Sarah looked into his eyes for a moment, then said, “I do. You know we’re not allowed to have any real relationships, right? I figure we need to find ways to help each other out. Sometimes, I just need a little intimacy, just to be close to someone, but the last thing in the world I want right now is to have any real romantic feelings involved. That makes you the safest game in town. As long as you don’t mind being used that way, we can have a little fun, now and then.”
Noah put on a friendly grin. “Sounds like you thought that out logically,” he said. “My only concern might be that the other guys would get jealous. Should we keep this quiet, just between us?”
She shook her head, then kissed him again. “Moose is into big women, and he’s just not my type, anyway. I prefer a man with a brain, but Neil is just a kid. You might not consider yourself human, but at least you are intelligent, and a man.”
Noah lowered his eyebrows, squinting at her. “According to the dossiers they gave me on each of you, you’re only two years older than Neil. There’s a bigger age difference between us than that.”
Sarah giggled. “I wasn’t referring to his age, I’m talking about his whole attitude, the way he acts. He reminds me of a twelve-year-old boy who lived next door to us a couple years ago. He’s just too much of a kid for me, but the whole point of that was that I don’t think we need to keep any secrets.”
Noah shrugged, and kissed her once more, then took her by the hand and led her to the bed. He tossed back the covers and pushed her gently onto the mattress, then slid in beside her.
Like always, Noah woke at five thirty, this time to find himself tangled around the blonde girl in his bed. He managed to extricate himself without waking her, then quietly got out clean clothes and went to take another shower. When he came out of the bathroom fifteen minutes later, Sarah was still sleeping, so he woke her gently.
“Hey, it’s morning,” he said when her eyes were opened and focused on him. “I’m going down to the kitchen to make breakfast, but I wanted to wake you up before I start yelling up the stairs at the guys.”
She yawned, stretched and then smiled at him. “Sounds good,” she said. “Can I use your shower?”
Noah pointed toward the bathroom. “Right in there, help yourself. I’m gonna go make some coffee.”
He went down the hall to the kitchen, and started a pot of coffee, then went to the base of the stairs. “Hey, in case you haven’t noticed, it’s morning time,” he shouted. “Breakfast will be ready in thirty minutes. Anybody who isn’t here then doesn’t get to eat!”
He went back to the kitchen, opened his refrigerator and took out a dozen eggs and a package of sausage links, and set about making breakfast for his guests.
Neil and Moose found their way to the kitchen ten minutes later, and Sarah joined them ten minutes after that. Neil’s eyebrows shot up when he saw Sarah, because she was wearing one of Noah’s polo shirts, and possibly nothing else.
“But you’re not the least bit interested in being Noah’s girlfriend, right? I mean, that’s why I got tossed on the ground last night, isn’t it?”
Sarah smiled sweetly at him, then pointed at the tile floor under the stool he was sitting on. “That would hurt worse than the ground did,” she said. “We all know we can’t ever have a real relationship, so don’t give me any shit about this.”
Neil glanced down at the floor, then smiled at Sarah. “Point taken,” he said, then turned back to the cup of coffee sitting in front of him.
Noah’s kitchen featured a bar that was big enough for several people, and had six stools. Since it was close to the coffee maker, everyone had gravitated to it. Noah set a cup of coffee in front of the stool Sarah had taken, then poured a second cup for himself as he cooked. His range had a large griddle right in the center, which made frying a dozen eggs at once pretty easy, while the sausage was sizzling in a skillet.
“Anything I can do to help?” Sarah asked.
Noah looked up at her and grinned. “Plates are up in that cabinet,” he said, pointing, “if you wouldn’t mind getting them down. This is almost ready.” The toaster popped as he was speaking, and he quickly buttered four more slices of bread.
Sarah got the plates and set one in front of each of their stools, then got lucky and opened the silverware drawer on the first try. She got out forks and knives for each of them, and set them near the plates. “Nice kitchen,” she said.
“Yeah, all this was here when I moved in,” Noah said. “Looked like it was all brand new, too.”
She nodded. “Yeah, they gave me an apartment in Kirtland, and it was the same way, looked like it was all set up just for me. Even the colors and furniture were the kind I like.”
“Me, too,” Moose said. “I got a house in Kirtland, and it’s all set up the way I’d want it, as if I had chosen it myself. They do seem to know a lot about us, don’t they?”