Noah half-smiled and nodded. Made sense.

"I can't usually find someone--" He stopped, Gina having fallen onto his right arm and begun giggling.

"...sober enough to play," he chuckled.

Veli snickered as well, shaking his head.

"Uh huh. Sober is indeed a factor. I'm never drunk." It was a fact. He'd never been able to find any sort of liquor that would make him drunk.

"It takes a lot to get me there..." Noah nodded and tried to right Gina. She just flopped right back. The poor man mumbled something like 'always stuck with these' into his beer.

Eyes traveling over to the young woman, Veli snorted. "You want help getting that off, or are you attached to it?"

"I'm not sure..." Noah reasoned, looking down to Gina, "I mean, it may be my...free ticket, yenno what I mean."

AND THE BLACK CURTAIN RAISES. <.<

The next morning was unbearably warm, and Noah had apparently taken the majority of the blankets off the bed he'd left Veli in. The poor man was already a good ways into the day's work.

Mmmm, Warm. Veli had snuggled into the spot that Noah had left, enjoying his scent. After a while he woke up, dragging his blankets up over his head as he sat up.

No Noah.

Oh, well. Was to be expected. Slowly, still remembering how weak-legged he'd been the night before, Veli stood. Good, most of the weakness was gone. He made the bed slowly, still feeling deliciously stiff and sore. Mmm, good night.

Now, to find his clothes...

Hm! There appeared to be something taped to the door...

After dressing carefully, Veli took the thing and looked it over, carefully opening the envelope.

Hrm.

Inside was a sheet of paper, folded in thirds, and what looked like a laminated ID on a lanyard.

Frowning, Veli examined the card-thing as he unfolded the paper with the other hand. Curious!

All the ID said was "VISITOR'S PASS" with some strange numbers, a barcode, and an emblem for some kind of hotel.

The paper read:

left for work at 5, back by 3
greenway hotel boiler room

Oh, and Veli was confused. Very, very confused. He slipped on his shoes, looking at the note. This was interesting. It wasn't a booty call. And he didn't know how to deal with that.

After a moment of thought, he walked over and scribbled his phone number down on a piece of paper, adding his name underneath and putting it on the fridge. He hopped from foot to foot for a moment before tucking pass and note both into his pocket and walking out.

Okay... The hotel was where again?

Only about 3 blocks away!

At the door, a woman checked his visitor's pass with a kind of pricing gun thing, and nobody else so much as cared to look his way. What a prosh hotel!

Not that Veli took any notice. He wasn't one to notice poshness.

After a bit of searching, he found the boiler room. He nibbled on his lower lip and checked out the little card slider, using his little pass-thing on it. Aha! That worked!

He slid in, closing the door behind him quietly. Ah, now he was kind of worrying!

There was a gigantic boiler obscuring any view of the lower level, but a set of semi-rusted stairs led down to the left. There was definitely someone down there...or something. There was a continued knocking and the sound of falling metal.

Veli moved down the stairs quietly, fiddling with the bottom of his shirt. He was nervous. Why was he nervous?

". . . Noah?"

The banging didn't stop, but another noise rose above the din.

"Yeah!"

Yaaay, Noah!

"S'Veli!" He called back, heading for the source of the noise. Huh! Hearing his voice made a funny feeling pop up in him...

There was Noah, bent over a new patch of cement flooring. He put the spade down and stood.

Oh my!

He wore stained and worn coveralls, but they hung down around his waist rather than the proper way, the top flopping down over his legs. He was drenched in sweat and wearing a blue bandanna around his forehead. Ah, how it brought out his eyes!

"I thought you wer'n't' gonna show."

Veli stared for a moment, that wonderfully warm feeling rising up in him again. Oh, God.

". . . Sorry, I just woke up." He said, blinking and looking off to one side. Was that a blush on his cheeks?

Noah didn't seem to notice.

"Naw, s'alright. I've been keepin' busy." He nodded toward a wall that seemed to have been almost entirely redone.

He paused, and then:

"Nice to see ya."

Why were they both so nervous?

". . . Yeah. I... Uh..."

This was different. This wasn't a booty call. Or it was the weirdest one he'd ever been called on. Nibbling his lower lip again, Veli looked at him. This was strange. Not sex. It was... Dangerous.

But damned if that man didn't make him want it bad.

"Thanks for telling me to come."

Noah smiled and nodded, returning to his cement.

"So how would you feel about exclusivity?"

"Huh?" Veli blinked at him. Um. Please to not be confusing the man, Noah.