Chapter 15
All the parts that made her female silently sang a happy tune.
She tried to make them shut the heck up, but her body wasn’t listening. It was envisioning rubbing up against him and purring, while her brain told her to bang her head several times against the nearest tree. Too bad the big trees were in the other yard.
No, Noah did not have Lori, but that didn’t make him available to her. Been there, done that, and she had a small tattoo on her left hip to show for it.
The day she’d lost her virginity, in Chinese script.
It wasn’t a good idea to make decisions about tattoos two hours after one’s first time. It wasn’t a good idea to get a tattoo in the throes of post coital bliss. And it was never a good idea to tattoo one’s body with a beautiful teen boy egging you on with his sexy voice and dreamy eyes.
Thankfully, he hadn’t pushed for her to write his name across her butt. Dopey and in love, Harper would have obliged.
Noah had a tattoo that matched, although, he’d probably got his changed to “Beer” or “Mom” after she’d called him all sorts of awful names. Why would he want anything on his body to remind him of her?
She never planned to ask if he still had the tattoo, or to look for herself. One day she’d planned to have hers lasered off. She’d just never gotten around to taking the leap.
“I think you have overinflated confidence that I’d want you in my bedroom. Unless the ceiling leaks or my smoke detector needs new batteries, you’re out. My bedroom is off-limits.”
Noah gave her a look that caused a small brush fire down below. With effort, she managed to keep it from a becoming a five-alarm blaze. If she didn’t keep her mind on clearing her name, she’d have more serious things to worry about than starting an ill-advised sexual relationship with Noah.
“I’ll try to remember that.”
Clearly, he’d already made plans to thwart the rule. Still, he wouldn’t coerce her into bed, so any sexual contact was her choice to make. “I’ll go make a salad.”
He turned back to the steaks. Harper emptied the two bags, noting that she had enough lettuce and fixings for two. She also put the crusty bread in the oven on low for warming.
She’d splurged on a store-made balsamic dressing. After whipping together the salad, she found four place settings of stoneware in a cabinet and took two. Mismatched silverware followed, with paper napkins left by the previous tenants, or Noah.
The apartment was fully furnished down to well-used cooking supplies and utensils. Harper liked to cook and was pleased to have everything she’d need.
Noah walked in carrying the plate of steaks.
“Sorry, I didn’t buy any steak sauce,” she said and went to the fridge for two bottled waters. Had she known she’d be entertaining, she’d have bought beer.
He looked mortified. “A good steak seasoned well doesn’t need anything to make it better.”
O-kay then.
She retrieved and cut the bread and took it to the table. The salad made a bright centerpiece. They dug in.
One bite and Harper was swooning. “This steak is really good.” She quickly cut off another piece. “Yum. I’ve never had a better steak.”
“My granddad’s secret recipe.”
They ate for a few minutes, Harper finding that she enjoyed his companionship. In high school they’d been friends before anything else. She’d gotten to know him well while he worked to get her to date him. That was probably why it took so long for her to agree. He’d had to overcome the stigma of being a man-slut. She’d had to get over the belief he was after one thing. She suspected they were both surprised when they fell in love.
“How is your mom?” she asked and sipped her water. “Is she still working for J&G Construction?”
He nodded. “She’s the site manager now.”
“That’s awesome.” She’d liked Noah’s mom. “And your dad?” She hadn’t been a fan of Ed Slade. He’d been a lazy drunk and verbally abusive to his wife and kids.
Noah’s face closed up. “I don’t want to talk about him.” He pushed from the table and stood. “I should check the coals.”
Harper watched as he walked out, mystified by his abrupt departure. She knew Ed was an ass, but they’d talked about him many times, usually when Noah wanted to vent. Something had happened after she’d moved away and she wanted to know the secret.
Clearly, he needed a friend.
He was killing the coals with the tongs when she walked over and put a hand on the small of his back. “Do you want to discuss this?”
“Nope.”
“I think you do.” She reached around and stopped the coal-killing by clutching his wrist. “We’re friends. Friends keep friends from exploding with bottled up anger.”
He let go of the tongs and faced her. “First of all, we are no longer friends. You lost that title when we broke up. Second, Ed is dead to me.”
“Wow, that’s brutal.” And her heart hurt.
“Deal with it.” Brushing past her, he stepped over the short fence and vanished into his apartment.
Normally, she’d let this go. However, leaving him to stew was not a good idea. She remembered the trouble he’d get into when he’d been upset, and it appeared that things may not have changed with passing years.
His apartment was quiet when she pushed open the glass door and walked inside. The place was the mirror match to hers, though the colors and style were different.
She didn’t linger on the interior design as she went from room to room looking for Noah. When she found him in the bathroom splashing water on his face, he didn’t seem surprised to see her.
“I should have known you wouldn’t leave it alone.” He took a blue hand towel off the ring and patted his face. “You always were nosy.”
“And you always were a butt face, butt face.”
From behind the towel he stopped drying and his eyes appeared over the top of blue terry cloth. There was a twinge of humor in the blue depths. “That wasn’t nice.”
“Deal with it,” she said, echoing him, and put her hands on her hips. “I’m not leaving until you tell me about Ed and why you’re so angry.”
* * * *
Noah wanted to turn her over his knee and paddle the sass out of her, but getting anywhere near her perfect little butt would cause all sorts of trouble. Besides, if she wanted a spanking, she’d have to ask for one.
After tossing the towel on the vanity, he crossed his arms. She’d always been pushy. “You won’t let this go?”
“You know I can’t.” She left the bathroom and sat on the bed. That wasn’t the way he wanted that to happen. “Despite your mean comment, I think of you as a friend, or former friend anyway. You can tell me anything. I won’t judge.”
He sat next to her. Their arms touched. If she was anyone but Harper, he’d tell her to mind her own business and usher her out of his house. Yet, for some reason, he felt he owed her, and should tell her the real reason behind the terrible way he’d treated her during the weeks before the breakup.
So he rubbed the sides of his neck, then faced her sidelong. “Okay. Don’t forget you asked.”
Her beautiful brown eyes met his. Lord, she was killing him off with her sexiness.
“I was a major ass in those days before you found me in the car with Lori,” he said. She nodded a little too quickly. “There was a reason that you didn’t know about, no one did. It was a family secret.”
“Having to do with your father?”
He nodded.
As if sensing something big, she curled her fingers around his. Comforted, he plunged forward. “Remember how I told you Ed had been sick and that’s why I wouldn’t let you come over?”
“I remember. I thought he had cancer. Or something contagious, like leprosy.”
“Leprosy? You always were a weird girl.” His fingers tightened around hers and held on. “The truth was worse than a disease, HJ. He was in jail. For manslaughter.”