now it was postcard pretty, with white-capped mountains and trees laden with the snow from the previous night. The sky was bright blue, and everything was sharp colors and sparkling sunlight. Noel didn’t count himself as a poetic man, but if he were, he would have written a sonnet or something about the view.