Page 21 of Taboo

“How do you feel about going for a run in the morning before work? Or maybe some grocery shopping?”

“I’m in. We also should go check out some houses. I told Noah I’d find a place to stay soon. You can stay with me until you get your place. Or if you decide to never leave, I’d be fine with that too.” His smile says everything and in this moment, I don’t see anything wrong with seeing where this relationship goes.

“Sounds like a plan. Let’s see how everything goes. I’ll see you later tonight.” I take the last tray to the kitchen and clock out. Mike already told me how great I was doing and said I could leave once the last table was cleared.

Levi follows me out to his truck, just like I thought he would. He also kisses me as hard as I hoped he would. “Now see, out here it’s okay. In fact, I want you to grope me and act like you can’t keep your hands off me.”

“I think I can handle that.” He pulls me against his chest for a hug just before some commotion disturbs us back at the club entrance. “Looks like I need to help at the door. I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”

He doesn’t leave me until I’m in the truck so he can close the door. Levi has a way of making me feel safe and I love that about him. It’s something I never knew I was missing until he showed me what it feels like.

I look down at the clock on my drive home and realize it’s been exactly a week from right now that I was at Levi’s house for the party, seeing Noah for the first time in years. My nerves were all over the place, but I’m glad I took the chance and went. The curiosity was killing me. It’s amazing how everything can change in just a few days.

I park as close to the house as I can and rush inside once I get there. I guess that has become a habit lately with the asshole neighbor living next door.

Once the door is locked again, I take a deep breath and flip on a few lights. The house is quiet, so I hit the remote, sending music through the speakers and begin to move freely around the house. I’ve done everything I can to make sure nothing is out of place in Noah’s house. I don’t need him to have any reasons to get pissed when he returns.

My plan is to be out of here by then, but something tells me he’d hold a grudge for years if I do anything even in the slightest to irritate him.

I’m wiping down the bar when I hear the front door slam. I rush to see who it is only to come face to face with Noah in the living room. “Don’t mind me. Please continue to move around the house in that slutty little outfit of yours. I happen to like watching you.”

“You were watching me? What the hell, Noah?” I move to check all the curtains before he has a chance to respond.

“Sue me.” He starts up the stairs without another word and my heart beats so hard I can feel throughout my body.

Why does he still have the power to do this to me? He’s an asshole.

Chapter Thirteen

Noah

Those fucking shorts should be outlawed in public. Her ass cheeks are out to tease the world and torture me to fucking death. I take the stairs two at a time and don’t hear any noise behind me, not that I’d stop from stripping if she did follow.

I’ve been driving for four days trying to figure out what I’m doing with my life, only to return with a more chaotic mind than when I left. Kali is my weakness; she always has been. The one thing I did figure out on my soul-searching trip is that I regret not giving in to her sooner. It’s always been Kali. I’ve dated women for years and every single one of them had to endure my critical comparison to Kali. And every single one of them came up short.

I hear Levi’s bedroom door close just before I start taking a piss. She’s hiding from me. I don’t blame her. But sadly, that door being closed isn’t going to stop what I’m about to say to her.

Pulling the old photo album from the top of my closet and a new t-shirt from a hanger, I leave my room on a mission to talk to her. I give her the courtesy of a knock before I open the door. She’s surprised.

“I didn’t say you could come in.”

“Yeah, you see; it’s my house so I don’t have to be invited.” I feel like a dick for saying that, but it’s what slips out before I have the chance to stop it.

“What do you want, Noah?” She’s irritated with me.

“Thought you should see something. We can either do this in here or you can meet me back downstairs.” She scans the bed before she responds.

“Downstairs.” I let my eyes move over the bed and then back to the uncomfortable look on her face before I turn around and leave the room. She fucks Levi in that bed, of course she doesn’t feel relaxed having me in that room.

I’m in the kitchen pouring myself a drink when she makes an appearance. She’s now wearing sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt, I’m sure in an attempt to keep me from making any moves on her. Little does she know there’s not a thing she could put on that would cause me to not be attracted to her.

I open the photo album and turn my back to it as she sits down at the bar. “This is why I’ve struggled with what we have between us. Do you see what your mom made me after my father left her?” I listen to her turn page after page of the scrapbook that has haunted me for years.

Glancing over my shoulder, I see that she’s engrossed with each page. “Noah, I had no idea my mom sent you this.”

“She sent a new section every year. I added to that book until she stopped sending me pages.”

“Jesus. No wonder you’ve fought this. She put the word sister on every page.”

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