6
About fifteen minutes later, my doorbell buzzes, and my heart does a little dance. I quickly check myself in the hall mirror by the entry. Lipstick and hair in check… good.
Noah is smiling widely when I swing the door open.
“Come in,” I say a little too enthusiastically.
His eyes rake over me quickly, for an appropriate amount of time. I’m wearing my hair up in a messy bun, and a green shirt dress over leggings, cute but not too sexy.
His gaze darts about the space and he seems impressed. “I love the colors here.”
I smile. “Yeah, isn’t it great? It was like this when I moved in. It will probably need a repaint soon.”
“No, it looks good.” He hands me a bottle of red wine. “For the hostess. I wasn’t sure if you liked wine.”
My smile fades. “Uh… actually I’m in AA.”
His face falls and he stands there, dumbstruck. “I’m so sorry, Abby. I had no idea.”
I laugh out loud. “Nah, just pulling your chain. I love wine… perhaps a little too much.”
A slow smile traces his beautiful lips. “You have a mean streak… who knew?”
I grin as I take the bottle from him, a lovely Bacot Noir. “I’m sorry… that was in poor taste.”
“Well, you got me. Way to break the ice.”
I give him a quick tour of my place, which doesn’t take too long. I’m lucky to a have a corner unit, spacious with a great view. However, it’s certainly not easy on the wallet.
We move into the kitchen and he offers to help but I insist that he sit down on the sofa and relax.
“So what do you do when you’re not helping people,” he asks me as I take care of the final preparations.
I laugh. “I like to read,” I say. “Can you tell?”
He stands, heads to my bookcase, and browses my books. I’m a little uncomfortable at the sight of him intently perusing my many books. Book collections are so personal.
He smiles. “I see you’re a fan ofCalvin & Hobbes. Me too.”
“I love it.”
“You have a great collection here.”
Yes, over the years, I’ve collected the entire collection ofCalvin & Hobbes, Garfield, Foxtrot, Dilbert, and am the proud owner of thePeanutsCollector’s Edition.
“They cheer me up when I’m down,” I confess. “All I need is a cozy throw, a cup of tea and my comic books.”
“No drugs or booze needed,” he jokes. “That’s cool.”
I’m brought back to my parents, and a wave of sadness consumes me, like it often does whenever I reminisce about the past. My dad died a few years ago, and I’m estranged from Nick. Jake and I sometimes chat on Facebook, and he keeps me up to date. He’s a mechanic, and apparently Nick is unemployed. In a funny twist of fate, Nick bought the Reeds’ old trailer.
“This looks amazing,” Noah says as we sit down to eat. “And so do you, by the way,” he adds with a playful grin.
I raise a brow. “Are you flirting with me?” I tease as I serve him a helping of beef and rice. “You know this is just a friendly neighborly meal, right?”
“I do.” He smiles, and I stare at him a little too long before filling up my own plate.
He pours us both wine, and I study his beautiful hands. He has the long fingers of a pianist.
