Thanks for reading. Your comments are appreciated. I was trying to do shorter and more frequent chapters, but I'll go back to regular. Thanks! :)
-Emri
+{Noah's Starship}+
-+-[Ch. 10- Noah's Day]-+-
~By Emri~
Since we moved in together, Navid is almost always the last to wake up. I usually pass out first and then wake up with the sun. I am the early bird, He is the night owl.
I've always been that way so much so that my dad used to put the cereal and bowls on a low shelf in the kitchen so I could help myself and watch cartoons while he slept in. He'd pour little cups of milk into containers with lids and leave them on a low shelf in the fridge. It was the first chore he'd taught me, and I grew up respecting that other people needed to sleep later.
Navid didn't like to wake up without me. I'd usually go use the guest bathroom, wash my face, and brush my teeth before returning to his arms and playing a quiet game on my phone to the melody of his snoring.
But this morning was different. He'd set an early alarm for himself and slid me off his chest without waking me so he could surprise me. He was so stealthy about it that I didn't wake up until he kissed my lips and rubbed my chest.
"Happy Birthday, Noah! I make breakfast for you," Navid said as I opened my eyes. He was leaning over me looking down with a big, goofy smile. I wasn't as surprised to see him up before me as I was that he'd said he had made breakfast. Navid never cooked, well rarely. He would make some Persian things every now and then and they were usually decent. But the kitchen in our home was usually staffed only by me.
"You made breakfast?" I asked with caution wondering what he could have prepared.
"Yes! Your favorite I make! Just for you special," Navid fumbled as he hopped off the bed and went to grab the tray. He set it down next to me and I knew instantly that Mike must have been awake and helped him out heavily. It was two plates of smiley-face pancakes with whip cream for the smile and strawberries for the eyes, nose and teeth.
"You did this all by yourself?" I asked and then thought maybe I should have said something more appreciative.
"Mike assist me, but mostly me!" Navid's pride was unswayed by my disbelief. He picked up a strawberry, swiped it through the cream, and brought it to my lips. I sucked the cream off and then licked at the tart fruit.
Navid and his friends had rented a house by the beach near Ventura for my birthday weekend. Outside our window was a patio overlooking the sand dune with a walkway that led from the lower porch to the open coast. The house wasn't huge, but it had three bedrooms and a little side area off the dining room that had bunk beds guests used for their kids. We were at the end of a tiny road and our only neighbor was empty for the weekend so it was like we had our own beach.
Navid and I were in the biggest room since it was my birthday, and Karim and Mike were in the other upstairs bedroom. Downstairs Nasri shared a room with Erik. Aram, Bashir, and Miguel shared the bunk beds. Miguel seemed happy to squeeze in next to Bashir for the night. Aram was supposed to have a friend showing up tonight who would share his bunk. I was just happy to have everyone together.
Navid and I finished our pancakes on the little balcony off our bedroom and watched the waves crash into the sand.
When everyone was awake and fed, we headed down to the beach. Navid and the older guys set up a tarp canopy held by four metal poles so we could lay out beach towels and the drinks and snacks away from the blazing February sun. Southern California doesn't really get much of a winter and the sun was out early that morning.
Navid had picked out matching blue swim shorts with a pattern of little light blue palm trees for us online. We heard comments from everyone when we came out in them with matching blue tank tops and flip flops. I blushed a little, but Navid seemed to like it.
We didn't match for long though as we got down to the shore and Navid took off his shirt to reveal his gym regimen of chest presses and sit-ups. I had gotten pretty toned from yoga and daily use of the little gym in our condo complex, but I could never compare to Navid. He seemed pleased that I kept my shirt on, and gave me a kiss while slathering me up in sunblock.
Nasri was not to be outdone for attention, he slid off his shorts to show a small white speedo that brought his almond skinned muscles to perfection. He knelt down close to me while Navid was squirting sunblock on my shoulders to tuck his shorts into his beach bag. His fat bulge was just inches from me and it bounced as he stood up again to bring it to eye level. Erik caught me looking and gave me a happy nod.
Navid was the first in the ocean. He loves swimming and we'd spent the last few nights splashing around in the condo complex pool before getting ready for bed. He grew up with a pool and is a very strong swimmer. I usually just float around while he does laps.
Erik, Miguel, and I stayed back under the tent and caught up with each other. Erik was working double time to fulfill Nasri's increasingly wild sexual desires. He filled us in on the role playing Nasri liked, and finding places to be together in public. I wasn't sure if he was telling the truth or not. Erik had a history of exaggerating the truth past recognition.
Erik was just starting to tell us how he was trying to find another guy that looked just like him so Nasri could have two boys worshipping him when Miguel punched him in the arm and looked up over my head.
"Baby, I told you to stop with that," Nasri said in an angry tone. I looked up at him and he noted my stare with a guilty shift of his eyes. I looked at his bulge to see if the white speedo had become transparent since he'd been in the ocean. Sadly, it hadn't.
"Sorry, I was just..." Erik trailed off with a rare look of embarrassment. I'd never known him to back down so easily.
"You talk too much, ok? We're here to have fun. I don't need Navid pissed at me again. Keep it light," Nasri said and looked away from me.
I'd always wondered why he kept his distance from me. He rarely acknowledged my presence. When they got there late last night, he'd just given me a pat on the shoulder and said, "Happy Birthday, Noah."
Aram broke the awkwardness by shooting Nasri in the arm with a water gun. Nasri gave Erik a soft kiss on the cheek and then yelled something angry in Arabic or Persian before running off to fight Aram. Navid was out swimming with Karim and Mike.
"What did he mean by that?" I asked. Erik and I didn't keep many secrets.
"Nothing, Noah. Just... well you know Navid has this whole thing about keeping you pure. Nas just wants to avoid more trouble with Navid. He can be kind of... intense when it comes to you," Erik explained.
"I think it's kind of sweet. It must be nice to have a guy who pays for everything and can't get enough of you. It's like you get to be a kid for a few more years. Sounds like a nice, easy life of leisure," Miguel said with a sigh. He hadn't mentioned bringing a guy with him when I invited him. He got a ride up here with Erik and Nasri and didn't object at all to sharing a bunk with Bashir when I offered him one by himself.
"Easy! Yeah right!" I laughed. "Do you know how hard it is to go to school and keep our house spotless for him... cook interesting meals for him twice a day, keep his clothes and work suits ready to wear? Sometimes it's a lot of pressure being the perfect boy that he wants."
"He doesn't help out at all?" Miguel asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Um... no... Plus he's super messy. I find his clothes and dishes in the strangest places. He did offer to get a cleaning lady to come every week, but I would feel too guilty about that. He works so hard so he doesn't have to get financial help from his parents. He works all day and then comes home to shower me with attention before putting in another few hours of work while I drift off to sleep." I turned around to look for Navid. I felt guilty admitting all of this, but they were my best friends. Luckily he was still out in the water.
"Ugh! Take the maid, Noah. You're too young to stress yourself out with all that," Erik said.
"It's like I'm doing my part to contribute by taking care of the home though. And... I like how he depends on me. He grew up with a housekeeper and mom so it makes him happy after living the last four years here with messy roommates. He told me he finally feels like he is at home now that I'm there. Plus he pays for everything; my tuition and books... nice clothes and food. He insists that I wear nice things and never even blinks when paying for it... I'm expensive now," I laughed.
"Yeah you've definitely turned into a designer label guy," Erik laughed and then added, "You're actually a hot little guy now with the haircut and better clothes."
"Uh thanks, I guess?" I wasn't sure how to take that.
"You know what I meant, Noah. You never used to care about that stuff. You always kept things so simple. I think you had like four t-shirts you cycled through and the same pair of shoes... Your life was just... so... simple," Erik fumbled for words as he tried to correct himself.
"Navid says when you take pride in how you look and what you wear, people take you seriously and expect better from you," I explained.
"Hey! You guys remember how we spent your last birthday, Noah?" Miguel changed the topic. We all burst out laughing just thinking about it.
"Oh you mean his dad taking us to that awkward restaurant where they were having the valentine's day special event for lonely singles and had all the tables pushed together? That was freaky!" Erik snorted.
"Yeah my dad had no idea that was going on there! It was so awkward trying to explain we didn't know about the event and were just there for my birthday. But they did all sing happy birthday to me!" I laughed.
"And Noah's dad got three phone numbers!" Miguel clapped his hand on my shoulder.
"Yeah he went out with one of them for almost a month!" I laughed.
"Hey I got one too! He was too old for me, but pretty cute!" Erik always had to show us up.
"What do we laugh about?" A soaked Navid came up and reached over me to grab his towel. Miguel took his hand off my shoulder pretty quickly.
"Just how different this birthday is from a year ago," I said as Navid kissed my forehead. We filled him in on the details of my semi disastrous birthday celebration the year before.
"I make special this one for you, No?" Navid bragged.
