Page 47 of Going the Distance
Noah sighed, walking past me and opening the fridge to peruse the contents. “Where’s the apple juice?”
“We don’t have any.”
“But we always have apple juice.”
“You’re the only one who drinks it, and Mom said there’s no point in buying it if nobody’s here to drink it.”
“So much for empty-nest syndrome.”
“I think that only kicks in when I leave, too.”
Noah took some orange juice (no pulp) from the refrigerator, gesturing with it to me in question. I nodded. “There’s no bacon, either.”
“Mom’s got us on a new diet. We’re all cutting down on red meat. Something to do with Dad’s cholesterol, I think?”
“God, it’s like a different place back here.”
“I think there’s some turkey rashers.”
“That’snotbacon.”
“Mom insists it’s the same thing.”
“Lies, all of it.”
I couldn’t help but smile at them. I’d forgotten how Lee and Noah got on almost as well as Lee and I did—if not better, in some ways.
Once we’d eaten, Noah announced that we were gonna go back upstairs and watch TV.
Lee snorted. “Watch TV.Right, sure. Don’t forget to use protection. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. Et cetera.”
I blushed, ducking my head so my hair hid my reaction. Noah smacked Lee across the head and told him to mind his own damn business. Before Noah shut the kitchen door, I heard Lee making elaborate gagging noises.
I turned around on the stairs to stop Noah, shushed him, and then giggled loudly. “Noah! Stop it! Not on the stairs!”
“You guys are so gross!” Lee yelled.
“Ooh, Noah.” I threw in an exaggerated moan.
“You’re off my Christmas card list, Shelly!”
“Love you, too, man!”
“You guys are so goddamn weird,” Noah muttered, shaking his head.
I grinned at Noah before I walked up the stairs ahead of him, and he tapped my butt lightly. When I glanced over my shoulder, raising my eyebrows at him, his eyes were skirting the walls and he whistled, feigning innocence. I turned back, carrying on up the stairs—and he smacked my butt again.
I skipped up the next few steps and felt Noah swipe at me again, but his fingertips only caught the edge of my shirt. He laughed, chasing me up the stairs. I heard Lee yelling, “You kids keep it down up there! You’re disgusting! I hate you both!” but it only made me giggle, and I kept running just out of Noah’s reach until he tackled me onto his bed, rolling me onto my back before lying on top of me to kiss me until I was sure that nothing in the world felt as blissful as this.
• • •
I’d gone downstairs to make myself some coffee. Lee had gone to see Rachel—apparently, her parents were away at a relative’s wedding, and she was planning a big evening in, complete with candles and takeout and a movie. (She’d told me this might be “The Night.” As in, the night they finally had sex.) Lee and Noah’s parents were still out, at their friends’ anniversary celebration. They’d stayed the night in a hotel up there and weren’t due back till later tonight.
On my way back upstairs, I was silent: I was walking slowly anyway because I’d filled the mug too much, but since I was barefoot on their carpet floors, Noah didn’t hear me coming.
And maybe that was a good thing, in hindsight.
Or not.
