“Why?” he asks, and I expect Noah to roll up to sitting, but he doesn’t. He props his hand under his head and leans up though so he can see better.
From the benefits of our long kind of relationship, I rip the band aid off because I know he hates games. “Noah, I’m Lennon Vale.”
His face changes, like he’s withdrawing away from me as he collates the news and deals with the implications.
“I didn’t deceive you; I wasn’t sure how to tell you or even if the situation that unfolded warranted you knowing who I was.” I talk fast to fill in the gaps I see in his eyes from his internal assessment.
“And what changed to make you tell me now?”
This time when he moves, he rolls up to sitting before he stands up, straightening his business shirt. A second later he stops and swings his head around to me.
“Shit, sorry. You know I take a few moments to process information, run it through my thoughts my way.” He takes a step closer but stops again, burying his hands in his pants.
“It’s okay. I dropped it in your lap.”
“No,” he shakes his head tersely. “I dropped my head in your lap. Either way, it was inappropriate.”
“Noah, if I didn’t want your head in my lap, I would have told you not to put your head in my lap. Don’t do that.”
“Do what?” he argues, but it comes out like he’s waving a flag at me, willing me to fight.
“Avoid the issue.”
“Ah, I forget you know exactly how I think,” he snarls. I knew his bitchiness was coming, it still gets my back up. But this pendulum swinging between us is nothing new at all. Noah and I kind of bitch a lot at each other. And our relationship only confirms what I have always said to him, that he needs someone like me in his life. Noah doesn’t ever get challenged. Everyone gets side-tracked by his success and experience. They get dazzled by his ability and in the process forget he’s an actual person who does not need yes people.
He is most definitely not a fan of having twists and turns in his carefully laid out plans. But I am not a blip on his map, or a roundabout, I am a destination. And if he stops freaking out, he’ll remember the journey we’ve made to get to this point already.
I take a step up closer to him, if I was wearing heels, I’d only be looking at his collar bone. The big shit rolls his shoulders back as he gets all defensive and stroppy, towering above me. When I take another step up in his space, his peppery scent nearly makes me sneeze, but he forgets I know his way of handling stressful situations.
“Noah.” My voice is like a bark, well more like a yap compared to an alpha bark, but it does its job and makes him focus on me—not all the shit happening in his head. “What are you pissed off about? I know given the circumstance, and once you’ve had a chance to get over the shock, you’ll be super glad we’re finally meeting. So, explain this…” I wave my hand up in his face, “mood of yours.”
He does one of those comical sassy pullbacks, his mouth pursing into a pout that pushes his lips forward. And it’s probably not the right time, but I kind of think I want to see if they’re as good to kiss as I think they would be. “What is the problem with you?” I push again.
He scoffs, a pretty ugly noise before he throws a sassy fit. “With me?”
Ares gets up and grabs the back of my shirt in his teeth and drags me out of Noah’s reach. Except some dick head left a pair of shoes in the middle of the floor so I trip and land on my ass. And Dr. Noah Teo swoops in and saves me. And then it’s a little like time stands still, he drops his protective guard as quick as he erected it only a few moments ago, his eyes filling with worry. Tempting fate and pushing friendships, I cup the side of his cheek, and he leans into it.
“I never wanted to deceive you, Noah, our friendship means the world to me. Everything happened so fast, and then when you were there, I couldn’t spill my secrets with Ares being treated and me being surrounded by people I don’t know. You always told me I had great instincts and insight; you remember?”
Ares moves slowly, like a silent assassin, and Noah’s eyes dart to my dog. I click my fingers and Ares sits but doesn’t move away. It’s a little intimidating but it’s meant to be. But I also need Noah to see that I am safe, which is one of his greatest fears; people getting hurt around him.
“You’re going to hurt your back unless you let me up soon, Noah.” I go for calm and easy, so when he scoffs this time, the dramatic eye roll confirms we’re back on the friendly train.
He pulls me up but starts pacing as soon as he stops touching me. “You had a chance to tell me before now.”
“I did,” I say, nodding in agreement.
“Why didn’t you?”
“Because when we got back last night, you basically sent me to bed because of my head. Which is fine by the way. You remember?”
He nods this time, like he is recalling last night’s interaction.
“I had a shower, got changed and came out to feed Ares and everyone was gone. Someone left a bottle of wine on the bench, so I opened it and went out and relaxed. You know I have strange sleeping habits already.”
“And since then?”
“I slept like you said, did yoga and then spent some time with Lincoln and Gabe. In the process I upset Lincoln, because like with you, I had not had the opportunity to come clean to him sooner. I didn’t want to upset you, Noah, so I came looking for you. And here I am.”
