10
It”s been a long time since I’ve seen Marina. She has brought me new ultrasound pictures and is telling me all about her pregnancy.
“I don”t see anything,” I say, holding the ultrasound photos up to the light. “Are you sure it”s a boy?”
You really can”t see anything on this picture. Especially not the little line that is supposed to be a penis.
“She can”t say for sure until the next appointment, but we think it”s a boy,” my best friend proudly reports.
“But I wanted a girl,” I grumble, which makes her laugh.
“Me too,” she replies, “but Caleb is very excited about having a son.”
“I”m sure he is,” I mutter. It was so obvious that a man like Caleb would want an heir, a firstborn. Whether the child is healthy or not is probably irrelevant.
In the end, I still hope it”s the right decision for my best friend and that she won”t regret being with him one day.
“We are very happy,” Marina continues as my phone vibrates and I look at it.
+ 1 new message from Noah
Out of respect for my friend, I don”t answer it. I stay focused on our conversation, which is anything but easy for me. My fingers itch to see what he has written. Last week I went to the opening game with my parents and saw him win. We also met up once to explore Boston, and then he went to his first road game in Seattle. Unfortunately, the Boston Foxes lost the game. Noah was pretty frustrated.
To be honest, I don”t know how I got into this whole thing. But suddenly he”s so present in my life, and I think we could really be friends. My embarrassing request for a kiss is long forgotten, and I”ve been very careful not to get close to him since. I want to try to build a real friendship with him.
“And you?” asks Marina, sipping her water. “How are things going with Noah?”
That brings the subject back to him. Doesn”t she have anything more to say about the baby?
Apparently not.
Marina knows there”s nothing going on between us. But she keeps asking me about him. It”s like a long, annoying record.
“There”s nothing going on with Noah,” I reply, annoyed. “We”re friends.”
“Who says my question is on a sexual level?”
“Everyone who knows you,” I reply matter-of-factly.
“Okay,” she says, grinning at me. “How”s your friendship going?”
Maybe I”ll just tell Marina what she wants to hear and that”ll be the end of it. But that”s not right. Noah and I are friends. She shouldn”t read more into it.
In her eyes, Noah is the absolute jackpot for me.
“Good,” I say. “Our friendship is good. We do a lot together.”
“And?”
“And what?” I ask skeptically.
“Damn, Cara.” Marina rolls her eyes. “You”re not telling me you have a purely platonic friendship with this really hot guy, are you?”
I don”t think it”s that far-fetched that we”re friends. Noah and I get along well and have the same interests. We both like fast cars, love to shove greasy pizza down our throats, and enjoy the same comedy shows on TV. Outside of work, he”s good for me. It”s nice to spend time with someone who likes football but doesn”t talk about it or my dad all the time.
“Actually, yes,” I reply. “Why don”t you believe me?”
“Because in my eyes it”s complete nonsense.”
“In your eyes?” I ask, raising my eyebrows. “Why can”t you leave me alone?”
As soon as I say it, I bite my lip. Shit, I didn”t want to say it like that. I didn”t want to blame her. I know she doesn”t begrudge me.
“You think I am judging you?” she hisses. Since she got pregnant, she has become much more sensitive. Things she used to laugh about are now big drama. I always manage to say something that upsets her, or worse, makes her cry.
“No!” I yell. “I never meant to say that.”
“Really?” she asks pointedly.
“Yes,” I reply. “I didn”t mean it.” I take a deep breath and close my eyes for a moment, catching myself and becoming aware of my words. “It”s complicated.”
“What?” she asks, picking at her salad. “That you”re dating the hottest guy in Boston and...”
“I really want to be friends with him.”
Marina sighs and raises her eyebrows.
“What”s the problem? Why don”t you just fuck him?” She”s dead serious and looks at me, completely calm again.
“That”s not what you asked, is it?” I reply annoyed. “I don”t want anything from Noah. Not like that.”
“I didn”t say you should marry him,” she says. “I know your principles, but damn it...” Marina tries to calm down, which makes me giggle. The subject of Noah McCarter is really getting her blood pumping. I chuckle again.
“What does Caleb think about you being so interested in Noah?”
Now she rolls her eyes.
“You”re deflecting, Cara,” she replies. “It doesn”t matter what Caleb thinks.”
“No?” I ask and she shakes her head.
“No.”
In my opinion, Caleb would go crazy if he knew. I always had hope that she would find a better man, but since she got pregnant, I”ve buried that hope forever.
“Noah McCarter is so hot. Please sleep with him just once.”
She couldn”t have said it any clearer.
“Forget it,” I refuse. “That just makes it unnecessarily complicated. And what makes you think I even want to?”
“Every woman wants him,” she says succinctly. “And there”s no better position than yours to end up in the sack with such a hot guy.”
“You”re annoying! Can we please talk about something else?”
My phone screen lights up again and I glance over. Marina is grinning across the table. “Noah?” she wants to know sweetly. “You”re welcome to answer him.”
“No,” I say. “I”m here with you.”
“So what?” she says, “Will you at least introduce me to him soon?”
“Why?”
“Because I”m your best friend and I want to meet him.”
“You know him,” I correct her request. “And I really hate to remind you how you totally embarrassed me in front of him.”
I still blush when I think of that evening. It was so embarrassing.
“Oh, that!” Marina shakes her head. “I was happy to do it. You should thank me.”
“You”re terrible,” I hiss. “And I don”t know if your condition makes it worse.”
She laughs and drinks her water.
“I”m your best friend and you love me,” she finishes my sentence.
“That too,” I say conciliatory. “But you”re being really mean right now.”
“Guilty and...” Marina stops and looks at the door. “Your man just walked in the door with another guy.”
“What?” My head spins around and sure enough, Noah and Alex enter the restaurant. “He didn”t say he was going to lunch.”
“No?” Marina asks and I give her an annoyed look. “And I thought that was what friends did.”
“Oh, you know...” I have an insult on the tip of my tongue, but I save it. Marina is deliberately provoking me because she wants me to comment on the fact that Noah and I are more than friends.
I look at him again and start to watch him when Alex sees me. He raises his hand and I do the same. Then he nudges his brother and points at me. Noah”s face lights up and he smiles too. My smile widens even more as they make their way to our table.
“Uh, they”re coming over here,” Marina comments.
“Shut up,” I hiss.
“Hey,” Alex says and sits down in the chair next to Marina so that Noah sits next to me. Alex grins at me and turns to my best friend. “Alexander, hi, but Alex is fine too. You were with Cara when Noah met her at the bar.”
Why does he stress that Noah met me there? Well, that”s what happened. Noah came to our table and, with Marina”s active assistance, approached me.
“I am Marina. Cara”s best friend and her guilty conscience.” I roll my eyes and the guys laugh.
“I”m Noah,” he introduces himself and shakes her hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you, too,” she says, grinning at me. Before she can say any more stupid things, a waitress comes to our table.
“Hi,” she says, aggressively flirting with the McCarter twins. And how could it be otherwise? Alex jumps up.
“Hi,” he says. “What can you recommend?”
Noah moans beside me and I grin.
“We have the chicken burger with sweet potato fries on the menu today. But I think you’d both prefer something healthier.”
She giggles artificially and I roll my eyes. It”s pathetic for our species.
“I think I”m allowed to sin today,” Alex flirts unabashedly and now even Marina rolls her eyes.
“Okay, and what about you? Do you sin too?” she turns to Noah. I look at her and notice that she has noticed my glance. How can you be so pathetic, first making eyes at Alex and now at Noah? I”m not jealous, but it”s unbelievable how some women behave. I clear my throat and pick up my glass. Noah looks at me. Marina laughs.
“Maybe you”ll order something to drink first...” my best friend says, saving the day. “They”ll order food when you get back. You should check the menu first.”
To emphasize her words, she pushes Alex towards ours.
“And what would you like to drink?” the waitress asks much more reservedly. Still, she bats her eyelashes as she looks back and forth between the twins. She must be beginning to realize that she”s annoying.
“I”ll have a Diet Coke,” Alex says, and Noah nods at his brother.
“Me too, thanks, and if you have it, I”d be happy to add a carafe of water.”
“Of course,” she purrs, “as you wish.”
Then she finally turns and disappears, hips swaying at the counter, to pass on our order. Noah reaches past me for the menu and grins at me.
“And what can you recommend?” he wants to know.
“If you think I”m going to recommend something sinful,” I say. “Forget it. My baked potato was very good.” I point to my empty plate.
“Okay,” he says. “Then I”ll have one.”
Alex studies the menu for a moment, but sticks with the snappy waitress”s suggestion. She returns far too quickly for my liking.
“Here I am again,” she whispers, and this time I deliberately roll my eyes. “Here you go,” she says, placing a drink in front of Alex and Noah. “Did you choose what you want to eat?” She tucks the tray under her armpit and pulls an iPad out of the pouch on her belt to type in the orders.
“The baked potato for me,” Noah says.
“Spicy or regular?”
“Regular,” he says, and she nods and looks at Alex.
“I”ll stick with the burger. Medium rare, please, and regular fries.”
“Sure,” she replies and walks away. I shake my head again and Marina rolls her eyes.
“Why are you looking me like that?” asks Alex. “I think she”s nice.”
“Of course you do,” Marina says, not hiding the irony in her voice. “You like her.”
“Maybe,” he says, and we all laugh. Noah also lifts his Diet Coke and with it the coaster, because the wet glass is sticking to it. A piece of paper with a phone number on it appears from underneath. My chest rises and falls tensely and I try not to show how annoyed I am by the situation. I mean, the fact that she”s shamelessly flirting with them is okay, I guess. But giving Noah her number when I”m sitting next to him is really bold.
I”m not jealous, I don”t think, but I still don”t like the idea of him contacting her later. I”m worried about him now. As his friend.
“She gave you her number?” Alex asks, gasping for breath. At least he”s as horrified as I am by this brazenness. “That can”t be right. I put so much effort into flirting with her and you get her number.” Annoyed, he throws his napkin on the table and Noah laughs.
I take it back! The guy is just upset that his twin got the number and not him. Wow, this afternoon has reached a new low.
“Here!” Noah tosses him the note. “You can have it. She won’t know the difference tonight anyway.”
Marina bursts out laughing and I stare at the twins, stunned. This is unbelievable. What a cheap shot. On the other hand, Noah is right. She won”t be able to tell them apart tonight, and she probably doesn”t care who she goes to bed with. Still, I don”t like the fact that it was originally Noah who got the note and not Alex. Marina takes the note from Alex.
“She wrote it neatly,” she says.
“It”s not easy to write a number on a napkin,” I say sarcastically, and everyone looks at me with wide eyes. Especially Noah. His eyebrows rise slowly. “What?”
“You”re not jealous, are you?” he asks with a grin.
“Please!” I gasp. “Jealous? Me?” I point at myself. “In your dreams!”
A huge grin appears on Noah”s lips, and he leans over to me. I want to pull away, but he doesn”t let me. Instead, his hot breath hits my face. A shiver runs down my spine and I bite my lip. Don”t give in, Cara.
“In my dreams?” he whispers.
“Hm,” I mumble, unable to make another move.
“I dream about winning the Super Bowl,” he replies and I stare at him. Noah grins and pulls away. “What did you think?”
He looks at me in amusement and I slap his arm. But this teasing slap quickly turns into a real punch that hits me full force. My palm tingles and my heart beats faster. We both know what he dreams about at night, and I”m not sure it”s good for our friendship.
But as long as I don”t react and control my heartbeat, everything goes like clockwork.