22. Noah
NOAH
“Fuck!” I scream as I tear down the highway. It’s nearly one.
I glance at my phone on the passenger seat. It hasn’t lit up. It hasn’t vibrated. Not a fucking call or text. Nothing.
“God fucking dammit! Why? Why? Why!?” I punch the steering wheel with each annunciation of the word.
Everything was going perfectly. We had an amazing dinner. We played some fun games. That fucking kiss was addicting. Where did it go wrong?
I pull off the freeway and start heading to my house along the shore. When I get to my driveway, I press the button to unlock the iron gate. It’s too high for any human to scale, and the top is iron sharp enough to slice someone to ribbons.
The gate slowly slides open, and it’s taking every last drop of control to keep myself from flooring it and slamming the gate off the track. Just a few…more…seconds. Perfect.
*Ring* *Ring*
Jeremy’s face buzzes on my car's screen. I let it go to voicemail, but his fucking face just pops right back up.
“What, Jeremy?”
“Hey, where are you?”
“Just getting home.”
I slowly pull onto my private driveway. My entire property is surrounded by a tall fence similar to the front gate. Tall and sharp enough to keep the trespassers out and the captives in.
“What? I thought you were out with Willow?”
“I was. Now I’m not. Why are you calling this late, Remy?” He hates it when I call him Grandma’s nickname for him.
“It’s barely after midnight, Noel,” he teases back with the nickname he’s called me since we were children, just to piss me off.
“Don’t call me that,” I snap.
“Then fucking tell me what happened.”
“I kissed her, and it’s as if everything, every perfectly constructed brick I placed building a spot for her, came crumbling down. ”
I skid to a stop in front of my house and can’t say I’m shocked when I see Jeremy sitting on my front porch. He hangs up and pockets his phone before walking over to me.
“Say that again,” he says slowly as he gets to my open driver’s side door.
“Say what?” I snarl.
He grabs me by my wrist and yanks me out of the car to my feet.
“Say. That. Again.”
“Every perfectly constructed brick I placed building a spot for her, came crumbling down.”
“Is she the one?”
He knows a little bit of my obsession. He knows why I date women who all look similar but he doesn’t know the exact reason why I’m obsessed with her. He just thinks she’s a childhood crush that got away.
“Noah…Is she the girl from your childhood?”
I never told him her name. I simply told him that I’d never forget her and that one day I’d find her again.
I always knew I would.
“It’s her.”
“Fuck, dude. How? What the hell? What did she say when she saw you? What did you say?”
“I didn’t say anything…”
“What? What the fuck do you mean?”
I ignore his question and brush past him to open my front door.
He follows me inside, and I can feel him right on my heels until we get to my kitchen.
He flops into one of the kitchen island’s chairs and he crosses his arms to lean on the counter.
I can feel him staring at me, patiently waiting for me to talk.
“She doesn’t remember me,” I finally say.
“How? I thought you said you two were close when you were younger?”
“I don’t know. Every time I ask about her childhood, she finds some way to shift the conversation.”
“Why don’t you just come out and ask her? Maybe she does remember you, but she thinks you don’t remember her. Have you ever thought about that?”
I pause for a moment. The glass of water rests for a moment against my lips before I finish taking a sip. The cold feels good.
“No…”
“Jesus Christ, dude. You seriously suck at this shit.”
“Suck at what, motherfucker?” I snap, slamming my glass down.
“People.”
“I do not. I’m one of the best goddamn lawyers at our firm. I graduated top of my class. I’m…”
“A loner who’s been obsessed with a woman you only knew when you were kids. You date, but it never goes longer than a month. You don’t bring them around. You don’t get serious.”
“Because they were never her!” I snap.
My breath is coming out in rapid pants, and my heart is racing.
Yes, it’s no secret that every single one of the women I have dated over the years look similar.
I have never stopped loving her. Never stopped searching for her because no matter how many women I dated, they would never be her.
No one could ever replace that woman in my heart.
“Fuck, dude. I get it, but…”
“I’m not a loner. I have you,” I cut him off, smirking as I toss the leftover burgers into the fridge.
“Oh yeah. Cause I’m such great company. Jeremy, the fucked-up cousin that his mother never wanted, his father ignores, and the one who lives in this delusion that every woman I meet will be the one I marry.”
“At least you can admit you’re fucking delusional.”
“I’m delusional. You’re obsessive. We’re a match made in Hell, brother. Speaking of Hell…When you left earlier, your dad ambushed me!”
“What did he say?”
“That’s the other reason I wanted to see you in person. I think he’s looking into your girl more.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know, man. I was waiting for Veronica when he stomped up to me and dragged me into another room to demand who the hell she was.”
“I told him not to lay a finger on her or I’d kill him…I also may have told him if he even looks at her, I’d rip his eyes from his skull.”
“Fucking hell, Noah. Could you be any more obvious?”
“Willow is mine. I won’t let him lay a finger on her.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Your true love, I know. I’ve heard you talk about her for the last fifteen fucking years. It’s funny, though, you’ve never said her name until now. She was always just your little rabbit.”
“Because I didn’t want you to be…well…you.” I laugh when he gasps while I grab down two glasses and a bottle of bourbon.
“ME? What the fuck do you mean?”
“You’d want to join in on the search. You’d probably set up a 1-800 hotline for any woman named Willow to call and then interrogate each one like they’re on trial for murder just to find the right one.”
“Whoa! Okay, you’re not wrong. But I’d only do those things out of love.”
I can’t help but roll my eyes.
“So, what ended up happening tonight? I thought you’d be out for a lot longer than this.”
“I kissed her, and then she said we couldn’t do it again. She wants to keep things professional, and even though I offered her the job, she insists on coming in on Tuesday to do the interview.”
“She wants to prove she belongs on the team because of her skills. She’s a woman with integrity. I like it. So when do I get to finally meet your little rabbit?”
“She’ll be in the office on Tuesday. You can meet her then.”
“Can I sit in on the interview?”
He’s grinning like a fucking Cheshire cat as he lifts the bourbon to his lips.
“No.”
“Aww, why not!?”
“Because you’ll want to ask her questions not related to the job.”
Fuck, this bourbon tastes good. I got it from a client after I won my first case but I haven’t opened it until now. I wanted to wait until the next momentous occasion in my life happened. Well, I guess tonight’s as good as any.
“You’re not wrong. How about after?”
“You can meet her when I show her around, and she sees her new office.”
“Let me guess, the one across from yours?” he laughs.
“Nope. The adjoining room to mine.”
“What!? I wanted that room, but you always said it was for your private meetings with clients.”
“Yes, but now it’ll have a better purpose.”
“Wait. It looks like a conference room right now, though.”
“I know. I’m going in tomorrow to start changing it.”
“Can I help?” he asks.
“You want to help renovate the office you’ve wanted for years?”
“Sure. If I can’t have it, I can at least make it perfect for her.”
“Fine.”
We sit in a comfortable silence, sipping on the bourbon until I decide to go sit on my couch. My living room looks out onto my backyard, and just beyond that is Lake St. Claire. It’s another reason I bought this property. I’ve always loved being on the lake.
“We have to go to a plant store in the morning,” I say as he flops down next to me.
“Excuse me? A what?”
“A plant store. You know, one that sells plants.”
“Like a greenhouse? Since when do you want a plant? You don’t own plants. You’re the only living thing in this house.”
“It’s for Willow. I lost a bet and was supposed to take her shopping for a plant for her new office after she gets the job, but I want there to be more in there for her.”
“Aww, look at you, you big softy. Wait, a bet? Why were you placing bets?”
“The different arcade games. I don’t know if any of them are still happening now, which sucks, but I can at least do this for her.”
“Damn, you got it bad.”
“I’ve loved her for almost my entire life, Jeremy. I’d do anything for her, even if she doesn’t remember me.”
“Well, can you do something for me?”
I glare at him, causing him to laugh.
“It’s nothing bad. I swear.”
“Fine, what do you need me to do for you?”
“Tell me the real reason as to why you two lost contact when you were young.”
“What? I told you, she left town.”
“But she’s been missing for fifteen years, Noah. Facebook, Instagram, even fucking TikTok…You said you’ve never been able to find her. What happened back then that she literally disappeared?”
I freeze. Jeremy grew up closer to the city.
He’d never met Willow when we were kids because her father kept her locked up during the weekends.
When Jeremy did come up to visit for the summers, we always went to my father’s cabin.
I never told him her name because I didn’t want him to get involved.
He dealt with enough shit when we were kids, and burdening him with my obsession wouldn’t have been fair.
No one’s known about my obsession with Willow Parker all these years, except for Monty.
He’s the only person who knows everything.
“Remember that murder that happened in my hometown?” I ask as I pour another glass of bourbon, then one for him.
“The dude who killed his wife? I think so.”
“That was her parents.”