Page 10 of Love Spell

Timo took a drink and tried again.“What about friends?Seeing anyone?Do you have a partner here?”

“I don’t have time for that.I like my job, I like the challenge and learning —”

Christ, this guy had a one-track mind.Enthusiasm of youth?

“There must have been someone?You had a full year of university here, right?I bet you had plenty of your fellows chasing after you.Guys?Girls?”Gentle smile, doing his best to be light, swirl the drink, not too much staring.

“No, actually.I was a few years older than my classmates and I always felt like we had different priorities.”

Well, your priorities are sure as hell wearing me out.

Timo just wanted to know if Noah was gay or straight, while anything in between would be perfectly acceptable, but he was starting to bank on ace at this point — and wouldn’t that be a massive letdown for the world at large?Although mostly for Timo.

He cleared his throat.“What’s your favourite thing to do in London?”

“Museums, walking in the parks to clear my head, people-watching.Stumbling into arcane bits and bobs of the city that I’ve never seen before and spending hours down the rabbit hole of researching some random statue or hidden building that turns out to have a fascinating history.”Noah trailed off and shrugged while Timo was still waiting, still hoping for more, for even a shred of common ground.

Museums were boring.Why would you walk when you could run?People were too stupid and annoying to sit around and watch.Who had time to research bloody statues?

More importantly, he hadn’t mentioned such items as, say, musical theatre, Fashion Week, retail therapy, night life, social life, or parades.Not that such thingshadto mean anything at all.But … yeah … Stereotypes sure were a time-saver.

After an uncomfortable pause, Noah asked tentatively, “How about you?”

“Me?”

“What do you … you know?Like to do to unwind?”

Ah, he was interested!He cared about Timo: Timo had him now, right where he wanted Noah.Buoyed on a warm glow of satisfaction, Timo smiled at him.Wedding or partnership?Open or closed?And did he want kids?Ugh, Timo hoped he didn’t want kids.That seemed to be one of the “in” things these days, queers with kids, as if to prove a point.Why anyone,anyone, would ever want a child attached to their livesforeverwas beyond Timo.But if that was what Noah really wanted, well, one day?

No, he didn’t just …No.

What the fuck was happening?Forget food poisoning; was there a parasite burrowing in his brain?A stroke?He’d heard people could have strokes and not know it.He’d also heard a stroke could change your personality, that something could connect or disconnect in the brain and suddenly your friends and family didn’t recognise you.

Noah was waiting for him to answer, still tense, sipping his drink and glancing at Timo like someone unsure if the cat who’d climbed into his lap was a biter.

Museums and walks in the park?That was all?When Timo longed to know everything about this delicious specimen before him?Surely they could do better.

“Enough about me,” Timo said.“What part of the States are you from?”

Noah blinked, eyes tracking left and right.“You haven’t said anything about you.”

“Then we’re on the right track.”Timo laughed.“New York?”

“No …” Noah shifted in his seat.“I was in Brooklyn for college there before studying abroad.I’m from Alaska.”

“Really?The one we sold you lot?”

Another eye-darting moment; bewildered, seeking escape, Timo wasn’t sure.“Yeah … Although it was a bit before my time, you know, being 1867 when Russia sold Alaska.”

“For how much?”

“What?”

“You seem to know your history.”Timo grinned.“Just wondering.”He shrugged to show he was teasing, all light-hearted, no reason to look so terrified.

“Seven point two million dollars,” Noah said.

Timo cocked his head.“No shit?”

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