Chapter 6
CHAPTER 6
SAVANNAH HOLLINGSWORTH
A fter Noah and I eat lunch, we head back to my house. I grab the crowbar from the hardware sacks, and we walk into my future studio. There’s drywall mess everywhere. I stare at the massive holes I made in the wall, and I can’t believe I was the one that caused such destruction. There’s barely any drywall left hanging. It embarrasses me all over again. I pray Noah won’t ask me about it.
“Now we just need to pry the leftover drywall pieces off from the studs.” He motions toward the crowbar in my hand. “You can do it.”
I take the crowbar and place it between a chunk of drywall and the stud. I push on the bar, but the crowbar slips, and the drywall doesn’t come off. Noah comes up behind me. “Like this.”
His hands wrap around mine, and I’m very aware of how close he is to me. Heat from his chest warms my back, and the scent of him envelops me. He smells like fabric softener and masculinity. If I were to turn my head, I could kiss his cheek.
…And now all I can think about is kissing him.
Good heavens. I need to concentrate on what he’s showing me.
“Put it in like this.” He guides my hands and shows me how to wedge it in much deeper. “Now, try prying it.”
I push on the bar and the drywall pops off and falls to the floor. “That worked.”
He grins, and I’m well aware that he hasn’t stepped back from me, nor has he let go. The warmth of his touch sends shivers through me. “Great job,” he says, his breath tickling my cheek.
“I think I’ve got it.” I instantly regret my words when Noah disengages and steps back.
“Okay, you work on this. I’ll go get the Shop-Vac and wheelbarrow from my brother.”
“All right.” Disappointment shoots through me. I thought we would go together to get those things from Tobias. But I don’t say anything. I don’t want to be a pest.
“See you in a few.” Noah leaves, and I’m left to work on my wall alone.
I go through each stud, prying the pieces of drywall down. I’m careful not to allow any thoughts of cancer back in my mind. I don’t want to go crazy like I did last time. I even scared myself.
As I work, I imagine what my studio will look like with the new area opened up. The space will be perfect for setting up all the lighting and the backdrops I’ve purchased. I imagine each piece that I pull down is one more obstacle out of my way.
I put more muscle into it, pulling out nails and clearing the path for my dreams to come true. In high school I explored all kinds of artistic classes. I took pottery, painting, drawing, sewing, and graphic design classes. But I always came back to my first love. Photography. My parents couldn’t afford to send me to college, so I worked at the diner and saved up my money. I signed up for an online university that had a good photography course.
And now, as I peel drywall off the studs, I’m making my dreams come true. I’ll be able to open my own studio and get paid to do what I love. I tear up thinking about it.
My front door opens, and Noah calls to me. “I’m back.”
I wipe sweat off my forehead and go to meet him. “That didn’t take long.”
Noah shakes his head. “Nope.” He wheels in a wheelbarrow with a Shop-Vac sitting in it, still in the box.
“Is that your brother’s?”
He nods. “Yep.”
“Looks brand new. Does he really not care if you use it? It won’t look nice and new when we’re done.”
He pushes the wheelbarrow toward the studio. “Shop-Vacs are meant to get dirty.”
I shrug and help him hook up the hoses and the cords. Together, we finish prying all the drywall from the studs. We pile the pieces in the wheelbarrow and take turns wheeling them to the dumpster.
Noah teaches me how to use the saw to cut through the studs. It’s more fun to use the saw than I thought, and I end up doing most of the cutting while Noah vacuums up all the dust and drywall bits.
By the time we’re done, the sun is low in the sky and I’m starving again. “I have some leftover stir fry noodles and chicken that I made yesterday if you want to eat dinner with me.” I glance over at Noah, and he’s leaning against the wall, his eyes closed, his goggles pushed up, so his hair stands up at funny angles. “Noah?”
He jerks his eyes open. “Sorry, what?”
“Are you falling asleep?”
Pink colors his cheeks. “Kind of.”
“Oh, heavens. You work nights, don’t you? I totally forgot. And I kept you up all day. You probably sleep during the day.” How could I have been so selfish? Didn’t I notice how tired he was?
“It’s fine. I usually try to sleep at night on my days off, so I can get things done during the day, when stores are open. But I couldn’t sleep last night.”
I usher him over to the sofa in the living room. “Sit. I’ll make you something to eat, then you can go home and get to bed. I’m so sorry I kept you up all this time.”
His eyes widen. “But I’m filthy.”
I want to insist, but he’s right. My sofa will get dirty. “I’ll grab a sheet.” I run to the other room and grab an old sheet to put down. Once the couch is protected, I gently shove him down.
He gives me a lazy smile as he plops down on the couch. “Thanks.”
I rush into the kitchen and heat my leftover chicken and noodles. I grab a couple of fortune cookies from my stash. I bought a bag of snarky ones from the internet, and I can’t wait to see what Noah says about them.
I bring the plates into the living room and set them on the coffee table. Noah’s head is back, his eyes closed. I stand there and stare at him for a moment, trying to decide if I should wake him or not. He looks so peaceful. And handsome. Dang, why does he look so good all covered in drywall dust?
I think back to when we first met in high school. He was my lab partner in science class, and I was actually nervous to be paired with him. He had a bad reputation, and there were rumors around school that he did time in juvie. He was muscular and handsome, but everyone said he was a wild child with no parents, and to stay away from him.
That first day I sat next to him and didn’t say a word. He didn’t speak to me, either. But that didn’t last long. We had to interact as the class progressed, and I soon got to see how sensitive Noah was. That’s what he looks like, right now, sleeping on my couch. He’s open. Vulnerable.
I sit next to him and put a hand on his leg. “Noah,” I say softly. “Are you hungry?”
He stirs, but his eyes don’t open. “Mm.”
“Do you want to eat?”
He nods but still doesn’t open his eyes. I can’t hold my smile in as I look at his long eyelashes and relaxed lips. He’s so darn cute. I gently nudge his leg. “Noah.”
“Yes?” he says, his voice thick with sleep.
“Are you going to eat? Or are you too tired?”
“Too tired,” he mumbles. He leans toward me. I think he might be changing position, but he keeps coming at me and at the last second, I realize he’s going to fall on me. I squeak and try to get out of the way, but it’s like trying to get away from under a falling tree. He’s massive, and I end up scrambling, my arms and legs flailing, in an attempt to get away from him. It doesn’t work. He falls over on me, and my leg lands on our bowls of food, sending the contents flying over the both of us. I flinch as warm noodles hit my head.
Noah startles awake and his eyes fly open. He’s inches from my face, which is probably why he lets out a yell and jerks back away from me. This movement, combined with my attempt to get away from him, makes my butt slide off the couch and I land on my hardwood floor, noodles and chicken sliding down my hair.
“What’s going on?” He jumps up and looks wildly around, a noodle swinging from his forehead.
He looks so ridiculous with chicken and noodles on his head that I burst out laughing.
His gaze snaps to me, and his eyes widen as he finally seems to register what’s going on. “Oh, no. Did I do that?”
I can’t contain my smile as a blob of sauce slides down his cheek. “It was a combined effort,” I say trying to control myself.
He reaches out a hand and pulls me to my feet, his arm sliding around my back to steady me. A smile finally graces his lips. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” I look up at the noodle still stuck to his forehead, and I totally lose it. He joins in, and we dissolve into giggles.
His arm tightens around me, and I instinctively reach up and grab hold of his shoulders, so I don’t fall on my butt again. Our laughter dies down, and I stare up at Noah, his light grey eyes swallowing me whole.
His smile fades, and his expression turns contemplative. My heartbeat speeds up as time slows down. I’m transported back to my high school days, when looking into Noah’s eyes made my knees weak and my breath catch. My body still remembers, because I have a hard time not melting in his arms.
His gaze travels down my face and rests on my lips. All kinds of feelings rise in me, feelings I thought had died out completely years ago. Noah didn’t know it then, but he showed up at just the right time in my life. My family had been through so much devastation, with all the cancer my mom went through, and I was drowning in it. Noah was my lifeline.
The memory of Noah’s lips on mine invades the moment we’re having, and my heart stops altogether. Does he want to kiss me? Would he stop me if I closed the gap between us?