26. Noah
Chapter twenty-six
Noah
"So, how does it feel to be a married man?" I ask Henry, who's just returned from six weeks in Fiji with his new wife. A wife I'm still extremely pissed at.
Two or even three martinis over lunch with an exec is common.
A bottle of champagne is the minimum when celebrating a client's big win.
To run your mouth after a few glasses of wine at lunch is a huge liability when so much of our work is done over an open bar.
It's no less true because she's a lawyer; everyone in Hollywood is a lush.
But I couldn't very well show her the full brunt of my anger when her wedding to my brother was just weeks away. She was understandably preoccupied, admittedly a little tipsy, and meeting her professional idol. Given all that, I can forgive her one mistake, even if it was a doozy.
A doozy that hurt her just as much as it hurt me, if her dejected texts in the hours following "the incident" can be believed. She burned a bridge that day.
"I can't complain," Henry answers, looking more smug and self-righteous than ever. I suppose six weeks of nonstop fucking will do that, not that I want that mental picture in my head.
His flight back was late last night. Instead of forcing him to play in our usual Saturday flag football game, when he'd likely be dead on his feet from jet lag, the brothers all agreed to meet for Sunday afternoon drinks before dinner with the whole family.
"It's pretty great, isn't it?" Adam agrees with a smirk, sounding equally insufferable. I take a sip of his lager to keep from snorting.
I shouldn't feel bitter. I should be happy that my brothers are finding people to share their lives with. And I am! But it still kinda sucks being the only Park brother left to carry the bachelor mantle.
By choice, I remind myself, though it feels like a lie.
If it were true, then why did these weeks being iced out by Awa feel like torture?
Why did it hurt every time she dumped the coffees I brought her into the trash?
The coffees I waited in line for when I would've been happy with the crap from craft services?
Why did my mind drift to her when I was alone with just my thoughts and my dick, feeling like a perv for finding some relief at the thought of her?
And why the fuck was I alone in my bed, anyway, when so many women would've willingly joined me if I'd only asked?
"You're thinking awfully hard over there," Cory notices, snapping me out of my brooding.
"Yeah," Damon snorts. "I think I smell toast burning."
I roll my eyes.
"That means you're having a stroke, asshole. Head to urgent care now before there's any further brain damage."
Henry doesn't tease me, though. He just studies me, seeing me the way only my twin can. I hunch my shoulders and hide my face with my beer.
"Is this about what happened with Camila?" he guesses. I shoot him a glare.
"No. This has nothing to do with Camila because nothing is wrong."
"What happened with Camila?" Adam asks, the biggest gossip among us.
"Nothing, as I said," I grumble.
Henry drops that line of questioning, but his gaze is still shrewd.
"Did something happen with Yong-rae?" he tries again.
Thankfully, no. As strained as things have been between me and Awa, they've only been getting better between Yong-rae and Tabitha.
You'd never guess this was their first time working together.
You'd also probably guess they were sleeping together, but I've taken a "don't ask; don't tell" approach to my client's love life ever since he got his shit together.
After all, what the fuck do I know about love?
"Henry's right," Cory says, giving me a once-over. "He's usually the grumpy one, but today, you're bringing down the whole bar with your pouting."
I flip him the bird.
"Pouting? What am I, thirteen?"
"Well, something's off," Henry insists. "Spit it out, or I'll tell everyone about the 'energy drink incident'."
I gasp. He wouldn't dare!
"You swore you'd take that to the grave!" I protest.
Years ago, I pounded four energy drinks to stay up partying with some models in Palm Springs. Coachella had just wrapped up the day before, and I would've been dead on my feet without it.
Everything was fine for the first two stops of our impromptu pub crawl; I was my usual charismatic self, and one of the women was even looking for representation.
But as we walked into the third, I broke into a run, shoulder-checking the bouncer and barely making it to the bathroom before all that caffeine made its escape.
I had to bribe the bathroom attendant a hundred bucks to get me a new pair of pants, and I snuck out the back entrance rather than face the models in the gray sweats I ended up in.
Henry raises an eyebrow in challenge. Fuck! He knows the brothers would never let me live a story like that down, which is exactly why I swore him to secrecy. So much for "twin code".
"Fine!" I growl. "It's just something going on at work."
They look at me expectantly. When I don't continue, Henry smiles and swivels in his seat to face Damon, Cory, and Adam.
"Do you know why they warn you not to drink more than two cans of energy drinks in a day? It's not just the heart palpitations."
I slap my hand over Henry's mouth before he can continue.
"You're a real dick. You know that?" He just folds his arms, not even bothering to remove my hand.
He's well within his rights to tell my secret, considering I blurted out one of his when he and Camila first started dating. I didn't mean to tell the brothers about what went down with his ex-turned-client, Naomi. I also didn't realize he was the type to get even.
"Me and Tabitha Styles's lawyer have…history," I admit begrudgingly. "We had a few classes together in college. We used to study together…and we hooked up."
"And?" Damon asks, obviously confused.
"Yeah, that doesn't explain why you're stinking up the place with your bad attitude," Cory adds.
I miss when Cory was just a one-dimensional dick. Ever since he got together with Denise, he's been unnervingly perceptive, calling us all on our shit.
"We may not have left on the best of terms," I grumble, and Henry raises both eyebrows this time.
"What did you do?"
"I didn't do anything!" I sneer back, my hackles raised.
Henry has always been a clone of Dad. Straight A's in high school and college. Following in Dad's footsteps to become a top attorney. But I don't need Dad's disapproving scowl right now. I need my brothers.
Or maybe I don't. Maybe they've got their women and are fine to leave me on my own…
"Why don't we try to bring things down a notch?" Adam suggests. Around the bar, a few other patrons have noticed our conversation.
"I didn't do anything," I say again, trying to keep my voice low.
"We hooked up. She knew the deal ahead of time, then got mad when I didn't give her hearts and poetry.
I thought it best we make a clean break so she wouldn't get the wrong idea.
But then, twenty years later, she shows up with Tabitha, and I have to see her every fucking day! " I finish, exasperated.
"Tabitha Styles…" Henry murmurs, like he's trying to remember something. "You used to date Awa Faye?"
Of course he knows her. Because fuck my life.
"We never dated. We hooked up. Once! She got the wrong idea."
I left out that, for those few hours that we cuddled in her tiny bed, I had the wrong idea too. Until I got my head screwed on straight. I didn't date. I didn't have girlfriends. I couldn't keep seeing her without hurting her, so I had to leave.
"I'm guessing," Cory cuts in, "that the reason you look like you might punch a wall is because you want to date her now?"
It's seriously scary how insightful he is. I hesitate for the briefest moment before whispering,
"Yes. I can't get her out of my head. We're together all day, every day. And she looks…," I sigh. "She looks incredible. How am I not supposed to want her?"
I get distracted just thinking about her.
Those thick thighs I'd like to sink my fingers into.
Those luscious breasts that make my mouth water when they peek out from under her suit jackets.
That cute little belly I want to squeeze as I take her from behind.
She's a wet dream of feminine softness that keeps me up most nights.
"But obviously you're not going to act on those feelings," Henry says, and I'm not the only one to turn and gawk at him.
"What do you mean?" Damon asks. We're all listening, our drinks forgotten.
"I mean," Henry begins, squaring his shoulders, "that it would be a horrible idea to start something while you're on a job together. Mixing business and pleasure often leads to disaster."
"You can't be serious," I laugh sarcastically.
"Yeah," Cory agrees. "Didn't you just marry a woman who was your paralegal for nearly a decade?"
"He can't help it," I snarl. Anger heats my blood, and it feels good. I had to forgive my future sister-in-law, but I can definitely rip my twin a new one. "He's not even Henry right now; he's just channeling Dad."
"Shut up," Henry snaps. "I'm just being practical. It worked out for me and Camila, but you know that's not the norm. How are you going to keep coming to set when things go bad between you two?"
"Henry, that's not cool," Damon scolds.
I chug the rest of my beer and stand.
"Congratulations on your wedding, asshole. Let Mom and Dad know I'm not coming tonight."
"Noah, wait!" Adam calls after me, but I don't stop.
I don't know if Awa and I have any chance of a future together.
Hell, maybe I am stupid for even considering it with so much stacked against us.
What I do know is that my brothers won't be any help.
Not with this; not anymore. And if I want Awa, I need to stop fucking around and tell her how I feel.