Simple After All (2016 Advent Calendar - Bah Humbug) by Yolande Kleinn

Author:Yolande Kleinn [Kleinn, Yolande]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: gay romance
ISBN: 9781635331820
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Published: 2016-11-29T23:00:00+00:00

THE PROBLEM with kissing Noah Fiore—the problem with the eager, greedy, perfect way Noah had kissed him back—was that now he’d done it, Riley couldn’t stop thinking about it. A full day later his head was still spinning, his thoughts distracted enough for people to ask if he was all right whenever Riley drifted silent in the middle of a conversation.

Kara didn’t ask him what was up. Neither did Chelsea, who kept giving Riley quietly knowing looks. He wondered if he should be embarrassed, but he couldn’t spare the effort. He was too busy thinking about Noah.

Because Noah had kissed him back. Riley hadn’t thought his actions through. He’d simply felt the pull of Noah’s proximity and reacted instinctively to the way Noah had loomed in his space without making any move to retreat. His own actions had shocked him, left him thrilled and terrified.

And Noah had kissed him back.

By the time Kara and Noah had returned from the shore, more than half the household was awake, filling the first floor with the clatter of morning and breakfast. Riley kept expecting Noah to corner him, to tug him aside and get him alone. Surely they needed to talk.

But Noah had done no such thing. Not when he returned and not hours later as he allowed his family to absorb him in their activities. He didn’t avoid Riley, either. If anything he sought Riley’s side as often as possible, but there was no noticeable difference in his demeanor. He still carried himself quietly, still wore a default expression that looked more angry than anything. He still let the noisy bustle of family pass around him, a boulder in a rushing stream.

He didn’t seem at all uncomfortable with what Riley had done. Through the whole day, and the next, he seemed completely untroubled as he sought Riley’s company amid the throng, behaving as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened between them.

The steady calm felt surreal to Riley. His own pulse kicked up a few notches every time Noah got close. He wanted desperately to continue what they’d started, and every time Noah didn’t touch him was a fresh disappointment.

Riley knew it was silly to be so invested. It was just a kiss. One kiss. And beyond that Riley knew so little about Noah’s feelings it was almost comical. Noah’s face gave nothing away, except in those rare, unguarded moments he’d allowed Riley to glimpse. Of course it was impossible to read his inner landscape now.

Riley made it through most of the day and into the evening before the pervasive energy of the Fiore family became too much. There was no sign of Noah downstairs, but Riley wasn’t looking for Noah as he slipped into the back hall. The living room was a cacophony behind him. Ahead there was just as much noise, several cousins puttering with dinner in the kitchen. And from the tromp of footsteps above, Riley knew there was no peace to be had climbing the stairs.

He could risk the stairs anyway, make for the third floor and his own room.

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