Noah's Starship Ch. 05

-Noah and Navid [nah-VEED] visit Santa Barbara for the weekend.

*****

"No you can't throw this out! This one is my favorite! What else is in here?" I grabbed for the white tank top he had carelessly placed in a bag of clothes to donate.

"Why not? They are old clothes and this one has a hole in the stitching on the side," Navid took the shirt from me and showed me where the side was coming undone a bit.

"You were wearing it the first day I met you. You looked so hot," I admitted and crouched down to see what else was in the bag.

"Oh... my little princess," Navid said in that voice he used when I'd done something he found irresistibly cute. "But I must get rid of some things. My mother sends me new clothes. She has sent some things for you as well. I cannot keep every thing I have worn around you."

"These stretchy white workout tights you wear to the gym! I get hard just watching your bulge in them when the shorts that cover them come down. They're my favorite! Not these, No!" I hugged them to my chest like a madman.

"Ok, ok. Take it easy, my love. There will be new tights to show you my bulge in. I would never take that from you... You will pick three items AT MOST, but we MUST shrink things. Our new home will be ready soon and I feel that your father is close to give his permission of yes for you to live with me. I cannot move forward to start new life with you unless I say goodbye to past life things," He said with hope.

Navid crouched down behind me and put his hands on my shoulders. He squeezed them and kissed up my neck tenderly to let me know he would support me in this time of great sentimental loss. I love that he didn't laugh at me for this.

"She sent things for me too?" My ears perked up as I processed what he had said. I dropped the clothes back into the donation bag and turned to look at him with a grin.

"Of course. You are boy I take care of and my mother she like to buy things. She also sends some old but good clothes of mine that might be small enough to fit my Noah. You do not notice large box in the corner?" Navid laughed at my christmas-like excitement.

"Box? Oh! That! You have so much stuff in here," I said playfully. His room was always a mess. I knew from the start that once we lived together, my cleaning skills would be put to the test.

"And yet you yell for me when I try to throw things out!" Navid laughed and pulled me into his chest. He tickled me and then kissed me as he rose to his feet and brought me with him.

"Presents!" I demanded and lightly pounded my fists against his chest when he eased his tongue back and set me free.

He laughed again with adoring eyes and took my hand in his as he led me across the room through piles of laundry and his workout bag.

"I don't open yet, I wait for you so we do this together!" Navid beamed and pointed to a box that could have held a large microwave. The flaps were open and there were a few unfolded pages of handwritten letter in Farsi script from his mother. They looked like he had read them over a few times, the edges crinkled with interest.

Navid collected them and folded the papers neatly before setting them on top of his computer desk. I know he missed his parents terribly. Late at night when I'd gone to sleep, he would call them. Tehran is eleven and a half hours ahead of Los Angeles, almost exactly the other side of the world.

He would speak to them in their language in soft, tender tones. I pretended it didn't wake me up, and invariably he would rub a hand over my back as he spoke. Maybe it was the need for human touch with his tribe of humans so far away.

"They go to London two weeks ago for a conference my dad speak to. He presented on a new science discovery in bacteria that can change..." Navid started. I zoned out. Like his father, Navid was passionate about science. Some nights when I had trouble falling asleep, I'd ask him to explain a concept from the biology class I was taking. He'd launch into this very detailed and brilliant explanation and soon I'd be nodding off in his arms.

"... So she buys from that store a lot!" Navid finished and I realized I'd missed out on important shopping details. He pulled out a wrapped square of tissue paper and unfolded it to show a crisp button up blue shirt with neon yellow flecks. It looked so futuristic. He pulled out a few more things that weren't for me until he found a thick paper parcel tied in string with my name on it in Farsi script.

"This say Noah, my mother write your name," Navid said it in a shocked whisper like it was a scientific anomaly, his worlds colliding. He sat on the bed beside me and pulled me into his side. He pushed the parcel into my lap and I pulled at the string of her intricate knot. Navid reached for a pocket knife he kept in his desk and made quick-work of it.

"Oh I love this!" I held up a t-shirt covered in a million little mickey mouse heads all jumbled together.

"That will give me headache to look at!" Navid laughed.

"Woah look at this one!" I held up a small tank-top shirt that was black and made of this stretchy, almost-velvet material that felt incredibly pettable. I knew instantly that Navid would think it was too revealing.

"No, no that is not for wear outside of my bed. It show so much skin and the material! Why she think this would be ok for you, I do not know... People will want to pet you. No, no," Navid took it and folded it up. He set it on his other side.

"Why don't you like me to show skin?" I was willing to hear him out on this, but it bothered me.

"Your body is for me as mine is for you. In my religion and culture we are to keep modest, covered and judge others by their character and mind rather than their body. You have beautiful heart and outsides to match it. I do not want some man to think of you in a way I think of you." He rubbed my hair as I snuggled into his side. It sounded like the stereotype one thinks of when asked about middle-eastern men.

"But you go out wearing whatever you please. You don't think boys like me look at that and want it?" I asked.

"You don't understand, my love. I am man, Noah. I am strong provider for my boy. Boys like you may think things, but they could never force themselves on me. You are small, weaker. If a man sees too much of you and decide he want that, you may not be able to stop him. Is not to excuse men like that, they are vile dogs, but I also don't want for your danger, ever... It is also for selfish reason as I don't want another to come after your heart..." Navid went back to digging through the box

"Oh these are so nice!" I got distracted by the third item which was a pair of jeans with all of these little rips that had been intricately sewn up with threads in contrasting shades of blue. "I love these!" Below them were two more shirts, basic but high-quality.

"These are acceptable," Navid stated and then dug into the box for more things. "These must be for your size, so small." He handed me a package of briefs in various shades of gray with white stars.

"That's kind of weird," I laughed at the thought of his mom buying me briefs that her son would later tear off of me with his teeth to get at the ass he preferred.

"Is not weird. When she ask, I tell her you need general items. Your clothes are... not the best for my princess. I want you have nice things. You are mine now and you deserve the best," Navid said and kissed my cheek as I thumbed the package feeling like a charity case.

"This shirt I wear almost everyday for whole summer long when I was 14! That is when I was your size, Noah, so it should fit you well. My family rent vacation house on Caspian Sea and everyone come to visit us! I spent more time in water than on land so I only need one shirt." Navid unfolded a small red t-shirt with a picture of a man leading a camel down the beach with some Farsi script underneath.

"It will look good on you." He held it up to me and I held it like it was made of gold.

"Ok, you can throw out the clothes you put in the donation bag. This will do just fine." I kissed him and we made out on his bed for awhile and then got back to the box from his mom.

He reached down for a package of some kind of Iranian cookies with a picture of bananas on the side and then a bottle of cologne. There were a few Persian CD's and some kind of soap.

The last items were two boxes of shoes. One pair was his size, black leather dress shoes for interviews. The other was for me, grey suede tennis shoes with blue stripes up the side. They were for fun and I guess she didn't expect me to follow the professional path she had planned for her son.

"These are so cool! I love your mom!" I jumped up and took them from Navid's outstretched hands.

"So that is how to gain your love?" Navid laughed and started to pack up the loose tissue paper and strings.

Inside the left shoe was a new pair of sunglasses made from a sturdy, dark cherry wood. This lady definitely knew her style. I could see why Navid was always well dressed even though he didn't seem to care about clothes. He had a matching pair inside his boots and we tried them on as he snapped selfie pics with his phone of us.

I went to pick up the shoebox as Navid began to hang up our new clothes. Inside the box, under the tissue paper, there was a white envelope with my name in beautiful lettering.

"Look, Navid! She wrote me a letter too!" I said and started to open it.

"No! Wait! Do not open!" Navid's hands were fast and I saw the look of panic in his eyes.

"I mean... uh she probably write to you in Persian. I will translate this to you! Yes! I translate," Navid faked a smile and pressed the envelope between his palms without any attempt to open it.

"Well she wrote 'Noah' in English on the envelope so maybe she tried it in English! Can I see?" I came towards him, but he slipped the letter into his pocket and pulled me in for a kiss instead.

"Don't you want I fuck you now? We have to have you back home with your father in a few hours." He slid his arms around me and brilliantly distracted me with kisses up the side of my neck. He slid his hands down my back and inside my shorts to grip my ass and knead it in his strong hands. I felt his thick bulge pressing against my stomach. Even in panic mode he still got hard at my touch.

"Please can I read it? We can read it together. She would have sent it with your letter if she didn't intend it for me, right?" I whispered between moans as he kissed along my cheek.

Navid froze. "Please Noah, don't ask this of me." He was begging, his tone was powerless and sad. He was hiding something big.

"Is there someone else? A girl you are supposed to marry? Is that what this is about?" I whispered as he held me close.

"No, there is no one but you! How can you think for this! Your mind create the worst, my love, but I promise there is none but you to own my heart. My parents know I am hard at study here and... no is not that!" Navid said but made no effort to say what else it might be.

"Is it me? She bought this stuff to bribe me to leave you alone?" I felt my heart racing against his chest, he still hadn't let go of me.

"Of course is not this! For that she would have to suspect of our love like this! For that she will not give you gifts and happiness. She would come after me," Navid sniffled against my ear. "Fine, let us look together. Ok?"

He pushed off of me after kissing my forehead and then we curled up on his bed together. He slid the letter nervously from his pocket, and I watched a vein in his throat pulse angrily. He opened the envelope and took out the small paper. It was in English, and it was obviously not her preferred language.

"Noah,

I hope this please you new shirt, shoe, pant. If not find right your body size, I beg forgive me. My son attend your needs to make strong in the life. Allah bless you, keep safe to you. Sincerest, Family Naseri."

"That was really sweet! I think I understood it! All. I have to write her a thank you letter! Can I? Do you send them letters?" I pet Navid's chest as I read it over a few times.

He looked relieved and I watched his breathing slowly calm and the vein disappear. I wondered what he was holding onto in that vault of a heart.

"I email, Noah. This is 2015! I will tell her of your gratitude. And yes, she is the best anyone could ask for," Navid said and spread a pained smile across his lips.

"Of course now I wonder what you were so afraid of me seeing!" I knew I shouldn't push it, but there was obviously something he was hiding here.

"I just... I tell them you are boy I take care of. I tell them you need guidance in the right path of life. Maybe I um... stretch truth about how much you need me guide you. But is only way for me to have them understand why I care so much for you. I worry when I see letter because I think she will tell you all this or make you feel like lost, bad boy. Sometime she can scold, is way of show care in my culture. But to you it may find offense. This make sense, my explanation?" Navid asked.

I nodded my head against his pecs. I got the picture. I was the wayward American street kid whose soul Navid was saving. I was his mission, his good deed.

"I'm your little criminal you are reforming? I don't know how I feel about that." I laughed.

"No, is the other way around. You open me to feelings I never think possible. You are the light in my heart. I love so much you, Noah. My heart break when you feel disappointed with something. I want only for you sunshine and love," Navid kissed the top of my hair and rubbed my back.

"You can't protect me from everything forever," I said and kissed his heartbeat.

"You don't know what I am capable of when it comes to you," Navid said as though I were under attack by some awful, unseen force. He pulled me in close and rubbed a hand down to my butt.

+++

"Focus, Noah. Your father has agreed so we can spend two nights there and come home later on Sunday," Navid said and pushed my hand away. He never lets me touch his butt. It's an off limits area of great beauty. I mean yes I have touched it quite a few times, but only when he was inside of me and I needed something to hold onto.

He had flopped down across the bed on his stomach and was checking email on his phone. I had taken the opportunity with his ass in the air to rub a hand below the waistband of his workout shorts to feel his firm, bubbly, furry butt. It was a man's ass, full and firm from years of hard sports and good genetics, that swaggered when he walked and swung that sizeable cock.

"Wait what is this? A dinner party sleepover?" I tried once more to rub his ass and this time he rolled over onto his back and brought me into his chest. He gave my bottom a playful swat and pretended to scold me. I'm not sure why he didn't like me back there. I offered to try and pleasure him like he did to me, but he said that is not what a man does. He said he has never enjoyed play down there.

"You remember the older men from the boat ride we took on Four July? The man who organize that, the older Persian men who is the protector of the white man who was on the boat and staring at you in jealousy the whole time, that man and his business partners want me to do project with them and get started on business here. They say they can help me get the visa paperwork to stay here and piece together enough jobs to start my own business here," Navid said excitedly and started playing with my ass to remind me that he could.

"So they invite us for weekend trip to big house they have rent on the beach up near Santa Barbara. Is only hour and half from here. They tell me not to bring anything but clothes and you. They are men like me who have their own... well, sort of like what we have... I guess. I don't know, Noah. Is so strange to me, but they share my culture and want to help me get setup here and provide a safe future for us." Navid sounded hopeful.

"And it's on the beach? So we can swim!" I showed that my mind had very different thoughts at the moment. I'd given up on the constant worry that he would leave the country or that he would eventually have to find a woman. I just wanted to enjoy every day with him.

"Yes, my love, of course we can," Navid sighed in contentment that things were headed in the right direction for us.

+++

Friday afternoon he put our supplies and luggage in the trunk and handed me a bag from Trader Joe's filled with organic, gluten-free snacks for our short road trip up the 101. He had bought things to take for our hosts even though the email they had sent him expressly said we didn't need to bring anything. Navid had said that it was still rude to show up with nothing, no matter what the invite said.

So we had bought pastries from the Persian Bakery he loved and some very expensive vodka and wine. I knew he wouldn't let me have any alcohol, he had assured my father of that. Still, it would be exciting to be at a party house this weekend.

For my part, I made some Rice Krispy Treats. I'm not very good with making junk food, but the recipe was simple enough and Navid pretended they were the best things ever to pass his lips.

Navid slid into the driver's seat wearing short, pink chino shorts and a tight, white t-shirt with a deep v-neck chest that showed his growing muscles and dusting of chest hair. He had on dark sunglasses and white canvas shoes appropriate for a day of leisure near the ocean. He looked over at me with an excited smile and reached over to cup my cheek and bring me in for a kiss. I had on longer white cargo shorts and a plain white t-shirt that he slid a hand up to caress my tummy.

"I cannot wait to be there with you. We are going to enjoy each other this weekend," He said after a fourth quick kiss.

On the drive up the coast he filled me in on the guys and how the weekend would go. There were three couples, two were Arab and white while the host was Persian with his man who was the white guy I'd shared odd moments with on the boat. Navid told me about the two men who were going to help him get started and connected with his business. He didn't discuss much of those details since he didn't think they were relevant to me. But he told me I should be on my best behavior and if I needed anything, to only alert him.

"I know you are so quiet by nature. You are soft boy with gentle heart. I don't ever need worry you say or do something to embarrass us... but I also want you enjoy the weekend so please speak up to me in private if you feel bored or sad or need anything. Ok, my love?" Navid squeezed my hand as we hit traffic around a curve in downtown Ventura. The ocean opened up in front of us showing low clouds in a beautiful, misty morning.

"Wow! It's so beautiful. We never go to the coast much and it's so close," I mused. It wasn't the answer he was looking for and he squeezed my hand tighter to bring me back. "Ok, yes sir. I will tell you how I feel."

+++

We pulled off the 101 half an hour after that. Navid had made good time. We doubled-back along a little road between the train tracks and the ocean and then turned down a smaller, private road. We passed a long row of ridiculously huge houses, each an architectural wonder. This was the California you see in movies and travel magazines. I wondered what celebrity lurked behind each huge wall.

Navid pulled the car up to one wall towards the end of the road and pushed on the intercom. He said something in Persian and then the gate slid open and we pulled up a large circle driveway in front of a modern house of glass and steel. He parked next to a mercedes off to the side and turned to me before getting out.

"Remember, this is important to our future for us. We must be kept our best behavior. But you, Noah, you're more important than anything to me. I need know you are happy and comforted." Navid kissed me and I nodded. I felt anxiety building inside of me at the understanding that this was huge for him. I needed to be his support here, help him shine.