Chapter 11
Joshua Makes Breakfast
I was shocked that I’d been able to fall asleep with all the stuff that was plaguing my mind. Yet after a swift eight hours, I woke up early that next morning to make breakfast for Naomi and myself.
Yes. I was making breakfast for a woman.
By the time I’d finished scrambling the eggs, getting the bacon and sausage ready, and frying the hash browns, I could hear her phone’s alarm chime. Pouring a huge glass of milk, I carried both our meals up the stairs and knocked on her door.
“Come in,” she said groggily. “I’m up.”
I entered her room. Naomi was still under a huge comforter, her curvy form obscured.
“What’s this?” she asked, puzzled.
“I’m bringing you breakfast in bed,” I said. “I’m glad you’re still in bed.”
“Wow,” she said with genuine surprise. “Thanks, Joshua.”
“You’re welcome,” was my quiet rumble.
I sat on the edge of the bed, and we ate together. It was peaceful actually, and really nice. We ate quietly, savoring the food.
“This is really good,” she said with a mouthful of egg.
“I tried,” was my wry smile.
“Wait a minute,” she said slowly. “Was this your way to try and get more sex?”
That made me laugh.
“No. I honestly just wanted to do something nice. Should I take the food back?”
“No,” she said playfully, hugging the plate. “Mine.”
I was almost finished with my breakfast, although Naomi was only halfway through hers. Figures. I’d been shoveling my food down my gullet.
“So, I guess we’re supposed to head back home tomorrow,” was my casual comment.
“I know,” she mumbled, looking down.
“We could just tell them we’re going to be here a little longer,” was my suggestion. “We’d have a little more time… get to know each other more… figure things out.”
But Naomi took a deep breath before lifting her head and meeting my eyes.
“There’s no sense in putting it off,” she said. “We’re going to have to go back at some point. I’d rather have a few months with someone before I decided to marry them, not a few days.”
“I’m with you on that. How are you feeling by the way?”
“About what?” she asked, confused.
“About things,” I said clumsily. “About all of this.”
“I’m not sure what you mean,” Naomi replied slowly. “I mean, there’s so much to think about.”
“I’m with you on that, too,” was my rueful grunt. “Maybe we should just withdraw all the money from our trusts. I’ll drive you to wherever you want to go. I’ve always wanted to see California.”
“I like California,” she said softly, shooting a soft smile my way. And my heart turned over then because the brunette really meant something to me.
But everything has to end at some point. I was long done with my food, and I watched Naomi finish up her meal, even enjoying how she chewed her food. Was it stupid to think that that was cute?
“I’m glad I finally had you in the shower,” was my low grunt, eyes fixed on the curvy form.
She giggled. “That was really hot.”
“Where should we do it next?”
The brunette shot me a delighted smile.
“Oh, we’re going to do it again?”
“Yeah, why not?”
She paused for a moment, lips pursed like she was thinking. It was real cute, and my heart flipped over again.
Finally, Naomi spoke.
“It sounds like you kind of like me,” she said.
“Are you kidding?” I replied. “I’ve been addicted to your body ever since I saw it on that first day.”
She raised an eyebrow. “We didn’t have sex on the first day.”
I grinned. “Right. And?”
Her brows furrowed.
“Well, what do you mean you ‘saw it on that first day’? I don’t get it.”
I remembered how I’d told her about my honesty policy. I couldn’t undo it, so I decided to tell her the truth.
“I… I sort of saw you naked in the bathroom on our first day here.”
She became instantly pissed. “What?”
“The bathroom door—let me explain—”
“Are you fucking kidding me?! Were you spying?”
“The door was open!”
“Bullshit,” she huffed.
“It wasn’t closed all the way,” I said desperately. “Naomi, I swear, I wasn’t trying to creep on you. I promise I—”
“Get the hell out of my room,” she said stiffly.
“You’re not letting me explain—”
“GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY ROOM! NOW!”
I leapt up off the bed and did as she asked. The brunette slammed the door shut. Truthfully, I was flabbergasted by her assertiveness. Where had that come from?
“Naomi, what’re you doing?”
I could hear her making shuffling noises in the room with some muffled banging.
“Naomi,” I tried again. “The door wasn’t closed all the way that first night. I was going to use the bathroom myself. It was an accident.”
She kept making noise. I pressed my ear to the door, trying to figure her out. What the hell?
“You were naked when I looked in,” I continued. “But I didn’t like, stare or sit around and watch you like some pervert. Okay?”
The noises stopped.
“Come on, Naomi! I’m a guy! I’m gonna look, you know?”
Finally, she threw the door open. The brunette was carrying all of her luggage, red-faced and flushed. She’d managed to get everything packed in those short few minutes.
“That’s the problem,” said Naomi. “You’re a guy. You’re not a man. To think I was going to go along with my parents’ stupid game. I’d rather die alone.”
She stormed past me, knocking me with one of her bags.
“Hey!” I yelled. “Come on, Naomi. You’re overreacting!”
“I’ll walk home and accept my fate,” she spat angrily, brown curls flying. “I was right about you all along. I can’t believe I let you convince me otherwise. You’re the same guy you’ve always been. Nothing’s changed.”
“What guy is that?” I asked, insulted.
“You’re a pig.”
I chuckled, but was actually hurt by the comment. “Oh yeah?”
“You’re disgusting,” she said.
“Oh, I’m disgusting,” was my sarcastic reply. “So, if you’d walked by the bathroom, and I was naked, you wouldn’t have taken a quick look?”
“I wouldn’t have looked,” she said primly. “I would have averted my eyes.”
“Now, that’s bullshit, sweetheart.”
“Don’t call me sweetheart, you ignorant asshole!” she snapped. “Fuck you. I’d rather marry a homeless guy than ever touch you again!”
“That’s not true either, sweetheart.”
“Stop fucking calling me that!”
“I’ll call you whatever I want,” I growled, inching closer to her.
“You’re not going to do your alpha male bullshit on me again,” she spat once more. “You’re not.”
“I don’t think alphas get told what they can and can’t do,” was my mild reply.
“Joshua, I swear to God,” she said, dropping her bags. “I’ll punch you right in the face. Don’t touch me.”
By now, I was only a few inches away, looming over that curvy form. But I kept my hands at my sides.
“I’m very sorry,” were my words. “If I could go back and not see you naked like that, I would. It was an accident. Why don’t you believe that?”
The brunette didn’t respond. She crossed her arms and kept her icy stare on me.
“Besides, if you leave like this, what happens if your parents cut you off?” I asked reasonably. “You won’t get very far. And what’ll you do once you run out of money or things to sell? What if your mom and dad are serious, Naomi? Do you really want to risk that?”
She began to cry, biting her lip. I hated seeing her like that.
“I hate this,” she mumbled, tears streaming down those cheeks.
“So, do I,” I assured her. “So don’t make me go through this alone. Stay with me.”
And before she could wipe the tears from her eyes, I did it for her with big, gentle fingers. And then before we knew it, we were back in each other’s arms, kissing passionately … bound together once again.