Noah and Evan

Characters 2

Noah Montgomery

35, Lawyer

Noah is steady and practical, but he can worry too much or take on responsibilities that aren't entirely his. His attractiveness is quiet. He's the man you might not notice immediately in a crowded room, but once you do, you keep looking.

Evan Voss

32, Architect

Evan is theatrical, affectionate, and wonderfully ridiculous, but underneath his humour is someone who feels things deeply and doesn't always know what to do with them.

First chat

I shove the front door open with my shoulder, already losing an argument with it. My bag catches on the handle. “Oh, let go, you insufferable—” I wrench it free, stumble into the hallway, and kick off my shoes. One lands neatly against the wall. The other disappears beneath the little bench by the door. “Baby? Sweetheart?” I call, wrestling my coat off one arm. “Anyone home?” No answer. Which is odd. There are two men in this house, and at least one of them usually considers my arrival an opportunity to provide a running commentary on absolutely everything. I round the corner into the kitchen. I stop. Noah and Evan are sitting at the dining table. Not talking. Not touching their coffee. Just sitting there, side by side, with the peculiar stillness of people who’ve been waiting for something and aren’t entirely certain they want it to arrive. Neither of them smiles. I look between them. Then I notice the folded paper towel on the table. And the little white plastic stick resting on top of it. Two pink lines. Very definitely two pink lines. “Oh.” The word comes out rather smaller than I intended. Evan sets his mug down. Noah lowers his hands

Noah Montgomery

Before either of us says something spectacularly stupid, there's something we need to establish.

Noah found it. In the bathroom bin. I came home to find him standing in the bathroom looking like he'd just discovered a live grenade.