“You’ll see,” he shrugs with a smirk, revving the engine and shifting the gear, and soon we’re on the road.
“Oh, stop teasing me! I hate surprises,” I practically whine, causing him to chuckle at me. Once again, I’m entranced by his low baritone.
I wonder why he doesn’t laugh often when he sounds like that. I promise myself to give him a reason to experience the joy this life has to offer whenever I can.
One down. Many more to go.
“I think you’ll like this one,” he promises, the open windows of the car causing his hair to fall over his forest eyes. The brown of his shirt makes the green stand out.
He rakes a hand through his hair, his bicep bulging in the confines of the material. Suddenly, I wish I were the cloth on his body instead.
The sensuality that he oozes has me squeezing my thighs. I hide it with my tote bag, hoping he doesn’t catch the inappropriate movement.
But of course he does. Because he questions, casting me concerned glances, “Are you uncomfortable?”
Before I can answer, he switches on the Air Conditioner in the car, drawing the windows close. If he thinks that it’d help me, he’s dead wrong. Because now all I can breathe in is his leather and amber scent. They fill up my lungs, refusing to leave.
Not that I’m complaining. I like the way he smells, and he’d think of me as a pervert or maybe an obsessed little girl if he found that out.
Soon, thank heavens, we’re at our destination when he pulls the car to the curb in front of hisapartment building, and rolls down the car into the parking lot.
“We’re going to your place?” I ask, my head swiveling toward him, my brows arched in confusion.
“We are,” he nods, reading my expressions to gauge how I feel. “I figured since we’re keeping it under wraps, my penthouse would be the safest place to be,” he explains, getting out of the car once parked and striding to my side to open my door.
“Thank you.” I smile at him, taking his hand and hopping down.
Crossing to the elevator, we’re soon on his floor, removing our footwear by the door. What I find inside, though, has me almost tripping over my own feet, as Noah catches me by my waist and quickly pulls his hands back, making sure I’m in no imminent danger.
Regardless of the way his touch spikes my temperature, I can’t focus on anything other than the sight that greets me. His entire living room is dimmed, with fairy lights hanging from the walls, bathing the room in warmth.
As I pad closer into the area, my fingers flutter over the softest blanket I’ve ever touched,draped on the couch. The low glass table covered with a variety of snacks and drinks that one could ever want.
“Noah?” I call out, my voice barely a whisper.
He steps closer, his body heat seeping in through my back, but not close enough that he’d have to stagger back in case someone caught us together—not that anyone will.
“Hmm,” he mumbles in question.
“What’s all this?” I dare ask, my eyes flitting over the display, greedily committing it to memory.
When I don’t hear him respond, I turn on my feet, tilting my chin to catch his eyes.
For the first time since I’ve known this man, he looks bashful. He rubs his neck as he hesitantly answers, “I thought we could spend some time and get comfortable with each other. Watch a movie or something to set the mood.”
No one has ever done anything like this for me. Something so sweet that I barely rein in the tears that threaten to spill from my eyes. No one has ever bothered to ensure my comfort.
It makes me seem like a goody-two-shoes, but the truth is, I’ve always been a people pleaser. It was easy to please people when I was lean andslim; it was easier for them to look at me and like what they saw.
But as soon as my body started putting on weight, defying what people define as conventional beauty, that’s when people around me showed their true colors, shedding the beautiful masks that hid their ugly reality.
Regardless, Noah doesn’t need my embarrassing display of gratefulness. That’s not what he signed up for.
So, I take in a deep breath and give him a sweet smile, shoving the overflowing emotions into a dark corner of my mind. “Thank you, Noah. That’s very thoughtful of you.”
His shoulders drop in relief at my acceptance. “It’s nothing,” he gently shakes his head. Trudging over to the table and grabbing the remote to the large screen mounted on the wall, he puts onThe Notebook, and my heart hammers in my chest.
It’s a total coincidence that he selected one of my comfort movies to watch, yet that brings a small smile to my face. “It’s my favorite movie!” I tell him, making my way to sit on the couch.