Noah & Navid

Chapter 22- Aram

It was weird learning to sleep without his arms, eat without his urging that I never take enough, even dress without his input on how I looked or demands to cover up more. 

But over the next few days the hurting started to fade. My life started to go back to the dull routine I'd had before him. The highlight of my week was getting my teeth cleaned by the dentist who told me I have excellent oral hygiene.

My dad took me to dinner a few times with the new lady he was dating, and it was just like old times except we went to nicer places. 

The lady was nice to me, but I noticed she kept paying the check wherever we went. She was a realtor and must have been pretty successful judging from her shiny Mercedes. I laughed when I realized that my dad I were both with people who liked to take over and pay for everything. I guess I could blame him for that.

Dad took Navid's side, of course, on the whole him leaving me to see his family. 

He said that he had no doubt how much Navid loved me and would return as soon as he could.

"Don't be too hard on him, Noah," he'd said. "He needs to see his family. I'd be so sad if you lived across the world instead of down the road. I'm just glad you have a guy who doesn't want to take you away."

It didn't really hit me how ok I was until the fifth night I talked to Navid on the facetime. 

I was in bed just wearing a pair of briefs and feeling exhausted from a day of going to the theme park in Valencia with my dad and then dinner with Erik and Miguel. 

It was morning for Navid and he was hiding in the bedroom at the beach house they had rented. He was upset about an argument with his father and he was ready to come back to me.

"I miss you Noah, more than anything. You look so beautiful there in your little briefs. I need to touch you again soon or I go crazy. I not sleep good here without you in my arms. Everything sucks without you. It makes me to know how much I love you." Navid started to tear up and I didn't know what to say. 

I'd always been the one to cry, never him.

I tried to look concerned, but my brain just wanted me to sleep and my sex drive just didn't want to see him cry. 

He'd always been the dominant male, the strong arms and easygoing soul that put me at peace. His face with tears looked like someone else, someone I wasn't attracted to. I'd never thought about him like that. 

I needed my alpha.

And then I yawned while he was talking about the argument with his father. He stopped and looked at me with disappointment.

"I'm sorry, I just... I had a long day," I tried to cover. We hadn't talked long enough for me to wrap it up.

He stopped his teary tirade against his father's injustice and forced himself to composure. He swallowed his feelings and tried to look happy. 

Behind his eyes though, I could tell he was disappointed at my lack of compassion. I felt like an asshole, but a very sleepy one.

"It is late, my love," he said and forced a smile that his eyes disagreed with. 

We said our goodnights then, but I could tell he wasn't doing well.

The next day he started texting me every half hour or so to see what I was up to. He could feel me pulling away, moving on with my life in his absence. 

I missed a long line of messages while I was seeing a movie with Erik. By the time we left the theater and went for a late lunch, Navid had sent about ten messages. They started off mild, just-checking-in type messages, but progressively turned sadder.