Page 52 of All of Him
“There aren’t that many,” he explained as I flipped through.
There were some pictures of his friends, a girl I assumed to be Morgan with her arm around him, and a picture of him and Garrett. I paused at that one, admiring how much they looked alike. Garrett was slightly taller and definitely the skinnier one of the two—at least back then. Noah was probably thinner now than Garrett was in the photo.
Noah didn’t flinch while I kept swiping through his pictures. I admired some scenery photos of random castles and landmarks in Ireland. There were a few pictures of him and Morgan at the Cliffs of Moher. His arm was around her, but he looked stiff. She, on the other hand, had her hip cocked to the side, her dark hair flowing behind her.
“She’s beautiful,” I said.
“She is,” Noah agreed, his voice vibrating next to me. As I continued to look, Noah started to squirm. “Hold on,” he said quickly, reaching for the phone.
“What?” I asked, still swiping. Suddenly, I came across what I thought was a photo that he didn’t want me to see.
“Oh!” I yelped, jumping off the swing, taking the phone so he couldn’t grab it. I looked down at it again, ignoring his blushing cheeks. “This is…why?”
“Shit,” he groaned, covering his eyes. “I forgot about that one.”
I wanted to laugh about it, but there was nothing funny about the picture. It was obviously something Morgan had taken. Noah’s face read shock; he was probably annoyed that she was taking the photo, but, dear God, I couldn’t look away.
Noah continued to groan but also chuckled as I admired the picture of him in nothing but black boxer briefs.
“OhGod,” I said, my mouth hanging open, no shame to be found. “Noah Murphy, yougorgeoushuman.”
He had the body of a male model, perfectly sculpted muscles covering every aspect of him.
That V.
He wasn’t bulky, but he’d clearly put effort into his body for that look. I felt something within me stir, though I quieted it quickly, knowing I’d probably never act on it. But, holy shit, did the desire for the man next to me exist.
“Can I have my phone back?” he begged, though smirking.
“Can I have—”
“No!” he answered, bursting out in laughter. “You cannot have a picture of me in my underwear!”
“Noah, this is magic,” I admitted, only the beer keeping me from blushing. He shook his head and held out his hand, waiting for the phone.
“Fine.” I gave in, handing it back to him.
28
Noah
HAVING AMANDA SEE Apicture of me in my underwear from when I had been in the best shape of my life wasn’t something I’d planned on. I remembered Morgan taking the picture, saying she needed it for herself, and never deleting it off of my phone. Amanda seemed to enjoy it without shame, but it was still embarrassing.
“Don’t delete that,” she said, suddenly shy, as I locked the phone and shoved it back into my pocket. “Please?”
“I will…never look like that again,” I assured her. “Ogling it is just going to make you sad.”
“It’s not like I was ever planning on seeing you in your underwear though,” she scoffed. “I’ll probably never have anything to compare it to.”
“You can’t have it,” I said sternly, though smirking.
Amanda sighed and sat next to me on the swing, slightly closer than she had been. Her knee bumped mine as she turned to face me, smiling sincerely.
“Thanks for showing me your pictures,” she said, twirling her hair nervously. “I know it might suck for you to look back.”
I shrugged, then shook my head.
“I feel like it’s a closed chapter, you know? I wasn’t having the greatest time, but at least I wasn’t here with my deadbeat parents. I got out to explore and meet people, whether they were worth meeting or not.”
