January 2026
“Did I fall in love with you at that moment as well?” Matthew asked.
“No,” Noah quickly answered. “You later told me that you fell in love with me the moment I held you in the river. Apparently, I looked into your eyes, and I saw beyond your exterior. I saw you. It just took you a little while to realize just how much you loved me.”
Matthew absorbed the words. Then he smiled softly. He took a sip of the coffee.
“Did you believe it when I…Matthew said it?”
“I did. I still do. What has your life been like? I would love to know everything you’ve done the last ten years.”
Matthew thought about everything that had occurred in the last decade.
“Maybe later,” he replied. He wasn’t quite ready to discuss the details of his life.
Noah wanted to know everything, but he understood that he needed to take his time with Matthew. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt, scare, or push the man away.
Mat took a look around the quiet diner. In the blink of an eye, his entire life had changed. The fear he’d felt earlier had slowly been replaced. He now had a hunger for knowledge. He wanted answers that only Noah could provide him.
“Did you and Matthew decide that night to date?”
Noah laughed. “I wish. We were both afraid. I was inexperienced, and you…Matthew was afraid of losing the person he could suddenly tell everything to. We became best friends. I spent Thanksgiving with you and your family. You spent Christmas with me and mine. We literally talked every day.”
“We…you guys… were inseparable.” The words rolled off Matthew’s tongue with such soft confidence. It was like he knew it without having to be told a thing.
Noah paused for a second. He studied Matthew to see if the man was going to say anything else or show any signs of possibly remembering his former life. There were none.
“Can I ask something?” Noah asked.
“Go ahead.”
“Do you remember what happened to you?”
Matthew inhaled. The sound of his cries rang through his ears. A flash of snow and scattered rich red blood stains went before his eyes, followed by bright stars in the sky. He quickly shook his head as if he were bringing himself back from the brink of confusion.
“Not really,” he answered. “I have little flashes of snow and blood. I can hear myself crying. Then it all goes blank. I can only remember the last ten years of my life. I’m sorry.”
“You have nothing to be sorry about. I wish there was something I could do so that you could remember everything.”
“I made peace with my life years ago, but you can tell me more about you and Matthew. It sounds like you two really loved one another. Or so I read.”
There was a soft smile on Matthew's face with the last part of his statement. It was a small glimpse of who he used to be.
“We did,” Noah smiled. “We really did. It was a love made from dreams, but like any good love story, it was slow, frustrating, intense, and absolutely worth every moment of it. A love for the ages.”
Noah glanced across the diner and through the glass. The snow continued to fall as Noah’s mind floated back down memory lane.
Thanksgiving 2005
The crisp Alabama air felt like a gentle friend as it pressed against Noah’s rich skin. He waited patiently at the door. His stomach twisted into a ball of nerves with each passing second. He still couldn’t believe that he had allowed himself to be talked into spending Thanksgiving with Matthew and his family. The two had developed a quick bond over the last month and a half.
He looked down at the dish he held with both hands. He shook his head in disbelief.
“I shouldn’t have brought a dish. Not smart,” he scolded himself.
The Cherry Oak front door opened. The first thing he noticed was Matthew’s incredible olive eyes. All the noise that was in his head was suddenly gone. The world had gone quiet instantly.
“Monty,” Matthew greeted him with a soft, simple, warm smile.
“Bama,” Noah quickly replied without much thought.
The two began to laugh as if they’d just told the world's greatest joke to one another.
Matthew invited him in. The aroma of something amazing flooded the man’s nostrils. The house felt warm and cozy. The sound of laughter bounced off the walls.
“You ready for this?” Matthew asked.
Noah nodded his head. “Yeah. It should be fun. I’m excited to meet your parents.”
“Warning. They can be a little extreme, but they mean well.”
The two moved through the house. Noah slowly took in everything around him. The old family photos that were on display, the stunning Chinese art, and the way every room flowed with a theme that was different from the previous one.
They stepped into the kitchen. Matthew’s parents and his sister were all gathered around preparing dishes.
It was as if they felt Noah’s presence. They stopped what they were doing, and they all looked up in his direction. It was obvious that Matthew got his looks from his father. His sister, who was just a year younger, looked like the mother.
“Everyone, this is my friend, Noah. Noah, this is my mother, Rosa Liang. My father, Ken, and my little sister Emily, we all call her Emmy.” Matthew took great pride in introducing his family to Noah.
“It’s really nice meeting all of you. I hope it's okay. I brought my mother’s famous mashed potatoes and gravy. Matthew said you were serving roast duck, and I figured this would pair well with it.”
Rosa smiled politely. She moved from around the counter with grace. She took the dish from Noah with a sweet smile.
“That was very thoughtful of you. I am sure it will complement very well.”
She turned and walked away with the dish. Noah exhaled deeply.
“Noah,” Ken began. “I think you should roll up your sleeves and let Matthew show you how to roll a dumpling.”
“Or better yet, you can teach him how to properly roll one. He’s embarrassing to our culture,” Emily quickly added.
“Don’t mind her. She’s just mad that I was born first, and I get all the money in the end,” Matthew retorted as he stuck his tongue out at her. It was playful sibling jabs.
The evening went by with much delight. Noah blended in perfectly with Matthew’s family. Every so often during the evening, the two men would find their eyes drifting toward one another. Soft glances that left much more to be desired pulled them in over and over again.
Hours after dinner had been served, thousands of smiles shared, and hundreds of laughs had been heard, Noah found himself in the kitchen washing the dishes. For reasons that escaped him, he had volunteered to clean.
“I can’t believe you offered to wash the dishes.” Matthew’s smooth voice disturbed the quietness.
Noah looked over his shoulder for a split second. “It was the least I could do. Your family made me feel at home. I typically don’t enjoy Thanksgiving, but this was one for the books. Thank you for inviting me.”
He continued washing the dishes. Matthew came and stood next to him. The man was so close that Noah could hear his heartbeat. His hands trembled beneath the soapy water. He could feel Matthew’s eyes as they burned a hole in the side of his face.
“You’re staring at me. Why?”
“Trying to figure you out, Monty. You were such a loner in high school.”
“Still am.”
“No. You got me now. We’re friends forever.”
Noah chuckled. He slowly turned and looked at Matthew. “Friends.”
“Well…yeah. You’re the first person to ever meet my family. I’m pretty sure they thought I’d never let them meet anyone.”
“Well, I feel special. We’ve only been chatting with one another for almost a month now, and I get invited to Thanksgiving to meet the family”
“You should feel special. I do. It’s been the best almost month of my life.”
Noah stood silent. He focused his attention on the dishes. Matthew stood watch with a degree of carefulness that could only be admired and appreciated. As he studied Noah, he wanted more than anything to understand every part of him. He wanted to unlock that beautiful mind and travel deep inside it.
“You’re guarded. I don’t want you to be guarded with me, Monty.”
“I’m not guarded. I’m just processing my thoughts.”
“What are your thoughts? Or better yet, give me one. Tell me a secret, Monty.”
“I don’t have any secrets,” he chuckled.
“Sure, you do,” Matthew argued. “Everyone has a secret. It may not be scandalous, but there’s one there. Tell you what, I’ll start. When I was younger, I was obsessed with the name Mateo. I wanted that to be my name so badly.”
Noah laughed once. “Mateo? Nothing about that screams Asian.”
Matthew smiled. “Do not judge. I’m telling you my deepest darkest secret here.”
Noah turned fully toward him. Their eyes locked. It wasn’t intense or heart-wrenching. They were just two people gazing into the safest place for one another. It was because of that feeling that Noah let his guard down.
“At the bridge that night, I kept thinking and looking back on my life. I had so many regrets. Most of them were that I was going to die, not having lived. Never been kissed, intimate, or dated anyone. I was always so closed off. So shy and so socially awkward with people. That’s my secret.”
“You’re not awkward around me,” Matthew whispered. He wanted the exchange to only be heard between the two of them. They were all that mattered.
“Which confuses me.”
Matthew slowly raised his hand. His fingers glided very gently up and down Noah’s arm. The soft caress made Noah tremble inside. Matthew felt this strong attraction toward him that he couldn’t understand. He wanted to protect Noah from the world while also showing him the world.
“I can feel you trembling. Do I make you nervous?”
Noah gulped. “Maybe. A little.”
“Tell you another secret. You make me nervous as well.”
“Why?”
“I’m so used to hiding, but you’ve already seen the deepest parts of me in one night. I’m nervous you’ll think I’m broken because I never want to pretend around you.”
“You don’t have to. I like that you don’t pretend around me.”
Matthew smiled.
“来日方长”
Noah blinked. He didn’t understand a single word, but he felt drawn to whatever Matthew had just uttered.
“What?”
“Lái rì fāng cháng.”
Noah rolled his big, beautiful grey eyes.
“See, now you’re just playing. You know I don’t speak Mandarin.”
Matthew laughed.
“The days ahead are long.”
“The days ahead are long,” Noah repeated the phrase softly. He sat with the phrase. He allowed it to breathe air into his lungs. He didn’t need to ask for clarity. Noah understood exactly what Matthew was saying. “I like it.”
“I figured you would.”
“You think you have me figured out?”
“I’d like to think I’m peeling back the layers, Monty.”
“Maybe you are. Maybe you aren’t…Mateo.”
Matthew quickly snapped his head up. His eyes sparkled, and the corners of his mouth lifted into a massive smile.
“Did you just call me, Mateo?”
Noah smiled as he pointed his finger at him.
“I did. No one else is ever allowed to call you that but me.”
Matthew nodded his head. “Fair. No one can call you Monty but me.”
“As if they ever would.”
“Hey…I like that name. Be nice.”
“Nice? I don’t know what the word means.”
Matthew quickly pushed up against Noah. He completely caught him off guard. He quickly began to tickle the man, giving him no time to prepare.
Noah began to laugh hysterically. He tried to push Matthew away, but every bit of his strength went out the window. He couldn’t stop laughing. He bellied over with giggles. Matthew continued relentlessly, forcing laughs out of him.
“Are you going to be nice?”
“Yes,” Noah laughed.
“Are you going to be my Monty?”
“Yes. You win.”
Matthew slightly pulled back. His right hand slipped along Noah’s waist. He allowed it to rest there.
Noah sat upright. His eyes met Matthew’s. His chest rose and fell, exhausted from all the laughing the two of them had done. The place where Matthew’s hand rested burned.
A small spark of electricity ran through both men. The room felt like it shifted two degrees, only it was their faces as they moved toward one another.
Matthew beamed inside. He’d wanted to kiss Noah since they faced one another under the moonlight in the river. Noah had wanted to kiss him since the same night, only it was when they had found themselves changing in Matthew’s bedroom.
Slowly, their lips inched closer and closer. The cool air between them disappeared. The heat from their bodies rushed in and invaded them.
Noah could feel his heart race. The beats of it grew stronger and louder with each passing second.
The more experienced kisser, Matthew, suddenly felt like he had no experience. His charm and swag were replaced with vulnerability and nerves. It was such a sweet contradiction of emotions.
“Matty, do you…” Emily’s voice and presence broke the moment.
The two men quickly jumped and pulled away from one another. Emily stopped in her tracks. It was obvious that she knew exactly what she had walked in on.
“I’m sorry,” she quickly apologized.
Her eyes darted back and forth between the two of them. She turned and hurriedly walked out of the room.
“Emmy,” Matthew called out.
Emily kept moving. She disappeared around the corner.
“Shit,” he exclaimed in frustration and fear.
“Are you okay?” Noah asked.
“No. I’m terrified,” he confessed.
Matthew ran his fingers through his hair. His eyes filled with dread and terror. That look broke Noah’s heart. All he wanted to do was shield him from those feelings.
“I’m sorry,” Noah apologized.
He reached out to try to provide Matthew with comfort and reassurance. Just as he was about to touch Matthew, the young man pulled away.
“Please don’t.” Matthew couldn’t trust himself in the moment.
Noah quickly dropped his arm. He didn’t want to push or overstep Matthew’s boundaries. He simply wished to respect him.
“Would you like me to leave?” he asked.
Matthew nodded his head. “I think that’s a good idea. I need to figure all this out.”
The words cut deeper than Noah had expected. Secretly, he had hoped that Matthew would want to keep him around. He understood the need to be alone, but despite the logical reasoning in his mind, his heart felt the pain of rejection.
“Okay,” he uttered. “I’m here if you need me. Just call me if you need me.”
Matthew simply nodded his head. Noah turned and walked away. With every step, he fought the urge to turn around and run back toward him. He fought the urge to dive headfirst into the river again.
To Be Continued
© Beckham G 2026. All rights reserved.
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