Curious partners

Now that both Noah and Steve had given their blessings to Rebecca and Anthony's relationship, and Noah had done his part as an older brother by association, they all returned to continue the rest of their evening. Although they had each initially decided to go to bed, with the secrecy surrounding the final part of the conversation and with the exciting news that had been shared, none of them could actually carry through that plan.

In Noah and Anthony's case, their respective partners were far too curious about what had been discussed between the two men to ignore it, while Steve had to fill in Maria entirely as she had been in the bathroom getting ready for bed when the call came in.

As soon as Noah stepped through the door and back into the room, Laila was waiting for him on the bed with curious eyes and excitement written all over her face. "And? What needed to be discussed with such secrecy that you needed to step out of the room? You weren't too mean to the boy now, were you?" Noah shrugged his shoulders lightly before stepping in the bed and replied by saying, "Nothing much. Just some things he needed to hear now that he has decided to make this move. Some words of warning. Some words of advice and a small engagement present in the form of a few well-deserved days off to enjoy this moment and visit the necessary family and friends to tell them the news as well."

When Laila heard that second part, she smiled warmly as she looked at Noah's side profile with a loving stare. Although a gesture like that was very much like the Noah she has known for years, it still managed to surprise her. For him to do this in this setting, after first acting all tough on Anthony, made her feel like she could see what type of father he would be to their son. He would scold them like any good parent does when a child does something bad, dangerous or irresponsible. Give them words of warning when need be. But he would also then show his love in a way that spoke volumes, without him actually saying anything at all. Because at the end of the day, he was nothing more than a big softy to the people he cared about.

Laila grabbed his hand and squeezed it once, pulling Noah's attention. Once he was turned to her, Laila said, "That was very sweet of you. Everything you did today, after they told you they had gotten engaged, was nothing short of you being a wonderful human being and someone I am proud to call my husband. Not only did you step in as a father figure for Rebecca, even if it is by just calling yourself her older brother. But you also went that extra mile in how you finally did show them your approval. In fact, as an employer you went above and beyond. You did not only give your blessing to them as a couple and bent the rules for them, but you also showed you approve and care by giving them a few days as a newly engaged couple."

Laila then leaned in to give him a kiss, before stroking the side of his face and softly said, "Thank you". The remaining words she just whispered in her heart. 'Thank you for being you. Please don't ever change'. Fortunately Noah was able to read these unspoken words in her eyes, but the words of praise seemed to have made him feel shy. So, instead of responding to Laila's words, he just said, "Well, it's late. We should sleep now. You need your rest and I am pretty tired too". He then turned off his light and turned to his side before he quickly closed his eyes. Laila chuckled before she snuggled up against him and did the same. As she laid there, she wondered how much longer she would be able to lie with Noah like that. With her belly growing every day, it wouldn't be long before it was too big for her to be a big spoon. Forcing her to hand over that alternating duty to Noah full-time.

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Over at the apartment complex where Anthony and Rebecca lived, Rebecca too had attempted to question Anthony about what had been said after she was no longer a part of the call. But much like Noah, Anthony didn't reveal much. In fact, he didn't reveal anything at all. When Rebecca sent him a message to ask how the talk with Noah had gone and what he had said, he responded with 'Don't worry about it. We got his blessing and that's all that matters. I do however have a nice surprise on his behalf, I will share with you tomorrow'.

His reply left Rebecca with more questions than answers. She stared at the message a bit perplexed. Reading it a second time to see if she had missed anything and even waited a minute or two to see if there would be a second one. Then her phone buzzed a second time and it was indeed a message from Anthony. She opened it, thinking it might contain a bit more information, but it only read, 'Sweet dreams for now and make sure to think of me fondly when you include me in them ;).' With that playful wink he ended the conversation. Rebecca chuckled and she touched her cheeks as she felt they had gotten a bit flushed. Although she really wanted to know what Noah had told him, when she saw that his status turned offline, she knew she would have to let the matter go for now and accept she might not know what had been said forever.