Thirteen
THIRTEEN
Holland
N oble and I were in the air, sitting on clouds, flirting and cuddling. He touched my nose, and I threw my head back, laughing, drowning in bliss, and loving every moment. He looked into my eyes, and my cheeks grew warm. Just as he was about to kiss me, the phone rang, startling me.
I sprang upright, blinked away the haze, and realized I was alone in the center of my bed, wrapped in a soft pink sheet and comforter. No clouds. No Noble. Just the dim light of dawn slicing through the vertical blinds. I touched my lips and remembered our kiss. Fireworks exploded in my head when Noble’s lips touched mine last night.
There was that ringing again. I grabbed my cell phone off the small white nightstand with clear drawer pulls that looked like large diamonds.
I flopped back against my pillow. “Hello!” I croaked, cleared my throat, and repeated myself.
“Open the door,” Noble said.
I pulled the covers back, climbed out of the frilly twin-size bed, and tiptoed to the window. Noble stood on the porch holding a bag. I opened the window. “I’ll be right down,” I said, still holding the phone. “Actually, can you give me a few minutes?” I yelled, not wanting him to see me looking like I just rolled out of bed because I had.
“Sure,” he said and sat on the stoop. “Take your time.”
I washed my face, brushed my teeth, and put a bra on under my tank top.
As much as I’d wanted to do way more than kiss him last night, resisting was the right thing. I’d known this man for about a week. I was on my journey to find me and live out loud. The last thing I needed was to get involved with a man and complicate things. Besides, why get caught up just to leave? My time here in New York would be a small blip on my timeline once I got back to Charleston and started my new life.
That’s if I made it back to Charleston. New York was growing on me. Regardless, I wasn’t here to get involved with any men. I had to curb the raging desire that had me ready to trample over my inhibitions. Noble Washington was dangerous.
“Good morning,” I said, opening the door and making room for him to step inside. I still felt flushed by our kiss and my dream, and hoped he couldn’t see the desire behind my cordial smile.
“I hope I didn’t wake you,” Noble said. “I wasn’t sure if you were going to church or something, and I wanted to get your breakfast to you before you left. You seem like the type to go to church on Sundays.” Noble handed me a warm covered dish and followed me to the dining room table.
“What makes you say that?”
Noble held his free hand up. “Nothing bad. You have a beautiful spirit and seem so grounded.”
That made me blush. “Is that so? I guess it’s the Southern charm.” A vision of us kissing on the clouds in my dream flashed across my mind and my nipples pebbled. I looked down at my breasts. Down, girls. “And you pegged me right. I am a church girl and proud of it.” My smile spread wider. “I planned to go to Bedside Baptist while I ate breakfast.”
Noble’s brows creased.
“That’s what I call church when I stream from my bedside instead of going to the house of the Lord in person. Get it? Ha!”
Noble laughed and the rich timbre of his voice, cute curl of his lip, and cavernous depths of his dimples made my knees wobble.
“Have a seat,” I sat to save myself from the embarrassment of unreliable knees and then patted the chair next to me for Noble to join me.
“Glad I could make you smile this early in the morning.” Noble presented me with the food he was holding.
My eyes landed on the bag in his hand.
“Your breakfast,” he said, as if he’d just remembered why he came.
“Thanks.” I carried it to the counter and grabbed a fork from the drawer. “Are you going to join me?” I’d never been this forward with a man before. Noble’s presence released a boldness in me.
“I already ate, but I’m happy to stick around for a bit. I like watching people enjoy my good food.” His wink and sexy smirk were magnetizing, pulling at me like he’d reached across the room and grabbed hold of me.
“You sound pretty sure of yourself.”
“I’ve got skills.” Noble raised one brow like The Rock. “Nothing wrong with admitting that.”
“Ha!” My short, sharp laugh was shaky. Something savory wafted to my nose when I opened the dish. A happy distraction from the sexiness oozing off this man so early in the morning. Showing up right after my dream only made things worse. At least in the dream, I relished the feel of his plump lips against mine.
“Mm. Smells delicious.” My mouth watered.
“It’s a Greek egg frittata with grilled avocado, tomato slices, and honey maple bacon.”
“Wow. Fancy.” I took a forkful, closed my eyes, and moaned. “Oh my goodness, Noble,” I said, chewing behind my hand. “This tastes amazing.”
“I told you.” Noble popped the nonexistent collar on his T-shirt. “I’ve got skills. A brother can burn.”
That cracked me up. “Burn?”
“Y’all don’t say that in the South? That’s New York slang for cook. A brother can cook.”
“Ha! I told you, you’re not the only one who can burn. We’ll see who really has skills,” I said around a mouthful of food. “Sorry. I promise I have better manners than this,” I said, chuckling.
Noble looked around. “Get a lot done yesterday, huh?”
“Ugh!” I rolled my eyes toward the ceiling. “It seems like the more I do, the more there is to be done.”
“I’m happy to help you out.”
The way those muscles of his tangoed beneath his shirt, it sure would be fun to watch him lift heavy things.
“No, thank you. I really appreciate the offer.” I thought for a moment. “Actually, there may be a few things you can help me with, if you don’t mind. Do you know of someplace I can donate furniture to?”
“Sure! There’s a spot that’s not too far from here. They’ll come pick up the stuff too.”
“That’s great, thanks.”
Noble was quiet while I ate. I could feel his eyes on me—that alluring pull of his closeness that made my stomach flutter.
“Listen. Uh…” Noble started.
I looked up from my plate, connecting with his gaze. We locked in, unblinking. Desire burning between us again. His eyes were beautiful, with lashes most women would envy. He licked his lips, and I had to collect myself. This man was gorgeous—and maybe a bit arrogant and I liked it.
“Yes?” I replied when it seemed like he wouldn’t finish his sentence.
“About last night… I…”
“What about last night?” I gave him my coyest smile then looked down at my plate—and stuffed a piece of bacon in my mouth. “Really, it’s okay. No big deal,” I lied. “We’re grown, remember?”
“Huh! That we are.” Noble nodded and laughed. “I don’t want you to think I was… I didn’t want to take advantage…”
“Noble,” I interrupted. I placed my fork aside and put my hand on his. “I wanted to kiss you.” I didn’t mean for my words to sound so breathy.
His lips eased into the sexiest smile I’d ever witnessed. “I wanted to kiss you too.”
I stared directly into Noble’s beautiful eyes. He stared right back. The temperature rose several digits higher. I finally looked away and moved the fork around my plate, though I was no longer hungry for food. “It’s just that now is not a good time for me to get involved with anyone. A lot is happening in my life right now.”
A fleeting look of disappointment flashed across Noble’s face. But then he threw his hands up in surrender. “I respect that. Anything you want to talk about, I’m a vault.”
“Thanks. But I’m okay.”
“I wanted to ask you something.” Noble’s gaze narrowed. “I know you’re only here for a short while. I have this awards dinner that I’m attending on Tuesday evening, and I have an extra ticket. I was wondering if you’d like to go with me. I know you’ve got a lot to do around here, but it would be great if you got to see more of New York.
“It’s black tie, but don’t worry about an outfit, I’m happy to help you find something. I’d hate to see this ticket go to waste.”
I closed my mouth when I realized it had been hanging open. I’d never attended a black-tie event before. There was never a reason to. I did want to see more of New York, but I wasn’t sure about letting him buy me a dress. “Me?” I asked.
“Of course. Would you be my plus-one?”
“Oh! Um…” I tried to find an excuse. Being around Noble was becoming dangerous—had me acting in ways I’d never acted before and again, I liked it. A lot. “I don’t know.”
“Say yes. Don’t worry, you’ll be at my table with several friends and colleagues. It won’t be just you and me. I promise you’ll enjoy yourself.”
I thought about it for a few moments and remembered why I’d left Florence in the first place—to live. “Okay. Y-yes.” I should have said no. There was no reason to get tangled up with this guy. I had nothing to wear to a black-tie event—not here in New York, or even back home.
“Great! We can get you a dress tomorrow.”
“Oh.” I waved my hand. “You don’t have to do that. I’ll figure something out.”
“I insist. I’m the one who sprung this on you at the last minute. Let me do this for you.”
What could it hurt? But also, what was I setting myself up for? I’d never see Noble again once I was done with Aunt Goldie’s house. What would Amy or Patience do? Both of them would definitely have said yes. I thought about Amy telling me to live.
“Okay.” I couldn’t believe this was happening.
“Great. Where would you like to go to look for your dress?”
“I have no idea.” I shrugged. “And now I’ll really need your help getting this place cleaned out before I leave.”
“No worries. I have a few shops in mind, and I’m happy to help you out here.”
“Remember you said that.” I pointed my fork at him.
We sat in silence for a few moments. The idea of getting all dolled up and going out with him made me giddy.
“Find anything interesting here?” Noble asked, looking around the house.
“Plenty.” I shared a few of my findings with Noble. “I understand my aunt’s voice was beautiful. They said her trill was like the sweet sound of a blackbird. At least that’s what they said in one of the newspaper articles I found.” I also told Noble about how Aunt Goldie wrote in her journal about how she would sneak out with friends at night and sing at juke joints deep in the woods. That’s where a blues band discovered her. “My great-grandma threw her out. Told her she wasn’t having anyone singing the devil’s music in her house.”
“I can believe it.” Noble shook his head. “Lots of singers started in the church and had similar stories.”
“Aunt Goldie practically lived on the road and finally ‘set down roots,’ as they say, in Queens and then here in this house. Apparently, lots of blues, R & B, and soul singers lived in an area called St. Albans.”
“My dad lives in St. Albans,” Noble said.
I gasped. “Really? That’s pretty cool.”
“On the way to his house, we pass the St. Albans Greatest mural under the train station with celebrities who lived there, like Billie Holiday, Lena Horn, Ella Fitzgerald, James Brown, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and even Jackie Robinson.”
My mouth dropped wide open. “Wow!”
“Yep. W.E.B Du Bois lived there too. I can take you by the mural and show you the houses they lived in before you leave.”
“I’d love that. I can’t wait to show my cousin pictures. She just knew I would spend every moment in this house and never see any other part of New York.”
“I’d be happy to show you around my city. There’s a lot to see.”
“Why not?” I shimmied. “I guess I could spend at least one day sightseeing.” I was already excited. Amy would be proud of me.
The second I showed Noble out, I called Amy.
“Girl! You will not believe this.” I shared everything with Amy.
“Yeeeesssss! Fly, butterfly! It’s about time you started to live. Wait! I need a picture of this Noble guy. So if you go missing, I can tell the police what he looked like.”
“Amy. Please stop watching Up and Vanished .”
“I still need a pic. Take one tomorrow when you go to get your dress. That way it won’t seem suspicious. Then text it to me right away. I’m already tracking you on the app, so I’ll know where to find you.”
“Lord.” I slapped my forehead. “Really, Amy?”
“Serious as a heart attack. People are crazy out there!”
I doubled over laughing until no more sound came from my mouth. It was funny to me, but I knew Amy was serious. She laughed too.
After our call, I worked the rest of the day while listening to Aunt Goldie’s album collection, developing a new appreciation for the music of her time. After a while, I could pick out her voice in the background. Ms. Elsie came by with more food.
By sundown, I was exhausted in the best way possible. I climbed into my childhood bed in the room that looked like a box full of pink crayons had thrown up. Like a kid on Christmas Eve, I was too excited to fall asleep but too tired to stay awake. Noble was like my Santa Baby. I lay on my back, thinking about him and hoping he’d visit me in my dreams again, allowing thoughts of him to take me away from the issues with my mother.