Chapter 34
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
NOAH
Allie doesn’t fight me when I hold her hand after we leave the country club. I almost didn’t attempt that maneuver, but in the end, I couldn’t help myself. Something about her feels so right and I want to enjoy all the time with her that I can before going back to Chicago.
One of my favorite things to do on a date is to go for a walk. Enjoying an evening stroll with someone is a great test to see if there’s any reason for a second date. And yes, I know that Allie and I aren’t dating, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to.
When we get back into the car, I tell her, “I had a great time. Thank you for coming with me.”
“Thank you,” she says. “I probably won’t have to eat for a week.”
“You had a salad,” I scoff. “I had deep fried fish and chips. If anyone should be complaining, it’s me.”
She side-eyes me while saying, “I also had a bowl of creamy clam chowder, and my salad had all kinds of cheese and nuts in it.” She sighs, “I love eating in the fall.”
“Better food?” I ask, thinking of the pumpkin binge I’m going to start indulging in soon.
The light emanating from the dashboard is enough for me to see the twinkle in her eye as she explains, “More clothes to hide the result of all the food I eat.”
I can’t help but grin at that. Allie knows who she is and she’s not going to pretend to be some delicate eater to impress a man. Good for her.
“It’s only nine,” I tell her. “How do you feel about doing something else?”
“Like what?” She glances at me as though I’m suggesting something sketchy.
“Bowling?” I ask.
She shakes her head and groans, “I hate bowling.”
“Who hates bowling?”
“I do.” She turns so she’s facing me. “I’m horrible at it, and I always skip my ball. I even knocked over a little kid once.”
I release a bark of laughter before asking, “How did you do that?”
She rolls her eyes. “You know how kids are. They’re everywhere.”
“They’re not typically in the bowling lanes,” I tell her, eager to find out how this accident occurred.
“No, they’re not,” she agrees. “But sometimes they’re standing beside you while you’re bowling.”
“So are a lot of other people. That’s why you’re supposed to keep the ball in the lane.”
“I know. But my friend snuck up on me and tickled me, and I just sort of turned and threw my ball.”
“At a child?” I ask.
“Yes.”
“What happened? Was the kid okay?”
“Surprised more than anything,” she says. “Her mom seemed to take it in stride and told me things like that happen all the time when you have kids.”
“What would you do if some crazy lady threw a bowling ball at your kid?” I ask her.
“I won’t have to worry about that.”
“Why? I mean, it happened to that poor kid you mowed down.”
Even though I can’t see her cheeks changing color, I assume they are. Allie has an adorable little blush that pops up whenever she’s embarrassed.
“I’m never going to take my children bowling,” she declares. “Problem solved. Crisis averted.”
“Good luck with that,” I say while turning up the heat. “Kids have bowling parties all the time for their birthdays. How are you going to tell yours they can’t go?”
Allie crosses her arms, partly due to the cold but I’m guessing there’s a little indignation in the mix. “It’s a good thing I don’t have kids yet, so I don’t have to worry about this right now,” she tells me.
“Fine. Bowling is out. I would normally suggest going for ice cream, but I don’t think either of us could handle more food. How about a late movie?”
“The last show starts at eight during the week,” she says.
“That’s a weird thing to know.”
“I’ve taken myself to a lot of movies since I’ve been home.” She sounds sad.
“There really isn’t a lot to do in Elk Lake at night, is there?” Then I remember, “How about the beer garden?”
“How about if we go back to my place and watch TV?” she suggests. “I can rent a movie, and we can lie back and digest our suppers.”
“Isn’t Margie sleeping on your couch?” I ask. The thought of hanging out with Allie and Margie is nowhere near as enticing as spending some time with Allie alone.
“Shoot, that’s right. And she’s been going to bed early. This pregnancy is taking it out of her.”
“We could go to my house,” I suggest. I didn’t propose that before because I didn’t want Allie to think I was up to no good.
Leaning her head back against the headrest, she says, “I’m pretty tired, too. I think I’d better just go home and catch up on some sleep.”
While I’m obviously disappointed, I try not to let it show. “You’re coming to basketball practice tomorrow, right?” I ask her.
“I’ll be there at ten,” she says. “But I have to tell you, the girls are getting sick of playing with the boys.”
“Yeah, the boys are tired of the girls, too, but what else can we do? You can’t set up a scrimmage with only seven girls on your team.”
“How about if we split up the teams? I could take your JV guys on with us.”
It’s not a bad idea except for one major problem. “They’ll all quit if I do that.”
“My girls are better than every last one of them,” she declares proudly.
“That’s the reason they’d quit.” Starting the car, I put it in reverse and back out of our spot. “Why don’t you try to build up some awareness about the girls’ team and see if you can’t do some recruiting?”
“Everyone here already knows there’s a team from the current players. This isn’t Chicago where I can start cherry-picking kids from other districts.”
I make a noncommittal sound deep in my throat. “Maybe once everyone sees how good your girls are, they’ll start trying out.”
“Which will certainly help for next year,” she says. “But what do I do this year?”
“I’m afraid you keep practicing with the boys,” I tell her.
The thought briefly crosses my mind that Allie is trying to change the practice schedule so she doesn’t have to see me as often.
I immediately tell myself that can’t be so.
She may not want to date me, but I’ve certainly not done anything to put her off.
When we reach Allie’s apartment, I pull over to the side of the road and put the car in park. I’m about to turn it off so I can walk her in, but she stops me. “You don’t have to walk me to the door.”
“What if I want to?” I ask.
She exhales so loudly, it’s clear she’s annoyed. “I’m fine, Noah. Thank you.”
“Allie,” I say hesitantly, “I know you’re not looking to date, and neither am I.” Liar. But even though I want to date her, I don’t want to lead her on, only to leave her.
“But …”
“How do you know there’s a but?” I ask.
She rolls her eyes. “There’s always a but, Noah.”
Screwing up my courage, I announce, “I’d really like to kiss you goodnight. That is, if that’s okay.” I sound as romantic as if I was asking her if she’d like me to take out her trash.
I fully expect her to shoot me down, so imagine my shock when she replies, “I would like that very much.”
“You want to kiss me?” Talk about sounding way too eager.
Instead of answering me, she quirks an eyebrow that suggests I’d better get on with it before she changes her mind. “Can I walk you to your door?” I ask again. I want us to be closer than the center console of my car will allow.
She barely lifts her chin in acceptance before I jump out of the car and run around to the passenger side to get her door for her. When she steps out onto the sidewalk, she declares, “We can’t tell Lorelai about this, okay?”
Not that I would ever tell my sister, but I wonder what her reasoning is. “Why is that?”
Allie lowers her lashes slightly—the effect is highly seductive, even though I know that’s not her intent. “Lorelai knows how much I used to like you, and I don’t want her getting any ideas about us.”
“That makes sense.” Once we reach her door, we stop and turn toward each other. “Just so you know,” I tell her, “I like you very much now.”
“That’s a nice thing to say, thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” I tell her. Then I lean my mouth toward hers ever so slightly. “I’m already looking forward to seeing you tomorrow.”
She looks up from the ground where she’s been staring and slowly and quickly draws me in. “Kiss me, Noah,” she demands. “Do it now.”
She doesn’t have to tell me twice. Leaning in, I capture Allie’s lips with mine and slowly explore their full softness. She tastes like Mississippi mud pie, which suddenly makes the dessert much more appealing than it’s ever been before.
We kiss for several minutes before she finally pulls away. “Thank you again for a nice evening.” She sounds like a prim Victorian lady who hasn’t just nearly kissed the lips off of me.
“I’ll see you tomorrow morning,” I tell her.
With a small smile, Allie turns and inserts the key into her door. I stand on the sidewalk and watch until she’s all the way up the stairs. I continue staring through the glass outer door as she enters her apartment. I’m still standing there long after she’s gone.
I should not be feeling the things for Allie that I am.
No good can come from it, especially as our lives are heading in such opposite directions.
Having said that, I can’t seem to stop myself.
Allie Rogers is wonderfully unexpected and if I don’t watch out, I might become completely caught under her spell.