Chapter 7 Seeing You
Morning
Adrian had been awake since five thirty.
He usually was.
Years of early meetings, international calls, and deadlines had trained his body to wake before his alarm. Even when there was nowhere he needed to be immediately, his mind rarely allowed him the luxury of sleeping late.
The apartment was quiet when he left his bedroom.
He expected Noah to still be asleep.
That was one advantage of having separate bedrooms. Adrian could begin his morning without disturbing anyone, make coffee, review the day's schedule, and prepare for the client meetings before the rest of the world became demanding.
He opened his bedroom door and walked toward the kitchen.
Then he stopped.
Noah was already there.
For a second, Adrian simply stared.
Noah stood barefoot near the kitchen counter, waiting for the coffee machine to finish brewing. He was wearing loose gray sweatpants and a soft black T-shirt that looked nothing like the polished shirts and jackets he wore to the office.
His hair was messy.
His face was still marked by sleep.
He looked completely unguarded.
Adrian had never seen him like that.
At work, Noah always seemed to occupy more space than he actually did. He walked with confidence, spoke with certainty, and met every challenge with a quick response. Even when he was uncertain, he rarely allowed anyone to see it.
This Noah was different.
He looked younger.
Softer.
Almost peaceful.
Adrian realized he was staring.
He should have looked away.
He didn't.
Noah reached for the coffee mug on the counter and yawned.
Adrian's eyes followed the movement before he could stop himself.
There was something deeply unsettling about seeing Noah outside the version of himself he presented to the world.
Adrian had become accustomed to the sharp smile, the quick remarks, the challenging questions.
He hadn't expected to like this version of him.
That was the problem.
Noah turned slightly.
Adrian immediately looked away.
He walked toward the coffee machine with deliberate calm.
"You're awake early."
Noah looked at him.
"Apparently."
Adrian glanced at the clock.
"Six fifteen."
"I know."
"Why?"
Noah shrugged.
"I woke up."
Adrian nodded as though that explained everything.
It didn't.
Noah took a sip from his mug.
Adrian reached for the coffee machine.
The silence felt different from the silence they had shared the previous night.
That had been comfortable.
This felt charged.
Adrian focused on preparing his coffee.
He could feel Noah watching him.
He ignored it.
"You didn't sleep well?"
Adrian looked up.
"What makes you think that?"
"You look tired."
"I always look like this."
Noah smiled.
"No. At work you look terrifying."
Adrian raised an eyebrow.
"And now?"
"Now you look like a man who needs coffee."
Adrian returned his attention to the machine.
"That's accurate."
Noah leaned against the counter.
"You always wake up this early?"
"Usually."
"Even on weekends?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"I have things to do."
Noah smiled.
"Of course you do."
Adrian looked at him.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"You're doing that again."
"Doing what?"
"Judging me."
"I'm observing."
"There's a difference."
"Exactly."
Adrian almost smiled.
Noah noticed.
He always noticed.
Adrian turned away before the expression could fully appear.
The coffee machine finished.
He picked up his cup.
Noah watched him.
"You know, I think you're slowly becoming human."
Adrian looked at him.
"Don't spread that around."
Noah laughed.
The sound was softer than it had been at the office.
Adrian found himself listening to it.
He shouldn't.
He knew that.
But there was something about mornings like this that made the boundaries between them feel less definite.
Noah was just a man standing barefoot in a kitchen.
Adrian was just another man drinking coffee.
There was no hierarchy in the room.
No presentation.
No client.
No one waiting for Adrian to make a decision.
For some reason, that made Noah more difficult to ignore.
Adrian took a sip of coffee.
Noah looked at him.
"Do you want breakfast?"
"I'm fine."
"That's not what I asked."
Adrian looked toward the kitchen counter.
Noah had already taken out bread, eggs, and fruit.
"You cook?"
"Sometimes."
"That's unexpected."
"What did you expect?"
"Takeout."
Noah smiled.
"You really don't know me."
Adrian paused.
The words carried more weight than they should have.
He looked at Noah.
"No."
Noah held his gaze.
"Maybe you should."
Adrian didn't know what to say.
The silence stretched.
Then Noah turned back toward the counter.
"I'll make eggs."
Adrian watched him crack an egg into a bowl.
There was something almost domestic about the scene.
The thought came unexpectedly.
He pushed it away immediately.
They were coworkers.
That was all.
Adrian returned to his coffee.
He opened his phone and checked the day's schedule.
Noah moved around the kitchen, humming quietly.
Adrian tried to focus on the calendar.
He failed.
His attention kept drifting back.
The way Noah moved.
The way his hair fell across his forehead.
The way his bare feet moved silently across the floor.
The softness in his expression.
Adrian realized he had been looking again.
Noah suddenly glanced up.
Their eyes met.
Adrian looked away immediately.
He picked up the coffee machine's instruction card from the counter.
He had no idea why he was looking at it.
Noah stared at him.
"Are you reading that?"
Adrian glanced at the card.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I was checking something."
"You've used that machine every day since we arrived."
Adrian said nothing.
Noah's mouth curved.
"Interesting."
Adrian put the card down.
"What's interesting?"
"Nothing."
"You keep saying that."
"Because you keep asking."
Adrian looked at him.
Noah was smiling now.
Not the teasing smile he used when arguing with Adrian.
Something warmer.
More knowing.
Adrian had the uncomfortable feeling that Noah had noticed more than he wanted him to.
He reached for his phone again.
"What's our first meeting?"
Noah glanced at the schedule.
"Nine thirty."
"We should leave by eight forty-five."
"I know."
"Then you should eat."
Noah raised an eyebrow.
"Are you worried about me?"
"No."
"Sounded like it."
"I'm worried about being late."
"Of course."
Noah smiled again.
Adrian turned toward the window.
Outside, the city was beginning to wake.
Traffic moved along the street below, sunlight reflecting from the glass buildings around them.
It should have been an ordinary morning.
Instead, Adrian was painfully aware that something had changed.
He had seen Noah differently.
Not as the talented strategist who challenged him.
Not as the difficult coworker who refused to follow instructions without question.
Not as the younger man who somehow managed to get under his skin.
He had seen Noah simply being himself.
And Adrian had liked what he saw.
That realization was dangerous.
He knew it.
Noah picked up his coffee.
"Ready?"
Adrian turned.
"Almost."
Noah studied him for another second.
Then he smiled.
Adrian had the distinct impression that Noah knew exactly what he had been doing.
And judging by that smile, he was enjoying it.
Adrian looked away and pretended to be interested in the coffee machine again.
Noah said nothing.
He didn't need to.
His smile said enough.
Adrian only hoped Noah hadn't noticed how long he'd been staring.
He suspected Noah had noticed everything.
Noah Notices
Noah spent the entire morning trying not to think about Adrian.
He failed before they reached the client's office.
The problem was the coffee machine.
More specifically, Adrian's sudden fascination with it.
Noah had seen the way Adrian had looked away when their eyes met in the kitchen. He had watched him pick up the instruction card and pretend to read it despite having used the machine every morning since they arrived.
Adrian Cole was many things.
Subtle wasn't usually one of them.
He was controlled, disciplined, and frustratingly deliberate. He rarely did anything without a reason. If he looked at someone, it was because he wanted something from them. If he spoke, every word usually had a purpose.
So why had he looked away?
Noah kept replaying the moment in his head.
He remembered standing in the kitchen, still half asleep, holding his coffee while Adrian walked in.
The look had lasted only a few seconds.
But it had been different.
Adrian hadn't looked at him the way he did in meetings.
He hadn't been evaluating his work.
He hadn't been deciding whether Noah was about to challenge him.
He had simply been looking at him.
Noah wondered why.
Then another memory surfaced.
The office.
Late at night.
Adrian's chair.
Noah leaning over his shoulder.
Their faces inches apart.
The silence.
The way Adrian had gone completely still.
Noah remembered how close they had been, close enough for him to notice Adrian's breathing change. He remembered looking into those dark eyes and wondering, just for a second, what would happen if neither of them stepped away.
Then he'd made a joke.
Adrian had let him go.
At the time, Noah had assumed the tension was mutual irritation.
Now he wasn't so sure.
There had been other moments too.
The praise after the campaign argument.
Good argument.
The way Adrian had said it as though the words had cost him something.
Then there had been the presentation when Adrian had openly credited Noah's solution in front of senior leadership.
The work was exceptional.
Noah had remembered those words.
He had also remembered Adrian's expression when he'd said them.
There had been something different in his eyes.
Something Noah hadn't understood.
Now he was beginning to wonder whether he should have.
The car stopped outside the client's building.
Noah got out and followed Adrian toward the entrance.
They were discussing the morning schedule when Adrian stopped near the security desk.
"The regional team wants the revised presentation before eleven."
"I'll have it ready."
"Make sure the local messaging remains consistent."
"It will."
Adrian nodded.
Noah looked at him.
There it was again.
That slight pause whenever Adrian spoke directly to him.
It was almost nothing.