Mitch and Noah

Noah

The image of the at least 6 foot tall, crew cut styled, dark brown-haired lawyer with muddy, brown eyes that had drawn Noah in instantly with a flash of his sexy, crooked smile, would not stop replaying in his mind.

The top-of-the-line tailored suit and tie, as well as his perfectly styled hair and cleanly shaven face, had had him drooling the first time he'd laid eyes on him at one of Ms. Amelia's famous end of the month BarBQ's.

Even his smell of a light lavender type aftershave was stuck in his mind, and he wished he had tried to get another wiff for his memory banks besides the residuals he'd stolen from the air by his quick, stealthy walk-by with Grace, unbeknownst to her and the mysteriously pulling Mitchell.

He shook his head in an attempt to clear the tantalizing image as he finished ringing up one of his regular's snacks and beer.

"All righty Miss Paige, that will be...21.79."

"Ugh, why is everything so damn expensive these days."

"You're telling me. I can barely afford to eat on these grocery prices."

Noah smiled professionally at the not even close to subtle flirtatious smile directed his way.

"Well, then, you should just join me for dinner sometime soon, free of charge of course."

Noah had known this was coming for weeks, and had been prepared well in advance for this very moment.

Taking her money and paying out the change, he frowned his most sincerely practiced apology frown as he handed it back to her.

"Sorry Hun. While I absolutely adore your company, I came here specifically swearing off love or anything that might lead to it. It's gotten me nothing but trouble, and I've promised myself a much-needed reprieve, besides my fantasies of course. Plus, with that gorgeous face, there's no way I would get to know you and NOT fall in love."

He leaned forward over the counter close enough for Noah to smell the woman's mint gum as she chewed with anxiety at their closing proximity, winking and smiling his classiest smile as he spoke.

"You have a good day."

Breaking their eye contact, Paige let out a cascade of high-pitched giggles as she turned red, grabbing her nightly supplies and heading out. She was his age, but still acted like a teenager.

Not attractive in his opinion.

Of course, he had always been attracted to older men and woman, it was just the way he was. It was also what had gotten him in the trouble he was actively avoiding.

Grabbing a cloth from below the counter, Noah wiped the condensation drops left behind from Paige's beers and allowed his mind two more minutes of mentally ogling the mystery Mitchell and his spank bank material, grumpy lawyer vibe.

Even though he was adamant through and through that he would not jump into another relationship, he didn't feel it would hurt to maybe daydream about something he wished he could have in, maybe, another life.

The thought of settling down with someone with his life the mess it was had his breath stopping and his chest constricting with anxiety.

Nope, that could never happen.

Love, or whatever the heck love was, just wasn't in the cards for him.

Noah Peterson liked to think of himself as a nomadic jack-of-all-trades; 24 years old with lots of random job and life experience, but no solid goals in sight. He liked flitting from place to place, propelling wherever the wind blew him.

His look and clothing style was very different from the man taking up his brainwaves, as he had a more surfer-esk type look, though he admittedly couldn't swim save for a pretty ugly doggie paddle.