13. Peyton
peyton
. . .
A s much as I love my parents, I hate staying here when I’m with Noah, especially after we haven’t seen each other for a while. Noah’s headstrong when it comes to respecting my parents. This is an admirable quality, but not one I wish to practice. And I’m certain my parents wouldn’t care. Not that I’m going to ask them if they mind whether Noah and I have sex or not in their house, but I’m tempted.
Noah and I must’ve dozed off because voices jolt me awake. He’s fast asleep and hugging me to his chest. Quinn’s voice carries through the wall. He’s taken Nola into his room. I can’t really hear what they’re saying, but much like I was in high school, I find myself wanting to sit against the wall with my ear pressed to it, listening. Elle and I used to get into so much trouble when a girl would call for him. We’d pick up the other line and make ridiculous sounds after she professed her undying love for him. Our dear brother started calling us the terror twins. Elle and I didn’t mind. We never thought any of those girls were good enough for Quinn. It takes someone really special to match with our brother.
“Hey.” I shake Noah slightly to wake him up. “I think Quinn and Nola are having sex.”
“Doubt it,” he mumbles.
“It’s true. It’s his new thing. He likes getting caught in awkward situations.”
Noah rolls over, pinning me under his weight. Oddly, being like this is comforting. It’s almost as if he’s protecting me from the world. In a way, I know he is. When we’re not together, we both feel off and just full of anxiety. Noah from not being able to hover over me, and me being afraid of my own shadow and needing him nearby. We should probably seek some sort of help, but I rather like that we’re dependent on each other and I hope these feelings never go away.
“Maybe we should buy a house here.”
Noah pushes himself up onto his elbows and looks at me. “We could, if you want. Do you want to live by your parents?”
“It would give us a lot of privacy when we’re here.”
“True. Owning multiple properties is a tax benefit.”
“But an unneeded expense.” The thought of wasting money on a piece of property scares me. “How long would we stay here?”
Noah looks to the wall for the answer. “Offseason. We can split our time between here and Beaumont.”
“And in Beaumont, we can stay at my house.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Peyton. I love your parents, but let’s be honest. I’d like to be with you whenever and not have to sneak off for long drives where we can get busted by the cops.”
I laugh so hard, I snort. Before I can cover my mouth, Noah kisses me. I wiggle my hips until he’s situated between them, the ache and desire I feel for him growing rapidly. “How soon until we can buy a place?”
“Tomorrow.” He barely breaks away to answer. Right now, it seems like it’s going to be forever when in reality, it’s hours away. Noah pulls away and rests his forehead to mine. Both of us are breathing heavily. I know that any minute from now, he’s going to get up and leave me. Damn that respect he has.
Sure enough, he rolls off me and sits on the side of the bed, slightly bent at his waist. I reach for him, resting my hand on his side. He turns, looking at me from over his shoulder and smiles. “I’m going to call Allen and see if he knows a realtor down here, someone who is willing to work fast.”
“Thank you.”
“Anything for you.” Noah starts to come toward me and pauses. I look at him questioningly as he turns his head slightly toward the wall Quinn and I share.
“What is it?”
“I think I just heard Quinn say something about surfing.”
“Duh. As if Quinn isn’t going to surf while he’s here.” I feel like I should roll my eyes at this point because Noah knows better.
“Do you care if I go out with him?”
I pretend to think for a minute. Let’s see, my hot as hell fiancé, in a wet-suit. Yes, I’ll take the visual any day of the week. Unless it’s on Sunday and he’s wearing his tight pants that make his ass look amazing. “I’ll use the time to get to know Nola.”
“I think Quinn would love that as I’m sure Elle is avoiding her.”
I slip out of bed, braid my hair, and slip into my flip-flops. “Elle’s just worried about her business. I would be too. She has a lot on her plate right now. She wants to succeed, and Quinn is a big part of that. And, she’s trying to make sure his foray into the industry is a better experience than the one our dads had. We’ve all heard the horror stories. The last thing she wants to be is someone like Sam.”
Noah doesn’t say anything. I brought up a sore subject. Although I don’t remember Sam, he does. He remembers the arguments his parents had about her and how much his mom worried when the band would go on tour.
“I’ll see you there.” I give him a quick kiss and make my way out of the room. As I pass by Quinn’s, I notice the door is open. From the living room, I can see a faint outline of our family outside and off to the side is a sole person. Nola, I’m assuming. That’s where I head.
About five steps into the sand, I’m kicking off my flip-flops. Turning to the left and then right, I realize that I do want to live here. Maybe not right next to my parents, but somewhere along this stretch of beach. It’s what I know, and it’s where Noah told me that he’d fight for us.
The benefit of walking in sand is that you can sneak up on people. I don’t know what I expected to find when I stood behind her. Maybe her texting someone about our family or looking at her phone instead of watching my brother and Eden surf. I hate that I thought negatively about her because she’s laughing each time Quinn crashes and gasping when Eden catches a wave and rides it flawlessly.
As soon as Noah runs by, I must choose. Either I sit down or walk away. “He’s been doing this since he could walk.” I decide to take the spot next to Nola. “You should go out there, Quinn’s a good teacher. He taught us.”
“I think I’m okay being a spectator. How come you’re not out there?”
I don’t tell her that sometimes my leg hurts and that the only thing I want to do is sit. Or that I’m afraid my leg might give out while I’m standing on the board. Not that I haven’t fallen before, but falling when I’m out there, with the guys around me, would be a circus. What I do tell her is that I’d like to get to know her better and that Quinn must think she’s the one if he brought her into our madhouse. Because that’s what we are, a highly functioning blended madhouse of a family.
“We haven’t known each other long.”
Of course they haven’t. However, it’s been long enough that some paparazzi picked up on the fact that they’re spending time together. I wonder if she knows, and I wonder if they’ve made Page Six or some other gossip magazine out there. It’s been years since I looked at those sites, not since Noah and I finally got together.
“My brother doesn’t do things hastily. That’s Elle. She’s the jump first, ask questions later. I’m the planner in the family. I have a plan for everything, except my wedding but that’s another story for another day.” I purposely leave out that a date’s set, I have my dream dress, and my flowers are on order. While I think Quinn is serious about her, I’d hate for her to assume she would be his plus one. “Quinn? He’s the one who sits on the sidelines and makes sure everyone’s taken care of, never worrying about himself. It’s nice to see him with his guard down. Like I said, you must be it for him.”
Nola and I both stare out at the surf, watching Eden, Quinn, and Noah wait until a wave big enough starts to form.
“I’m not sure I believe in love at first sight,” she says.
“I do. I’ve been in love with him for as long as I can remember, before I even knew what love was, I knew I was going to marry him.”
“When was that?”
I laugh because it’s so absurd to think I fell in love with Noah while in kindergarten. “Oh, when I was about five or so.”
“Oh, wow.”
“Yeah, it took us a long time to figure things out, plus there’s an age difference. I’m fairly sure my parents would’ve killed Noah if we started dating when I was fifteen or sixteen.”
“How far apart are you?”
“Five years, but when you’re young, age matters.”
“Yeah, I suppose it does. When’s your wedding?” I give her the song and dance about wanting a winter wedding and tell her Noah wants a summer one. Truth is, Noah would get married right this second if I yelled out to him that it had to be now. He doesn’t care about the formalities, just that we’re going to be husband and wife. I explain the issue with his schedule, and now mine and tell her why a winter wedding won’t work. I should tell her the truth, but I don’t want to put Quinn into a situation he may not be ready for. Although, I can’t imagine he wouldn’t bring her if they’re together.
“Why not just elope?”
I pull my legs to my chest and instantly feel her eyes on me. It’s too late to hide my scar or to run away. The only thing I can do is ignore her penetrating gaze. “We’ve been through a lot, or I have, and I want the fairy tale.”
“Quinn said you were in an accident.”
Nola looks like she’s been caught with her hand in the cookie jar, but it’s the opposite. “Yeah, you’re definitely the one. Quinn doesn’t talk about much of anything to people outside our family so if he told you, he must trust you.”
She looks away immediately and I sense that she’s hiding something. I want to ask her what’s on her mind, but I don’t want to be nosy. We sit in silence until Mom approaches us.
“Peyton, do you think I could have a minute with Nola?”
As soon as I stand, my mom gives me a hug. “Be nice to her,” I whisper in her ear. Mama bear is about to come out, I can see it in her face. She tries to smile, but it barely moves her lips. She has always been protective over Quinn because of what his biological mom did to him, and now that he’s brought someone home, well I have a feeling my mom is about to show a side of her that rarely comes out.
“Love you, sweetie,” she replies before letting me go.
I take a few steps away before looking back. My mom’s face is expressionless, her lips are moving, but I can’t hear anything. She’s keeping her voice down and by the look on Nola’s face, my mother is laying down the law. Poor Quinn. If it’s not Elle and I always up in his business, making his life crazy with sisterly drama, it’s our mother. She’s a hen most of the time, but damn if her claws aren’t out right now giving this poor unsuspecting girl the rules of dating her son.