Page 79 of Stay With Me
Noah: Anything for you, my Lunabella
“Here ya go!” Sarah places the last of our drinks in front of us. “Do you need help carrying the tray back to the table?”
“No, I think I got it. Thankfully, it’s early enough that it isn’t packed yet. Thanks!” I slip her enough money to cover the round plus a tip.
“Let me know if you ladies need anything,” she says as she starts to walk away.
When I get back to the table and pass the drinks out, Pam says, “Here’s to another great girls’ night.”
“Cheers!” we say in unison.
And it proved to be exactly the relaxing night out we all needed.
THIRTY-FOUR
Noah
Ifinishputtingawaythe leftover Chinese food, which seems to be another thing we can add to the growing list of food she likes.
“You look happy again.” Carter claps my shoulder and walks up next to me.
I shrug. “I didn’t realize how alone I felt after my divorce. They bring a joy into my life I didn’t realize I was missing.”
“The right person always catches you when you least expect it,” Luke says as he walks by to rinse his plate.
Knowing part of Luna and Jess’s story, I wish I could have met them sooner. I want to give them a life where they don’t have to be on the run all the time and can work on healing.
“How much is Sam going to whine when Jess wins atMario Kart?” Luke asks.
I laugh as I watch him set everything up for us to play. “A lot. That girl is naturally good at the game, and while I don’t let her play every day, when I do, she wants to learn everything about it. I was thinking about introducing her toZeldaorPokémonto see what other games she likes.”
“I can picture her being a gamer girl. Maybe if she prefers gaming, she won’t be interested in boys in a few years,” Carter says, giving me a shit-eating grin.
I grunt when he says that. I dread the day when she decides she wants to date.
“You know it’s going to happen. We were interested in girls starting around her age.” Carter laughs.
“I know, that’s the problem. I know what boys think about,” I admit.
“Between the four of us, we’ll scare any boy who thinks they can pull any funny business,” Luke says.
“You bet we will,” Carter?says.
Jess walks into the kitchen with her plate. “Can we make s’mores after I win inMario Kart?”
“Yeah, pip-squeak, we can do that, and if you don’t want to playMario Kart, we can just go make a fire in the backyard if you want,” I tell her as I take her plate from her.
“No, I want to beat Uncle Sam in a tournament,?and that’ll be my reward.”
I just look at her. That’s the first time she’s used any kind of term like that before someone’s name. I meet Sam’s eyes above her head, and the look on his face is priceless.
He blinks twice before he breaks out into a huge smile. “I’ve been practicing. I’m not going to take it easy on you just because you’re the youngest person here.”
Jess just turns and smiles at him. “If I win, you have to let me paint your fingernails with the new nail polish you got me.”
“You’re on, kid. Let’s go. Who else is playing?” Sam says.
“I’ll sit out and get the firepit ready for when Jess beats all of you,” I tell them as I stick my fist out to her for her to knock my knuckles.
