Well, ouch. I mean I hadn't expected him to wax poems, but I thought maybe we had some kind of connection.
Or it's all in your head.
I really hated that my self-doubt was rearing its ugly head. It was one of the things I was working on with my therapist, but clearly it was still a work in progress.
"These are fantastic, by the way." I took another big bite and practically moaned at how good they were.
"You probably shouldn't make those kind of noises while you eat."
I stopped midchew to glance up at him and instantly regretted it. I had been wrong. So wrong. There was no mistaking the heat in his gaze as his eyes locked on my mouth.
I was suddenly self-conscious as I put my hand over my mouth to continue chewing.
"You really don't think that's going to help, do you?"
Well, I had thought it would. With a very audible gulp, I swallowed the piece of French toast.
"I mean…"
Nolen chuckled. "Covering your mouth does nothing to erase the sound of you moaning while you eat."
"You're making this weird." He was making me hot and bothered was more like it, but I couldn't tell him that.
"Okay, I won't mention it again but just know moaning in front of a man who hasn't had sex in a long time never ends well. You're just lucky your ribs are broken."
That turned intense awfully fast. But also left me intrigued.
"Why exactly haven't you had sex in awhile?" Hell, if he was able to ask me, then it was fair game for me to ask him. Plus it would seem like all social norms between us were being thrown out the window at this rate.
Nolen sighed. "You get to a point in your life where meaningless sex is no longer worth it. I got to that point a couple of years ago and was never able to get back into it."
That completely changed my outlook of the male species. In my twenties, men had made it seem like they would die without sex. Maybe it was just a maturity thing because Nolen didn't appear to be the least bit bothered by not having sex.
I continued to eat my French toast in silence while Nolen went back to washing the dishes. It was the comfortable kind of silence that only two people who had spent enough time together would have, so it was weird that Nolen and I got to this place so quickly.
Of course it didn't last long. One minute the kitchen was quiet with just the sound of running water, and the next, my phone was blaring with an incoming call.
One look at the screen, and my stomach dropped. The French toast that just moments ago tasted so good suddenly felt like lead.
"Hello?" I answered on the second ring. I didn't know which would be the better scenario. My sister calling to tell me she was being threatened again or one of the nurses calling to say something was up.
As it turned out, it was Nurse Sarah, and she didn't have good news for me.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Nolen
I could tell the minute the person on the other end of the line started to talk that it wasn't good news.
Vanessa's already pale skin went almost see-through. That was how much the blood drained from her face.
"I'll be right there."
I was already drying my hands and heading toward the front door to grab my keys by the time she finished her sentence.
Vanessa wasn't far behind me.
"Where are we going?" I asked as soon as she joined me.
