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“Of course I worry. But only if you’re referring to the word meaning the way an animal gnaws on a bone.”
As if I was picking said bone with her, she shot me an annoyed look.
I knew that look. That was the look of someone realizing I was too much. Too over-the-top.
You’re such a challenge,the words echoed in my memory.
It took me a long time to come to terms with the fact that I couldn’t survivewithoutconstantly challenging everything around me. How else was I supposed to know where the boundaries were? Like a shark, I could only feel things out if I took a bite.
And most people didn’t like being bitten. They liked to keep things steady and predictable.
They liked soft, gentle, safe, nurturing, and easy.
For the most part, women preferred guys like Noah.
But in bed, they preferred mouths like mine.
I’d come to terms with the fact that having sex was the closest I’d ever get to feeling truly connected with another person. After that mind-blowing night with Grace, I foolishly thought there might be a way to bridge the gap between my lonely mind and hers. But from the way she was looking at me right now, it was clear that the chasm yawned wider than ever.
A door swung open and Noah entered the kitchen, wearing his wrinkle-free white tee (yes, heironedhis t-shirts) with some XKCD comic about a math joke. Her black dress was in his hand, neatly folded and fully repaired.
Grace’s gaze shifted to him and I watched her pupils swell.
It was a tiny tell, and it only lasted a millisecond.
But I knew I’d lost her.
11
Grace
“I’m still amazed that you’re a guy and you know how to sew,” I said, examining the perfect stitching along my side. “Idon’t even know how to sew.”
Noah led me through a door and into the garage. I closed the door with a soundproofsmuck,sealing the cacophony of music inside the house.
Relief washed over me.
The smell of sawdust and a faint hint of gasoline wafted into my nostrils. It was comforting; it reminded me of all the times I’d helped my dad with his projects in the garage when I was a kid.
“Yep yep,” Noah said, his low, quiet voice echoing in the space. “It’s a very underrated skill.”
“I wish I knew how to sew,” I admitted, following him down the small set of stairs. I couldn’t take my eyes off the globes of his perfect ass as it shifted under his charcoal-colored shorts. Then I stiffened, feeling guilty for checking him out. I was supposed to stay loyal to Sam, right? But then again, Sam was just a hookup; a one-night-stand. I could check out whoever I wanted, whenever I wanted. There were no commitments; Sam didn’t own me.
And he didn’t seem like the type of person to even want something like a committed relationship anyway.
The sensation of freedom swelled in me, but there was still shame attached to it. Did this make me a slut? This totally made me a slut.
“Easy to learn,” Noah said kindly, pulling me out of my thoughts as his keys jingled in his hands. “Where exactly do you live? I remember you mentioned you’re close to the Steelborough District.”
“Good memory,” I said, then gave him my exact address.
“Ah, I know where that is,” he said, then walked to the passenger side of a gleaming white Audi and opened the door for me.
I got in, feeling the warm hug of the buttery leather seat. “Thanks for giving me a ride home, by the way.”
He shrugged. “It’s nothing. I’ve gotta stop by the office today anyway.”
Noah closed the door, sealing me in here with the new car smell, and walked over to the other side. I couldn’t help but check out the lines of his shoulder bones where his clean white t-shirt hung off him.
