There were very few timesin my life I’d been as confused as I was when I walked back into that reception. To run into Noah, of all people, was like fate was pulling us together somehow. When I stepped out of his limo weeks ago, I thought it was the last I’d ever see of him.
It certainly wasn’t what I wanted, even if it had only been about sex.
And it had been at that point. It even was now.
But I’d be lying if I saidI wasn’t intrigued by the passion fueling his desires, by the anger boiling at the simple mention ofhisname.
The bottom line was: I wanted to know more. More about him.
And more about me.
With my hand on the door to the reception room, it hit me like a ton of bricks: I wanted to know everything.
The loud, pulsating music throbbing to life all around me only amplified the foreign feelingsswirling in my chest.
“There you are,” Rob announced as he walked toward me. “Afraid I lost you there for a minute,” he added casually, looping his arm through mine. He pulled me toward the bar and ordered two more drinks. As the bartender slid them in front of us, Rob scanned the room. Tapping his fingers nervously on the mahogany bar, to say he seemed uneasy would be a huge understatement.
“You okay?” I asked, having more than an inkling of an idea about what was making him nervous.
“Sure,” he answered dismissively. After taking a swig of his drink, he swiped his wrist along his mouth, drawing my eyes to his lips. Maybe because mine had just been pressed up against Noah’s—the feeling of their fullness still lingering on my own lips—I couldn’t help but notice how horribly thin Rob’swere. “There are some things we should talk about,” he said after finishing the last chug of his drink, seeming to be in desperate need of the liquid courage it offered.
Even though I knew at least some of what I expected him to share with me, I played it cool, giving him the impression that I was nothing more than an innocent bystander in all of this.
And truthfully, that was all I was in thissituation. At least when it came to Rob and Noah. But I knew if I stayed on this date with Rob, it would ruin whatever chances I might have had with Noah.
But ditching someone in the middle of a wedding was pretty much at the top of the shittiest-things-to-do list. So rather than doing that, I did the next shittiest thing.
I lied.
“I’m really not feeling well.” The words fell all too easilyfrom my mouth. The unfulfilled desire flowing through my veins must have done enough to change my appearance, helping to make the lie that much more believable. “Something at the cocktail hour must not have sat right,” I explained, deepening my lie.
Concern washed over Rob’s face in such a way that made me feel a little guilty for lying to him. But then I remembered what would be waiting forme with Noah. Instantaneously, the guilt vanished, replaced by another emotion entirely.
Need.
Rob dragged a hand through his hair, searching around the room, before looking back at me. “Look, I mean, I’d leave to take you home—”
Cutting him off, I finished his unnecessary explanation. “It’s your brother’s wedding. I understand.”
And I did, which is why I knew lying about not feeling wellwould serve as the perfect excuse to ditch Rob and make my way back to Noah.
A few minutes later, Rob walked me to the front of the reception hall. The bench where Noah and I had been just minutes ago lingered in the background and I wanted nothing more than to be there again. When my taxi pulled up, Rob opened the door, reaching around me in the process. “I guess this was a pretty shitty firstdate, huh?”
The words I wanted to say raced through my head, and though they danced on the tip of my tongue, I said, “Nah, don’t worry about it.”
When he leaned in to place a kiss on my cheek, I pulled back ever so slightly. “Just in case it’s not the food. I don’t want to get you sick,” I lied again, a little surprised at the effortlessness with which the words flowed from my mouth.
The doorclosed behind me as I slid into the seat. Leaning his head in through the open window, he asked, “Call you soon?”
Not wanting to get into it right now, and knowing we’d have to talk at least for a few minutes eventually, I nodded in agreement before rolling the window up.
An eagerness like the one a kid feels on Christmas morning raced through my veins. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled outmy phone and re-read the text from Noah. Somehow, my eyes flashing over the words made them feel more real.
The sad part was, I didn’t even need to read his address again. In the half hour since he’d sent it to me, I’d read it countless times, committing it to memory. When he suggested we meet up there, I was relieved. Benny would be home, and I wasn’t prepared to make an excuse about why wecouldn’t go to my place.
As the taxi pulled up to Noah’s house, I all but gasped at it. I figured he was well established. Something about the way he carried himself screamed out that he was just fine when it came to having his life in order.
But I had no clue houses like this even existed.
