Intensity (22 page)

Chapter 35

The small drop of condensation rolled down the double-layered glass of the airplane window. Celine pressed her forehead against the cool glass and watched as the drop of water flew to the side. She couldn’t be any happier than she was to finally leave New York. Los Angeles was starting to come into view and she wanted nothing more than to run into Noah’s arms and forget New York even happened.

The wheels to her carry-on twisted and turned as she practically ran towards baggage claim where Noah said he’d be waiting for her. Her floral suitcase fell over, but she ignored it and practically dragged it all the way behind her. She dodged a few children and that weird golf cart that shuttled elderly passengers around. The terminal seemed to go on forever, but then suddenly she noticed her fiancé standing towards the back.

“Noah!” she called out. Feeling as if it had been far too long since she’d seen him, she jumped up and wrapped her legs around his waist.

Never one to be shy of a little PDA, Noah hugged her back and patted her bottom lightly. “If you going out of town means a greeting like this, I definitely need to invest in a frequent flyer card.”

“Ha, ha,” Celine snickered. “Very funny.”

She jumped off of him and grabbed the handle of her suitcase. To her surprise, Noah pushed her hand away and picked it up.

“How was your weekend? Where’s Ruthie?” Noah asked as they exited the airport.

Celine let out an exasperated sigh. “Can I stay at your place tonight?”

“Well, technically it’s our place, so you can stay whenever you like,” he responded. He paused and gave her a look. “What happened with Ruthie?”

“Let’s just say if your name isn’t Cash Walker you can bet your ass you’ll be ignored.” She wasn’t even trying to hide the anger in her tone.

“Uh oh.” Noah winced. “That bad?”

“No,” Celine took a deep breath. Forcing a smile she added, “I know we’ll be fine. I just really want—
need
—some time away from her.” Automatically she reached for her cell and swiped it on. While it loaded she muttered, “Bet she didn’t even text or call.”

Noah loaded her luggage into the car. The dry California sun beat down on the car, warming the interior drastically. Celine winced as the metal of the seatbelt buckle burned her hand. Ignoring the pain, she glanced down at her fully loaded phone. “Just as I thought,” she murmured.

“You sure you don’t want to check up on her?” Noah asked. He placed his hand on the back of Celine’s headrest and peered over his shoulder to reverse the vehicle. Celine gave his forearm a light peck, eliciting a grin from him.

“I’m sure she’s alive.”

Noah turned on the radio, filling the car with Intensity’s new hit single. Celine automatically reached out and changed the station.

“I’m so sick of Intensity,” she muttered with disgust.

Noah laughed and placed his arm behind her neck. “Never thought I’d see the day.”

***

Celine settled into Noah’s—their—condo, allowing her body to become engulfed in their huge, brown couch. It was definitely the most comfortable couch she had ever had the pleasure of lying on and she was more than ecstatic that in a few months, the couch would also be hers.

A minor kitchen mishap at the restaurant had Noah running out for a few hours. Though Celine hated for him to leave so soon after she arrived, she knew work came first. She flipped on her laptop and attempted to write a few chapters in her new book. Unfortunately, she lost all inspiration and quickly found herself shutting her computer.

“All I want is your satisfaction…”

Grimacing at her Intensity ringtone, Celine grabbed for her phone. “Finally she calls,” Celine muttered. Without even checking to see who was calling, she swiped the phone on. “Hello?”

“Thank God.”

Definitely not Ruthie’s voice.

“I didn’t think you’d answer my call.”

Celine cleared her throat. “Brian, how did you get my number?” Her eyes narrowed angrily. “Did Ruthie give it to you?”

“What? Ruthie? No, I haven’t even seen her or Cash since last night.”

“How’d you get my number then?” she asked in an almost accusatory tone.

“I have my ways,” he replied quietly.

“That’s right, all you have to do is namedrop, right?” she replied with exasperation.

“Celine, are we okay? I told you last night that I never alluded to anything with Cash. He asked me how I even knew you were in town and I told him what happened. You have to believe me.”

Celine did believe him, but that didn’t make things better. “I just don’t get why you would even say anything to Cash. I thought you hated him.”

“I do…I mean I did…I mean…” he stammered.

“What do you mean, Brian?” Celine snapped.

“He’s a client. He pays my bills. I have no choice but to get along with him.”

“Whatever,” she muttered.

There was a slight pause before Brian cleared his throat. “Celine…are we okay?”

“Brian, there isn’t even a ‘we’ to be okay about!” Celine reminded him.

“I mean as friends,” he clarified.

“Oh.” Cue the face palming moment. Celine’s insides turned horrifically. “Um, yeah. “ She sighed and eyed a photo of her and Noah, which was hung above the television set. “We’re fine, Brian. Is that what you wanted to hear?”

“Prove it.”

“Excuse me?”

“Prove it.” He challenged. “I know you’re as passive aggressive as they come.”

Celine’s mouth dropped open. “No, I’m not!”

He ignored her and repeated, “So prove it! I’ll be back in L.A. in two weeks. Come to my housewarming party. If you do, I know we’re still friends, but if you don’t…”

“Are you fucking serious?” Celine laughed.

“Just come. Please?” Brian was practically pleading.

Shutting her eyes, she exhaled loudly. “Fine,” she ground out.

“Perfect! I’ll text you the address.”

“Fine,” she repeated.

“Celine?”

“Yeah?” she asked meekly.

“You looked beautiful last night.”

Celine quickly hung up the call, without responding. At that moment Noah walked in through the front door whistling. “Brought you some food, my dear!”

Celine quickly threw her phone against the far end of the couch like a hot potato. “Great, I’m hungry!” Her voice cracked audibly.

Noah smirked. “You okay?” He eyed the phone at the other end of the couch and frowned. “Did you finally talk to Ruthie?”

“What?” Celine’s eyes darted down to her phone. “Oh, no. No, I didn’t.”

Oblivious to the guilt that was pounding in his fiancée’s chest, Noah opened up some containers and placed them on the coffee table. “Eat up! I made them myself.”

“What is it?” Celine asked, nose scrunching up.

“Poke.”

“Did you cook Pikachu?” she weakly joked.

“It’s fish! Raw tuna. Now eat!” Noah laughed.

While Noah dug into his meal, Celine did nothing but stab into the pink colored clumps. Trying her hardest to push Brian from her mind, she thought about her best friend. She desperately needed her advice but was afraid that things would still be weird between them.

“Ruthie should be home by now,” she commented flatly.

“You sure you don’t want to call her?” Noah asked with a full mouth.

Celine gently pushed her food aside and picked up the remote control. She flipped the channels and didn’t answer.

Noah chuckled, his blue eyes sparkling in amusement. “You know people usually channel surf during commercials, not actual shows.”

She lowered her hand and dropped the remote. “Sorry, my mind’s just…”

“On Ruthie?” Noah leaned over and kissed her temple.

“Yeah…” Celine silently cringed.

***

The day flew by and soon night blanketed over the bustling city of Los Angeles. Celine and Noah were sprawled over the couch, attempting to have a great night together. Pizza boxes littered the coffee table, greasy but smelling wonderful. Soda cans and bottles of water were also scattered everywhere. Celine always loved nights like these. Simple without all the fuss. However, like earlier, she found she couldn’t even enjoy her favorite food! And it was all because of Ruthie.

Celine shifted and crossed her legs on the couch. She was wearing thick knitted leggings, which Noah always poked fun at. That night he chose not to, sensing that Celine really wasn’t in a joking mood.

“I think you should call her,” Noah said seriously. He grabbed the remote and switched off the TV. As if not noticing the blank screen, Celine remained fixated on it and sat silently. Noah frowned worriedly. In a firm tone he insisted, “Celine, call her. Now.”

Taking a deep breath, Celine finally moved, cocking her head to the side. Her messy half pony-tail flopped around her head. “No.”

Noah knew whatever happened in New York had to be bad. Unfortunately, Celine wasn’t opening up about it, which was weird in itself.

“All right, you leave me no choice,” Noah said, rising from the seat. Frowning, Celine watched his muscular body retreat into the bedroom, only to come out gripping her cell phone.

“No!” she cried in horror. She stood on top of the couch and launched herself like a human projectile. She wasn’t quick enough. Noah dodged her flying body just as she was about to make impact. She fell on top of their center rug and winced when her hip hit the floor.

“Really?” Noah snorted. He shook his head and dialed Ruthie’s number. Celine jumped up from the floor and attempted to grab the phone from his hand. Once again her height worked against her and she found herself cursing her unfortunate genes.

Giving up, Celine had no choice but to stand with her arms crossed over her chest, waiting for whatever was about to happen. “She’s not going to answer,” she said, sounding like a five-year-old.

Noah rolled his eyes and listened as the phone continued ringing. In all his years with his fiancée, Celine and Ruthie never skipped one day speaking to each other. He knew he had to fix whatever was going on between them. He made her a promise and he wasn’t about to break it. Unfortunately, his confidence soon began to fade as the rings continued. To his relief, he heard Ruthie’s voice finally answer. “Hello?” she answered hesitantly.

Noah abruptly shoved the phone into Celine’s face. As much as Celine didn’t want to talk to Ruthie, she knew she could never bring herself to hang up on her. Scowling at Noah, she grabbed the phone and stomped back into their bedroom, slamming the door shut.

“Hello?” Ruthie asked again.

“Hi,” Celine said quietly.

Both women remained silent. Celine listened to the sound of her friend’s breaths and couldn’t help but feel a bit ridiculous. She needed to grow up and stop acting like a hurt child. Inhaling deeply, Celine finally broke the silence. “I…uh…just wanted to let you know that I’ll be staying with Noah for the week.”

Silence.

Celine cleared her throat. “Ruthie? You still there?”

“Why are you staying with him? Are you really that mad at me?” Ruthie asked quietly.

Celine couldn’t figure out if Ruthie was on the verge of tears or just that furious with her. “No. I just wanted some time with my fiancé,” she lied. “Nothing wrong with that, right?”

Silence.

Celine was getting really sick of the third degree. What she couldn’t have known was that Ruthie was equally suffering along with her.

“Is dress shopping still on Saturday?” Ruthie asked.

“Yeah, you coming?” Celine snapped rather harshly.

Ruthie blinked. She felt around for the nearest chair and plopped backwards without looking. “You’re mad because I missed the conference, aren’t you? I told you I’m sorry!”

“It’s not that!” Celine replied in irritation.

“Then what is it?” Ruthie hissed.

“I’ve known you for years, Ruthie, and yet you won’t listen to me! I’m your best friend, but no, what I think doesn’t matter to you. Do you know how much it hurts to think you consistently pick Cash Walker over me? I’m trying to save you from heartache and you keep blowing me off for him!”

“When did I blow you off?” Ruthie asked angrily.

“Uh, let’s see. You mentioned the writer’s conference and oh, there was that one time you were sloppy drunk and I tried to save your ass, but your boyfriend ended up making a fool out of me!”

Ruthie was so angry that she couldn’t even dwell on the fact that Celine called Cash her boyfriend. “He spoke the truth! He was merely stating that Brian spent the night, or did you think I was too drunk to remember that? Oh! And don’t forget you were the one that ditched me first!”

“You better get your facts straight because that is not true!” Celine tried her hardest to maintain an even tone, but her voice involuntarily rose an octave.