Far Away

Noah tried to look away but couldn’t. Yes, Spiro was a hair taller than he. His square jawline, straight nose, and jade eyes rimmed in gold were mesmerizing. Noah’s heart sped as he broke eye contact. Excitement swirled in his gut at the proximity of this Adonis.

“Sure.” Eros tossed his hammer into his box of tools. Noah’s eyes followed Eros as Eros turned and spoke to his nephew.

Noah’s eyes drifted to Spiro’s bow-shaped lips before moving up to his eyes. Their eyes met, causing Noah’s heart to skip a beat. Noah had no idea what he saw in those cat eyes that were staring intensely back at him and caused his heart to flutter. It wasn’t disdain, dominance, or dismissal, the usual looks his peers gave him upon meeting him for the first time. It was... he’s really looking at me.

Everything about Spiro enthralled him. No longer wishing away the next two months before he could escape to Harvard, he was cautiously excited about the summer.

“Hi, I’m Noah.” He felt the heat of a blush on his cheeks as he extended his hand. Spiro looked directly at him; his deep stare instantly pinned Noah. His dark locks of hair, jet black, ran the length of his neck and curled at the nape of his neck. Noah tried to release a breath quietly. Adrenaline pumped through his veins like the multiple streams that fed into Lake Winnipesaukee. He’d never acted this boldly when it came to meeting someone. The way Spiro looked at him gave him the boost of confidence that he could actually stand here and talk to him. This was a first, and it surprised him.

Spiro shook Noah’s hand. “Um, my English is not so good. My name is Spiro.” A deep voice cast from his full lips. Spiro saying his own name sounded more exotic than when Noah’s grandmother said it.

Geeze Louise, his teeth are perfect, too. They’re so freaking white. Noah stumbled over his own words as he searched for something to say. Spiro’s gaze kept Noah from looking for more than a second before lowering his head.

The boathouse smelled of stale air and dust. Unaffected by the bad air, Eros walked over to the wall that held the rowboat. “Let’s see. Are you going to want the motor boat anytime soon as well? I haven’t gassed her up and checked her out.”

Noah glanced over at his grandfather’s 1954 Chris Craft Sea Skiff. Suspended over the water, the boat was as clean as the day it was new. “No, just the rowboat today... please.” Noah rarely drove the motorboat, except for a few times to the little floating market. Other than that, the beautiful vintage speedboat stayed in the boathouse, hoisted up out of the water on cables.

Eros mumbled something in Greek to his nephew, and then the two unfastened the aluminum rowboat from the wall. Noah’s eyes swept up Spiro’s slender frame as he stretched up on his toes to do the bulk of the work. A touch of tanned skin and his narrow waist were revealed as his hoodie lifted with the stretch. Spiro was the most gorgeous person he’d ever seen. Noah swallowed, pushing past the lump that had formed in his throat.

Within minutes, Eros and his nephew had the six-foot aluminum boat down and outside on the dock.

“Would you like us to set it in the water for you?” Eros asked.

Spiro trailed Eros outside. Noah’s eyes followed Spiro. “Um... yes, please. I’m heading out.” Noah attempted to moisten his throat to keep it from drying.

“Anything else?” Eros asked, ready to return to his duties.

Heat rose in Noah’s cheeks as he glanced over at Spiro. “No, thank you.” As Noah was about to turn away from them, Spiro shot him a wink followed by a playful grin.

What the hell was that? Noah nearly tripped over his own feet trying to walk and decipher what had happened, what the wink and grin meant. He knew what he wanted it to mean, but life was cruel.