We had just gotten back to my place when my phone rang. It was Jackson.
“Hey man, did you get her car okay?” I asked.
“That’s what I’m calling about, dude. Someone slashed all her tires.”
Thankfully, Jules was in the shower so she couldn’t overhear what was going on. She was already enough of a mess after what that asshole Reid had said to her. I wanted nothing more than to break that fucker’s pretty-boy face.
“What? How? There’s always a guard at the back door.”
“Apparently he was occupied… if you know what I mean…”
“Can you have Adam check the security footage?” I asked.
“I already did. Dan, the bodyguard, was with Carrie. Some guy I couldn’t recognize was the one who got the car. He had a hood on and I couldn’t make out his face. His build was definitely male, though.”
“Are you sure it was her?”
“Positive. What do you want me to do now? Should I call the police?”
“No. I’ll handle it on my end. Can you call Segundo and have him get in touch with his cousin in Brooklyn? We need to see about getting new tires on the car by the morning?”
“I’m on it. I’ll keep you posted.”
I clenched my phone and told myself not to toss it against the wall. Fan-fucking-tastic… How was I going to explain this to Jules? I honestly didn’t think that Carrie would stoop this low. I knew she was spiteful, but I thought she was classier than this.
When Jules came out of the shower, I lied to her. I told her Jackson was busy hanging out with Ellie. Hopefully my evasion would buy me enough time to get her car fixed. I could tell she was exhausted and more than a little stressed out about the school situation. It killed me to see her like this, knowing there wasn’t anything I could do to take her pain away. I made a mental note to call Jackson’s dad first thing in the morning. I hoped he would be able to pull some favors and get to the bottom of it so we could put it behind us.
I lifted her off her feet and carried her to the bedroom. I placed her in the middle of the bed and pulled the covers up. “Are you okay?” I asked. This was exactly how she’d looked after we’d found her mom’s note telling her they were moving. I was scared of what was going on in that head of hers.
“Yeah.”
“We’re going to get this all straightened out, okay?” I climbed into bed next to her and tucked her into my side.
“Sure.” She shrugged.
“I mean it. I’m not going to stop until this is taken care of. Whoever started this is obviously malicious. They just want to bring you down. Don’t sink to their level, baby. Reid’s an asshole so don’t let anything he said bother you, either.”
She smiled and let a small giggle slip past her lips. “I’m not a slut. That’s not my thing.”
“I know, baby. Though you hopped right back in the sack with me,” I teased, and she slapped my chest playfully.
“That’s because you’re my Noah. You’re my best friend, the love of my life.”
I was almost positive she hadn’t realized what she’d said. “The love of your life, huh?”
“Did I say that?” She pecked me on the lips. “It doesn’t hurt that you’re hung like Johnny Sins and you look like an Abercrombie model. I mean, who wouldn’t want to spend of her life looking at that?”
“Who’s Johnny Sins? Or do I not want to know?”
“He’s a porn star.” She winked.
“Then I’m glad I fit your standards. Seriously, Jules, you’re smart, beautiful, funny and caring. You’re also one of the strongest people I know. I would love nothing more than to spend the rest of my life looking at you.”
“You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.”
“I love you.”
The next morning, the alarm went off at six. I decided to get up with Noah so we could go for a run together. It was so odd seeing the city while most of its occupants were still sleeping. It was almost serene for a city that never sleeps. On the way back, we slowed to a jog. Thankfully, we were able to hit Starbucks. I was feeling much more optimistic today.
As we walked into the complex, Noah said good morning to George. I wondered if that poor man ever went home since he was always here. Once we were in the condo, we headed to the shower. I could tell Noah was apprehensive about touching me in my current state, but I needed him. I stood on my tippy toes and pressed my lips to his. I slowly grazed my tongue gently over his lower lip and bit down gently.
As soon as I pulled away, it was game on. Hands and tongues were roaming. Pleasure seared through our bodies until we formed our connection. He pinned me up against the shower wall and started thrusting. Still soaking wet, we moved from the shower to the bedroom. By the time we were done, we had been in positions that most people probably only say they know. We could definitely give the Kama Sutra a run for its money.
“That was so hot. I’m surprised we didn’t light the room on fire,” I joked.
“That just completed my cardio for the day.” He leaned in and kissed me passionately.
“Noah, part of me will always love you, and I love having sex with you, but I can’t give you what you want. If you were to resent me down the road, I wouldn’t be able to get past that.” I was trying my hardest to keep my heart safe.
“What are you talking about? You are everything I could ever want, and more. I could never resent you. No matter what.”
“You want kids,” I stated. “I can’t have kids, and I refuse to take that away from you.”
“First, I would like to examine every option available before we just throw in the towel. One of the attorneys at my firm, Joe, his wife Melissa is a renowned OB/GYN here in the city. Maybe we could make an appointment to see her. We can have her take a look and see what possibilities, if any, exist. If you can’t, it’s not the end of the world. I swear I won’t mind. I only wanted kids because I wanted them with you.”
“We’re definitely not there yet, but I guess it couldn’t hurt to know what options there are. I still don’t want to get either of our hopes up…”
“Jules, my only hope is that you will be mine again one day. I’m hoping that day comes much sooner than later because, as much as I love what we have going on, it would be even better if we were truly together. Regardless, I'm so happy to have you back and I love you.” He leaned in and kissed my nose.
“I know. You know I love you, too. I’m just not sure if this could work.” I gestured between us. “I don’t know what to think yet. Part of me wants to, the other part is scared of the what if.” Plus, I can’t go into a relationship without telling him the truth about Professor Chase Mitchell.
“You can’t do anything without risking something. You know that better than anyone.”
I nodded my head in agreement.
We re-showered and managed to stay clean this time. He dressed in a pale grey suit, a navy blue button down, a silver tie, and black loafers. He looked devilishly handsome. I went through all the clothes that Noah had purchased and settled on a pair of jeans and a pale, pink blouse. I still had a couple hours to kill before class, so I was going to hang out here until it was time to go. We kissed as I playfully shoved him out the door.
He smirked. "Jackson left your keys at the front desk and Claire at reception knows to give them to you when you go down."
"Thanks for taking care of that." I blew him a kiss and closed the door.
Looking around the apartment, deciding it was definitely time for some breakfast, I went into the kitchen to make some oatmeal with fresh fruit. Sitting on the couch, I was turning on the morning news when I heard the front door open.
“You’re back already?” I yelled over my shoulder. I turned and gasped.
“What are you doing here? Where’s Noah?”
It was Carrie. She was wearing a trench coat. Her hair and makeup looked like something I would wear to work. She’s probably just wearing lingerie, too. I could only assume she came here with the hope of seducing Noah.
“I could ask you the same question. If I’m not mistaken, you’re no longer engaged. You don’t need to keep tabs on him anymore. But if you must know, he had a breakfast meeting.” I resumed eating my last bite of oatmeal.
“If he’s not here, how are you going to get to school?” She cackled maliciously.
“My car, how else?”
“Your car?” She seemed bewildered.
“Yes, my car. You know the thing with four wheels and a steering wheel that goes vroom-vroom. Yeah, that thing.”
“I know what a car is, you bitch. I just didn’t think your car would be going anywhere.”
“Why not?”
“I had your tires slashed last night.” She said it as if she were talking about the weather.
This bitch is more deranged than I gave her credit for. Wait. She did what? As soon as what she said registered, I jumped up and got in her face. “You did what?”
“You heard me, you whore!”
“What the fuck is your problem?” I looked her over. “Noah didn’t want you. Get over yourself.”
“You took what I had. You’re nothing but a no good whore!”
“You have no idea who I am, skank! You know what? You’re just pissed because you tried to take a stab at my dignity, but you missed. I’ve known a million of you. I know all the tricks of the trade. I didn’t get this far in life riding coat tails like you. You can’t take me on a ride that you can’t afford to pay for, bitch.”
My little rant was obviously too much for her small brain to comprehend. “Ugh!” She lashed out, reaching for me with her nails, and a catfight ensued.
She grabbed a fistful of hair and started pulling. I pried her fingers loose and used my momentum to toss her to the ground. All those free self-defense classes paid off big time. When I got her other hand free, I pinned them both above her head, and sat on her chest. I was careful not to take part in the attack. I didn’t even want to deal with the self-defense mess.
I grabbed my phone off the coffee table and called the police. She spent the time it took for them to get here thrashing and yelling profanities. During this time, her trench coat rode up. I was right. She was wearing slutty panties with no pants. She had the nerve to call me a whore…
When the police arrived, I explained everything that had happened. Since neither of us owned the place, they called Noah. He was already on his way home. One of the cops seemed to be having a hard time not laughing the more I explained. Noah came flying through the door fifteen minutes later.
Running straight to me, he looked at the scratch marks on my arm that Carrie gave me during the scuffle. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," I assured him. Carrie was trying to say my injuries were the result of self-defense. "I didn't even touch her. You'd know if I did." I whispered under my breath to Noah.
"You need to press charges." He advised.
Since she didn’t have a mark on her, there was no evidence to back up her story that I was the aggressor. Besides, I was here minding my own business when she’d barged in. They couldn’t charge her with breaking and entering, since she had a key, but they were slamming her with assault charges. I just hoped it wouldn’t cause more issues for him at work.
They arrested Carrie for assault and took her down to the precinct. When things settled down I knew I needed to talk to him about my car. "Noah, did you know about the tires?" I assumed he had, especially since Jackson brought the car back here last night. There was no way he could have driven it with flat tires. Unless Carrie was lying…
His face grimaced. "Jackson told me last night, but we got new tires put on. With everything you have going on I didn't want you to worry. I was hoping it was just a one-time act of revenge on her part and that you'd never have to find out." I wanted to be mad at him, I really did, but I couldn’t. In some kind of twisted way, it was sweet.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Noah asked.
“I’m positive. She just caught me off guard.”
“I’ll call and have the locks changed immediately.” He kissed my cheek before walking into the kitchen to call a locksmith. I knew I wasn’t going to make it to school on time. I reluctantly opted to miss my first class. I decided to call Ellie and tell her what had happened. She had gone from demure southern belle to ghetto queen in all of five seconds. She was ready to “go beat her mother-fuckin’ ass.”
A couple minutes later, Noah came back and said the locksmith would be here within the hour. I made us some turkey sandwiches to eat while we waited and finished getting ready for school. I was beyond thankful that I had the rest of the week off. I needed time to process everything that had transpired. Wanting to head upstate earlier than originally planned, Noah was trying to see if he could get the rest of the week off too.
After giving him a quick kiss, I left to collect my keys from Claire. She handed them over with a smile. Once I was in the parking garage and spotted my car, I wanted to go upstairs and smack him around. My car not only had new tires, but it also had new rims. They were black and matched my car. I wonder if he could help himself.
I called him and started yelling. He swore it was all Jackson’s idea because they didn’t have my size tires in stock. They “supposedly” only had this pair of rims that would work. In Jackson’s words, “they make it look bad-ass.”
I hung up and headed to the university. Walking through the parking lot, I was thankful that Reid wasn't there waiting. I had all the drama I could handle for one day. I headed into the graduate studies department and checked my student mailbox. There were a couple flyers for study groups, a book that my friend Cecile had returned, and an official looking letter. I opened the letter and pulled it out of the envelope.