In His Sights

Chapter 3-1

Chapter 3

Noah opened his eyes. Spotting the brown walls, he closed them again. Where the hell am I? He rolled over, carefully moving his hands to see if he’d find something. Another body maybe. Nothing. He opened one eye and peered around the room. He wasn’t sure where he was, but the aroma of coffee wafting through the air told him he wasn’t alone.

Noah got up and found his clothes lying in the chair next to the bed. A good sign. He put them on, then stood listening at the door. Nothing but silence. s**t. Should he try to sneak out, or man up and find out who was at the other end of that endearing smell? He used to be a SEAL, dammit. “I can handle this.” Besides, what did he expect to find? Probably some chick he’d picked up last night trying to convince himself he was still a man.

Noah closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and opened the door. Bright purple accosted his gaze, and it all came back to him. His Marine, and the man’s love for eccentric home and motor vehicle colors. His Marine? What? He needed coffee. Right now. He maneuvered himself toward the smell, not exactly remembering the way to the kitchen from the room he stayed in. Once at the stairs, he followed the aroma down and to the left. Then turned a corner and ta da. There, right in front of him, facing the opposite way, stood Mason, wearing nothing but a pair of baggy shorts. When he turned around, Noah noticed he had on a smile, too.

“Good morning, sleepy head.”

“What time is it?” Noah asked, his gaze fighting to go down to get another peek at Mason’s chest, his ripped muscles, and pointed n*****s.

“It’s 05:00.”

“Yeah. Guess I slept in.” Noah said, and they both laughed. “Did you hear anything from the airline?”

“Nothing yet. The terminals usually open at 07:00, but after last night, I’m thinking they’ll be there a little earlier. I’ll call in a bit, see what we can find out.”

“Sounds good,” Noah agreed.

“In the meantime, you want something to eat?” Mason went to the refrigerator and grabbed the cream for the coffee, then handed the carton to Noah.

Noah’s gut twisted. Food right then didn’t sound too good. “I got a hankering for a run before I eat. Sweat some of last night’s alcohol out of my body.”

“A run sounds great. Mind if I join you?” Mason took a sip of his coffee, and his smile grew.

“Nope.”

Mason put down his cup, and leaned back against the counter, his arms folded in front of him. “Do you want a pair of sweats and T-shirt to borrow? Can’t be fun running in tight jeans like that.”

Noah couldn’t look away. His insides burned. If he kept gawking at Mason, it wouldn’t take long for him to start sporting some wood. He padded over to where the center island would give him cover and put his coffee down. “That’d be great. Thanks.”

“No problem, I’ll be right back.” Mason left the room.

It gave Noah a moment to cool down. Just what he needed. Staring at Mason’s muscled body, and knowing the damage it could do, gave him little chance to keep his hormones in check. Damn, he’s built.

Mason walked back in and handed Noah a pair of Marine sweat pants, a plain black T-shirt, and a matching Marine hoodie. Noah would be a running advertisement for the Corps. Why did he think Mason had done that intentionally? When Noah glanced over at Mason, he couldn’t miss the laughter in Mason’s eyes. Yeah. Definitely done on purpose. Noah couldn’t help but smile.

“I’ll be right back.” Noah headed back to his room. On his way upstairs, he took in more of his surroundings. Pictures hung on the walls. One was of two little boys, another of Mason with a woman, his arm around her. I must’ve misunderstood him last night. He has a girlfriend, he can’t be gay. Noah’s thought moved to another one. One where Noah had been in a relationship trying to hide the fact that he liked men. He shut his mind down as he shut the door to his room. He dressed as fast as he could, blaming all of his rogue thoughts on his drinking the night before.

When Noah came back in the kitchen, he found Mason at the coffee maker, refilling his cup.

“You going to be up for this?” Noah asked.

“Absolutely. Just need a little more go-go juice. Then I’ll kick your ass.”

Noah shook his head. “In your dreams, buddy. In your dreams.”

“What do you feel up to?” Mason asked. “There’s a lake up the block—the trail’s about five miles around. That’s where I run.”

“That’ll work.”

“We should have enough time to get through it before the airport opens. I’d say we could run there, but that’s another three miles each way. Think we should put that off for another day.”

Another day? Sure. “Sounds good.”

Mason finished his coffee, then put the cup in the sink. “Let me run upstairs and grab my phone.”

“Okay.” Noah leaned against the cabinet to wait, pouring a little more coffee into his own cup.

“Fuck.” Mason’s voice echoed through the house. When he stepped back into the kitchen, a frown marred his face.

“Everything okay?” Noah asked.

“Yeah. Just the power. Must have blown out last night with the winds causing the breaker to trip. Need to run downstairs and reset it. I’ll be right back.” Mason disappeared into what Noah assumed was the basement.

“That should make it better.” Mason smiled as he came back into the room. “Although, now my phone’s dead.” He plugged the charger into the outlet above the counter and set it down. “I’ll leave the phone there. Blew up my car charger last week. Need to get a new one.”

Mason inched over to the refrigerator and took out four bottles of water, handing two to Noah.

“Thanks.”

“You got it. Let’s go.”

Outside, the sun shone in the clear blue sky, and the air had a crisp bite—perfect running weather. As he headed for the truck, Noah turned around. The picture in front of him didn’t shock him in the least. Somehow, he had missed it in the darkness the night before. Cobalt blue paint covered Mason’s house. And as if that wasn’t enough of a shock, his shutters were stark white, and his door fire-truck red. From what little he’d learned of Mason, the house fit his personality perfectly. With a smile on his face, Noah stepped into Mason’s truck.

Within seconds, Mason steered them out of the driveway.

Neither spoke as they drove. Noah glanced around to get a better idea of where Mason lived. The houses were as diverse as Mason’s tastes. Each of their shapes were different; one a small bungalow, then two doors down a McMansion. In Noah’s opinion, Mason’s stood out the most for all the right reasons. The color was brilliant, the style tasteful, and the size just right. They drove through twisting back roads, surrounded by large overhanging trees, and before long, they entered the park.

Off in the distance, Noah spotted the lake. “This is amazing. Can you boat in here?”

Both men stretched as they spoke.

“Not with a motor. They let in paddle boats, kayaks, and canoes.”

Noah soaked in the tranquility of the place. “You ever catch anything here?”

Mason regarded Noah as if he was crazy? “Huh?”

“Fish. Have you ever caught any fish in the lake?”

“Oh man. I didn’t know what the hell you were asking.” Mason laughed. “Yeah. Caught a couple largemouth bass and some pike. There’s others in there—just haven’t gotten any yet.”

“I haven’t fished since I was a little kid. Used to go with my grandpa.” Before all hell broke loose.

“Next time you’re around, we should set that up.”

Yeah. Next time I’m around. Right. “That’d be great.”

“Ready to run?”

Before Noah fully got out, “Yeah,” Mason took off.

Mason took the race aspect of the run seriously.

Noah started and quickly caught up to him. “Thinking you jumped the gun back there.”

“You said you were ready.” Mason glanced over and smiled.

Noah almost tripped on his feet. “Barely.”

“Well, no worries, we’re even now.” And that’s how they stayed for the rest of the run. Most of the time, each focused on their running, and when they did talk, it was Mason pointing something out on the trail.

When they made it back to the truck, Mason opened the door and grabbed each of them a water.

“Thanks.” Noah downed the bottle in a few gulps.

“Want another?” Mason held a second bottle for Noah.

Noah reached out and took the drink. “Thanks.”

In the car, Noah checked his phone. There weren’t any missed calls.

By the time they got back to the house it was 6:30 A.M. Perfect.