Page 59 of The Ghost of You

“About what?”

I trace my fingers over the desk in his childhood room. “Oh you know, sneaking out. How easy it must have been when you were growing up. With all the kids over in this wing.”

Noah gives me a lopsided grin that weakens my knees. I’ve never seen it before and I would love to keep seeing it, his young side. His playful side. “It was great. Easy. Me and Carson were sneaking girls in and out of here all the time.”

I can feel a but coming. “And?”

“Until Hunter got jealous. I was a senior in high school, Carson a junior. We had the same group of friends. Hunter was in eighth grade and wanted to be cool like us.”

I snort at his cool comment.

“What?” he says, crossing his arms over his chest. “I was cool.”

“I don’t doubt that. You also sound like you were a little playboy,” I tease.

He flexes his biceps at me. “All the girls loved these.”

I roll my eyes and laugh. “Please continue your story.”

“Well, Hunter was jealous, so he tattled on us. But we didn’t know. So one night I was in the back yard with this girl, out of sight of course. And all of a sudden, lights came on and lit up the front and back yard like a baseball field. Carson was running around the corner of the house, sneaking back in after a party. Apparently my parents installed motion sensor lights so we would be caught sneaking in and out. Unfortunately for me, I had my pants around my ankles and I couldn’t pull them up fast enough. I doubt that poor girl ever gave a blow job again, she was scarred for life. I was grounded for three months.”

I burst out laughing.

“It’s not funny.”

“Shut up, you know it is.”

Noah continues to show me around the house. The downstairs is a walkout basement. There is a rec room that is practically a teenage boy’s dream. Although I am sure he and his brothers still use it when they come home. It has a giant television, two gaming systems, a pool table, a foosball table, and a few old pinball machines, which belong to his dad.

The back yard is dream-worthy. An outdoor kitchen and bar that opens to a seating area and fire pit next to a large pool. It all overlooks the woods on the edge of the mountain. No doubt the view from the main living room will be gorgeous.

We walk up the rounded staircase to the large deck off the back of the house before going in through a side door that leads to the main living area of the house. Noah points to a wing off to the left where his parents’ bedroom and office is. But the view I was waiting for is phenomenal.

“I saved the best for last,” he says as he gestures to the cathedral ceiling and floor to ceiling windows that overlook the woods and into the mountains. All you can see is miles of rolling hills and lush green trees.

“Wow.”

“I know. That’s why I love coming here. It’s peaceful.”

“It really is.”

The front door of the house bangs shut and I hear two people bickering.

“It’s peaceful until the family starts showing up and destroys all semblance of quiet.”

Mason and Asher walk into the room arguing about something. Carson and his girlfriend follow behind.

I’m hit with the realization that I haven’t seen Asher, nor been properly introduced, since he was shitfaced on his birthday and ground against my ass. My cheeks flame. “Fuck.”

Noah looks down at me. “What?”

“Is this going to be embarrassing? With Asher?”

Noah chuckles. “Nah. It was worse when it was brought up at Sunday dinner one night.”

Mason walks over to us. “Yo Anna May, I’m glad you came.”

I give him a brief hug. “I heard you wanted me here.”

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