++ Noah & Navid go to Texas ++
"I hate this. I need to be home and deep inside you, kissing every little inch of the beautiful boy who holds my heart." Navid texted me as we were seated around a large table at a fancy restaurant high above the valley. It was a dinner for some group of investors Navid had helped with a new office building. They were impressed with him enough to invite us to their celebration.
I laughed as I read it under the table, and earned an interested look from one of the guys across the table. Navid didn't like him. He said the guy couldn't take his eyes off of me. I hadn't really noticed it and I felt uneasy at how jealous it made Navid. The guy was maybe 40 and had dark, spiky hair atop an overly tanned face that looked like he was probably hot in his younger days.
Before dinner, he had asked me a few questions while Navid was shaking hands. It was the standard stuff you get when someone doesn't know what to talk about. "You're in school? What are you studying? How long have you two been together? What is it like to date someone so different from 'Our' culture?" I didn't like the way he said 'our' as though Navid had landed from another planet. I answered politely though. Navid's business pays for a nice life and I do my part as the quiet, supportive boyfriend.
"I don't like him," Navid had said when he got me away. "He is disrespecting... He looks at you with bad intention when he knows you are taken boy."
"I think he's just being nice. Maybe he sees I am out of place here and wants me to feel welcome. Why would you be jealous of him anyways?" I whispered back to him as he nodded a fake smile to one of the clients. I didn't understand the jealousy over this guy. The guy was older, and nowhere near Navid's league.
"He is handsome man; successful and very rich. He could easily take care of you and give you more than I could..." Navid trailed off as though he wanted to say more. I knew what more he wanted to say.
"You think you're just a paycheck to me? The only success that matters to me is your happiness and peace. You know I'd share my old bedroom in my dad's apartment and still just as happily be your boy. The lump in your shorts that I couldn't take my eyes off of the first day we met... that wasn't your wallet," I reminded him and put my hand to his chest. His hands came up and cupped the hand that touched his heart. He nodded and then leaned down to kiss me.
The last two months had been crazy. His work was taking off and his workouts had been replaced with business lunches that weren't always healthy. He was making so many deals that Karim had offered him a bigger cut, but the workload was crushing our time together and his prayers. We'd barely had time for dinner and sex when he came home. Most nights he was too exhausted even for sex, but he still got it up, powered through. He knew we needed it.
Exhaustion was taking its toll on his body. He had a bad cold the last week that made his eyes puffier and his nose raw. His muscles were still there but softer, his abs receding from chiseled to a soft plump with the loss of his strict workouts. He still held my heart and starred in all of my fantasies. He would always be my superman. I'd never seen him self conscious or lacking in confidence, but one joke from Aram about eating an extra cookie at our last dinner sent Navid into a quiet storm. I noticed him suck-in when I laid my head on his lap while we watched TV the night before.
I tried everything to build him up, let him know he was still the handsomest, hottest man I'd ever met. I made sure our home was perfectly clean and quiet with the strict protein and vegetable dinners that he liked. I tried my best to be his relaxing force that made him forget about his long days of crazy work. But now, with the thought that he could be jealous over a middle-aged white guy staring me down at a party, I was able to see how bad he felt.
"You are so innocent, so simple. You don't see how men look at you; my perfect, blond, California boy with the best bubble bottom and beautiful seaglass eyes. I must protect you. I know how they are." Navid was really in a spiral.
"Do you think any guy here is even remotely as handsome as you? Do you think any of them could carry me off to bed and have me begging for it? I don't even think about other guys like that, especially not guys my dad's age... yuck," I whispered back fiercely.
"Noah... I love you so much. I do not deserve such perfect prince," Navid laughed and kissed my cheek.
"Princess," I corrected with a laugh. I reminded him of the term I'd spent so long getting out of his system. Now that it was almost gone, I kind of missed it.
"Of course, my beautiful love." Navid kissed me again and I caught the older guy wagging his eyebrows at me as he watched us with interest. He probably wanted to be in the middle.
The dinner went on for another 45 minutes as everyone stood and talked about the progress they were making on their other projects. Navid said it was technically a business meeting so they had to discuss things and they gave him a check during it. He pretended to be surprised and grateful. I noticed he adjusted his tight button-up shirt when he sat back down.
It hurt me to realize that my strong, stone pillar of masculine perfection could be subject to the same insecurities I held. He was such a confident steamroller that I sometimes forgot just how human he really was.
+++
"You look so fucking hot in your suit. I always feel so grateful to be yours," I noted as we walked back to the car. I saw him puff up at my compliment and he opened the passenger door for me with a little smile. I meant it too. He looked so grown up and powerful.
"I love you, Noah," he glowed as he kissed me and held the door while I slid in.
We made it back to our side of the valley with my head against his shoulder while he covered my hand with his as I held onto the stick shift. I was falling asleep, lulled by his soft, off-key singing along to a Persian ballad playing on the car stereo.
I woke up as the garage door was closing behind us. Navid had his lips on my forehead while his fingers rubbed through my hair and his palm massaged my head.
"Your hair is growing so long on top, baby," Navid noted as I stirred in his arms. I kept it shaved down on the sides, but it was just enough on top for him to play with when we fucked.
"I'll get it cut on Monday," I yawned. He gripped my hair and pulled it back so my face arched up to look at him. His lips spread into a smile and he shook his head.
"No, I like this is a little long. Is nice to hold onto. You're still a boy, no need to conform just yet. It's just long enough to braid up here. It would look nice with flowers, my pretty princess," he joked.
