38. Noah
NOAH
Ijust wanted to watch her for a little while.
I didn’t mean to fall asleep. I was enjoying the sight of her in my bed after all these years of dreaming of this moment, and apparently, my body decided it was then that it would stop having insomnia issues.
I fell asleep lying next to her and somehow ended up under the covers at some point during the night.
I even had a peaceful dream. One that didn’t end with hearing her screams. There was no little white rabbit lying in a pool of blood on the linoleum floor. No running down an endless dark hallway toward the sounds of her crying.
No, last night was just a peaceful dream.
I was nine years old again, back in her living room, celebrating her eighth birthday.
It was the day I gave her that little white stuffed rabbit with the bright blue ribbon tied around its neck and forest-green marble eyes, colored just like hers. That was the same year that I lost her.
Except this time, when she hugged me in the dream, thanking me for her little rabbit, it felt real. I could feel her warmth. I could smell her sweet perfume. Even in the dream, I could feel my throat tighten as tears threatened to fall. She hugged me tight, and I wished I’d never let her go.
I should have fought harder to get someone to see what her father was doing to her. I should have told the police, but if the teachers didn’t care, the school nurse, or even the school therapist, I didn’t think the police would do anything. I should have killed the fucker myself.
When I heard the soft sigh of her relaxing against my body, I woke up instantly. It wasn’t a dream. She was really here.
In my bed.
In my arms.
My little rabbit was here.
“How’re you feeling?” I whisper against her neck, not wanting to disturb the silence too much.
She remains still, and I start to wonder if she’s fallen back asleep, but then she finally speaks.
“I feel okay, except my head hurts. What happened last night?”
“You don’t remember?” I ask.
“I remember the bar, the amaretto sour, then the shot of liquid marijuana…”
“Shots. There were shots, Willow,” I laugh.
“How many?”
“I think you drank four.”
“Oh God,” she groans as she covers her face with her hands. “I didn’t get sick, did I?” she mumbles.
“Nope. We took an Uber back here, and I carried you up to my bed.”
“We…We didn’t…did we?” she sounds nervous, and her body tenses up.
“No, Willow. We didn’t do anything. I brought you up here, took your shoes off, then tucked you in.”
I can feel her body relax again.
“Where’s my phone?”
“I used your thumb to unlock it to text Jenna, letting her know you were staying here, but she didn’t believe it was you texting, so she FaceTimed me. I was yelled at.”
I can’t help but laugh when I remember the call.
Shit, I need to go bring in the groceries and get started on breakfast. Thankfully it’s freezing outside so the groceries are fine sitting out there a little longer.
They were delivered over an hour ago. I woke up from the notification that someone was at the front gate and let them in.
After I saw the delivery driver leave, I wrapped my arm back around her and fell back asleep.
“Sorry. As I said, she’s a bit protective.”
“No, it’s a good thing. I’m glad you’ve had someone in your life who cares about you so much, Willow.”
I place another kiss against the side of her neck before I roll over and stand up. I’m still in my boxers and T-shirt from last night. When she rolls over and looks up at me with that sleepy smile, I can’t hide the smile on my face.
I’ve never felt happier in my life than I am right now. Seeing her in my bed. Makeup smeared from the night before, hair messy, and that sleepy smile on her lips.
“You’re so fucking beautiful,” I say out loud without meaning to, and her face instantly blushes.
“I probably look horrible right now. Alcohol and I don’t always get along, and those shots are my favorite.”
“Oh, I could tell from how you drank mine,” I chuckle, and her eyes widen in shock.
“I drank yours?”
“We originally ordered three each. I only drank two of mine because they were super sweet. You said you didn’t want to waste them, but didn’t want me to get sick, so you downed the last two, one after another.”
“Oh, God. No wonder I don’t remember shit.”
She covers her face and flops back against the pillow.
Her breasts bounce, reminding me that she’s not wearing a bra under that tight black dress.
My eyes run down her body, which is now only partially covered by the blanket.
I could spend hours watching her, memorizing every curve, dip, and line on her body.
I want to do that. I want her image immortalized in my memory.
“Noah,” she says softly, snapping me out of the trance.
“Yeah?”
“You good? You kind of zoned out there.”
She has that adorable smirk on her lips again, and it’s taking everything in me not to jump back in bed and kiss her right now.
“I’ll be right back.”
I head into my bathroom to start the shower and pull two towels and a washcloth from the cabinet. I turn on the steam function and close the glass door letting the walk-in shower fill with steam. That’ll help her feel a bit better. I can get started on breakfast while she showers.
When I walk back into my bedroom, she’s sitting, facing the balcony doors, messing with her phone. I crawl behind her on the bed and kiss her cheek before resting my head on her shoulder.
“I should probably order an Uber,” she says, and my heart sinks.
“Why don’t you hop in the shower first? I turned on the steamer for you, and it always seems to help me after a late night.”
“Are you sure?”
Of course I’m sure. I never want this woman to leave my bed.
“Yeah. Go shower, and I’ll fix us some breakfast. If you want, I’ll put some clothes on the bed you can throw on, and I’ll wash your outfit from last night. Just put your clothes in a pile outside the door, and I’ll come back up in a few minutes to get them.”
“You really don’t have to do all of that for me, Noah.”
She sounds almost defeated when she says that. I adjust to where I’m sitting behind her now with a leg on each side and my arms wrapped around her waist. Her head tilts back, resting against my shoulder, letting me tuck my face against her as I kiss her neck again.
“I want to take care of you, Willow.”
“Why?” she whispers.
“Because you’re my…”
Her phone suddenly blares the FaceTime call notification, and when she lifts it, Jenna’s face is on the screen.
“Sorry,” she says quietly.
She answers the FaceTime and doesn’t seem bothered that I can clearly be seen wrapped around her in the video.
“Morning, Jenna.”
“Oh, good. You’re still alive. Hi Noah.”
She flirtatiously waves at me over Willow’s shoulder, and in the corner of the screen, I can see Willow roll her eyes at her friend.
“Hi Jenna. Did you have a good night?” I ask.
I never heard my phone go off that someone unlocked the gate last night, so I know Jeremy didn’t come back here yet. Jenna’s eyes go wide, confirming my suspicion.
“Oh. It was fun. Jeremy is nice. We just hung out and watched a movie.”
“What time did he leave? Wait…Are you still at home?” Willow asks, and Jenna just blushes.
“He umm…”
“Sup.”
Jeremy’s face suddenly pops in from the side. She places her hand on his forehead and shoves him out of the frame, looking embarrassed as fuck.
“Ah. So he didn’t leave. That would explain why my truck isn’t back yet,” I tease.
“We ended up falling asleep, and I slept through my alarm. So I just called off sick. You know Margie doesn’t care.”
“For the record, I didn’t tell her to call off,” Jeremy says as a small part of his head appears from the side.
Willow laughs and leans against me more, warming my chest with pride. She isn’t afraid to show her friend how comfortable she is here with me.
“You’re such a fucking lawyer, Remy. Anyways, what time are you coming home?” Jenna asks Willow, and I swear I can hear Jeremy growl in the background.
Willow turns to look at me for an answer to that question, but when I don’t answer, she just smiles and rests against me again.
“Not sure. I’ll text you.”
“Fine. Have fun. Oh, and Noah…”
“Yes, Jenna.”
“Remember what I said last night.”
All you see is her devilish smirk before the call ends, and Willow whips her head in my direction with her eyes narrowed.
“What did she say last night?”
Oh shit. Which time was she talking about? Was it her neck, the fact that she would kill me if I hurt Willow, or was it how Willow likes her hangover breakfast?
“She just said she’d kill me if I hurt you.”
“Jesus Christ. She threatened a lawyer?”
She slaps her palm against her face before rubbing her forehead.
“Why don’t you go get in the shower?”
“Shit, the shower. The water’s probably cold by now.”
She jumps up and quickly runs into the bathroom. I can hear the door open before I hear her gasp in shock.
“It’s still super hot. How?”
I walk over and lean against the doorframe, watching her in awe as she looks at the shower’s control panel.
“I had a very large hot water tank put in shortly after I moved in. I love long showers.”
“Me too. A hot shower does sound really nice.”
I wrap an arm around her and kiss the top of her head. I love how easily we fit together. It’s seamless, like she was always meant to be here.
“Good. You take as long a shower as you’d like. And like I said, just drop your clothes outside the door, and I’ll get them washed. I’ll put some clothes on the bed for you. Fresh towels are right there, and also a washcloth.”
I start to walk away, but I feel her delicate fingers wrap around my wrist.
“Noah?”
I turn back to her and pull her closer. She wraps her arms around my middle and rests her head against my chest. I wrap mine around her, holding her tight against me.
Can she hear how fast my heart is racing?
Can she feel the sparks that seem to flow between us?
Does she feel the connection as strongly as I do?
“What is it?” I ask as I rest my head against the top of hers.
“Nothing. Just…thanks for the shower and for taking care of me last night.”
“Of course. Now get in there. I have a large tank, but it will eventually run out.”
I cup her face and tilt it so I can look into those eyes. I swear every other color in the world is dull and lifeless compared to those lush, forest green eyes of hers.
When she bites her lip, I can’t help myself.
I lean down and kiss her deeply. My tongue licks against her lips, begging for her to open up to me.
She does. She kisses me back just as hungrily.
Her fingers grip onto my shirt, dragging me further into her depths.
I want to drown in her. Live in this moment forever.
Fuck the world. Fuck work. Fuck every other thing…
I only need her.