Noah (17 page)

In his hands were bags, and one of them smelled delicious. “I know you’re mad at me. I was a dick. If you want me to get my own room, I will, but I don’t want you to leave. I know how important singin’ is to you. I grabbed this food, because I thought you might be hungry. Also, I picked you up something for you to wear tonight.”

He handed me the bags, but kept standing as if he was going to leave if I asked him to. I pulled out Italian food, enough for four people and sat it on the small table in our room. After motioning for him to sit in the chair across from me, I looked in the other smaller bag.

There had been this dress that I noticed in a window of a store outside of our hotel. It wasn’t glitzy like the one I’d worn the night before. This one was all sex. It was see-thru black everywhere except for the ass and crotch area. Obviously I’d have to wear a bra for the top, but it was definitely something unlike anything I’d ever worn in my life. Basically it was like I was wearing only a bikini out on the stage to perform.

I held the small amount of fabric in my hands and looked at him. “Peace offering?”

He took a bite of bread. “Is it helpin’ at all?”

“You can’t just buy people things when you piss them off. In order to be forgiven you need to prove that what you did wasn’t meant. As much as I appreciate the dress and even dinner, I’d rather know that you won’t ever treat me like that again. Noah, you went psycho and I didn’t like it at all. I don’t sleep with strangers, so being with you went against all of the rules I had made for myself. I thought you were sweet, and you made me feel safe. Right now, I don’t think I’ll ever feel that way about you again. I hope you can accept that.”

He nodded, but seemed defeated. “Yeah, I get it.”

“What did your dad say to make you so mad?” I was so curious as to what caused him to freak out. More importantly, why had he taken it out on me?

“He said that if I don’t come home in three days he’s takin’ my name off of the business completely, throwin' all my belongin’s in the dumpster, and forbiddin’ me to come back to the ranch. He said that if I don’t come home, I’m not a part of the family anymore and I ain’t welcome. He claims that the ranch is my birthright, and that I never had a choice.”

Noah had told me all about his struggles to live his own life and find his future without his parent’s guidance. I knew that he’d been dealt an ultimatum he wasn’t prepared to handle. If he didn’t go home, he’d lose everything.

In the big picture I was nothing. No wonder he thought he could take out his anger on me. Still, it didn’t change the fact that I’d been scared of him, even if it were only for a few minutes out of the whole time I’d known him.

“What are you going to do?”

He looked down at his plate. “Hell if I know.”

We ate in silence, neither of us really having much to say to each other. I was still mad, and he was literally too messed up to have a rational discussion.

I put my new dress on and walked out of the bathroom just moments before we were due down stairs. Noah smiled, letting me know that I looked hot in it, but I didn’t allow him to see my amusement in catching his attention.  What had happened between us was going to help me say goodbye to him, and I was okay with it.

So I thought.

                   Noah

I really messed
up.  Leave it to me to take out my anger on Shalan, who hadn’t done a damn thing to deserve it. I think what bothered me the most was knowing that when she looked at me there was fear in her eyes.

I realized that I didn’t owe her anything. Soon we’d part ways and she’d forget all about our time together.

Still, I couldn’t help but try to convince her that my actions weren’t how I acted normally. Leave it to my dad to get to me even when I wasn’t anywhere near him. Shalan looked beautiful in the dress. Let me rephrase that, she looked appetizing, and I didn’t want to let her leave the room. I think it was that exact moment where I started to feel protective over her. I didn’t want anyone seeing her the way I did. I knew they’d be eyeing her up, imagining what it would be like to be inside of her. She stood by the door and put her hands on her hips. “Are you sure I look good?”

I got this vibe from her question like she was asking because she knew she looked hot. How could she not? The woman was exquisite.

“You know the answer already. Does my opinion matter?”

She smiled. “Maybe.”

I approached her, breaking the small distance between us. I looked down, directly into her eyes. “I should have never bought you this dress.”

“Why? You said I looked good.”

“Because I don’t want anyone seein’ you in it.”

“You’re not making any sense.”

I licked my lips. I couldn’t help it, being so close to her and not doing anything. I placed my hands on her shoulders and noticed immediately that she didn’t pull away from me. “The way you look right now should be a crime. I may have bought you that dress, but I definitely have a problem with you wearin’ it.”

“I don’t understand. Illegal? What are you talking about?”

“Damn it, woman.” I paused and shook my head. “Never mind.”

I turned, attempting to walk away and bite my tongue about the way she was making me feel. After all, I had no right to tell her what to do. She liked the dress and I’d bought it for her. End of discussion.

Shalan grabbed my arm and made me turn back around. “Why can’t you say what you mean?”

“Because my opinion doesn’t matter. Why would it? We’re just friends, if that. Right?”

Her expression went from curious to disappointed, and I couldn’t figure out why. What kind of woman would want a man that she barely knew to boss her around? “Yeah. Your right. Just keep your thoughts to yourself next time.” Shalan grabbed her purse and went out of the room, leaving me standing there alone.

I ran after her, making it to the elevators just in time to catch a ride with her.  “Will you hold up? We’re both goin’ to the same place.”

“I don’t want to be late.” She hit the button for the lower floor and the elevator doors closed. “Besides, I figured you need to change or something before you came down.”

I walked over to the corner she was standing in and pressed my body against hers. Our eyes met and her lips parted. There was no hesitation as I planted a long awaited kiss over her lips. I kept my eyes open until hers closed. At first she didn’t respond to me, but after two attempts she allowed my tongue access to her own. I held the sides of her cheek while she reached up and grabbed the collar to
my shirt, pulling me into the kiss more.

We only broke apart when the elevator doors opened and it was time to get out. Shalan said nothing as I grabbed her hand and led her toward the lounge area. This was going to be our second night performing, and I felt like we had done a great job the night before.

Of course my mind wasn’t on performing on stage with Shalan, it was what we could do after the show was over. Before we walked inside, I pulled her by the hand and led her to a corner where I could talk to her in private. “Listen to me. I know you’re mad. You’ve got every right to be. There’s just somethin’ I want you to know before we go in there tonight.”

She seemed interested enough in knowing what it was. “Okay.”

“No matter how pissed you are, or what you might be thinkin’, I want you to come back to the room with me tonight, Shalan.”

“Where else am I going to go?” If she thought nobody was going to approach her in that outfit she was blind and pretty naïve.

“Just say you’ll be with me tonight, even if it ain’t in my bed.”

We were still holding hands and Shalan looked down at them as she spoke. “I have nowhere else to go, Noah.”

“That’s not really what I mean. Suppose someone hits on you. What will you do then?”

She pulled away and got this nasty look on her face.
“Obviously you haven’t listened to a word I said, Noah. I get that I slept with you without knowing you for a while, but I don’t sleep with strangers. I can assure you that I’ll be back in the room with you tonight, sleeping in the other queen bed.”

I rolled my eyes and walked away, knowing that I’d pissed her off again and it was only a matter of time before we were having words and she’d be telling me she hated me. It wasn’t the time or place for either and I didn’t really like the idea of drawing more attention to how hot she looked in the dress.

Like the night before, we met the band members inside and started our first set a little while after setting up. Shalan was determined to get through the whole night without looking at me, or even saying anything directly to me. She sang her songs as beautiful as ever, giving me those familiar chills down my spine each time.

I sat on the stool next to her, harmonizing the melody, matching her keys, and trying my best to gain her attention. Unfortunately, the only people getting that were the slew of people in the audience watching her perform. At the end of each song she got cheers, and I knew damn-well they weren’t for me. In between sets we all went out for air and drinks. Like the night before, the band stuck together, having a few smokes and mingling amongst themselves. Shalan and I stood off to the side, completely alone. She had her arms crossed over her chest and wouldn’t look in my direction. I moved closer to taunt her, but noticed a couple approaching us quickly. The man, dressed more high class than I was used to seeing at home, held out his hand for me to shake. “I’m Tony Mangalo, and this is my wife Shelly. We have dinner here once a week
and noticed that the usual band had some new members, and I’ve got to tell you,” he turned and directed his next words to Shalan. “You have a set of pipes that shouldn’t be ignored, and your friend here isn’t so bad himself. The band members told us to talk to you tonight, if we were still interested. I had to call and make sure it was alright with them to approach you first, since we’re not looking for a whole group. We like to find our own band for our singers and find it works best on a more professional level.” His wife reached into her small handbag and pulled out a card. “This is our company,” she started explaining. “We record and produce music. You may have heard of us. If not, you can go on the website listed and see all of the people we’ve worked with, or are still working with. Are you two a couple? Do you do this act together?”

Shalan and I looked at one another, and I think  we were both wondering the same thing. Was this really happening. Were we being approached by a record producer after two nights of filling in at a hotel lounge?

“Yes,” I answered, feeling protective of Shalan. The music business could be harsh and I felt a strong pull to protect her.

“We sing together, and are just friends, is what he means. We aren’t a couple.” It was a low blow to my ego and punch to my balls, but I understood why she’d said it. Shalan wanted to be able to have a future, with or without me. It was only natural for her to let them know that she had no ties to me, but for some reason it hurt hearing it.

The gentleman replied, “I think what my wife is trying to ask is if you’d be interested in coming in and letting us work with those voices. I can’t make any promises, but I’ve got some big clients that would love to have you on their team, even if things didn’t work out with the two of you together, which I’m pretty positive that I can make something happen.” They both had New York accents, wore lots of jewelry, and had styled their hair with a ton of hairspray. I wanted to laugh when I took in their fancy appearances, and then thought about what I wore to work everyday.

Shalan started jumping up and down, forgetting the dress that she’d pulled off wearing up until that moment. She put her hands over her mouth, as if she was at a loss for words, but then started speaking. “We’ll do it, won’t we, Noah?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I reckon we can check it out.” I grabbed her and started pulling her to the side. “Darlin’, can I talk to you for a minute?”

I motioned to the couple as I pulled Shalan away enough to talk without them hearing. “I know this is a big break for you, but I can’t commit to somethin’ like that, not when all hell is about to reign down on me at home. This could be the answer to all your prayers. If it’s legitimate, I think you should go for it without me. You and I both know you can sing your heart out whether I’m around or not. Go in there and sing them that song you wrote for your mom. They’ll have you on the radio before you know it.”

“Will you at least go with me? Come on, Noah. Say you will. Please.” She put her hands up like she was praying.

I kissed the top of her head, knowing that I wasn’t about to leave her side. “Yeah, I’ll be there, darlin’.”

She ran over and started talking to the couple again herself, setting up a good time to meet at their studio. While she was busy I turned on my phone and checked for a signal before dialing my cousin, Bella’s number. I’d tried to call her when I was out getting the dress and food for Shalan, but she still wasn’t answering. I got that she was mad at me, but she would usually send me a text letting me know I was an asshole, and that we could talk once she was over it. This time felt different and I didn’t like it. When her voicemail answered I hung up without leaving a message.

That’s when I noticed I had missed
text messages that were starting to come through.

Call me when you can. Dad said you talked today. I just want to know when you’ll be home. – Mom

I stopped by your house today, but you weren’t there. I miss you. We need to talk. – Perry

I heard you were in New York. Can you stop by Tiffany’s and get me this pair of sunglasses? I will pay you when you get home. – Addy (There was a picture attached)

I rolled my eyes and laughed, knowing how my sister was.

Noah, please call me. I have to tell you something. – Perry

Shalan had come up on me without me realizing. I quickly turned off my phone without replying to anyone and stuck it back in my pocket. The first thing I noticed was that the couple had already gone back inside, leaving the two of us alone in the alley. “So, what did they say?”

“They want us to come in at one tomorrow afternoon. I don’t know why you walked away. They were asking if you weren’t interested at all.”

One of the band guys opened the back door and peeked out. “It’s time to start again, you two.”

“Alright, we’re coming.”

Shalan shot me another look. “We’ll talk about this after the show.”

I grabbed her arm before she could go inside. “You and I both know I’ve got to go home, Shalan. I’m goin’ to be there for you tomorrow, but it will also be because I’m tellin’ them that I’m not interested. This is all for you, not me. This is your dream.”

She shoved me. “You say you want to find your own way, but you’re running right back home, Noah. I thought you were a brave man when I met you, but now all I see is a coward with a bunch of issues. Just go home to your family where you obviously belong. There’s nothing here for you anyway.”

That was a low blow. More than anything I wanted to make my own future. Now I had this chick, that not only drove me crazy, but seemed to know me better than I was able to know myself at the moment.

She left me outside for a few seconds alone, before I walked back in to join her. As much as I wanted to say she was wrong, I knew she wasn’t.