Walking hand in hand with Rory, Noah was escorting the energetic little guy from daycare. They were still far away from home and Rory had not yet run out of stories about the day's misadventures. Lately, Rory was the only thing that put a smile on Noah's face. Crystal had gone on vacation -- which was a very good thing, in his opinion -- but she told him that it was only temporary. She would be coming back tonight, and her first stop would be to "spend time" with him. More like badger him.
"Noah, I'm tired," Rory whined, rubbing his eyes with balled fists. Noah picked his little brother up, resting his head on his broad shoulder. As he cradled him into his chest, Noah made no attempt to lie to himself. He was incredibly busy with work and watching Rory with little to no help, but he couldn't go around Larissa while he felt this way. It wouldn't be right to her. He wouldn't be surprised if she hated him for not contacting her; he'd seen the calls over the past few weeks and so desperately wanted to return them but his conscious wouldn't let it happen.
His cell phone was ringing. Larissa? In an effort to break the cycle of avoiding her that he had fallen into, Noah hit the 'talk' button without looking at his caller ID. Fuck, the one time he should have checked, he didn't. Crystal.
"Yeah?" he answered dryly.
"Hi, snookums!" Crystal shrieked. She must have been in a good mood; otherwise she would have grilled him for such a lackluster greeting. "Just got back from St. Croix and I have got great news for you!"
Please let it be that you want to break up with me, he thought with false hope. "What's that?"
"Well um, my dad needs someone for his new business. Someone to be in charge of, well, everything."
Not Russell's. The only way Noah would commit to willingly working there is if someone held him at gunpoint. Hell, even then, it would still be up for debate. "No thanks. I'm fine with the position I got."
"Not at the grocery store!" she scoffed. "Dad's business in Nevada. It's a little town, just on the outskirts of Las Vegas. I know you're handy with computers and stuff, so you'd be doing a lot of IT work, mostly. Keeping track of the business's finances. I think he said something about close to 100k a year, if I'm not mistaken."
Holy shit. Noah stopped in his tracks and almost dropped his phone. Fumbling with it, he put the receiver back up to his ear. "One hundred-thousand a year?" he asked.
"Yeah," she giggled. "You wouldn't have to worry about living arrangements, since we own a few properties there. I think you'd have fun living in the condo we own. It has a lot of space and there's an elementary school nearby for Rory. That way he would be out of our hair most of the time!"
Our? "What do you mean, Crystal? And I'm not calling you Silver, so just get to the point."
"Fine," she sighed. "Well, I'd be living with you, naturally. I'm tired of this town just as much as you are. The only reason my Dad even moved here was for all of the business opportunities. Won't it be fun?"
Noah's shoulders shrugged. 10ok a year was the best offer he'd gotten since... well, ever. But living with Crystal? Having to see her face from sunup to sundown was the one thing that fucked up the whole deal. That and leaving Larissa behind. "Look, I'm almost home," he explained. "I'll call you back when I get situated." Flipping his phone closed, Noah barely managed to keep walking without stopping. Jesus, he was looking for some kind of break; even close to praying, though Noah was not what you would call a devout Catholic. Noah guessed this was God's way of answering his prayers. But was it the right choice for he and Rory?
A crackle of thunder above was followed by heavy raindrops. Noah managed to get the umbrella open just before the fat drops of rain got a chance to drench them. He knew he was almost at home and tried to walk as fast as possible. A medium-sized woman was walking towards him, but he paid her no mind. Even if he tried to, the rain would obscure his view. The closer the woman got to him, the slower his pace became. The gait of that walk. The switch of those hips. Her rubber boots and raincoat were the same she wore that day in the park. She looked delicious.
"Larissa," Noah called out.
When Larissa realized who it was, she stopped to a halt, then tried to hightail it past him, but he grabbed her arm. "Wait!"
She shook her head and pulled away from his weak grasp. "No, Noah. I'm busy and minding my own business. I have nothing to say to you."
First Crystal with her bombshell, now running into a livid Larissa was enough to drive Noah crazy. He clenched her arm again, this time holding on so tightly he could hear her whimper. "But I have something to say to you and goddamn it, you will listen to me."
She pulled back, rubbing her arm lightly. Her eyes went to Rory and she picked up the sleeping toddler along with the umbrella. Noah was so pissed he was shaking, and didn't want to chance dropping his little brother. With a deep breath, he looked into Larissa's honey brown eyes and a torrent of words followed.
"Ris, I've been busy. I haven't had any help with Rory. This old lady next door to me baby-sits him sometimes but she's probably had her lifetime's worth of childcare experience, so she's sick of him. I've had to work full-time AND train new employees, including Joanna."
"If all you're going to do is give me excuses --"
"They're not," he interrupted. "There is no excuse. I have been busy, but it doesn't mean I couldn't have taken five minutes out of my day in the past two weeks to contact you and let you know how I feel. Let's just stop the bullshit, Larissa. I've had a relationship's worth of bullshit. I don't want anymore. I feel something for you and I already know you do too."
"Who says?" she spat. This girl was stubborn down to the very end.
"Fine." Noah stepped forward, his line of sight focused directly on her, his stare more intense than usual. "Look me in the eyes and tell me you don't want anything with me. I'll fuck off, let you live your life."
Larissa shifted uncomfortably. "But that's stupid," she whispered, looking at the ground.
"Even if it is," he reasoned. "Just do it. Look at me and tell me you don't want to be with me."
Slowly her gaze lifted. When her eyes met his, she quickly closed them again. "Noah," she sighed, "So what if I do want to be with you? You have a woman. You have a girlfriend. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to see if I can have some form of a love life too."
"Who? With Rico Suave?" Noah scoffed.
"His name is James," Larissa snapped. "And yes. James is sweet, loving, kind, everything you --"
Putting his coat over Rory to block him from the rain, Noah snatched the umbrella out of Larissa's hand. He was already drenched from the spring rain, and the second the water began hammering down on Larissa, she gave him a look that told him how much she loathed him for doing that. "The hell is the matter with you?"
With both hands, Noah cupped Larissa's face. He stared into her eyes, his pale hands caressing her light, golden brown skin. His left thumb lightly brushed against her bottom lip, tracing it. "You are what's the matter with me," he whispered. "Look, I don't know what you think. I'm not some hot-shot Don Lothario looking to fuck anything that moves. I've dated people other than Crystal, I've felt love and before that, a strong connection. A strong desire."
Larissa trembled under his touch. He didn't know whether it was from the rain or his words, but he didn't want to chance her getting a cold. "Rory and I are almost home. You obviously weren't going home but I... I want you to come back with me. Even if I didn't feel this way for you, I'd still want to talk to you. You're an ideal person to confide in," he confessed. "Please."
