Epilogue
EPILOGUE
I t was our first day out at sea, and the third time I had been on Noah’s boat. “Boat” seemed like such an inaccurate word for it. For one, I had just left the gym before heading back to the suite and taking a hot shower. I was greeted at the door by one of the friendly workers, who told me Mr. Rossi was out on the deck.
When I got there, a table was laid out with food and iced champagne. I would never get used to this side of him. Six years later, it still seemed like a lot. Noah had his back to me, wearing a robe. When he turned, my eyebrows went up, and I let out a surprised laugh.
“Noah,” I said, dumbfounded, “what the fuck are you wearing?” I laughed.
He smiled and tilted his head. His white robe was open, and underneath, he wore only the little golden chain around his neck and the most scandalously small Speedo. “What do you mean, what am I wearing? Why aren’t you wearing yours? I left it out for you on the bed. Didn’t you see it?” Then, he had the audacity to shed his robe and start rubbing sunscreen on himself.
I made my way towards him, looking around. There were a couple of staff members walking about, but apart from that, it was just us and open water.
“I thought that was meant as a joke. A very private joke,” I told him.
He grinned. “It’s not a joke. We’re in Greece. You’re supposed to blend in with the locals, Atty. Besides, I’ve been dying to see you in the Speedo since I got them.” He rubbed sunscreen on his leg and winked at me.
“So this is you blending in?”
He snickered. “In the flesh. Come on, help me with my back.” He pressed the bottle into my hand and turned away.
I got some on my hand and started working it into his skin.
“Are you going to change?” He arched an eyebrow my way, leaning back against me when I was done. His voice was low and his skin was already pleasantly warm.
“Noah, I’m not leaving the room with that thing on and nothing else.”
“Okay, does that mean you’ll wear them for me in the room?” He was half teasing but mostly serious. He looked over his shoulder, his green eyes darting over me, appraising. I knew exactly where his thoughts were headed, and it was a resounding yes in my book.
“Maybe,” I conceded.
“That sounds like a yes on champagne to me.” He turned and waved his hand. “Carla, can you please get Atty a glass of champagne, and make sure you fill it right to the top?” He called out.
I chuckled, wrapping an arm around his neck and pulling him towards me. He pushed on my chest, kissing the side of my neck before lying on the lounger. His long, lean legs were completely on display, as was the rest of him. It really left little to the imagination, and I couldn’t stop myself from appreciating the view.
Noah gave me a wolfish grin, lifting his sunglasses to show me his bright eyes, shining beneath them. He ran his tongue over his lip and bit down on his smile. “See? You’re super into it. I just wanted the same courtesy.”
I shook my head, trying to hide my grin. “You’re the worst.” I sat down and pulled my shirt off.
Carla returned, handing Noah his usual club soda and placing a wine glass filled to the rim next to me. Noah laughed loudly, throwing his head back as I narrowed my eyes at her playfully. She gave me a shrug and a smile while holding her hand out for Noah to high-five.
“Just making sure you’re comfortable while you are here,” Carla quipped.
“Mhm, I’m sure that’s it,” I said sarcastically before turning back to Noah. “It is painstakingly clear where their loyalties lie.”
He shrugged in response. “They’ve known me since I was fifteen, and they’ve only had you for a little while. That, and I’m a fantastic boss. You’d love to work for me,” he told me while taking a sip.
“I practically do.”
He barked a laugh. “No, you don’t. I treat you like a fucking prince, Atty.”
I started rubbing sunscreen in. “I didn’t mean normally,” I mumbled, pulling my sunglasses on before rubbing my legs.
Noah glanced at me, his grin turning catlike. “Is that sexual innuendo? If so, touché.” He gave me an approving nod.
I smiled and rubbed my shoulder and down my arm.
“And you love that I order you around when we fuck, so you’re only further proving my point. I’m a great boss.”
I chuckled. I was about to reach for my hand, when he stopped me, grabbing and pulling it towards him.
“No, no, stop,” he said quickly.
“What? ”
“Don’t put sunscreen on your hand.” He rubbed sunscreen on my arm.
“Why? You want to test and see if it works?”
“I didn’t put any on mine either. See?” He held it out as if I could tell the difference. “That way, when we get to Mykonos, we’ll have a tan line. Even if you take your ring off, they’ll know you’re taken. It’s perfect,” he explained, making me smile. That was such a Noah thing to think.
“As opposed to how free I’ll look with you hanging off me?”
“It’s nice. When it’s a ring, it’s something you can take off your body. The tan line you can’t take off,” he insisted.
“Why would I even take it off?”
He smiled sheepishly. “Maybe you’ll get jealous of how Carla and the others like me better and decide you’re done with me,” he offered.
“I think I’ve more than proved I’ll never be done with you.” I held up my left hand and he smiled again.
He sipped his drink, pushed up from his lounger, and climbed over my lap.
“Noah.” I glanced around but still placed my hands on his hips, loving his familiar weight.
“You promised you were going to let me do this as much as I wanted during the trip,” he reminded me.
“Yeah, within reason.”
He handed me my glass. It was so full that some of it spilled on me, and Noah giggled, leaning down to lick it off. He realized his mistake a second later when he tasted the sunscreen, making a face.
I couldn’t help myself. I laughed, loudly.
“You’ll pay for that one.”
“That wasn’t even my fault. That was all you.”
He reached for his phone. “Playing ‘Corny Love Songs…’” he trailed off, smirking.
I gaped at him. “Noah, no.” I made a grab for his phone, but he held it out of reach as we shared a smile. Music played loudly around us, filling the salty air with memories and my stomach with a smarm of butterflies.
“It’s our honeymoon, Atty. I’m going to sing you love songs in my Speedo in the middle of the fucking ocean, and if you keep resisting me, I’ll call the whole crew to be my backup dancers. They’re already super into it.”
I took a big gulp of my glass and winced at the taste. Why people thought champagne was great for celebrations was beyond me. It tasted like crap.
“That’s more like it.” He leaned down to kiss me, soft and lingering, before moving back and singing off-key.
My fingertips dug into his hips, drawing him closer and I couldn’t suppress a grin as he caused more champagne to spill from my glass, soaking me in the process. The sun was high, the breeze was cool, and Noah was on my lap with a ring decorating his hand.
And not for the first time since he had slipped the matching one on my finger, I felt incredibly grateful I got roped into that party in my freshman year.