36. Noah
NOAH
The ride back to my house is anything but silent.
The Uber took a bit longer to arrive because it was a busy Saturday night, and one drink turned into four shots.
We drank her favorite one called liquid marijuana.
Insanely fruity, but damn, is it smooth.
I don’t know what’s in it, and honestly, I don’t want to know.
All I know is it helped her loosen up. She’s giggling as she’s trying to tell me the story about Jenna and Monopoly.
All I’ve been able to make out from her adorable laughter is something about Park Place rent when it has a hotel, and a bottle of Jack.
Not sure what that means because I’ve only played Monopoly once, and it was the Star Wars version.
“The charges were thankfully dropped. Oh, God. Don’t tell her I told you that story. She’d kill me. But it’s so fucking funny,” she says as she leans against me and sighs, closing her eyes.
My arm wraps protectively around her shoulders as I inhale her familiar scent.
It calms me. It always has. Is it obsessive that I bought the same fucking spray just to make my pillow smell like her?
Maybe. But who fucking cares? The thought of her was the only thing that kept me going all these years.
The hope that one day I’d have her back in my arms just like this.
The Uber slows as it pulls up to my driveway and gate.
I press the button on my phone to open the gate.
The driver eyes me cautiously through the rearview mirror and keeps sneaking glances at my little rabbit.
If he values his life, he’ll stop looking at her like that, or I’ll gouge his fucking eyes out.
When he meets my gaze again in the mirror, his eyes widen at my glare, and his focus returns to the driveway ahead. Good man. I don’t want to get my hands bloody tonight. Not when I have her with me.
“Have a good evening, folks,” the driver says as I step out of the car and pull Willow to her feet.
I nod to the driver, signaling him away. I hold her close until the taillights turn, and I watch my gate fully close. She gazes up at me with that silly smile she used to wear whenever she did something wrong and tried to hide it.
“Willow…” I say softly.
“Noah…” she mimics my tone as her hand slides inside my jacket.
Even through the fabric of my shirt, I can feel her nails dragging along my skin, and it’s fucking euphoric.
“Come on, Little Rabbit. Let’s get you some water.”
She attempts to take a step and stumbles on the cobblestone walkway leading up to my house. I catch her and quickly scoop her into my arms, bridal-style, and she wraps hers around my neck.
“You don’t have to carry me,” she laughs as she nuzzles her face against my neck.
I can hear her inhaling deeply before letting out a relaxed sigh.
“But what would happen if you fall?” I tease.
“You won’t let that happen,” her voice is quieter as I adjust her in my arms to be able to grab the door handle.
“No? And why’s that?”
“Because I’m your little rabbit. You’d never let me fall.”
Fuck. My. Life.
I hold her tighter against my chest as I gently kick the door shut. The sound of those words on her lips has my chest aching. Fifteen fucking years I’ve waited for her to say those words again.
I’m your little rabbit.
“Willow…I need to tell you something,” I start to say, but then I hear it, the soft sound of her snoring against my chest.
I carry her up the stairs toward my room. The sounds of her breathing go steady, and I know she’s completely out. Who knew she was such a lightweight? I climb the last flight of stairs to the third floor and open the door to my room.
I slowly pull back the covers and lay her down gently on my bed.
I carefully pull her arms from around my neck then rest them on her chest. Then I unzip the black boots and pull them off, setting them on the floor next to the nightstand.
Her clutch is still wrapped around her wrist, and her jacket is on, but I’m not sure how easily I can remove that without her waking up.
“Willow?” I whisper.
Nothing. Not even eye movement.
“Willow?” I try again, but still not a single twitch. She’s out.
I slowly pull the arm of her jacket off before placing my arm beneath her back and lifting her to pull it the rest of the way off. As I lay her back down, I can see the smile forming on her lips, but her eyes are still closed.
“Are you dreaming of me, Little Rabbit?” I whisper as I brush her hair out of her face, then lean and kiss her on the forehead.
I open her clutch and pull out her phone. I have to use her thumb to open it, then quickly shoot off a text to Jenna.
Willow
Hey. I’m staying here tonight. See you in the morning.
Jenna
Noah, if this is you texting me off her phone and you’ve kidnapped my bestie, I will hurt you!!!
Jesus, this woman is protective. I start typing back, but the phone screen lights up and vibrates with an incoming FaceTime call.
Shit!
I quickly rush out of the room to the staircase and answer the FaceTime call. I’m immediately met with Jenna’s glare as she stares at me.
“I fucking knew it. Dude, if you’re going to try to impersonate my bestie, you need to know how she texts.”
“Can you keep your voice down? She’s asleep.”
“Asleep? You fucked her senseless already? Geez, you must be good.”
“Who’s that?” I hear Jeremy’s voice in the background before his face appears over her shoulder, and he’s staring at me wide-eyed. “Uh…Sup, Cuz?”
“So where is she?” Jenna demands.
“Asleep. I wasn’t lying. Our Uber took too long to get to the restaurant, and she may have had an Amaretto sour and four shots of Liquid Marijuana.”
“Yup. That’ll do it. That girl is a fucking lightweight. Do you need me to come get her?” Jenna asks as she swats Jeremy’s face away.
He started kissing her shoulder, and apparently, that wasn’t allowed. He looks absolutely love-struck by this woman, but who am I to judge?
“No. It’s okay. I was just going to grab her a bottle of water and a protein bar to have next to the bed in case she wakes up. I’ll be sleeping on the couch. Don’t worry, your bestie is safe with me.”
“Fine. Text me from your phone so I have your number in case I need to check in…Please.”
I hate giving out my number, and I hate even more being ordered around by someone who’s more than half a foot shorter than me, but I can’t even be mad. She’s just protecting her best friend.
I pull out my phone and type in her number before sending her the middle finger emoji. I hear the ding of a message on her phone before I see her smile at the emoji.
“Love you too. Now go get her the stuff. In the morning, make scrambled eggs, white toast smothered in butter and jelly, and sausage or bacon. Either will do.”
“Cheese in the eggs?”
“Um, of course! Are you a heathen who doesn’t put cheese in their eggs?”
“Jeremy doesn’t. He’s slightly lactose intolerant.”
“Thanks for that, Cuz,” Jeremy says as he glares at me through the phone.
“Okay. Just please take care of her. That breakfast will help her hangover. Trust me, it’s our go-to meal after drinking. Oh, and I hope to God you have good coffee. Otherwise, you can kiss her ass goodbye. Just kidding, but seriously, take care of her.”
“I will. You two have fun.” I wink at her, and I swear I see her blush before swatting at something he’s doing to her off-camera.
“Night, Cuz. See you tomorrow. I’ll text before coming over in case you’re having second breakfast.”
“Second break…Oh. Fuck off, Remy.”
“Remy? That’s such a cute name.”
“Again, thanks a lot, Noel,” I hear him grumble before the FaceTime suddenly ends.
I guess bringing Jeremy tonight was the best idea ever. Even if she hadn’t texted me asking to come out and bring a friend for Jenna, I was still going to that bar either way.
I walk quietly back in, lock her phone, then place it on my nightstand charger. I need to go grab a few things for her before I go to sleep. I pull the blanket up to her neck and kiss her on the forehead before heading back downstairs.
I double-check what I have to make her for breakfast in the morning and order the rest to be delivered when we wake up. I have about four different coffee blends and some syrups, so I think I’m covered there. I grab a water bottle and a protein bar before heading back upstairs to the room.
When I step back up to her side of the bed, she shifts. I quickly set down the water bottle and bar before taking a step back. Her eyes don’t open. She just rolls onto her side before mumbling something and rolling the other way, now facing my side of the bed.
Is it totally creepy of me to want to just lie here and watch her sleep?
Fuck it.
I kick off my shoes and socks, then let my clothes drop, leaving me in nothing but a pair of boxers. I grab a T-shirt and pull it over my head, just in case she does wake up and sees me. I don’t want her to freak out.
I lay down on top of the blankets so I don’t get too comfortable and risk falling asleep next to her. I have a feeling she’d wake up swinging if she were startled awake.
I rest my head on the pillow, so close that I can feel her soft, warm breath caressing my face. It smells fruity like that drink she had. God, I hope she’s not too hungover in the morning.
A few strands of her hair have fallen in front of her face, so I very slowly reach to brush them aside. I let my knuckles caress down the side of her cheek as I stare at her. She’s so fucking beautiful. She’s honestly the most stunning woman I’ve ever laid eyes on.
Her hair is sprawled around her on my pillow. The strawberry blond glowing in the moonlight from the skylights above us. Between that and her pale skin contrasting against my black silk sheets, she looks almost ethereal.
I want to lean in and kiss her again, just feel those soft, plump lips on mine, but I can’t.
As I pull my hand away from her, she lets out a contented sigh and snuggles deeper against my pillow.
If the house wasn’t dead silent, I wouldn’t have been able to hear the next word that falls quietly from her as a small, sleepy smile forms on those lips.
“Noah.”