CH 32 - #fireworks
Riley
Song: “Sin So Sweet” by Warren Zeiders
RESIDENTS OF CYPRESS Hills lined the sidewalk on both sides of Main Street as the Fourth of July parade began. Watching it with Rhys, Macie, my sister, momma, daddy, grandpa, Jackson, Rob, and Janice made me think about all the other occasions we stood here, waving little American flags, celebrating our country’s independence.
When the parade ended, we all went to my parents’ house. They planned a last-minute backyard cookout after I told them yesterday that I was coming back into town for the weekend. My girls and I were in the swimming pool, the men were by the grill, chatting, and my momma and Janice were in the kitchen, undoubtedly catching up.
They’d been best friends since high school. Once they graduated, married, became pregnant, and gave birth to Rhys and me four months apart, they paired us up, saying we were meant to be together. When Jackson and Rachel came along, they said the same about them.
After I ended things with Rhys last year, the relationship between his momma and mine was strained. They never stopped being friends, but they didn’t get together like they used to. However, seeing them today—smiling and laughing—their friendship had been fully restored. As far as my daddy’s relationship with Rhys’s daddy, though, there never was a strain between them. Difference between men and women, I supposed.
“So…” Macie said, looking at Rachel and me. “I met someone.”
“What?” I asked, surprised.
“I met someone.”
“What’s his name?”
“Noah Landry.”
“Where’d you meet him?”
“At Papacita’s in Longview on Tuesday.”
“And we’re just now hearing about this?” my sister asked.
“Because I wanted to see if anything came of my meeting Noah.”
“Something obviously has, so tell us more!”
“I was eating lunch with Abbi, one of my new coworkers. Noah was sitting alone at a table next to Abbi and me. I’d already noticed him—”
“Meaning what?” I interjected.
“How fucking hot he is, that’s what. He could be Henry Cavill’s twin. I ain’t even lying.”
“Oh my gosh.”
“Anyway, his waitress accidentally knocked over his glass of water, which went all over Noah’s table, his lap, and the floor. I grabbed the extra napkins off my table and hurried over to help clean up the mess.”
I grinned. “Did you dry off Noah, his table, or the floor first?”
“Noah, of course! I patted down his thighs the best I could while his waitress and another employee hurried to dry the table and floor.”
“Did you not pat down Noah’s crotch? It must’ve gotten wet, too.”
Rachel snorted, and Macie pushed her off her float and kicked me off mine. We popped back up above the water and laughed our heads off while Macie’s face turned redder than I’d ever seen it. This told me how much she liked the new guy in her life.
“In all seriousness, you’ve got to tell me how Noah reacted to what you did,” I said, swimming over to Macie and hanging onto her float. “It seems like it would’ve been awkward for him.”
“It wasn’t. He just smiled at me.”
“And then what?”
“He thanked me when I was done; I told him, ‘You’re welcome,’ and then I rejoined Abbi. We finished eating our lunches, and when we got up to leave, Noah stood up from his table and asked if he could speak with me privately. Abbi said she’d be waiting in her car, and Noah introduced himself to me after she walked off. We talked for a couple of minutes, which included exchanging numbers. That evening, Noah called me, and we talked until after midnight. We’ve been in constant contact every day since.”
“Okay. So, what do you know about him? The important stuff.”
“He was born, raised, and still lives in Longview. He’s thirty years old, has never been married, has no kids from a baby-momma, and he graduated from Texas A&M.”
“I like him already. He’s an Aggie.”
Macie smiled. “He’s also a veterinarian.”
“Get out of here! I can’t believe all of this!”
“It’s all true—just like the several inches he added to my spine last night.”
“You already slept with him?” I whispered.
“I couldn’t resist him, and he couldn’t resist me.”
“When did y’all go on your first date?”
“Yesterday, after I got off work. Noah picked me up at my vet’s office and took me to Saltgrass, where we had a delicious meal and wine. Then we went to his house, sat in his living room talking and listening to music, had a little more wine, and Noah kissed me.”
“Okay, I’m going to need more details about that kiss.”
Macie sighed. “It was soft and sweet. Noah brushed his lips back and forth across mine, and we breathed each other in. Afterward, we moved our bodies closer together on the couch and kissed again. It wasn’t soft and sweet, though. It was wild.”
I side-eyed Macie. “Define ‘wild.’”
“When our tongues touched, it was on. We had our clothes off so fast, and then Noah fucked me on nearly every surface in his house. His swimming pool was the last place we were together. The way he made me feel was unbelievable.”
“Do you have a picture of him?”
Macie nodded, paddled her float over to the side of the pool, picked up her cellphone off the deck, and came back over to Rachel and me, treading water in the deep end.
“There,” she said, showing us the picture.
“Sweet Jesus, he looks just like Henry Cavill.”
“Told you.”
“What do you like about Noah the most?” Rachel asked.
“He has a pure heart like Jackson and Rhys. I think I finally got myself a good one. And yes, I know all of this with Noah has moved insanely fast, but it’s never felt more right.”
“When did his last relationship end?”
“Six months ago.”
“Just like yours with Steven. Did Noah tell you why his ended?”
“His ex-girlfriend cheated on him.”
“Another similarity.”
“Those are the only negative ones. All the rest are positive. Do y’all want to hear the song Noah said reminded him of me?”
Rachel and I nodded. When “Sin So Sweet” by Warren Zeiders started playing, we sighed and stretched out, floating on our backs in the water while hanging onto Macie’s float, spinning her around. We were so happy for her.