Some Loves (15 page)

His erection
continued to slide against me, edging closer and I moaned impatiently. Usually I enjoyed Noah’s foreplay, but tonight, I was anxious to move things along.

“Noah…I’ve been waiting all night for this,” I murmured
as I pressed myself against him.

“Funny,” he whispered back, “so have I.”
 

My hand moved slowly over his body, across his back, skimming his waist, sliding down, until I found what I was searching for. He moaned against my collarbone as
I gently stroked him, and then readjusted myself to easily guide him to where I needed him to go.

When he slid into m
e, I arched up to meet him. The feel of him inside of me, filling me, stretching me, loving me…it was so intense I cried out from the immediate pleasure of it. My ache for him was so intense I could think of nothing else, only my need for him. As our bodies began moving together, the ache melted away into a feeling of pure bliss. I felt as though every cell of my body had flared to life. When I finally tumbled over the edge, he was right there with me, falling into a state of lust-filled, bone-melting oblivion.

Small tremors continued to course through my body as Noah stilled above me. When he slowly withdrew, I felt the loss and I whimpered though a smile spread across my face. He quickly pressed a few
kisses to my chest, then my neck, lastly to my forehead. Then he dropped onto his back beside me.

He let out a satisfied groan as his head rolled to the side so he could look at me. I could barely make out his features in the dim glow of the streetlamp. I reached up, running my fingers across his cheek. He grabbed my hand, pressing a kiss onto the back of it.

“Have I mentioned lately how much I love you?” he asked.

I laughed lightly.
“I think you have. But I swear I’ll never get tired of hearing it.”

I pulled the door of my favorite café open. I knew that Noah was here already. I was running a little bit late. I’d spotted his truck in the parking lot. When I walked in, I quickly scanned the room. I spotted him to my left.

I skirted around several tables to reach the booth Noah was seated in. He glanced up as I approached. When I leaned in I pressed a loud, happy kiss to his cheek. Then I dropped into the seat across from him. I could feel that my face was lit up with a smile.

“
Someone
is in a good mood,” he surmised.  “I guess that means that appointment went well.”

“It went great,” I agreed. “
Sorry I’m running late. I should’ve known that doctors are always running behind. You got my text thought?”

“Yeah, I did. So what did the doc have to say?”

“Tyler was given the go ahead to participate in any sport he chooses. He’s also officially done with physical therapy. Well,” I amended that statement, “he still has exercises she wants him to work on at home. But he’s done with his appointments. He’s so excited.”

“Looks like you are too,” Noah said with a smile.

I nodded. “Now I finally feel like we can put that whole, horrible accident behind us.”

Even though I could see his progress and I thought he was doing well, I had been concerned. I’d worried that I was missing something. When the doctor had praised Tyler for his hard work and told Aubrey and me that it had paid off, well, I could’ve just hugged her.

“So where’s Ty now? Back at school.”

“Yes, Aubrey brought him back to school,” I said. “Of course, he wanted to skip the rest of the day, but
…,” I shrugged because that wasn’t going to happen. The elementary schools still ran for another two weeks. There was no reason he couldn’t go back to finish up the day.

“Are you ready to order?”

I glanced up at our waitress. I hadn’t seen her approaching. Noah gave me a questioning look. I hadn’t had a chance to skim the menu yet, but that was okay.

“I’ll have a cheeseburger with fries and a root beer,” I said.

“Same for me,” Noah added on. “Only instead of a root beer, I’ll have a chocolate malt.”

She smiled and said, “I’ll be right back with your drinks.”

I was so giddy, relieved and excited about Tyler’s appointment that it took me a few minutes to realize that Noah looked a little out of sorts. He was gazing out the window, the fingers of one hand restlessly tapping against the table. I reached over, stilling his hand with my own.

He turned back toward me with a sheepish look on his face. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be. What’s wrong?”

He glanced around the café. It was busy, right in the midst of the lunch rush. The droning of numerous conversations filled the air. He turned his attention back to me.

“I know we had plans for tonight, but I think I’m going to have to cancel.”

“Okay,” I said. I waited patiently for more of an explanation. It took him several long minutes to give me one. When he spoke, he sounded glum.

“Dad wants to finish going through Grandma’s things tonight. My aunt and uncle already divided up what they wanted to keep.” I nodded because I’d been aware of that. “So pretty much anything that’s left needs to be boxed up and donated. Since Dad’s the only one around, it’s pretty much fallen on him. Anyhow, he wanted me and Leah to come over to see if there’s anything we want. Any keepsakes, things like that.”

“Oh,” I said sympathetically. “That’s probably going to be kind of hard.”

He nodded and sighed. “Yeah. Like I said, a lot of the stuff has already been sorted out. I haven’t been to her house since she passed on. It’s going to be strange, going there knowing she’s gone. But not only that, it’s going to be strange seeing her house half empty.”

“I’m sure it will be,” I said softly.

“On the other hand,” he said, “Dad’s been pushing this for awhile. I know he wants to get the rest of her things boxed up and donated. I feel like it’s been hanging over our heads for weeks. So I guess Leah and I just need to go and get it over with.”

“That’s probably true.
” Like ripping of a Band-aid.

“I can’t believe they’re going to put her house on the market,” he said. “I mean, yeah, I get why. And I get that they need to because it’s stupid to just have it sit there, empty. But still, it’s hard to think of some family moving into it.”

I winced because he was right. “Letting go can be really hard.” I couldn’t imagine anyone else living in that house either. But I was sure there would be soon enough.

“Yeah,”
he muttered.

I glanced up when our waitress set my root beer and Noah’s malt on the table.

“The rest of your order will be out shortly,” she said with a pleasant smile.

“Thanks,” I said.

Noah reached for his malt and took a big bite. He looked distracted again, not that I could blame him. The visit to Adelaide’s was obviously weighing heavily on him. I was tempted to offer to go with. I didn’t because I assumed if he wanted me there, he would ask. Besides, this was something that should probably be a family affair. I was sure that he and Leah would support each other.

“So,” he finally said with a resigned shrug, “like I said I don’t think it’ll work for us to get together tonight.”

“That’s not a problem,” I assured him.

Our waitress returned and set our food on the table.

“Anything else I can get you?” she asked.

Noah shook his head.

“We’re good,” I said as I forced a smile.

She left and I returned my attention to Noah.

“So what are you going to do tonight?” he asked.

I reached for the ketchup and said, “No idea. Probably nothing. That might be nice for a change. I can tell you that it feels really nice to not have to worry about homework.”

“Yeah it does,” he agreed.

“You know, you could come over later tonight. If you feel like it,” I offered. I picked up a fry but the current conversation had dwindled my appetite.

He shrugged noncommittally. “We’ll see. Leah mentioned doing something. I feel like I kind of should. I haven’t spent much time with her lately. If that’s okay?”

“No, you should. I understand,” I said. Leah was in middle school. She and Noah weren’t all that close because their interests varied so immensely. But if Leah was asking to spend time with him, I thought that was a good thing.

We both picked at our food for a while. It was finally Noah that broke the silence again.

“Have you talked to Riley lately?”

I frowned. “Not really. We texted for awhile yesterday but when I called her, she didn’t answer. I don’t know what she’s so busy with. Casey went home for the summer. I guess she could be hanging out with Melanie. Or maybe Beth Ann.” Both were possibilities. What I did know was that she wasn’t spending any time with me. It was ironic, really, because the days she’d gotten so upset in the dorm room, I had thought she’d been upset with Melanie. Yet, I’d been the one she’d started to avoid.

It made no sense to me.

“Riley’s always been hard to figure out,” Noah said.

As the conversation continued to shift away from Adelaide, Noah’s appetite seemed to increase. He ate his meal, then half of mine. By the time we’d finished, he seemed to be in a much better mood.

“Any chance you’d want to go do something?” he asked.

“I’d love to, but I can’t,” I said apologetically. “Aubrey opened the boutique after she dropped Tyler off. She knew we had lunch plans. But now that school is out, I told her I’d work more hours. She’s expecting me shortly.”

“Tomorrow then?” he asked.

I cringed.

“You work tomorrow too?” he guessed.

“I do. Actually, from now on, I’ll probably be working full time. You know that Aubrey only took over to help mom out. But I think she’s used to being a stay at home mom. She’s never complained about working while I’m in school, but to be honest, I think she’s anxious for me to take over for the summer.”

“Oh, well, no problem then. Tomorrow night? Do you think you can pencil me into your busy life?” He winked at me, to let me know he was teasing.

I rolled my eyes at him. “Yeah, I suppose I could do that.”

***

When I got home that evening, I spent some time in Mom’s flower beds. I hadn’t planned on it, but as I drove up to the house, I realized how neglected they looked. I spent a few hours on my hands and knees weeding and bagging up the ensuing debris.

I thought of Noah frequently as I worked. I hoped that he and Leah weren’t having too tough of a time. Leah had been close to Adelaide as well. I knew she was still struggling with the loss. It was good that she and Noah had plans for tonight. I thought they would probably both need it by the time they were done with their task.

Gardening wasn’t really my thing but it was something that needed to be done.
Last fall, the flowerbeds had been neglected. The old, dead flowers still littered the ground. I tore them away, clearing space for new growth. By the time I was finished, I was a sweaty, dirty mess. However, the flowerbeds looked good. I would have to try to stay on top of the weeding so that it wouldn’t take me so long next time.

I went inside and took a long, hot shower.
By the time I got out, my skin was shriveled but at least I felt clean. I slipped into a tank top and a pair of cotton shorts. I was ready to settle in for the night. Maybe I’d find a sappy chick flick or romantic comedy.

My stomach rumbled as I
made my way back downstairs. As I walked into the kitchen, I glanced at the clock on the microwave. I hadn’t realized how late it was. I’d planned on a simple bowl of cereal but I realized that my weeding had caused me to work up an appetite.

Instead of heading to the cupboard, I pulled the freezer door open. A frozen pizza caught my attention. Not the healthiest choice I could’ve made but I was too tired to attempt anything more complicated.

The doorbell rang as I tore the box open. I set it on the counter and peeked out of the window over the kitchen sink. I wasn’t at all dressed for company but that concern faded away when I spotted Noah’s truck parked across the street.

So, he’d decided to come over after all. Maybe he and Leah had just gone out for a quick dinner or something. I hurried to the door and opened it with a smile.

That smile fell away when I noted the expression on Noah’s face. He looked haggard.

“Rough night?” I asked sympathetically as I stepped aside.

“You could say that.”

As soon as he was inside, I reached for him, intending to pull him into a hug. He crossed his arms over his chest and took a step back. I froze in place when I took note of the frigid expression on his face.

“What’s wrong?” I asked. Confusion enveloped me. I’d thought he was upset about sorting through Adelaide’s things. But now that I had a second to look him over, it was clear that it was more than that.

He seemed
angry
.

“Where were you tonight?” he asked.

“Me? I was working. I told you that.”

“And after that?”

“I was here. Why? What’s going on?”

“You couldn’t answer your phone?”

“I was outside. I was weeding Mom’s flowerbeds. I left my phone in here.” I frowned at him. He’d never expected me to be at his beck and call before. Something was definitely not right.

“Are you sure about that?”

His tone sounded accusatory and I felt myself becoming defensive.

“Positive.”

He stared at me for a moment, that cold expression still embedded on his face. Was he waiting for me to say something else? If so, I had no idea what.

“Why are you acting like this?” I finally demanded.

“Drew said he saw you with Caleb,” Noah said.

“What? When?” My eyebrows bunched together in confusion. I had no idea what he was talking about.

“Tonight.”

I shook my head
. “That’s not possible. I came straight home after work. I haven’t seen Caleb since the baseball game.”

Noah cocked his head to the side. “That’s not what Drew said. He told me you two were at Clarice’s.” I started shaking my head but Noah ignored me. “He said he overheard the two of you talking. Caleb said that he was tired of keeping things a secret—”

“What?! No, that’s impossible!”

“—and he said that you needed to decide what you want.”

“Drew’s wrong,” I argued. “The last time I was at Clarice’s I was with you! I haven’t been there since the afternoon that Riley had you join us. I’ve never been there with Caleb. Not ever!”

“Why would Drew lie?” he asked. “He was the one that was pushing me to get back together with you.”

“Why would
I
lie?” I demanded.

He stared at me for a moment, as if trying to decide how to answer that.