Chapter Six | Brody

I couldn't stay focused. Noah was infiltrating my mind to distracting levels. I took another stab at reading the details of my latest case. Soon into it, I had questions about some of the details.

It wasn't part of my mandate to investigate details. That was the job of the police department, but there had obviously been some prejudice when it came to their crime scene notes.

If it wasn't for the fact the victim of the crime was an organization close to my heart, I would have worked with what the police had given me.

It was Saturday, but I took a chance and called the victim.

"Rainbow LGBTQ Youth Centre," a cheerful voice said.

"I'm looking for Jamal."

"Speaking."

"This is Brody Carlisle. Crown Counsel. I have a few questions regarding the crime committed against you. The police report wasn't very detailed in terms of what was stolen."

"Bastards. I knew it felt like they were brushing me off."

Unfortunately, I wasn't surprised. Plenty of people complained about why LGBTQ youth needed their own separate centre. They just didn't understand our need for our own community.

"Do you have a list? And a description of how they got in."

"Why don't you come down instead? I can show you. "

My brow dipped and I looked around my home office. Typically, I didn't like to leave my home on the weekend. It was my safe space to decompress after being in the public.

But the rampant thoughts of Noah were making me antsy.

"Sure, I'll be there in half an hour." It would only take me fifteen minutes to get there but I liked to be early. I didn't know the building. I'd want to sit and scope it out before going in.

It looked like a friendly place from where I was seated in my car. I imagined what the inside would look like, picturing hallways like the ones from elementary school. The youth centre was in a small building that used to be a school back in the 30s. My image should be accurate.

I climbed from my car, locked it, and approached the centre. As I pulled open the door, I was met with a rambunctious noise coming from a doorway at the end of the hall. For a brief second, I panicked, being yanked back to my days endured at school. I rubbed the thumb and forefinger on my left hand together and stilled myself. I no longer had to worry about being bullied.

"Brody?"

I knew that voice. I turned to it, immediately feeling myself relax.

"What are you doing here?" Noah asked.

Before answering, I looked him up and down. I'd rarely seen his full body. His flat stomach, trim hips, and muscular thighs. He was usually behind the bar.

So sexy.

I cleared my throat. "I'm here to see Jamal about the stolen computers."

"You're the crown attorney in the case?" Noah laughed. "What are the chances?"

I steadied my breathing. "Pretty good … apparently." God, he was beautiful. I wanted to approach and wrap him up in my arms. To hold him and inhale the scent of him .

I didn't do any of those things. I just stood, staring at him.

And he was staring right back.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I volunteer here most Saturdays."

His sexy factor went up with that piece of information. A successful businessman and socially conscious. I was impressed. Strike that. I was in awe of this incredible man.

We were staring at one another again.

"I'll show you to Jamal's office," Noah said after clearing his throat.

"Thank you."

I followed him down the hall, past classrooms of kids buzzing around. When we reached the offices, Noah stayed with me until he led me straight to Jamal.

"Jamal, this is Brody … the crown attorney."

Jamal's eyebrows lifted and he looked at Noah, then back at me. Then back to Noah.

Noah nodded at him.

There had been some kind of silent communication, but I couldn't read it.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Brody." Jamal motioned to a chair in front of his desk. "Sit." I studied the man who had spoken to me and the desk he sat behind. It had been cut shorter.

He appeared to be sitting in a wheelchair.

"I'll leave you to it," Noah said. Then he touched my shoulder. A shiver ran straight down my spine, making the little hairs on my arms stand up. "Come find me when you're done."

I was only able to nod. Noah's touch had short-circuited my brain. I was all in my body. I could even feel the warm air on my skin. My vocal cords felt like they were thickening.

Am I going to be able to speak ?

My body must have tensed because Noah apologized to me before he left the room.

"Do you need a second?" Jamal asked.

I nodded, then hummed until my throat cleared. "He caught me off guard."

"Nothing to be embarrassed about. Noah is a good-looking guy."

Change the subject.

"I shouldn't even be here, but like I said the police report was sparse. Normally, I would push them to give me more information but I'm not holding out much hope they'll help me. You do good work here. I want to make sure I have the details I need to properly prosecute the guy who had the computers in his possession. So … please tell me about the computers that were stolen."

"I have a list." Jamal pushed a piece of yellow lined paper toward me. I read the details. They were all desktop computers. All are at least five years old. A couple of printers. Not worth much.

Probably meant everything to these kids, though.

"Can you show me how they got in?"

"Sure thing." Jamal wheeled out from behind his desk and led me back into the hallway. I looked for Noah but didn't see him. A warm tumble curled through my gut when I heard his voice. He was shouting from somewhere down toward the entrance of the centre. The thump-thump-thump told me someone was dribbling a ball, and he was calling for them to pass it to him.

Then there was a cheer. I wondered if Noah had scored a basket.

"They got in through the library," Jamal said, snapping me back to why I was here.

"Show me. "

We entered a sparsely stocked library. Lots of shelves. Not many books. Against one wall sat a young boy, his nose buried in a book. He didn't look up as we passed by him.

Jamal stopped and wheeled back around. "Kyle, this is Brody."

Kyle's gaze flitted up to my face, then back down to the book. The action was familiar to me. Maintaining eye contact took an extraordinary amount of effort. Often made me perspire and my guts twisted up, my internal organs poised to burst free and consume me.

Except with Noah. I had been resistant to letting myself engage with his eyes, but now that I had, I didn't know if I ever wanted to stop. They had a way of calming the storm inside me.

"It's a pleasure meeting you, Kyle." I didn't expect an answer.

"I'll show you the window they broke," Jamal said and continued across the library to where a window had been boarded up. "Just busted right through the glass."

"Where were the computers?"

"Along that back wall there." Jamal pointed.

An askew assortment of desks stood empty other than a litter of tangled cords. It was a hallmark smash-and-grab. I wasn't even sure if the theft was motivated by the objective of fencing the goods. They weren't worth enough. And most had been damaged. I had a sinking feeling that stealing the computers was a way to punish the LGBTQ youth for just being themselves.

"I think this might have been a hate crime," I said.

Jamal sighed. "I think you're right."

I shook my head. "That isn't one of the charges. I'll chase it up."

"I appreciate that. We need more attention brought to the ongoing discrimination. "

"Especially, against kids."

Jamal motioned toward the door. "Thank you for coming down. It's nice to know someone from the queer community is prosecuting for the crown in this case."

The pieces fell into place.

"Noah told you about me," I said. "That he knows me from the pub."

Jamal smiled at me. "He had a lot of good things to say." His words made my senses buzz. We made our way down the hallway toward the entrance. "He's in the gym."

I thanked Jamal, slipped away from him, and went to stand at the entrance to the gym. From where I stood, I could see Noah dribbling the ball, shooting, and blocking. He looked comfortable out there. He'd obviously spent some time playing sports.

His gaze caught me, and he smiled.

I didn't even need to think about it. I smiled back. He tossed the ball to one of the kids and jogged over to me. "How do you feel about going out for a coffee?"

"We can talk some more."

Noah chuckled. "That would be the goal."

"I'd like that."

"We can walk to my favourite place from here. Let me grab my coat."

I waited outside a room for him, kids walking by, staring at me. I was out of place here. There was nothing more to it than that. Thankfully, the discomfort was short-lived. Noah and I were soon walking down the street toward the more populated Cook Street Village.

The coffee shop we ducked into was not somewhere I had been before. I let my gaze sweep over the place, mapping it out in my mind, and making note of where the washrooms were.

"Noah … who's this?" A voice with a lilt of teasing .

I looked back toward where Noah had led me. Standing behind the counter was a man with an incredible smile on his face and eyes I was sure were twinkling with pure joy. He had hair like mine. An absolute riot of dark uncontrollable curls. He was extremely attractive with sultry lines and stubble and seemed to know Noah well, judging by the loving look he was giving him.

One of the close friends Noah had told me about perhaps.

"Ethan," Noah said. "This is Brody."

"Oh … now this is rich," Ethan replied. "Give me a sec. Coffee is on me. Then go find a seat."

Noah and I placed our orders while Ethan tidied up a few things behind the counter, then took off his apron, and followed us over to a table. Ethan was grinning at me as we sat down.

"So," he said. "You're the guy from the pub who propositioned our young Noah." The burn went from my ears, past my cheeks, and down my throat to my collarbones.

"Jeezus, Ethan." Noah smacked Ethan's arm. "Be nice."

"I'm sorry," Ethan replied while looking at me. "Liam has been filling me in. It's just … Noah has never brought anyone to my coffee shop before."

"Sure, I have."

"No." Ethan looked at Noah. "You. Haven't."

"We were in the neighbourhood. Brody is crown counsel for the stolen computers."

Ethan nodded at me. "Are you going to nail them to the wall?"

I cleared my throat. "Only one guy was charged. I'll do my best."

"Homophobe, right?" Ethan guessed.

"I think so." I took a sip of my coffee and looked at the pastry I had ordered. Would now be the appropriate time to start eating it? I never knew how to time these things .

"Go ahead," Noah said to me. "I have a feeling Ethan is going to interrogate me."

"Let's start at the beginning. How long have two been aware of each other?"

Noah rolled his eyes, making me smile. I didn't mind Ethan digging. I took a bite of my chocolate-filled croissant. I knew Noah would refrain from sharing too much.

I set the croissant down, chewed, and looked at Noah.

How did I know that?

"Brody has been coming into the pub for a couple of weeks now," Noah said.

"And you were giving each other the eye," Ethan embellished.

"I noticed him," Noah replied. "Let's leave it at that."

"Then one dark and stormy night, Brody wanted to fuck you senseless."

I nearly choked. I looked around. No one was listening to us. Noah looked at me with apologetic eyes. It seemed Ethan had trouble controlling his mouth. But Noah loved him regardless. I'd try not to let it bother me.

Noah mouthed I'm sorry to me.

"We went for pie," Noah responded. "We had a nice time talking."

"Liam told me you used the word nice ."

I set down my coffee cup and interjected, "It was better than nice."

"Now, the truth is revealed," Ethan said, looking at me. I met his gaze for a brief second and then looked away. I moved my foot, so it was touching Noah's, then sought out his eyes.

Time slowed as Noah met the depth of my gaze.

"Wow, okay." Ethan rose to his feet. "I'm going to leave you two alone."

Noah smiled at me as Ethan walked away. "I think we scared him. "

"We didn't do anything scary."

Noah brushed his foot back and forth on mine. "I don't know. This feels pretty scary."

I hummed as I watched the shift in Noah's eyes from affection to desire. My cock stirred, stiffened, and pressed against the zipper in my jeans. "You're making me hard."

Noah winked at me and moved his foot away from mine.

"Can't have that in the middle of my friend's coffee shop," he said.

Redirect.

"You need more computers."

The moment broke and Noah raised his coffee to his lips. Setting it back down, "We're planning a fundraiser. We're going to have it at the pub. I'll be donating the proceeds, and we'll have a raffle, plus people can donate directly if they want. Maybe buy a computer and monitor."

"That's very generous of you, donating the proceeds."

"Anything for those kids. So many of them have so little."

"You're good with them. They smile when they're looking at you." I tore the rest of my croissant in half. "I wish I was good with people."

"Who says you're not?"

I shrugged. I thought it was common knowledge.

"Brody—" Noah shifted in his seat and set his hand on the table. "Can I touch you?" When I nodded, Noah placed his hand on my wrist. That small touch set off a cascade of sparkling pinwheels in my arm that raced to my heart, sending it into a frantic rhythm.

Was it because he had asked first?

Men I'd hooked up with didn't ask before they touched me or expected my touch. They just took and took until I was wrung out and panting, my mounting orgasm the only thing stopping me from screaming. Once the sexual thrill passed, I was quick to leap from their bed, jerking and pacing, panicking when they tried to touch me to say good night. It's why I was one and done.

This was different.

This was Noah.

And he understood and respected me enough to ask before he touched me.

My eyes burned.

"Brody, you interact with people on your terms. There's nothing wrong with that. When you speak, it's because you have something important to say. I respect you for that. You don't talk for talking's sake like Ethan over there." He hooked a thumb over his shoulder. "I know the things we talked about this past week … it's been hard for you. I can tell you're reluctant to trust. I don't know why that is but I'm not going to push you to find out. As long as we can keep talking."

Every pretty thing I wanted to say in response stuck in my throat.

"I'd like that," is the best I could manage.

Noah released my arm and a vacuum opened around me. I wanted to whine and beg him to touch me again. Instead, I drained my coffee cup to distract myself.

"Did you meet Kyle when you were in the library?" Noah asked.

"Jamal introduced me to him."

"I think he might be on the spectrum. So does his mom."

"What do the doctors say?"

"She hasn't had him tested."

"That's where she needs to start to access the resources." I shifted my empty coffee cup back and forth on the table. "There are things you can do for him at the youth centre."

"That was my next question."

"Does he mind if you sit with him?"

"As long as he has a book, he'll let me sit with him for hours. "

"Does he ever speak?"

"When he feels like it. Usually when he's enthralled with something."

"What's his favourite thing as far as you can tell?"

"LGBTQ rights and stories about queer people."

Maybe that would be a career path for him someday if he learned to get past the block in his mind. The one that stopped him from expressing his thoughts.

"Keep sitting with him. If he's spoken to you, he trusts you. Over time, he might start to emerge for you. Provide the opportunity. Believe me, there is a flurry of very vivid thoughts and emotions whirring around in his mind. Sometimes, it can be extremely noisy in there."

"You're speaking from experience."

"When I was a young child, the very idea of forming words was too overwhelming on top of everything else going on in my head. I was a reader too. As I got older, the world seemed quieter. Maybe I got used to it … I don't know. Without my mind in overdrive, I started to speak more."

"And now?"

I smiled at Noah. He was looking at me with such sincerity. "I chose a job that puts me in my office on my own most of the time. On days when I have court, I need to make sure I have equal downtime. My townhouse is my safe and quiet space to decompress."

"And the nights when you're at the pub?"

I chewed on my bottom lip. "I have more reason to be there than ever before."

The edges of Noah's eyes wrinkled as his pretty lips pulled into a wide smile. I liked making him smile. I'd only ever made my mom smile. This felt more special than that.

"Will I see you there tonight?" Noah asked.

I shook my head. "It's the weekend. I don't go out for dinner on the weekend. "

"Not even just this once?" Noah winked at me.

I went over my meal plan. I'd planned on making lasagne and a salad for dinner tonight. Both would keep until tomorrow. No . It was Saturday night. I'd had a hard week.

"I'm going to pass. If I don't have my down time, I won't be able to perform well at work next week." I hated saying it, but I had a feeling Noah wouldn't hassle me about it.

"You know what's healthiest for you," he said.

I wanted Noah to touch me again. Back up his understanding words with his physical presence on my skin. "Touch me again."

"Mm." Noah crept his hand onto my wrist. I looked from my wrist to his expressive eyes: so much depth in the crystal blue of them, like the purest most serene glacial ice.

And it was melting for me.

God, I was falling for him.

Absolute freaking freefall.