16
The next day Noah, Alex and I meet up again with Jamie, Emily, Daisy and Harry. This time not at the Fall Fair, but in a bar in town. The interior is cozy and has a rustic charm. According to Noah, once a week there is a free stage where you can sing or perform. I”ve learned so much in the last two days in Nashville. The people here are so incredibly nice, and I liked Emily right away. Even though we seem to come from completely different worlds, we really get along.
“Hi,” the waitress says, and I realize that she is one of the women who gossiped about my Chanel bag yesterday. Great, that”s all I need.
“What can I get you?” she asks, looking around.
“Four beers,” Noah orders. “And what would you like?”
“A Cosmopolitan and a Caipirinha,” Emily also orders.
“Of course,” says the waitress. “On the rocks?”
Grinning, she turns to Noah.
“Yes, please,” he says, and she turns and stomps away. I watch her for a moment and turn to Noah. He puts his hand on my thigh, without comment but hidden from the others under the table. The spot he touches tingles pleasantly.
“I”ll tell you,” Harry says. “That was the sickest car I”ve ever driven.”
He has my attention.
“Which one?” I ask and he looks at me like I”m kidding. As if it can’t be a matter of interest for a woman.
“Sorry, but I don”t think that”s your area of expertise, Cara.”
Well, I’ll say!
Well, unfortunately, it”s exactly my area, because I love cars. Noah smiles and I raise my eyebrows.
“Is that what you think?” I ask. “Why?”
“You don”t look like you know anything about cars and horsepower,” he answers casually. “Right guys?” Asking for his buddies” approval, he looks around. “No offense, okay?” he adds.
“Why don”t you tell me what kind of car it is and then you can think about whether I have a clue or not,” I reply sourly.
Harry blushes and his friends, Daisy and Emily, look at him challengingly.
“I work in a garage and recently drove a Ferrari there.”
Now we are getting closer.
“Model?” I want to know and Noah can barely hold back his laughter.
“It was an SF90 Stradale,” he replies, as if I”m finally out of the conversation. But I”m not, and the fun is just beginning.
“Sounds good,” I reply. “The engine runs fine if you give it a good kick. But don”t put too much stock in it.”
“Wha... what?” he stutters. “Have you ever driven a car like this before?”
Alex and Noah laugh out loud and Jamie looks back and forth between us, irritated.
“I drive it every day. It”s good, no question, but you should drive a Lamborghini Aventador sometime. It”s really fun.”
“Come on, Cara,” he says. “The joke”s over now, yeah? Let it go.”
“I don”t know what your problem is and why you think I”m not capable of having a serious conversation with you about cars. But if you don”t know what”s good and what”s not, maybe you should stick with a Ford or a Dodge.”
“Okay, fine!” Oh dear ... I”ve dented his ego. “Then tell me why you can compare Ferrari and Lamborghini?”
“Because I own them,” I blurt out. “And before you ask, a Porsche 911.”
“Wow!” Daisy exclaims. “Where did you get all that money?”
Now everyone is looking at me and I regret opening my mouth. Of course, they want to know how a twenty-two-year-old can afford these cars.
“None of your business,” Emily defends me.
“It”s okay,” I say, giving Emily credit for stepping into the breach for me. “My parents are very wealthy,” I reply evasively. “Is that enough of an answer?”
Daisy blushes and averts her eyes. And I”m glad the waitress comes over with our drinks and sets them down in front of us.
“Thank you,” I say politely and she nods. She probably doesn”t like me very much and still thinks I”m sleeping with Noah for a Chanel bag.
“Okay, guys!” The bar gets awfully loud, and we turn our heads towards the stage. A man about our age is standing there with a microphone in his hand. “Welcome to tonight”s free stage. Are y’all enjoying your evening?” There”s clapping and cheering all around me. The guy introduces the first act, and we fall back into our conversations.
“You should perform, Noah,” Daisy says, putting her hand on his upper arm. I look at him questioningly and then at her. What does she mean? Does he have some talent I don”t know about?
“No,” he says, waving her off. “Not today.”
“Come on,” Jamie encourages him. “You really have what it takes.”
“No, and I don”t have a guitar.”
“I think that”s the least of your problems,” Emily giggles next to me, but I don”t hear her. I look at Noah and he rolls his eyes. Then I look at Alex and Jamie who are grinning.
“Noah can sing incredibly well,” Emily finally tells me.
“I can”t,” he says, giving Emily a reproachful look.
“You can,” she argues. “You almost had a record deal when you were sixteen.”
“What?” I squeal. “Is that true?”
“She”s exaggerating,” he mumbles. “I was in a musical at school because I needed another class. Apparently, I was okay...”
“Uh-huh.” My eyebrows shoot up. “There”s a world of difference between doing okay in a school musical and getting a record deal.”
“I ...”
“And apparently you can play guitar too. So ... what”s that all about?”
“Yeah, well,” he grumbles. “I can sing. Happy?”
I look at him and smile.
“I”d love to hear it,” I whisper and squeeze his hand. “Please, Noah.”
He squeezes his eyes shut and sighs after a few moments. He pushes back his chair noisily. The others clap when he raises his hands.
“Hey, Fred!” Noah calls out. “You got a guitar for me?”
“Noah, dude! I got every guitar in the world for you!” Fred yells back and disappears backstage.
Noah gives me a meaningful look that goes right through me and then heads for the stage. I turn around in my chair so I can see him clearly. He climbs on stage and the guests in the bar clap again. Fred hands him a guitar and places a stool for him to sit on. I watch him with fascination. I would never have expected him to be able to sing. This man is full of surprises.
Noah takes a seat on the stool and bends his right leg to rest the guitar on his thigh, wrapping the strap around his body. He looks incredibly sexy. And looking around, I”m not the only one who thinks so. Daisy is hanging on his lips, and he hasn”t even made a sound yet. Emily is smiling too. The other young women in the bar are pining for Noah, too.
“Hi,” he says, putting the microphone in front of his mouth. “Why do I always end up on this stage?” A collective laugh goes through the bar. “I”m just going to start. If you like it, you know that your donations are for Fred”s bar, to which I”ll add a zero as usual.”
The bar goes quiet, as if everyone is waiting for him to start playing. And he does. Noah”s fingers glide over the guitar strings, and I form my mouth into a silent “Wow” - even though he hasn”t sung a note yet.
When he sings the first few lines of a song I don”t know, I can”t stop marveling.
Noah has a beautiful voice.
“He sings amazingly,” I whisper to Emily and she nods immediately.
“Unbelievable, isn”t it?” she asks. “And you always have to make him do it.”
Noah”s eyes are closed and even I can tell he feels every single note. The chorus completely blows me away because he opens his eyes and looks at me at that moment.
He is singing a country song from the early nineties that I don”t know, but I find it very beautiful. His voice completely envelops me and I hardly notice anything but Noah”s soft tones and the sounds of the guitar.
I”m speechless. It”s absolutely amazing. I can”t believe he can sing. And so well. If he wasn”t a quarterback, he”d be the perfect country singer.
Everyone in the bar stands up and claps when he finishes. Noah grins sheepishly and puts down his guitar. He seems uncomfortable with the applause, and I can hardly believe it. My heart is beating faster for him. His voice has absolutely enchanted me and made me even more enthusiastic about this man than I already am. This trip to Nashville makes our relationship even more blurry.
“Thank you,” he says. “We can get back to our evening.”
He hands the guitar to Fred, jumps off the stage and comes back to our table. The others have sat down, but I”m still standing, looking at him with big eyes.
“You can ... sing,” I say and he laughs when he reaches me.
“A little,” he says shyly. “It”s no big deal.”
“No big deal?” I ask. “You sang incredibly. Just amazing and...”
“Cara,” he stops me. “It”s no big deal.”
Noah sits down in his chair, and I do the same. Noah takes my hand and smiles at me. I slip my fingers between his and grin. The song was incredibly beautiful. The others think so too. They shower Noah with praise - especially Daisy, but then she snuggles up to Alex again. That woman is a mystery to me. She always hits on Noah and then goes over to Alex. Strange ...
“When are you going back?” Emily asks in our direction. I”m about to answer when Alex and Daisy stand up.
“We”re off, guys,” he says, raising his hand.
“Bye,” Daisy says, waving. I wave back briefly and turn back to Emily. But her expression has completely changed. Her eyes are fixed and her incisors are digging into her lower lip. There”s no sign of the happy young woman she was a few minutes ago. I look back at Alex and Daisy, who are leaving the bar hand in hand, and then back at Emily.
“I”ll be right back,” she says suddenly and disappears. I open my mouth to shout something after her when Noah catches my attention.
“Are we going too?” he wants to know and smiles at me.
“I... I don”t know,” I mumble and look for Emily again, but she”s gone. “What about Emily?”
“I don”t know.” Noah shrugs. Typical man. “I think she thinks our siblings” behavior sucks as much as I do.”
I don”t think that”s the reason, but I”m not going to tell Noah. She didn”t seem angry, she seemed hurt. After all, Alex swept her across the dance floor yesterday and who knows what happened between them? And today he”s screwing her sister? Holy shit. These small-town dynamics can be weird. But who am I to judge?
“I want to say goodbye to her, okay?”
Noah nods and smiles at me. “I”ll go ahead and pay for us.”
It doesn”t take me long to find Emily in the bathroom.
“Hey,” I say. “Are you okay?”
She stands at the sink and runs water over her wrists.
“Sure,” she replies, turning off the faucet and grabbing wipes from the dispenser.
“Really?” I ask, grabbing her forearm. “I saw you and Alex yesterday and today...”
“There was nothing going on between me and Alex,” she replies hastily. “He likes my sister.”
Emily looks at me for a moment and then storms out of the bathroom. I”m speechless for a few seconds before I follow her. Something is wrong, but that”s not my business. I leave the bathroom as well, and Noah is standing in front of me. He has our jackets in his hands.
“Shall we?” he asks and I nod.
“Yes,” I say. “Where”s Emily?”
“She”s back with the others,” he says, holding out his hand. I take it and follow him out of the bar.
***
Noah and I walk onto the porch of his parents” house and I sit down on the swing. Noah sits next to me and pulls me close. Smiling, I snuggle up to him and wrap my arm around his torso.
“Why didn”t you ever tell me you were such a good singer?” I ask, looking up at him.
“I didn”t think it was important,” he says. “And it”s really no big deal.”
“You sing so well,” I reply. “Don”t say that.”
“Cara,” he sighs. “It”s no big deal. Yes, I can sing, but that”s all.”
“You”re so modest,” I chuckle and look at him.
“Like you are when it comes to cars?” he asks me the counter question. “You took the wind out of Harry”s sails.”
“Oh!” I bite my lip. “I didn”t mean to, but I like cars and...”
“You don”t have to explain,” he replies and puts his hand on my cheek. I snuggle into it and close my eyes. The days with him in Nashville have been wonderful, and our friendship is moving more and more in a direction that can no longer be called friendship. At least that”s what I think. Noah and I are slipping more and more into something we can no longer control. He looks down at me and gently presses his lips to mine. I kiss him back and put my hand on the back of his neck, pulling him closer.
“The shock did Harry a lot of good. I don”t think he always realizes that these aren”t luxury cars for Alex and me either, but normal vehicles.”
“That”s right,” I mumble. “Your friends are nice.”
“You like them?”
“Sure,” I say. “Especially Emily.”
“I noticed,” he replies with a smile. “You get along really well.”
I want to go back to the Alex and Daisy thing, but I don”t want to put Emily in a stupid situation. I don”t think anyone has figured out why it really bothers her that Alex and Daisy are having sex. “Alex and Daisy are having sex, aren”t they?” I blurt out. Heat rises in my cheeks and I look away. The worst thing I could have said, I say. It”s none of my business if they”re having sex. I don”t want Noah to put the pieces together and think I asked for this because of Emily. Personally, I couldn”t care less if they have sex.
“I”m sure they are,” he says with a shrug. “It”s nothing new.”
“But why?” I ask.
“Well, why do we have sex?” he asks me the counter question and I look at him. I think for a moment and then laugh.
“Well,” I say, sitting astride Noah”s lap. Grinning, he puts his hands on my hips. “Because it”s fun and pretty good.”
“I’m sure it’s the same with Alex and Daisy,” he replies. “In the end, they have to figure it out for themselves. I like Daisy, but she”s annoying. She gets Alex”s hopes up unnecessarily.”
Noah presses his lips to mine, ending the conversation. It”s better for all of us. Finally, I blurt out my suspicion that Emily is secretly in love with Alex.