34. Willow
WILLOW
After we ordered food, I grabbed a couple of games down from the ledge. Jenna and I collect board games so she was excited to play as long as it wasn’t Monopoly.
“So…Why don’t you like Monopoly?” Jeremy asks Jenna, and she actually grimaces.
“I’m not allowed to legally talk about it. You should understand since you’re a lawyer,” she laughs, and Jeremy just looks at me wide-eyed.
“Did you assault someone over Monopoly?” he asks, stunned.
“I plead the fifth.”
Her tone is flat, but her smirk says it all. I, for one, have heard that story, and there is a reason we don’t have any Monopoly games in the house.
“Well, that’s no fun. I can take over being your lawyer, and then we can have our own attorney- client privilege,” he flirts as he wraps an arm on the back of the booth around her, mimicking how Noah’s is around me.
Noah’s been slowly inching closer, or maybe it’s me.
All I know is our bodies are slightly touching.
His arm is around my shoulders. Our legs are pressed against each other, and his fingers are tracing patterns along the exposed skin on my shoulders.
I should stop this. I should pull away. I’m the one who said we couldn’t date or anything more… So why can’t I stop this?
“What games did you grab?” he asks as he starts to look through the pile.
“Clue, Guess Who, Scattergories, and Scrabble.”
“Ooh. I love Guess Who. We could play couple vs. couple,” Jeremy says, grabbing the Guess Who box.
“A little presumptuous, aren’t you, Jeremy?” Jenna teases as she moves our drinks out of the center to make room for the two game boards.
“You all know how to play, right?” Jeremy asks, and Noah just laughs.
“I’m pretty sure the name says it all, Remy.”
I watch Jeremy’s eyes narrow at Noah, then soften when they look over at me.
“Okay then. You two want to go first?”
“Sure, first to five wins or are we just playing till the food gets here?” Noah asks.
“Till the food gets here,” Jenna says as she shuffles the cards and passes one to us, then another for her and Jeremy.
Noah’s hand moves from around my shoulder to grab his phone out of his pocket to check it, then slides it back.
I expect him to wrap his arm back around my shoulder, but he doesn’t.
He crosses his arms on the table in front of him and looks over the game board at all the people in front of him.
Apparently, my body is disappointed because it’s already missing his touch.
“Okay. Is your person a dude?” Noah asks.
“Yup,” Jeremy answers, and then Noah flips down all the women.
“Is your person a chick?” Jeremy asks.
“Nope.”
“Ah, so we’re both dudes?” Jeremy says to Noah, and Noah just laughs.
“What do you want to ask next, Willow?”
I jump slightly as I feel Noah’s hand on my thigh. When the hell did he move? When I glance over, I see the arm next to me is still crossed on the table, the other arm is on his lap, and his fingers are tracing up and down my thigh, slowly lifting the skirt each time.
“Uh…Um…”
I don’t know why I can’t seem to form words with his fingers teasing me.
“No words, Little Rabbit?” he smirks while keeping his eyes on the game board.
He’s using a single finger to trace a shape just beneath the hem of my skirt.
“Are they wearing glasses?” I’m able to finally blurt out.
“No,” Jenna answers while looking at me like I’m nuts.
“Damn it,” I huff as he shifts next to me and places his arm back on the table, then flips down all the guys with glasses.
“Does your guy have facial hair?” Jenna asks.
“Yep,” Noah answers. “Does your guy have red hair?”
“Yes,” Jeremy groans and glances down at their board before looking at Jenna.
“Hey, I suck at guessing games. This is all you, babe,” Jenna teases.
“Babe? I like the sound of that,” Jeremy says, nudging Jenna playfully, causing her to blush.
“Just play the damn game,” she says as she rolls her eyes.
“Fine. Does your guy have long hair?” Jeremy asks, glaring at Noah.
“No.”
“Fuck!”
Noah laughs, then wraps his arm back around my shoulder, pulling me against him. He turns, leaning his head to whisper in my ear, and I swear I have lightning running under my skin from the feeling of his breath on my neck.
“We only have two characters that it could be, Alfred or Bill. Do you want to guess now or ask one more question?” he whispers.
“What do you want to do?” I whisper back.
He places his hand on the back of my head to angle my face and expose my neck to him more. His lips gently brush along my neck, just below my ear, causing a small gasp to leave my lips.
“Whatever you want to do, I’ll support it. You choose, Little Rabbit. What do you want?”
Fuck. Why do I feel like he’s asking for so much more than what we should do on our next turn?
I can tell I’m blushing because my cheeks feel like they’re on fire.
Jenna’s eyes are wide, and she’s wearing that Cheshire grin she does when she wants to rub it in my face that she was right about something.
Fuck her. And fuck him…No. Damn it, Willow. Stop.
“Is your guy bald?” I say quickly.
“Damn it. Yes.” Jeremy crosses his arms, huffing. Apparently he’s a sore loser.
“All right, Jenna. Either take a guess or you lose,” Noah teases.
“How the hell do you have it narrowed down that fucking fast? That’s shit,” she snaps.
Oh God. It’s Monopoly all over again.
Noah playfully holds his hands up in surrender as she glares at him.
“He’s a lawyer, sweetheart. One of the best at our firm. He knows what questions to ask,” Jeremy tries to defend Noah, but I can see that the second that nickname leaves his lips her anger turns on him.
“What the hell did you just call me?” she snaps.
“Sweetheart. I thought you liked being called sweet. He said…Damn you, Noah,” Jeremy growls.
Noah starts laughing, and I realize exactly what he must’ve done. I told Noah last night that Jenna would rip his tongue out if she heard him call her sweet. So he must have told Jeremy she loved being called sweet.
“I’m sorry. I swear, I didn’t…Damn it. Why the hell do you have to do that shit, Noah?”
“I was just messing around, Jeremy. I didn’t know she hated the word that much,” Noah counters.
“Why would you know I hate being called sweet?” Jenna snaps, and even I start laughing. “You bitch,” she laughs at me. “Did you tell him that I hate it?”
“I did. He said you seemed sweet when we left last night, and I told him you’d rip his tongue out if you heard him call you sweet.”
“Jesus. Really?” Jeremy stares at her, concerned. “Why?”
“Ex-boyfriend. Noah, this isn’t over.” She points her finger at Noah, then swings it at me. “And you, Missy. I’m kicking your ass later.”
“Ooh, can I watch?” Jeremy teases, but the glare Jenna gives him shuts him right up.
“So, what’s your plan, Jenna? Guessing or admitting defeat?” Noah challenges her.
She leans on the table and glares at their board. They still have six faces up, whereas we only have one. But if she manages to guess it correctly on this turn, they win.
“Is it Richard?” Jenna asks after glancing from me, then down to the board as if she’s trying to infiltrate my mind and see which character that’s ours.
Noah gasps, and I glance over to see him staring wide-eyed at Jenna. She smiles because she thinks she got it right on the first guess. But no, it’s not that one.
“Nope,” I say, putting her out of her misery.
“What? Then why the hell did he act like that?” she snaps, pointing at Noah.
“I was excited that we won, because your dude is Bill.”
“I hate this game,” Jenna groans as she leans back in her seat and crosses her arms. “Add it to the list of games that aren’t allowed to cross our threshold, Willow.”
“You got it, boss.”
Thank God our food gets here just as we pack up the game. The first few minutes of the meal are eaten in silence. Only the occasional hum of the deliciousness can be heard in the noisy bar. Damn, these burgers are so good.
“So, Jeremy. Why did you want to be a lawyer?” Jenna asks, finally breaking the awkward silence between them.
“Oh. Uh, my dad, grandpa, and uncle were all lawyers. So I figured I had to be one too. It’s what my father expected, and he always made sure to remind me.”
“What did your mother think about that?” she asks, and I watch as Noah and Jeremy both go tense.
Jeremy slowly glances up at Noah before looking back down at his burger.
“She never cared.”