Chapter 14 Audrey
Fourteen: Audrey
A Drop in the Ocean - Ron Pope
Connor didn’t plan out his hospitality very well.
He realized after the game that having three bedrooms means he is one bed short for all of us to stay with him.
Noah drove home ahead of us, saying he’d get dinner started and clean up the bedroom he’d been staying in so that I could stay in it, while Connor played tour guide and drove us around town.
“I don’t want Noah to give up his bed,” I mumble.
“Okay, what if I take the couch, Auds takes my bed, Fiona and Selena take what was going to be Audrey's room and we go from there?” Connor offers as we drive back to his place.
Selena snickers. “Why doesn’t Auddie just stay with No. I assume they’d like to hug more?”
I shoot her daggers over my shoulder while Connor just chuckles from the front seat. “Go ahead. Also, Selena, on Noah’s behalf … never, ever call my sister that in front of him. That nickname belongs to the two of them.”
“Hm … territorial. That’s hot!” Selena eggs him on from the backseat.
“Shut up,” I warn her, fighting back a laugh, “or I’ll make Connor drive you to the airport right now.”
Selena leans forward with a wicked grin. “No chance I’m missing out on a single moment of this.”
Connor glances over his shoulder at Fiona. “I tell you this every time, but you married the female version of me.”
Fiona snorts. “Yeah, poor me.”
We all laugh before Connor gives me a long look.
“What?”
“You are single now, you know …” he starts, tapping his fingers on his steering wheel.
“So?”
“So, I think it’s time I tell you that Paul was the worst and I’m mad that you two were together for so long.”
“I second that. I’m mad about it too,” Selena calls out.
“In that case, I’ll be mad too,” Fiona adds.
Add my parents to the list. When Connor told them what happened, my mom called me to let out years’ worth of disgust with Paul. And my dad all but offered to hire a hitman.
I was annoyed to learn how much they didn’t like him, but I also don’t think knowing the information would have convinced me to end it with him. They were only trying to be supportive because they thought I was happy. Part of me used Paul as a crutch, knowing that Noah and I couldn’t be together.
“Okay, I get it … I fucked up by staying with him. I fucked up by not fighting harder for what I actually wanted.”
“What do you mean?” Connor asks, confused.
I sulk in the passenger seat, not wanting to answer that.
“Oh man, Connor doesn’t know?” Selena gasps. “Dude, she got into the University of Texas … she wanted to go be with Noah.” I groan as she continues to talk, “He called her drunk, telling her not to follow him, not to be in love with him.”
I don’t need to be looking at Connor to feel his gears turning. “Graduation week, the night before he left abruptly?”
“Yeah …” I whisper, trying not to go back to that night.
His hands tighten on the steering wheel. “Shit, Auds. I’m so sorry.”
“Wait—why are you sorry?”
His shoulders sag as he says, “I think it’s my fault.”
Sitting upright, I look at him. “What do you mean?”
“We were drinking—as you already know—and we started talking about Paul. I was trying way too hard to convince myself that he was good for you so I was bragging about him … I mean, trying to at least. It was so hard, Auds. I leaned into the fact he was good at math. How dumb is that?”
I bite my tongue, not about to admit that that was one of the “positive traits” I had focused on too.
I don’t miss the snort that comes from Selena behind me. She knows how ironic Connor’s confession is.
“But then Noah asked me if you were going to Kansas City University to be with me. I’d seen that you were accepted, but I also knew it wasn’t where you truly wanted to be.”
At the stop sign he looks over at me. “I told him I knew that he loved you … and that him being around you would ruin your chances of being happy with Paul. I didn’t need you to tell me you applied to Texas to know that you had. We all knew that you would have moved to China for that guy.”
He’s not wrong.
“Wait, Connor, if you knew she liked him and knew Noah liked her why didn't you ever say anything?” Selena asks.
Yeah … why didn’t he?
He looks over at me with a frown. “I didn’t want to play matchmaker and have it backfire.
Imagine setting up your two favorite people, only to have them not work out.
I wanted to make sure it was on your own terms. I didn’t want to risk either of you getting hurt … or losing one of you because of it.”
I feel a pit in my stomach, understanding that he was put in a tough spot.
“When you told me you were going to Chicago, I thought it was because you didn’t feel anything for Noah anymore.
I didn’t want to question it and upset you.
It felt like you were making a choice. And in my heart, I always thought Noah left because you told him you wanted to go to Chicago to be with Paul. ”
The driveway of his house comes into view where Noah’s car is already parked, and a nervous energy fills my stomach.
“Anyways, all that is to say: it’s your life, I want you to be happy and I will support you.
Unless you decide you want Paul back, then I’ll be very unsupportive and vocal about it.
I think we’d all be. I think I could enlist your friends to help me kidnap you until you came to your senses.
” His tone is teasing, but I know there is truth to it.
“Trust me, if I gave Paul a second chance, I’d hope you would all shake some sense into me.”
“Or Papa Mendez could get his shotgun, I’m still rooting for that,” Selena chimes in.
Connor starts to suggest hiring a hitman, but I cut him off. “Enough of this, let’s go inside so Noah doesn’t think we’ve all skipped town.”
Or I lose my courage to see him again.
We all hop out of the car, grabbing our suitcases before heading up the front steps. When Connor opens the front door music fills the space, along with the smell of spices and herbs.
Noah is standing in the kitchen with a dish towel hanging over his shoulder, stirring something on the stovetop.
Why does this turn me on so much?
Connor doesn’t seem phased, heading towards the kitchen. “Whatcha makin’ us, hunny buns?”
“Noah’s Pasta à la King, sweet cheeks,” Noah throws over his shoulder with a wink, blowing Connor a kiss.
Connor lets out a long laugh before moving towards his wine rack. “Excellent, red wine works for everyone?” Selena and Fiona are hot on his tail while I move slowly towards Noah, committing the view to memory.
“Do you need help?” I ask, hoping my voice doesn’t shake.
He gives me a smile that has my stomach doing somersaults. “Nonsense, Auddie. I’m a master chef.”
“The fire department might disagree on that one,” I joke, hopping up on the counter beside where he’s prepping the food. “How about your baking skills, have they improved too?”
Noah smirks, glancing towards me with bright eyes. “I haven’t tried baking since your seventeenth birthday, not sure if I want to find out.”
The others join us in the kitchen, handing me and Noah a glass of wine each.
“Okay, so we figured out sleeping arrangements, because my stubborn sister doesn’t want you to give up your bed,” Connor informs Noah. “Auds will sleep in my bed and I’ll sleep on the couch.”
Noah shakes his head. “No offense man, but she shouldn’t sleep in your nasty sheets. I’ve seen you do laundry twice since I’ve lived here, and neither time included sheets. Like I said before, she can have my bed, and I’ll take the couch. It’s fine.”
Selena and Fiona snort, jabbing at Connor, as usual.
“You sure?” I ask Noah, before taking a long sip of wine.
“Of course.” His Adam's apple shifts. “Also, it’s kind of weird seeing you drink without fear of your parents finding out.”
I giggle, remembering the first time Noah handed me a drink at a party. He watched me like a hawk all night, making sure I was okay. “Yeah, and it’s weird seeing you know how to cook. It’s like you’re an adult now or something.”
He leans towards me, reaching up into the cupboard beside me for a jar of spices, close enough that I can smell his body wash. “That’s because I am an adult, Auddie. I know what I’m doing now. In the kitchen and out of it.”
His tone is casual but it still makes my heart skip a beat.
“You played really well today,” I blurt out.
He gives me a wide grin, his eyes twinkling as he maintains eye contact with me. “Thank you. And you look good in my number.” His voice goes down a hitch. I’m caught like a deer in headlights, speechless that he’s bold enough to say something.
He places the jar on the counter as we stay locked in a staring contest.
“How long until dinner? I’m starving,” Connor asks, popping the magic bubble around us.
“Five minutes or so.” Noah tears his eyes away from me only momentarily, to face Connor, before he focuses back on me.
“‘Kay, cool. I’ll start setting the table now. Did you ladies want to bring your bags to your rooms?”
Realizing I’ll be sleeping in the bed Noah usually sleeps in causes my brain to spin all over again. Sixteen-year-old Audrey is probably screaming right now.
Noah gives me a coy smile. “Don’t worry, my room is clean.”
Yeah, but my brain isn’t.
I hop off the counter and follow Selena and Fiona down the hallway with my bag.
Sure enough, Noah’s room is tidy, he was always clean and organized.
I get nosy and open the bedside drawer, half expecting it to be empty, but inside is his worn copy of Sherlock Holmes: A Study in Scarlet—his favorite.
Beside the book is a crumpled up piece of paper.
Even though I’m tempted to see what it is, I close the drawer with a sigh, then head back into the kitchen.
The table is set and everyone is starting to fill their plates. “This looks so good, Noah,” Selena says, licking sauce off the side of her hand.
“Thanks.”
We all dig in, and I let Connor, Selena and Fiona lead the conversation. I spend far too much of the meal looking at Noah and he’s staring right back at me. Despite my best efforts, I fade in and out of what people are saying.
“So what’s C-dog’s big celebration look like tonight?” Selena asks.
“C-dog? Good god Sel, don’t make me call you S-dog.” Connor smirks.
“Go ahead, add it to our long list of nicknames.”
“And all I get is the occasional ‘babe’!” Fiona snickers, eyeing Selena.
We all laugh before Connor says, “The team's going out to Patron’s Palace tonight, but I wasn’t sure if you gals were up to it since you leave tomorrow morning.” He points between Selena and Fiona with his fork.
“I'd love to go out, how many times can I say I’ve gone to a bar in Kansas City? We packed pretty outfits and everything! Cooommme ooonnn Con-Con.”
“These nicknames are getting out of hand Selena,” I interject, drawing my eyes away from Noah long enough to roll my eyes at her. “But if you feel like going out, I’m good to join out as well!”
“Sold,” Fiona chimes in.
Connor turns to Noah. “You in?”
Noah nods, flicking his eyes towards me briefly. “I’m in.”