Total pages in book: 16
Estimated words: 15387 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 77(@200wpm)___ 62(@250wpm)___ 51(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 15387 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 77(@200wpm)___ 62(@250wpm)___ 51(@300wpm)
I left town when I was sixteen to live with my Dad after my parents divorced. I knew Noah, hung out with him a couple of times, but I was too focused on leaving to have a proper crush on him. I wasn’t blind and girls kept gushing about him and my brother, so I knew he didn’t look bad.
But looking through the lens of a grown woman, he’s way too ruggedly handsome for his own good. He’s so…masculine, and it’s making my girly parts hyperconscious of his presence.
“We’re here.”
Huh, we are? That was fast. I thought we’d have at least ten minutes before he dropped me.
My heart feels heavy because I genuinely want more time with him, but I’ll dissect that feeling later. For now, I need to get out of these clothes and take a bath. I feel filthy, and scrubbing all this dirt sounds heavenly. My scalp is itchy, and I think I’m starting to smell.
God, so embarrassing. Talk about a great first impression.
But it’s not like he’ll ever look at me that way. He’s probably annoyed he had to get up and pick me up. I can’t blame him. Maybe he has a girlfriend he left in bed…or worse, a wife.
Stop it, Nora. You’re acting like the pathetic virgin you are. He’ll never see you as anything more than Keith’s baby sis.
I open the door and jump down, flashes of childhood memories flooding me as I stare at the two-story Mediterranean house I grew up in. From the weathered terracotta roof tiles to the old oak tree in front, it looks almost the same. Well, almost. Keith apparently upgraded a couple of things, like the wrought-iron balconies on the second floor and the new arched doorway painted in beige.
I hate to admit it, but I missed this place. Keith, for all his faults, made sure to shield me from Mom and Dad’s fights, which was an everyday occurrence. He sat down with me, played house, painted my bedroom, and even watched Barbie movies. Just to take my mind away from the yelling downstairs.
“Thanks for the ride, and I’m sorry for bothering you.”
Noah shoves his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants and gives me a sharp, tight nod. “It’s no problem at all, Nora. Do you have the key? I’ll go in first and check all the rooms.”
He doesn’t have to, but I’m glad he offers. I’ve binged too many Netflix documentaries that feed my paranoia. “No, but Keith said he left it in our usual spot.”
Noah walks in front of me, taking my duffle bag and slinging it over his shoulder. I follow him closely, taking advantage of the fact that he can’t see me so I check him out. God, even his back is perfect. I just want to run my hands down and find out if it’s as hard as it looks.
I almost crash face-first into him because he stops in front of the solid wood door. Blush creeps into my cheeks, and I turn away from him and find a brown flower pot hand-painted with my name on it, my fingers brushing the cool clay.
I lift it and find nothing underneath. What the… I lift the other three pots and also find nothing.
Keith… You didn’t.
I take out my phone again and, after checking the signal, furiously type his name and dial his number.
It rings three times before he picks up. All the while, I feel Noah’s eyes on me.
I run my fingers through my hair and clench it into a fist, digging my nails into my palm.
“Nora, you got home okay?”
“Yeah, I’m home. Thing is, I can’t find the key.”
A pause on the other line and all I hear is his heavy breathing. “Shit.”
There’s rustling of bags, zippers, and other stuff like he’s moving things around. My stomach feels heavy again because I already know what he’s going to say.
“Nora, shit. I’m so sorry. I have both keys.”
Great. Perfect. That’s exactly the last thing I need right now. “Keith…”
“I know, I know. Shit, I was in a hurry and forgot to leave the key. Listen, is Noah still there? Can I talk to him?”
Without a word, I hand my phone to Noah, who furrows his forehead and looks at me as though he’s trying to see through my soul. I turn my back on him and wrap my arms around myself.
Can this day get any worse?
Actually, no. Please no, universe. Forget I asked. That’s a rhetorical question, not a challenge.
I don’t know what Keith is saying, but I hear Noah mumbling, “Yeah. Sure. Fine. Nora?”
“Hmm?” I spin on my heel to face him, biting my lower lip because I’m one bad news away from crying. It’s been one sorrow after another ever since I lost my job as an executive assistant.
I was with the company for over a year, my first job after graduation. But sales were down, and management had no choice but to lay off employees. Unfortunately, I was one of them. Then, I spent the next three months job hunting, sent more than a hundred applications online and in person, and received nothing but rejection letters.