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“You’re a lot to take, Mother,” he almost whispered. “If I don’t warn people, they might get their feelings hurt. Norah is one of the best people I know, and you were rude to her.” She crossed her arms over her chest and stared him down, much like she used to do when he was just a kid.
“Listen, Mom,” Colter said knowing that they had reached a stalemate. “I have to go.”
“You’re choosing that woman over your own mother?” his mom asked.
“I am,” he said, “and rightly so. You treated her poorly and I won’t stay here and allow your behavior. Give me a call when you can behave like a decent, nonjudgmental human being. I’d love to talk then, Mom.” He grabbed his jacket and turned to leave. He could feel his mother’s eyes on him, boring into the back of his head, but he didn’t turn back to face her. He wasn’t willing to bend on this and that was what she’d require—it always was.
He got outside just before the Uber pulled up to collect him and Norah. She silently held the car door open for him, not looking him in the eyes, and Colter could tell that she was hurt. Hell, he was hurt for her.
Colter slid into the back seat of the waiting vehicle and turned to face her. “I’m sorry about everything,” he said. “I should have never agreed to you going with me. It was an awful idea.”
“It was my idea, so I’m the one to blame. I guess that her bringing my parents into her discussion about religion just really bothered me. I’ve never really thought about an afterlife or anything like that because I never really believed in one. Not even after they were gone.”
“You were just a kid, Norah. Of course, you didn’t think about that kind of stuff,” he agreed. Colter hesitantly reached out and took her hand into his own, loving that she allowed him to do so. Usually, Norah had her walls up, blocking him from accessing anything private about herself. Once in a great while, he caught a glimpse of the real Norah and Colter had to admit—he really liked her. She was someone he could see himself with long term and that hadn’t happened with anyone else yet. In fact, he usually thought of himself as the eternal bachelor, doomed to be alone while his friend’s all found happiness. But Norah gave him hope that he’d be able to have more, and hopefully, it would be with her.
“I was just a kid, but I never questioned where they went after they died. My grandmother used to tell me that they went to heaven and were watching over me. I just assumed that meant that they were still hanging around, keeping an eye on me because I had no idea where heaven was. I used to pretend that they were with me for all of my big milestones—you know, graduation, getting into college, even my college graduation, and landing my job at NASA. As an adult, I know how crazy that makes me sound.”
“Not at all,” he soothed. “I think that it actually sounds kind of nice. They’d be really proud of you, Norah. You’ve accomplished so much in such a short time. I bet that they’ve been with you every step of the way, cheering you on.”
“Thanks for saying that,” she whispered. “My grandmother would have never said anything like that. In fact, she really didn’t talk a whole lot about my parents. Every time I brought them up, she’d change the topic.”
“It must have been awful growing up and not feeling as though you could talk about your own parents,” he said.
“It was, at first. I don’t really blame my grandmother though. She had a tough life. She came from money.”
“Oh, yeah, that must have been horrible for her—having money and all,” Colter teased.
Norah giggled, “Well, it was the way that her family came into money that always bothered her.”
“Do I dare ask?” he questioned.
Norah shrugged, “My family owned one of the largest ammunition companies on the East Coast. It was started by my great, great grandfather during World War I and well, continued with the wars that followed. They made a fortune and my grandmother always hated that her money came from other’s deaths.”
“That’s understandable,” Colter said.
“She did some good with it—giving some of the money away to charities, but she never found a way to break her link to that money.” He wanted to ask what had happened to the money after her grandmother’s death but didn’t feel it was appropriate to pry. If Norah did inherit it, she didn’t flaunt her wealth. In fact, he would bet that she was as poor as he was. She had told him about her tiny apartment on the outskirts of town, even saying that it was too expensive to live near her work. The two things he learned not to talk about, early in life, were religion and money. Colter wasn’t going to change that now.
“How about we go out and have a bit of fun?” Colter asked, changing the subject. “I’d love to do some sight seeing today and then, how about you let me take you to dinner and maybe out to a club or something?”
“A club,” she squeaked. “I’m not really much of a dancer.”
“Oh, you’ll be fine. I think that both of us need to blow off some steam after the encounter with my mother and I’m betting you could use some fun after your crazy work week here,” Colter said. He had known some hard workers, but Norah took the cake. She would work seven days a week if Savannah and Ginger didn’t step in to stop her.
“Fine,” she agreed, “I’ll go out with you today, as long as you’re okay with giving me tomorrow to get some work done. I’m a bit behind at work and I want to finish this next week strong before heading back to the beach house.” Colter had a feeling that she had already done more work in one week than most people get done in a whole month, but he wasn’t going to challenge her about it.
“Sounds good to me,” he agreed. “I can do some more touristy things during the day while you are working tomorrow. Will you have dinner with me tomorrow evening again?” he asked.
“Well, I do have to eat,” she teased. “I’ll make reservations at my favorite place for tomorrow night. That will give me something to look forward to after a long day of work.” He pouted at her, and she looked him over. “Did I say something wrong?” she asked.
“You left out the part about looking forward to seeing me after a long day of work. I thought that I’d be enough, but I guess some women need the promise of a fancy restaurant to keep you going,” he teased.
She barked out her laugh. “I’m taking you to my favorite burger joint. There is nothing fancy about it but seeing you will be a bonus if that makes you feel any better, Colter.” She was probably just saying that to appease him, but he’d take it. He loved how well they seemed to be getting along while alone together. A part of him worried that time alone with Norah would only end up with them both hating each other, but he had to admit, this was nice. Spending time with Norah was easy and Colter found himself craving more from her—so much more than she might ever be willing to give to him, but he was going to keep trying.
Norah
Their week in New York City seemed to pass by in a blur. Colter showed her the town, making her stop at every tourist trap on the East Side, and then, after work each night, he’d take her to dinner or out clubbing, to show her a good time. He was fun, and that was something that Norah was missing in her life. Spending time with Colter wasn’t a chore, as she thought it might be. He was easy to talk to and very easy on the eyes. Norah found herself thinking about him in ways that she shouldn’t, but she just couldn’t help herself. She really liked him, despite her promise to herself that she wasn’t going to fall for him, or into bed with him.
They got back to the beach house late Friday night, after her last meeting at work, and she had to admit, it felt good to be back with her friends. She actually missed that place and the slower pace of life they all seemed to enjoy at the house. Seeing her friends happy made Norah happy, but it also made her wonder if giving up on romance was the right call for her. Didn’t she deserve a little bit of romance before the summer was over? Colter was the first guy to make her think about things like sex and losing her virginity, so why not just ask him how he felt about it? Besides, they had already told the rest of the group that they were “together” so why not make it true?
