Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Who were those guys last night?  And why did Noah help me? I was laying on my stomach in the bedroom I woke up in, staring at the ceiling with my legs dangling over the edge and one arm draped over my eyes, the other resting on my stomach.  The voices of the two men managed to lodge themselves into my memory, the way they talked to each other was informal, but the way they talked to Noah wasn’t only informal…it was with caution. They know each other! I shot up on my bed at the same time there was a knock at the door.

“Jenna, are you in there?” It wasn’t Noah’s voice; this one wasn’t as deep or rough.

“Come on in!” I ran my fingers through my hair as Jake came in, shutting the door behind him as he took things in with a sad smile.

“Haven’t been in this room for a while,” he muttered.  His eyes roamed around the room as he kept his hands in his pockets and slowly walked around the room.  He let his fingers trace along the walls and furniture, over the CD selection by the stereo system, and over the afghan that was thrown over the back of the love-seat.  His eyes scanned the bare walls, up to the chandelier, and out the balcony doors.  It was almost like he forgot that I was in there.  That was easy for me to assume because when his eyes finally found the bed, they filled with surprise.

­Like he forgot I was here.

“I wouldn’t get used to Noah’s…polite behavior from breakfast this morning.  He’s usually not like that.  Don’t be surprised if he acts differently later on.”

“Not much of a people person, is he?” I laughed and got off the bed, turning to walk into the closet. “Is that what you came here for?  To warn me about his possible future behavior?” I couldn’t hide the smile from my voice as I spoke.

“N-not exactly…”

I walked back out of the closet with a black fleece, zipping it up halfway.  Jake looked like he was uncertain about being alone with me, his shoulders slumped a bit but his head held high �" like he was staying on guard.  It was unsettling…sure as hell didn’t help my concerns about the guys from last night.  Despite the unease his caution caused, his staring at me led to my face heating up, the usual reaction I had when someone would stare.

“I can…uh…I can show you around if you’d like.” His voice wasn’t as steady as it was at breakfast, and I’m sure that if his hands weren’t in his pockets, they would have been shaking a little bit.  Weird.  He didn’t reach me as the kind of person that would be nervous about talking to girls, especially since he seemed relaxed enough downstairs.

“Sure,” I smiled and led him out of the room, leaving the doors open behind us.  Jake made sure he stayed an arm’s length away, his hands still in his pockets and eyes focused ahead of us.  He didn’t say anything to me as he walked, nor did he say anything when he ducked into his room for a second, reemerging with a red snowmobile jacket he was slipping over his shoulders.

When the air outside came in contact with my skin, it stung more than I thought it would have, causing me to zip up my fleece the rest of the way.  It burned my mouth and nose when I inhaled, my breath disappearing into the gray sky when I exhaled.  Snow was floating down to the ground, each flake careful not to touch one another.  The brick driveway was paved, its length wrapping around and creating a cul-de-sac when it reached the house, a large, double-decker fountain planted in the center of it, the water still flowing.  Toward the end of the driveway was a large building, reminding me of a small warehouse, with a single garage door on the front and two regular doors on the side, one of which was closer to the center of the building.  A large window allowed me to see inside, thought it was difficult to make much out due to how far away we were, but I was able to see that there was more than one car in there.

“That down there is the garage.  We leave our cars parked down there so we can just pull right out onto the road,” Jake informed me.  I couldn’t help but raise a brow.

“How many cars do you guys have that you need that big of a garage?”

“We just have enough for each of us and one for the employees in case they need to go anywhere.  Actually, our cars only take up just over a quarter of it.  Our dad built quite the wall between that portion and the rest of it so that he and Noah could have a place to work on junk cars to fix ‘em up and sell them when they’re finished.  Looks like the real deal in there; even has a pit installed.”

“Is that where they are now?” Come to think of it, their dad was never at the table this morning with the rest of them.

“Noah is, more than likely.”

“What about your dad?  Where is he at?” I looked at Jake but as soon as I saw the look on his face, I wished I wouldn’t have asked.  My heart sank and a knot formed in the pit of my stomach. “I’m sorry…”

“It’s all good.  You didn’t know.” Jake cleared his throat and looked at me with a ‘what can you do’ smile and shrugged as he started walking. “The garage is kind of Noah’s place…he’s not a real big fan of others going in there.  I advise against trying.”

“I’ll be sure to remember that.” It was a bit of a struggle to keep up with Jake at first, but I wasn’t sure if it was because his stride was longer than mine or because he was just a quick walker. “Why does he listen to his music so loud?” Picking up on the noise from the garage was fairly easy to do once we started walking along the brick walkway that cut between the house and the garage �" rock music, undoubtedly.

“He usually only listens to it that loud when he’s either pissed off or trying to drown out his thoughts…plus it’s hard to hear quiet music over working sometimes.” That’s true.

Along the walkway were snow powdered hedges, about waist-high, and a few flower bushes mixed in with them, though nothing was in bloom.  It was like a simple maze, the plants veering off in different directions, remaining alongside the walkway whichever way it turned.  We didn’t walk down it, but the walkway had branched off at one point and led through a garden and up to a beautiful white gazebo.  I’ll have to take a closer look at another time.  Thick trees marked the end of their land on all three sides, but until it reached them, their land was clear and open.  In the backyard, was a decently sized pond, now frozen over, that had a small dock reaching out, its surface boards not far above the ice.

Jake told me about how they used to all ice skate in the winters as a family on it, but since their dad had been gone, it became less and less, Noah having stopped right away.  When I asked about what happened to him, Jake wouldn’t give me any information regarding the ‘cause’.  He only told me that Noah’s world crashed the hardest.  He told me about how his mom never even considered remarrying because, even though he was gone, she was still in love with her husband and couldn’t imagine being with someone else.  Even though I found it heartbreaking that she couldn’t move on, I admired her for loving him that much.

Inside, Jake walked upstairs with me but disappeared into his room as we passed it.  It was a quiet walk back to my room, but after Jake’s talking, it was kind of nice.  My shower’s hot water warmed my skin, the steam heating the air and banishing the goosebumps from my skin.  I stood under the stream and looked around the shower, admiring the carvings of the fleur-de-lis on the dark rock walls, the floor’s texture feeling like I was standing on actual slates of rock.  The racks that held the shampoos and body wash was made from rustic looking metal that attached to the wall in the corner.  Small lights were mounted higher up, the glass over the bulb forming a semi-circle, giving the shower a dim, candle-like lighting.  The only time I had ever seen a set up like it was probably in a home magazine…maybe.

The air stayed warm as I turned the water off and reached around the corner to grab a towel, using it first to get excess water out of my hair before wrapping it tightly around my body, tucking the corner in so I wouldn’t have to hold it.  It was a force of habit to stop and turn in the mirror to look at my shoulder, frowning at the sight of the four inch line that cut diagonally across my left shoulder blade.  The coloration was almost fully blended in with the rest of my skin’s complexion, but just the paler shade it had was enough to stick out like a sore thumb �" the only injury that’s ever left a permanent mark on me, though it wasn’t quite fully healed.  Mom told me it had taken the doctors a long time to get the piece of glass out without disturbing surrounding tissue more than it already was, but then they had to go through and make sure they got every last shard, no matter how small it was.  Apparently it was a surprise to them it hadn’t found its way completely through my shoulder, and somehow I was even luckier for it to have not gotten anything major.  Despite how faint it was, however, I still made an attempt to keep it covered so people wouldn’t ask questions when they saw it.

I let my hair fall back down between my shoulders, wishing it would be able to cover it up but knowing it was impossible, and walked out of the bathroom.  The air in the bedroom was cool, the carpet below my feet warmer than the tile.  Unfortunately, I barely took five steps before the double doors of the bedroom flew open and Noah came running in, his eyes finding me almost immediately.

“There you are!” He looked relieved, but there was something about him that made me think he was on edge as he rushed towards me.  My hands instantly clutched the towel that was around me and I ducked away from him.

“Dude!  What the hell are you doing?  I’m naked!”

“That’s nice, but technically you’re in a towel…and I’m clothed so it’s all good.” He was so casual, his eyes locked on my face without even so much as a glance at the towel.  Not even that was able to faze him.

“I don’t care!  Get out!” I put my hand on his chest and started pushing against him, but he stood strong in front of me, looking at my face.  His eyes were light with amusement, a small half smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.  It was enough to make my heart flutter in my chest, but I did my best to ignore it.

“It’s not like you have anything I haven’t seen before,” he shrugged.  My temper flared for a moment before I managed to force it down as I turned so my back was to him. “Except for that.”

I stopped in my tracks and looked down.  He was talking about my shoulder.  I slowly turned back to face him, shrugging my shoulder as I hid it from his line of sight.  The moment he saw my face, all humor left his features and it was replaced with a more sober look, his eyes darkening.  He knew I didn’t want him looking at it or talking about it, but there was a look in his eye that made it seem like he didn’t even mean to mention it.

“There’s no time for this,” he muttered. “Look, there’s this crazy girl here with her family right now.  She’s got some twisted fantasy about her and me and she doesn’t know what ‘Leave me the hell alone’ means.  She’s actually on her way up here right now…please tell me you’re good at acting.  If you aren’t can you at least just try to play along?” He rushed through his words but I could hear the desperateness in his voice.  Mischief flicked into his eyes for a split second but then it quickly left as he looked over his shoulder.

“Uh, sure…but can I get dressed first…?”

“No time.” Noah swiftly snaked his arm around my waist and pulled me into him, his fingers lightly brushing my skin on my back where the towel dipped down, sending tremors down my spine.  His face was still slightly turned to the side as he listened, allowing me to get a close up look of his strong jaw, a characteristic that I found oddly alluring.  He kept his shoulders straight and his stance slightly defensive as he held me in close.  I could feel the dominance he was exerting, even though I was so close to him.  His chest was firm beneath my hands as I resisted the urge to let them explore, heat coming through his shirt.  The necklace around his neck stopped just before reaching the middle of his sternum, the silver nut stained with grease and small spots of black paint.

I wonder what the story is behind that… I barely noticed him turn his head back to face me, his green eyes burning.

“Kiss me.” It wasn’t a request.

“W-what?” I was prevented from saying anything else when he closed his mouth over mine, his rough fingers pressing lightly into my back as he brought his other hand up to caress the side of my neck.  His lips were warm and gentle as they directed the motion of mine, urging but not forceful.  It took everything in my power to not melt into him, but the second I felt his fingers move on my neck, I grabbed his hair in my hands and pulled him tighter against me, triggering a reaction from him that I wasn’t expecting: he pushed me up against the wall and moved his hand from my back and moved it to my neck, just like his other one

“What the hell?” A voice caused me and Noah to stop and he turned his head to look over his shoulder at the same time I ducked my head, keeping my eyes locked on his necklace and stepping away from the wall.  My head was spinning and my breathing a little shaky as my heart worked in overtime to catch up with me.  His chest was rising and falling quicker than usual as he let his hands slide down from my neck and dropping to his sides, leaving my skin tingling where they touched.

“You’re interrupting,” he warned, his voice husky and body tense. “May we help you?”

“What the hell is going on here?” The female voice was flooding with anger, once I could focus on it, and looking up, I saw who it belonged to.  She couldn’t have been much older than me with her long blonde hair and ice blue eyes.  Her lips were painted a pale, glossy pink, their perfect shape set in a jealous scowl.  Everything about her screamed ‘spoiled’ at me, from the way she was dressed to the way she looked at me with disgust. “Who are you?” She came walking closer to me, and Noah let her, watching as she walked a circle around me.  I did my best to keep my scar out of view, something Noah seemed to have picked up on.

“My guest,” he spoke, his voice now back to normal.  His eyes were dark as he looked at her, his mouth set in a hard frown. “No one for you to worry about.”

“So in other words,” she regarded me with calculation, “you two just met last night?” Blunt.  As true as it was, there was something about the way she spoke that irritated me. Actually, officially we met this morning…  I glanced at Noah and I could tell that he was hiding his minor surprise with a cocky humor.  He knew exactly how she came to that conclusion. “I mean, those are the only guests you ever bring home, right?  The ones that are an appealing piece of a*s to you?”

“Funny how I never brought you as a guest, isn’t it?” His tone changed again.  Now there was a dark edge to it, daring her to continue talking the way she was.  Is he getting…defensive of me? The look she gave him was initially dark and angry, but she swallowed that and straightened up, crossing her arms over her chest.

“I’m worth more than a ‘piece of a*s’…unlike those who tramp around someone else’s house in a towel.”

“Tell me,” I finally said, drawing the attention of both her and Noah as I tightened my towel around me, “how many one night stands have you had?” My question caught her off guard, her confident façade fading into a more embarrassed and defensive look.  She opened her mouth to more than likely tell me off, but I held my hand up to cut her off. “Exactly.  Now, I’m no psychology major or anything, but you seem like a confident person, am I right?”

“Yes.” She sounded so sure. “Doesn’t hurt that I’m quite desirable, either.”

“Right… So it’s kind of like you sleep with more people, thinking that Noah, here, will see you as more desirable if more men want to sleep with you, even though, in reality, he doesn’t want you, right?” I looked between Noah and the girl, their facial expressions polar opposites of one another. “And again, I’m no professional so you can’t really take what I say to heart.”

“Oh don’t worry; I won’t even take your life to heart.  What I can’t possibly fathom, however, is what Noah could ever see in you that I don’t have.  At least I don’t walk around naked in the same house that his two brothers and mother live in like a trailer trash gold digger.”

“First off, I was in the shower…it’s kind of pointless taking one with clothes on, little life lesson for you.  Secondly, he probably sees a little…I don’t know…mystery…since you’ll more than likely sleep with the first guy you meet later tonight when you’re done here.  And really?  We’re name calling now?  At least have the class of a proper two cent w***e…apply yourself.” I tilted my head to the side and gave her a scolding look.  My skin crawled at the look she gave me, her icy eyes turning even colder as she moved closer to me.

“Don’t even think about it.” Noah stepped in between us, standing up straight and making his chest broader and taking up more space �" a purely dominant gesture. “Now, if you would please be so kind as to get out of my house, I would really appreciate it.”

“And I’m going to get dressed.  It was nice meeting you, uh…I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.” I put my hand on Noah’s chest as I stepped around him, looking at the girl standing in front of us.

“Cassandra.”

“Well it was nice meeting you, Cassie.  If you would excuse me…” I turned to face Noah put my hand behind his head and got up on my tiptoes, planting a kiss on his mouth and feeling him respond immediately.  Taking a quick moment for effect, I slipped my tongue into his mouth but once he started to lean in more, I pulled away and walked past Cassandra and over to the closet.

“Uh…yeah…so the door is right over here.” I heard Noah move across the room, pulling one of the bedroom doors open wider.  Cassandra wasn’t far behind him, her footsteps heavy as she stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind her.  The room was silent.

I was still in my towel, leaning against the wall with my fingers against my mouth, my heart racing beneath my chest.  My entire body was on fire, every spot he had touched on me was tingling, and my hands were trembling.  I had to force myself to shake it off so I could move away from the wall and get dressed.  After finding a bra and pair of underwear, I slipped into a pair of jeans and a white tank top, grabbing the black fleece I had thrown on the bed as I walked back out of the closet.  Noah was standing in the middle of the room with one hand over his mouth and the other in his pocket, eyes fixed on the floor and shoulders hunched.  His eyes were dark and unfocused, as if he was looking at the floor but not really seeing it.

“Think it worked?” I lightly hit him on the arm as I walked past and into the bathroom, where I fished through the cabinets until I found a cob.  I ran it through my hair and then took the towel I had wrapped around my and rubbed my hair in it, flipping back up and letting it part where it wanted to, no adjustments needing to be made to it.

“Huh?” He sounded dazed. “Oh, uh, yeah.  It definitely got to her, but I doubt it’ll get her to stop.  She’ll keep trying.  But for the time being she’ll…uh…she’ll keep thinking about it.” He dropped his hand and turned around to face me, his eyes still unfocused though they were aimed at me.

“Good.  But next time I suggest you find someone else.  You owe me.” I winked at him and hung the towel up on the door before stepping back out into the main room.

“Thanks for playing along with that, not to create any awkwardness or anything between us.  You, uh…you’re pretty good, although I was kind of expecting you to disagree a little more.”

“Last night you asked me to trust you, right?  Consider that me taking your word about that girl.  Don’t get used to it though, it won’t happen again.  Besides, you stepped between us at the end there…I could have taken her, by the way.” That got a grin out of him as his eyes lightened up.

“You’re my trailer trash gold digger.  No one is going to be laying a finger on you.” He watched me carefully as I walked closer to him, his stance returning to its usual upright and relaxed state.  I stopped in my tracks and stared at him, a smile fighting its way onto my face as I could feel blood rushing to it. “Way to have the class of a two cent w***e, by the way.  Or lack thereof,” he teased.

“What can I say?  It must be in my genes.” I shrugged and pulled the left side of the fleece up when I felt it starting to slip over my shoulder, zipping it up halfway so it would stay put. “You actually owe me for two things, just so you know.”  Again, Noah picked up on me trying to keep my shoulder covered.  He came closer to me but when he reached out to touch me, I cleared my throat and dropped my gaze, stepping around him.  There was no effort to get me to stop moving but he just watched me go.

“What do you mean two things?  You only had to do one thing for me,” he whined.  Really?  As much dominance as he radiates, and however old he is, he’s going to whine?  I just looked at him and pointed towards the bathroom.

“I was naked when you barged in here, need I remind you?  You wouldn’t leave!  You owe me for walking in on me like that!”

“For the last time, you were in a towel!  I didn’t see anything,” he laughed.  Everything about him lightened up, his eyes were focusing once again and his voice was full of humor.  It made me smile, as much as I was trying to fight against it.

“I don’t care!  What if I wasn’t in a towel?  What if I really was naked when you came waltzing in here like you own the place?” I stopped when he raised a brow. “Oh wait…”

“Yeah,” he laughed.  He strode up to me with a bit of spunk in his step, his eyes suddenly light and full of mischief and leaned close, letting his hands come up and touch me, deliberately putting on the back of my left shoulder. “Towel or no towel…you have nothing I haven’t seen before.” His eyes left mine as he glanced down at my mouth for a moment before tearing his gaze away from me entirely and standing up straight.  He turned on his heel and headed for the door, relaxing once he reached it.

“Oh yeah?  And how would you know that?”

“I could be right, I could be wrong.  Who knows?” He looked over his shoulder as he opened the door, his grin still tugging at his lips. “It’s a good thing I like a little…what was that word you used?  Mystery?”

He winked and quietly shut the door behind him.