Page 7 of Scoring Slater
"Share? I think you mean steal." Noah shook out the shirt and met Slater's gaze over the wrinkled garment. They did share, sometimes, but more in acan I borrow this wayand less by way of covert operations.
Kelsey tilted her head. "You know, you're sort of likeThe Odd Couple. I'll have to find music similar to that theme song for this spot. It's too perfect, the fans will love it."
Aha.The corner of Noah's lip slanted up as he narrowed his eyes at Slater, but his friend was the picture of innocence. Almost too innocent. He wouldn't put it past Slater to embellish the situation to give the fans more entertainment.
"The bathroom is the only room left. Come on." Slater led the way to the room at the end of the hall.
Like the rest of their apartment, the bathroom was a decent size. Unlike his old place. Noah leaned his shoulder against the doorjamb. Now that the tour was nearly over, his tension was dissipating. "My last apartment in LA was half the size of this one, and my bathroom there was seriously tiny."
"I can confirm. That shower was really cramped. We're big boys; Noah's six-foot-one, and I'm six-three. We need space." Slater glanced at the wide stall, then looked back at the camera and casually slid his hands into his back pockets. "This shower's big enough for two people. Not that I’ve tested it out."
Noah stood, transfixed, as his imagination conjured the fantasy of Slater's body, wet and hot, sliding against his own under the spray. Heat rushed through his body and his blood buzzed with desire.
By the time the haze cleared, Slater was talking to Kelsey and the camera about his love of comic books, and holding up the combination shampoo and body wash he'd picked up at the store because it had a superhero on the bottle.
Noah stood off to the side, refolding a towel to keep his hands busy as he studied Slater. That comment about the shower could be taken as an innocent remark about the shower being wide, but there was no way most of the people who watched the video wouldn't read another meaning into it. How had he meant the remark? And on top of that, how didhewant Slater to mean it?
Kelsey and Brianna were laughing at something Slater said, then Kelsey turned to Noah. "We're all done here, so we're going back to the living room and doing the sign-off there."
"Cool." He set the towel aside and trailed behind the group.Almost done.
"Why don't we stand by the bookshelf?" Kelsey herded them in place, with Slater in the middle, her on the left, and Noah on the right. She waited until Brianna gave her the signal. "Okay, Bedlam fans, that's a wrap. Slater and Noah, thanks for giving us a glimpse into your apartment."
Slater draped his arm over Noah's shoulders and waved at the camera. "Thanks for hanging out with us. We'll see you on the ice."
Noah swallowed hard, his mouth had gone dry and his heart was hammering like he'd just finished wind sprints. Leaning into Slater felt so right. "Bye, guys."
Brianna lowered the camera. "All done."
Kelsey turned to them, smiling wide. "You guys were great. The fans are going to love this segment. I'll send it to you before it airs, so you can make sure you're cool with everything."
"That's nice of you." Noah crossed his arms over his chest and reminded himself again that he could trust her. "I appreciate it."
After another minute of exchanging goodbyes, he and Slater walked them to the door.
Slater closed the door, locked it, and smiled at him. "I'm glad that's over."
"Really? You love that stuff."
"Yeah, but you don't." His hand brushed across Noah's back as he headed down the hall. "Let's make dinner. I saw that one of the science channels has a special about space tonight. Want to watch it?"
Astronomy was his passion, but he wanted to give Slater something for helping him through the afternoon. "We can watch one of your superhero movies instead."
"Why not both?" He led Noah into the kitchen and headed for the tea kettle. "Want a cup?"
"Sure." He took a lemon herbal tea bag out of the tin. "You?"
"I never drank the coffee Kelsey brought. I'll warm that up instead." Slater stuck the cup in the microwave and punched a few buttons. "You did good today."
He shrugged. Good? More like, he'd survived without turning into a surly asshole or taking the camera and running. "Maybe."
"No. You did."
"Having you here helped." Noah's quiet admission seemed lost under the whir and beeping of the microwave, but moments later Slater crossed the kitchen and leaned on the counter by Noah's side.
He nudged Noah's arm and smiled. "I'll always be here."
Throat thick, Noah nodded and gently clinked his mug against Slater's cup. Slater, warm and caring, was as irresistible as every other version of Slater he'd known over the years. And that was a problem.
