How about burns right now? I know all about the burn in the pit of my stomach, and I’m not sure how to fight it. I’m also not sure I’m strong enough to fight the feelings I have for Noah. Ones that grow stronger and stronger every day we’re together, and makes the burn hurt even more.
Chapter Nineteen
Eva
About ten days before Christmas, almost a month after Noah and I become inseparable, I decide to throw Gwen a housewarming/holiday party. She’s, of course, all about the event, except for the fact that Rex will also be in attendance because it’s simply just too hard to keep him away. Plus, knowing Rex, he’d probably show up anyway, invited or not.
An hour before guests are set to arrive, Noah, Michael, Rex, and Trevor come over to help set up. When everything is just about right, Gwen and I slip into the back room to get ready while the boys head out to the balcony on this unusually warm December evening in California, and enjoy a beer.
After a quick shower and refreshing my makeup and hair, I put on a little red dress that hugs my curves in all the right places. If the weather is going to bless us and feel more like spring than winter, I’m taking full advantage of it before January hits and it’s typically wet and cold until spring.
“We’re ready,” I exclaim as Gwen and I step out of the back bedroom and make our way down the hallway. The boys have moved back inside and are now gathered around the countertop in the kitchen talking.
“Damn darlin’,” Noah says, grabbing and kissing me hard the second that I come within arm’s reach of him. I kiss him back in a hurry then push away slightly. Grabbing me tightly, he lays an overabundance of kisses all over, first on my cheek, then lower on my neck and collarbone.
“Stop, you’ll mess me all up,” I giggle, holding on to him as his weight pushes me slightly backward, giving him better access to my neck just like he likes. Truth be told though, he could mess me up all he wants.
“You know how hard it is for me to take my hands off of you once I start,” he growls.
“Get a room,” Gwen shouts.
“No problem,” Noah exclaims, picking me up by the waist and hauling me over his shoulder as he makes his way to my bedroom.
“Noah,” I giggle, slapping him on the back. “Put me down.”
He eventually obliges, and sets me down softly in the hallway. He wastes no time leaning into me.
“You’re all mine later, baby,” he growls. “I have plans for you and that sorry excuse of a dress you’re wearing.”
“Oh, you like it do you?” I tease, pushing my hips forward.
“I do, and so will every other man here tonight,” he says, licking his lips. “I’m not sure I like that.”
“You’re silly,” I manage. It’s an absolutely ridiculous response, but I don’t actually know what else to say.
“Darlin’, if they have half the thoughts that I have running through my mind, and I know they will, I will have to fight them off left and right,” he leans in and softly kisses my lips. “I don’t like the idea of other guys thinking horny thoughts about what’s mine.”
“Oh, I’m yours, huh?” I tease. “You own me, do you?”
I push away. Smiling, he grabs me from behind, and holds on to me as we walk back into the kitchen. He nuzzles my neck a little. The stubble of his five o’clock shadow, added to the sensation of him pressed against me from behind, makes me weak in the knees.
“Fuck, darlin’. Tonight, you’re mine. You can bet this sorry excuse of a dress on that.” His grip on my hips tightens as he whispers in my ear, “God you smell amazing.”
“Your relationship cuteness is on overload,” Gwen pushes past us as we walk into the kitchen with a glass of wine in her hand.
“So, Noah, next month’s the big move huh?” Trevor says, which stops me dead in my tracks and causes Noah to bump into me forcefully.
Move?
Where?
I’ve been with him practically every day and night since we met almost two months ago, and this is the first that I am hearing about any type of move. Looking up at him, I tremble slightly and hear Gwen’s voice in my head … “In the end, you always get burned.”
“Actually, I just signed a year’s lease at a studio apartment right in downtown Nevada City. I Move in in two weeks,” Noah says. His reassuring stare holds me steady when everything else seems like it’s crashing down around me. A small sense of calmness washes over me, but the burn inside still has not diminished completely. I grab his arm trying to find relief. He grins at me, searching my eyes for how I’m feeling. Looking away, I try to hide the trembling, the burn.
“I thought you were going to stay at my place?” Rex asks.
“Yeah, and I thought you might be kinda sick of me by now,” Noah laughs. “Plus, a place of my own offers a little more privacy,” he says, looking pointedly at Gwen.
