Chapter 7
After a shower that took far longer than it should have because they couldn’t keep their hands and mouths off each other, Leah dressed in the jeans and t-shirt that she’d chosen for the date and Noah redressed in his clothing. Because he’d shown interest in the architecture of her bungalow style home, she gave him a quick tour. She was proud of the refurbished home, one of several properties left to her by her grandmother.
When she moved into the place, her Uncle Dayo had helped her complete some of the work and as the years went by and through trial and error, she learned to hang and finish drywall and perform basic electrical and plumbing upgrades.
“So much for you not enjoying being my chew toy,” Noah chuckled. He stood in front of the built-in bookshelf between two large windows that looked out to the front of the house.
“Who says I liked it?” Leah questioned, rising to her feet after tying her shoestrings.
Noah pulled her close, his lips grazing her neck just before he placed a playful nip on the tender flesh. She couldn’t stop the moan that escaped her. “Now, what were you saying?”
“We need to leave for class, Texas. Now behave.”
“Exactly as I thought.” Leah harrumphed as she walked by, garnering a smack on the ass. Upon putting her hair up into a puff after their shower, Noah’s hand trailed along the nape of her neck, and he took pleasure in informing her that he’d left a small souvenir of their evening together.
She climbed into his dark blue full size truck, the smell of leather and Noah immediately greeting her. She watched as he walked around the vehicle then slid behind the wheel. “How many trucks do you have?”
“Just two. This one and another one of the same model that’s about fifteen years old. I keep it for carrying shit. Even though I have a bedliner in this one, I don’t like to put shit in the back of it.”
“You have a truck but you don’t want to put stuff in the bed. Doesn’t that defeat the purpose?”
“Never said it was logical, Foxy,” he said, steering out of her driveway. “This is my good truck.”
As they made their way towards downtown Sanderson, there was sporadic conversation, but most of the time was spent with Leah humming along to songs that played on the radio. The sounds of Dionne Farris’ “I Know” flooded the cab of the pickup and Leah gasped in surprise. “I haven’t heard this song in forever,” she said happily bopping her head. She made a mental note to add this to the playlist for the skating rink. She sang along, tapping her feet to the infectious beat. When the song ended, she turned to Noah, finding him gawking at her. “What’s wrong?”
“Foxy, you certainly have got a high roof to your mouth.”
Her face split into a shy smile. “I love to sing.”
“Well, it loves you right back. You have a gift.”
“You can thank my dad for that.” Malcolm Vines may not have given her much else, but he did pass along his gift of song. From as far back as she could remember, she’d been in the church choir, using her gift to magnify the Lord.
“You are definitely a woman of many talents.”
“I won’t argue with you there.”
She was pleased to learn that the mixologist class was held in a working bar, one that she didn’t even know existed. When they arrived, the scent of polished wood and good whiskey greeted them. From the hickory floors to the oak beams and cedar high-top bar, the interior was comprised of wood in varying shades. “This is lovely,” Leah said as she and Noah were directed to the bar where a few other participants were seated. Her eyes bounced around the space, something new catching her eye in each corner.
“I was hoping you would like it.”
Leah enjoyed the way Hector and Shelly, the bartenders, structured the class. They introduced the participants to the six base liquors and gave a brief overview of the history and varying styles of the spirits. When they mentioned that mixology classes were offered for each individual liquor, Noah gave her a nudge, which she interpreted as they would be attending whichever they chose in the near future. After a few taste tests, Leah realized she was a gin girl when it came to cocktails and enjoyed a high-quality tequila for shots. Thankfully heavy hors d”oeuvres were provided to soak up some of the alcohol.
The playful atmosphere was infectious, and Leah thought it was cute how Noah bristled when Hector served her no hand shots. She gently pointed out that everyone who volunteered received the same treatment and the bartender was only doing his job.
Dinner was at a casual seafood place near the beach. Over blackened catfish and grilled shrimp they both decompressed, sharing the joys and burdens of entrepreneurship. Both were hands on people although she was pleasantly surprised to learn that he had no qualms about crawling under a car if he was needed. She should have known by the slightly calloused hands that he was not averse to manual labor.
“So, what’s this surprise you have for me?” she asked as they drove into the dark night.
“It would not be a surprise if I told you, now would it?” Noah peered over at her in the dark cab. “Are you one of those people that don’t like them?”
“I’ve matured into a person that can handle them now.” Growing up, surprises were never a good thing. Her father surprised her and her siblings by moving them to an upscale, mostly white school. When he became someone in Sanderson, he felt it was warranted that every area of his family’s life reflected his newfound status.
Her father’s wife surprised her by placing her over a nursery class in the church from the age of thirteen until she left for college. Those were only a couple of examples. Now, as an adult, she reveled in doing nothing without guilt and her ability to set firm boundaries. During the early years of therapy, one of her first homework assignments was to schedule a time where she would do absolutely nothing. The block of time started with five minutes and had been painful in the beginning. Now she could for the most part shut off without a problem.
“Well,” Noah said. “I hope you’ll like this one.”
Leah studied his smiling face. “You’re really tickled, aren’t you?”
“What do you mean, Foxy?”
“The silly grin you’re wearing at the moment. It’s screams ‘I’m excited’.”
“To be fair, I am.” I haven’t been where I’m taking you in a while so it’s a double treat. I used to go there all the time as a kid.”
As his smile grew, obviously caught up in a memory, Leah felt that tug of sadness that often arose when she thought back on her childhood. Seeing the bit of freedom her youngest brother was allowed healed her inner child just a bit. Had it not been for therapy, she would have held on to the bitterness she’d felt at missing out on many of the things he now got to experience. The truck came to a stop and Leah looked out of the windshield, realizing they appeared to be in the middle of a field. “Am I about to end up on a crime show? Where people lie and say that I lit up a room?”
“Are you always this dramatic?” he chuckled. “If so, I like it.”
“Nigerians tend to be, but I am only Naija on my mother’s side, so I will gander to say no, I’m not. And if so, it is only when I’m in a field in the middle of the night. And,” she said as he pushed open his door, “you still didn’t answer my question.”
“Foxy, I am not a serial killer or anything like that. I just thought you might like to see the stars with me.” As he opened the back driver’s side door, the cab was again illuminated, and she saw on the back seat several folded blankets and a couple of pillows. “I figured we might as well be comfortable.”
The corners of her lips tilted in a smile. “That was thoughtful of you.”
“Foxy, I’m almost forty. If I sleep wrong, I could wake up hurting. Now you stay here until I get the bed set up.”
The moment he closed the cab door, Leah shot a quick text to her sisters, letting them know of her current location, that Noah had taken her stargazing and if her location looked suspect, she was fine. She ended the message with the code word “Outlaws” to let them know that she was indeed the person in possession of her phone.
Her door was soon pulled open, and Noah helped her out of the high profile vehicle. Although the path to their current location had taken them through a canopy of oak trees before stopping, the truck now sat in a large clearing. Even the grass was low, as if it had been recently cut. When she reached the lowered tailgate, Noah jumped onto the bed and pointed out the built in step at the corner and helped her up.
She was surprised to find a very comfy looking spread. The bed was lined with a camping mattress covered with blankets and two pillows sat propped up near the cab. There was also a small cooler with bottles of water and a telescope standing on a tripod off to the side. “You’ve been a busy guy.”
“I wanted to do it up nice for you.” As she settled into the soft set up, Noah stretched out his long legs and crossed them at the ankles. “I was lucky the night was clear. You never can tell when a storm could blow in off the water.”
As the sound of crickets filled the night, Noah aided her in exploring the stars. The time flew by as he pointed out a cluster of celestial bodies and quizzed her on it. In the beginning, she had trouble seeing anything other than spots on a black canvas, but soon, with his guidance she was able to make out the formation of constellations.
“Thank you for bringing me here. I’ve never taken the time to really study the night sky before.”
“It’s not a thing that most people think of especially in the city. Between the lights and buildings, we miss the show nature puts on.” Somehow during the watch party, she’d found herself seated between his long legs, her back resting against his chest.
“I have seeing the Aurora Borealis on my bucket list.”
“Me too.” Noah gave her a little squeeze. “The best time to see them is fall to early spring. I just need to make time to get up a trip north.” Leah snuggled under the soft blanket he’d so thoughtfully provided. Noah’s heartbeat was steady against her back as his chin rested on her head. “My dad used to bring us here all the time. He said he stumbled upon this spot while doing a repo. That’s another story for another day. Anyway, he said it reminded him of a place he used to watch the stars and fireflies with my mom when they were kids.”
“Do they still come here?”
“My mother’s deceased.”
Leah absently stroked his left thigh. “I’m sorry. My mom’s deceased as well.” Noah hugged her against him. “Does you dad still come up here?”
“Yeah, he does. To take care of it. He bought this piece of land about fifteen years ago. I like to just get away from the light pollution. Every now and again, I see fireflies and I like to think it’s my mom checking on me.”
Leah turned to wind her arms around his waist, burrowing into his chest. “I’ll bet she’d be proud of the person you turned into.”
She felt a kiss on the top of her head. “I hope so. My family has a house a few miles from here and I bring my nephews here to fly their kites if the beach is crowded. Seeing that it’s so close to the water, the breezes can be pretty nice.”
“That must be so much fun for them. Kids don’t do that kind of thing anymore. We used to do it all the time at summer camp.”
“You got to attend summer camp?” His voice was laced with surprise. “That’s one thing I missed out on because of athletics.”
“It wasn’t like that. It was Christian camp. Little Shepherds. Believe me, it was nowhere near glamorous.”
Leah lay against his chest, pulling the blanket up to her shoulders, enjoying the heat generated by his body. The sounds of nature were so soothing and the slight breeze felt cool on her face. “Foxy.” She felt Noah shaking her shoulder. “Foxy, wake up.”
“Oh,” she said, stifling a yawn. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”
“I would have let you keep snoozing but your phone’s ringing.”
Leah pulled the device from her wristlet, seeing a missed call from her Uncle Dayo. Before she could return the call, the phone lit up, displaying his name and number. “Hey, Uncle D.”
“Hey, sweetie. I need you to do me a favor when you get some time.”
Leah tucked the phone between her cheek and shoulder, settling back against Noah’s frame. “What do you need?”
“I need you to go by my house and bring me three pairs of my silk pajamas and the matching slippers. The good pajamas hanging up in my closet. I also need some underwear. I need you to put that in my butter yellow duffle and bring them to me.”
“Where to?”
“Grace Memorial.”
Leah shot up. “You’re in the hospital, Uncle D? What happened? What’s wrong?”
“Girl, listen to me. Go to my house and get the stuff I asked you for. I cannot be sleeping somewhere without my good pajamas. You never know. One of these doctors might catch my eye. “
“Uncle D, will you be serious!”
“I am, sweetie. And don’t forget my moisturizer. Just grab my toiletry bag and bring it all to the hospital. I’m on the fourth floor. You’ll hear me fighting with my little Filipino nurse. As soon as I get off this call, I got to cuss her out.”
“I’m on my way,” Leah said ending the call then trying to scramble out of Noah’s embrace, her destination the cab of the truck.
“Stop, Leah.” Noah tightened his grip on her waist.
She enjoyed the feel of the steel band around her hips as he made love to her earlier. Now they were keeping her from her uncle. “My uncle’s in the hospital.”
“And if you ain’t careful scampering out the back of this truck, you might join him.” Finally releasing her, Noah aided her to the ground and settled her back inside the cab.” Let me get the bed cleared out and we’ll be on the way.” Noah pressed the remote start on his vehicle. “Tell the truck your uncle’s address and we’ll be on our way in a couple minutes.”