Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 138844 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 694(@200wpm)___ 555(@250wpm)___ 463(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138844 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 694(@200wpm)___ 555(@250wpm)___ 463(@300wpm)
“She uses it to beat stronger habits—her words.” He cleared his throat and shrugged out of his jacket before trailing to the kitchen.
I followed again, eyeing a few pictures on the wall. They were all from Noa’s baby years. Wait, one from…maybe third grade? Eyes filled with mischief, goofy grin, a missing tooth. KC had that photo in an album, so I knew it had been taken after he and Christine had met.
“Are you hungry?” I heard her ask. “I made those puff pastry cups you like.”
“Oh, um—thanks, but…” Noa disappeared into the kitchen, and I took a couple more steps, just enough to stay outside but see everything in the sparsely decorated room. “This is Lucian. I don’t know if you remember him.”
Christine closed the oven and glanced over at us, and she was definitely surprised. She hadn’t changed all that much in the last few years. She’d dyed her hair darker, maybe. She was a pretty woman.
I didn’t know what caught my attention the most, her or the wineglass on the counter. It was half full.
Noa had noticed it too. “Mom, is that new?” He pointed to the glass.
She didn’t answer. She was busy staring at me.
“Hello, Christine.”
She snapped out of her surprise. “Uh—hi. Hi, Lucian.” She flicked Noa a brief glance. “Of course I remember him, sweetie. But what’s he—” She addressed me again. “What brings you by?”
I opened my mouth to respond, but Noa beat me to it.
“He wouldn’t let me come in alone, because shit’s about to hit the fan,” Noa stated bluntly. “Are you drinking again?”
That earned him a look of warning from Christine. “It’s one glass of wine, Noa. I can handle one glass.”
At nine in the morning?
Noa nodded and scratched his eyebrow. “Yeah, it’s more glass number five and six I’m worried about, but whatever. I’m gonna do this now.” He’d tensed up, and fuck me if I hadn’t done the same. I loathed seeing him in distress. “So you know KC left you because he couldn’t keep lying about his sexuality. But another truth to that story is that his feelings for me were changing, and so were mine for him. I tried to get closer to him, like, right before you separated, but he got all awkward. And that’s why he and I didn’t speak for a long time, because he tried to deny what he felt for me.”
Even in a situation like this, Noa was making it abundantly clear that he had taken the first step, not KC. Noa was just as protective of KC as KC was of Noa.
Christine just stared blankly at Noa. I could imagine it was…a bit much to process.
“I wore him down last fall,” Noa went on. “He and I are together. And, um…” He gestured vaguely at me. “So are Lucian and Cameron. And, yeah, it’s—whatever. We have a thing, the four of us. We’re together. So there you have it.”
I put a hand on his shoulder, wanting him to feel I was here for him.
He’d kept his promise. He’d gotten the ball rolling quickly. Without finesse, and that was our Noa. I wouldn’t change a damn thing about his ramble. Except for the feeling that a bomb could be set off at any moment.
Christine slowly unfroze herself and rested a hand on the counter, as if she needed the extra support. I had all the understanding for her shock; it had to be a hard pill to swallow, not to mention accept. And anger was an easy go-to emotion. I could understand that as well. We’d just have to see if she went too far.
“Y-you and KC?” she stammered. “My KC?”
“My KC,” Noa corrected. “But yes. We live together too. Cameron and I moved in to their house in Mclean.”
Christine shot her incredulous stare to me the second Noa said “their house.” That was what she’d reacted to.
“You and KC still live together?” she asked me, a bit out of breath.
I inclined my head. “We all live together, Christine.”
She let out a sharp breath and covered her mouth with her hand. “I can’t believe this. Noa, you—he’s—I mean… You and KC? Together? Together-together?”
Noa nodded jerkily, and I rubbed his back gently, wishing he’d unclench a little. He was so ready for an attack.
“We wanted to tell you sooner,” he said stiffly. “But I was worried it might trigger a relapse.”
At that, Christine let out a dark laugh, even though nothing about this was funny. “Oh, you worried about that, did you? Well, here’s an idea—how about you don’t get into a sexual relationship with my ex-husband? With your stepfather!” That seemed to break the levees, and she started crying. “Oh my God, this is sick, Noa. It’s sick!”
Noa flinched and took a step back, whereas I was quick to take one forward.
“I understand you’re angry, but you won’t call him sick,” I told her firmly. “They’re both adults, and they didn’t exactly plan for—”