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“Only took…five and a half weeks.” He winks, and it’s then I realize what he’s implying.
“Oh my gosh.” I laugh, then playfully push his arm. “Was this an evil plan to get me to admit I’m no longer mad at you? Is there even someone after you?” I tease.
He snorts, then stands and kisses my forehead. Butterflies surface in my stomach as a shiver slides down my spine.
“Yes, unfortunately, but at least one good thing’s come of it.”
He sits in his chair, and I suddenly miss his closeness. These conflicting feelings are tearing me up inside.
“Well, whoever they are won’t win against us. Not this time anyway,” I reassure him. “I’m glad we’re starting fresh.”
“Me too. It’s a new beginning, and I’m ready.”
We finish eating, and as we’re cleaning up, I mention something weighing on my mind. “Do you remember how we used to pass notes to each other in middle and high school?” I ask.
He chuckles smoothly. “How could I forget? Those got me into trouble just a couple of times.”
I laugh and nod. “Me too. I actually found a box of our old notes a few weeks ago.”
“Really? That’s funny, I was looking through some of my old yearbooks. Should’ve known you wanted me by how you signed it.”
“What’d I write?”
Noah’s eyes gaze down my body as we stand next to each other in the kitchen. I do the same to him, except I’m imagining what’s underneath his clothes.
“You put, ‘Your Girl for life’ and then ‘ha-ha’ in parentheses.”
My eyes widen, and I smack my forehead. “Oh my God, that’s embarrassing.”
“Are you kiddin’? I cherished it. Might’ve jerked off to the fantasy of you whispering that in my ear.”
“Noah!” I swat his chest. “You were too young for that.”
He barks out a laugh. “You can’t be serious. I was sixteen. I’d been doing it for years at that point, mostly to images of you.”
“Stop, oh my God.” Now I know my face is beet red.
He smirks, grabbing a paper towel and spraying some cleaner on it before going to the table. “Wouldn’t be surprised if Owen is taking extra long showers.”
I release a groan and inhale a deep breath. Owen having a father would come in handy right about now. He needs a man to talk about this kind of stuff with. I don’t even know what I’d say. Is it time for the birds and the bees talk?
“Katie, I can see the dials spinning in your head.” Noah moves in front of me as if he knows exactly what I’m thinking. “Owen only has a few years before he’s a full-blown teenager. Do you remember all the trouble we got into at thirteen and fourteen years old?”
“Half of those ideas were yours!” I scold.
He cackles. “Yeah, and the other half were yours.”
“I guess I didn’t realize how fast he’s growing up. I kinda forgot that he’ll need a man to talk to him about puberty and girls. He won’t want his mom to tell him what to expect.”
“You’re right,” Noah agrees. “But luckily, he has a lot of people in his life, though. There’s me, Tyler, and his grandfathers. He might’ve already had the talk with one of them.”
“You think so?” My heart races at the idea.
Noah shrugs. “Only one way to find out. Also, he has access to the internet, so it’s likely he’s already stumbled across something on his tablet.”
“Ugh,” I say.
I check my phone and realize I’m going to be late returning to work. Our conversation is all I’m gonna be thinking about for the rest of the day. If we’d restored our friendship years ago, where would we be today? I wonder if we’ll ever be able to get back to how things used to be or if we’ll always have this lingeringwhat-ifbetween us. “Shit, I gotta go. My break is over.”
