30. Date Night
Date Night
The strap of his satchel threatened to slide off Noah's shoulder as he followed Claire into her apartment.
With his hands full of groceries, he jerked his shoulder and hitched it back into place without dropping anything.
They'd stopped at a nearby market to pick up a few items for dinner, and he'd enjoyed the domesticity of the act.
He'd also learned how serious Claire was about her produce. The memory brought a smile to his face.
Claire hung her backpack on the back of a bar stool, then draped her coat over it and kicked off her shoes before taking the groceries from his hands.
He doffed his own coat and shoes, then grabbed her discarded jacket and shoes, and stowed everything in the hall closet.
Once order had been restored, he moved to the sink, rolled up his sleeves, and washed his hands.
Claire unpacked the groceries, placing the veggies they'd purchased next to him for washing.
"Wine or tea?" she asked. "We have that leftover Riesling in the fridge from Sunday." Claire pulled out a pitcher of iced tea for herself and held up the bottle of wine for him, raising her eyebrows in question.
"Wine sounds great," he said.
She fixed their drinks while he washed the veggies. He smiled again at how comfortable they were with these everyday household tasks.
They were making one of his mum's recipes, and he served as Claire's taster during the meal prep. She modified the recipe a bit and added her own flair. When everything was done, they sat down at the kitchen bar and dug in.
"This is scrumptious. I like what you did with the spices. I will not be telling my mother this, but I like yours better," he told her with a wink.
Claire laughed. "Just bringin' a little West Texas flavor to the party. Your mom's a wonderful cook. She showed me some shortcuts I hadn't thought of before. Same reason I love the cooking group; there's always something new to learn."
They discussed different foods they'd eaten, how they preferred their steaks cooked, and other culinary topics throughout the meal until Noah pushed his plate away and declared himself stuffed.
"No room for dessert?"
"Not at the moment. Perhaps later, after I've had time to digest?" He patted his stomach and groaned. "That was truly delicious."
She grinned. "And far healthier than dining out all the time. I don't know why you guys don't weigh 300 pounds with as much as you eat out." She stood to gather their dirty dishes, and he helped with their glasses. Between the two of them, it only took a few minutes to clean up.
Noah considered her statement. She was right.
Personally, he used the workout room at their apartment building to keep up his cardio and stave off those extra pounds.
The rowing machine was his favorite way to excise whatever stressors were hounding him that day.
It also helped that his regular workday easily met that magical ten thousand steps goal everyone strived for.
"Movie time!" Claire's declaration reminded him of their plans for the evening.
His phone rang, and he pulled it from his pocket. "It's Rick. Let me just check in with him. He's been antsy as we get closer to Peggy's due date."
"Sure. I'll get everything set up and ready to go."
He stepped out onto her balcony and answered. No baby news, just Rick seeing if he'd eaten yet. When Noah told him he had, the call ended in typical Rick fashion. Question asked and answered, conversation over.
"See you tomorrow," Noah said as he signed off and stepped back inside. Claire wasn't in the living area or kitchen. Music played from her bedroom and he followed the sound.
"Claire?"
She was perched on the bed, with her back resting against a cushioned backboard with extra pillows for support and her legs stretched out in front of her.
The fairy lights strung above her bed brought out the highlights in her lovely hair.
She aimed the remote at the wall to his left.
He ventured further into the room and saw the large flatscreen mounted on her wall.
"This is way more comfortable than my crappy couch. Luce and I tested it out before mounting the TV," she declared. Patting the space beside her on the bed, she said, "C'mon. Movie's about to start."
Noah hesitated. Wasn't she uncomfortable with him in her personal space? The little time they'd spent in her apartment had all been in the kitchen and living area, not her bedroom. He watched her wriggle more deeply into the pillows. Apparently not.
"Quite the nest you've created here." He carefully climbed onto the bed and situated himself, plumping the pillows behind him and adjusting them again until he got comfortable. When he finally settled in, he found Claire watching him.
She burst into laughter. "Are you okay?"
"Er, yes? What's so funny?" He reached back and straightened the pillow behind his head.
She bit her lip. "You've never watched movies in bed, have you?"
"Claire, don't you find it awkward to have me in your bed?" He wanted to kick himself for asking the question. He'd spent this past month imagining himself exactly here and now he's second-guessing it? What a tool.
"Oh. No, I hadn't thought about it. This is how I always watch movies." She twirled a stray curl around her finger. "If it's too weird, we can always move the TV. It dismounts pretty easily and I still have the stand. Somewhere around here."
He reached over and gently tugged on her hand, removing it from her mouth. "It's fine. Let's watch our movie."
She gave him a doubtful look.
"Truly." And wasn't he a clumsy oaf for making it awkward when she was perfectly comfortable before he opened his big mouth. Time to change the subject. "What did you pick out?"
"Well, one of my favorites, The 13 th Warrior , is streaming, but it's a little too dark and twisty for a first movie, so I picked something lighter that I haven't seen before. What's your take on rom-coms?"
He smirked. "That's fine. Let's check it out."
She pushed play and settled back to watch.
He tried to follow the story, but had trouble focusing, too caught up in the idea of lying next to her in her bed.
Instead of seeing the scenes on the wall TV, he saw visions of himself slowly rolling over and peeling those layers she liked to dress in off one by one.
He'd start by stripping those wildly decorated socks off her tiny, delicate feet.
He'd been delighted to discover she favored bright, garish colors on her toenails.
The bright green at Thanksgiving had been the first hint of the wild, free side to her she kept hidden from the world. From there he would?—
"You're not very into this, are you?" Claire asked, interrupting his wayward thoughts. She paused the movie and turned on her side, propping her head on her hand as she studied him.
"I'm sorry. I'm a bit distracted." His eyes swept the length of her and back up. He wanted to reach for her, but didn't want to scare her off.
"Okay, then let's talk. I have a question for you."
"Okay?" He mentally prepared himself for whatever came next.
She lowered her lashes, then slowly raised them to meet his gaze. "Why don't you want the guys to know we've been hanging out? Are you ashamed?"
Noah stilled. "God, no." He sat up and scrubbed his face with his hands, organizing his thoughts. He turned his body to face her and crossed his legs. She also sat up, then mirrored his pose, spreading her flowing skirt over her legs.
"Claire, the past two weeks—hell, the past two months—getting to know you and hanging out with you?
I think about you all the time. When I'm not with you, I constantly see, hear, or—geez—even smell something and it will remind me of you.
You make me laugh. You make me feel like a kid again, carefree and looking forward to tomorrow. I want to be with you."
He couldn't help himself. He cupped her face in his hands and pulled her close for a swift, brutal kiss. Then forced himself to let her go. Her face flushed and her breathing quickened.
"So beautiful." One of her glorious curls had escaped and hung over her face.
He gently tucked the loose tendril behind her ear.
"We're in a relationship." He experienced a moment of awe at verbally acknowledging his feelings.
"Despite my good intentions to never mix work and personal, here we are. "
"B-but?" she asked. His heart melted at the vulnerability peeking at him through her eyes. He took her hands in his.
"I'm not ready to share you. Yes, that sounds selfish, but you've seen how Larry and others are. I'm afraid they'll sully this and make it into something it's not." He wasn't sure he made any sense, but the words came straight from his heart, so he hoped she understood.
After a moment of silence, she asked, "What is it now? And what will they make it into?"
The uncertainty in her question gripped his heart. He'd been selfish by not saying it sooner, and she needed to hear where his head was. And his heart. He kissed the back of her hands, one after the other.
"I'm an idiot, Claire. Please forgive me.
Sometimes it takes a while for me to process what I'm experiencing or thinking.
And I've never been great at sharing what's in my head.
To answer your question… right now, it's friendship and trust, and knock-your-boots-off chemistry that promises so much more.
" He winked at her and she blushed prettily.
"It's a beginning, and it's precious. I want to protect it, so we can see where it goes and what it can become.
" He freed one hand and held it to her cheek.
"I'm falling for you Claire, despite my best efforts to hold you at bay.
I knew you were trouble the moment I set eyes on you.
And I want to explore that before the world intrudes and I have to share you with the rest of them. "
She rose on her knees and moved closer to him.
Looking down at him, she mimicked his earlier move of palming both sides of his face and kissed him thoroughly.
He wrapped his arms around her and fell sideways into the pillows, twisting so she landed on top of him.
He tightened his grasp and held on while they devoured each other.
Noah released her mouth and trailed kisses down her neck.
A tug on his shirt captured his attention.
She was unbuttoning his shirt. He froze, caught off guard by her boldness.
"Claire?"
"Let's be selfish. I want you too."
Desire surged through his body. He rolled her onto her back and kissed his way down her body, peeling away those soft cotton layers as he made his way. Before he could divest her of her skirt, she pulled on his hair and he kissed his way back up to her neck.
"Yes?" He nipped her ear, and she giggled. "Did you need something?"
Claire tugged on his shirt. "You too. I want to touch your skin."
He helped her remove his shirt and laid back on top of her, careful to keep his weight to the side and not crush her.
The lace of her bra combined with the soft silkiness of her skin against his was almost more than he could bear, especially when her hands tentatively explored his chest and back.
"You're so beautiful, Claire. Everything about you. Let me see all of you."
At her shy nod, he continued stripping off her outer clothes until only two swatches of red lace covered her.
The dichotomy of the cute little bows affixed to the sexy bra and panty set reflected its owner's contradictions.
Claire was soft and vulnerable, yet solid and brave.
So many layers. He sat back on his heels and admired the view laid out before him like a feast ready to be consumed.
When he hooked his fingers under her panties, she stopped him. "Aren't you forgetting something?" She pointed to his jeans.
"Claire," he growled. "Things will move too fast if I do. Let's go slow this first time, yes?" He felt his face heat at the admission.
"Okay," she whispered.