Page 41 of River
“Noah, I’m so sorry.” I knew what it was like to feel unwanted as my father had never wanted to be part of my life. “I don’t even know the identity of my father.”
“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.”
“Did you say there was an age difference of thirty-one years between your parents?”
“Yes. He was fifty-two, and she was twenty-one.”
“Wow.”
“According to my mother, he was handsome and fit, and she really fell for him.”
I was just about to say something when Maximum rounded the corner and called out to us as he came walking up the street.
“Hey. I came as fast as I could. Show me this magic place you’ve found.”
We went through the bed and breakfast with Maximum, who was just as excited as I’d felt when Noah and I first saw it, and in the end we made an offer on the place.
“Are you coming with me or…?” Maximum looked from me to Noah.
“River agreed to go on a date with me,” Noah said, and I detected pride in his tone.
“Really?” Maximum was clearly surprised but quickly covered it up and patted Noah’s shoulder before he walked off and threw a comment over his shoulder. “Have fun.”
We did have fun.
Noah picked a restaurant that according to him made the best pizzas in town. It was a far cry from the fancy restaurants I normally went to on first dates, but I loved the relaxed atmosphere, and the waiter was quick to get us something to drink.
“You sure you don’t want a glass of wine or a beer?”
“I don’t like beer and I’m not in the mood for wine. Sparkling water is fine.”
“Okay.” Noah took a swig from his large beer. “Oh, wait, maybe I shouldn’t drink beer either then.”
“Why not?”
“If you don’t like the taste.”
“I don’t follow.”
“You know, when I kiss you, I don’t want you be repulsed because I taste of beer.” He winked.
I laughed. “You’re very confident, but it’s not that kind of date and you know it.”
“You said no sex, but you didn’t say that I couldn’t steal a kiss.”
I took a large sip of my water and tried to calm my nerves. Why did my palms suddenly feel clammy; my pulse racing? Noah was making me nervous and it dawned on me that this was how friends had described reacting around men they fancied.
“Hey,” Noah placed his hand on top of my free one. “Relax.”
Looking into his eyes, I saw reassurance, but I still pushed. “It’s not too late for you to change your mind. If you look to your left, there’s a whole table of what looks like single women. I’m sure someone as handsome as you could charm one of them into doing a lot more than kissing.”
Noah didn’t even look in that direction. “You find me handsome, do you?”
I’d read about crackling energy between two people, but I’d never experienced it for myself until I met Noah. It was such an alien feeling that I tried to compare it to something relatable and all I could come up with was when Damian, my brother-in-law, jump-started his sister’s car with cables running between the two engines. That’s how I felt: like a cable connected Noah and me, and every time he smiled, laughed, or looked at me with that subtle hunger in his eyes, I felt an instant surge of energy run through me as if he was charging my battery.
“Do you not want to answer that question?” he asked, bringing me back from my ruminations.
“Yes… sorry, what was the question?”
