Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

NOAH

I had an absolute blast with Gemma and her friends. I felt like a normal high school kid, having the time of his life. It had been years since I’d felt that way—or had been able to be that way—and I loved it.

Back when I had been just a regular high school kid, I’d done stuff like this on occasion, but my life hadn’t exactly been sunshine and daisies. I’d had to grow up fast. Pranks had seemed juvenile and pointless, and much too early, I’d deemed myself too cool to get involved.

With Gemma though, it was different. We laughed and snuck around, and when we thought someone might be coming out, I pulled her behind a huge tree on the side of the yard. For a few heart-pounding moments, we hid quietly, waiting for the moment someone would storm out of the house, potentially wielding a baseball bat or something, but when it didn’t happen, I realized it had been a false alarm.

I murmured against her ear. “I’m pretty sure it was just a light sensor. Don’t worry. I don’t think anyone is coming out.”

I felt her relax against me as I said it, and I expected her to move, but when she didn’t, I tightened my grip on her, loving the fact that I had her all to myself for a moment. She rested her head against my shoulder, turning to glance up at me.

Before she could say anything, I saw her eyes flicker to my mouth and I grinned, lowering it to hers without even thinking about it. As soon as my lips crashed into hers, a primal hunger flared up in me. All day long, I’d been the perfect gentleman.

I’d spoken to her family and her friends. I’d joked with them, been vulnerable with them, and had fun with them. But ultimately, I’d come here to see her—and to do this again—and as much as I would never forget my first awesome, real Thanksgiving, I also just really wanted to kiss the fucking girl. And so I did. I kissed her until my cock was trying to punch a hole through my zipper and her breathing was ragged.

I kissed her until I knew I would be tasting her for the rest of the night, sweeping my tongue into her mouth and exploring. When we heard someone hissing her name, we broke apart and I groaned.

“To be continued?”

“Definitely,” she replied breathlessly. Her eyes glittered under the night sky as she nodded, her face partially hidden by shadows cast by the branches of the tree above.

I took her hand, leading her back to the truck. We enjoyed a midnight snack with her friends before Leif dropped us off at her place. Mariam and that Dave guy that had been staring at her the whole night were sleeping here too, but I’d decided to brush off the staring thing.

Gemma had grown up around here. It was probably just some childhood crush or something. Besides, I really couldn’t blame the guy for staring.

Gemma was gorgeous, and I’d done a lot of staring myself.

As we walked into her small but well-appointed home, it was almost three a.m. and both Mariam and Dave begged off immediately. Without even asking where to go, they headed down a short hall from her cozy living area, and Gemma lit a fire.

“Are you tired?” she asked quietly. “I’ve got a bottle of wine I’ve been saving for a special occasion if you’re interested.”

“This is a special occasion?”

She shrugged, a soft smile on her lips. “That depends. Are you staying?”

“Can I?” I asked.

“Stay. Please. There’s more than enough space and I’d love to spend some more time with you.”

“Same,” I said honestly. “I’ll take a couch if I have to.”

“We’ll see,” she said with playful hint in her voice. “So, wine?”

“Wine,” I agreed, following her to a small but charming farm-style kitchen and watching as she took two stemless wine glasses out of a cabinet.

She filled them from a bottle of red wine that she uncorked, handing one over before she led me back to her living room. After kicking off her shoes, she folded her legs gracefully underneath her as she sat down on the couch. I sat down on the opposite end.

“You were nervous tonight when Deb mentioned your parents,” she said gently. “I know it’s none of my business, but I’m willing to listen if you’re willing to share.”

Fuck.

I didn’t make a habit of talking about my family and upbringing. I wasn’t ashamed of it. It just was what it was, but I really didn’t like the pity that came along with people finding out. Plus, I wasn’t comfortable sharing my story with the world.

Lewis knew some of it and Jack had probably surmised it all by now, but Brandon was the only person I’d ever spoken to candidly about it. As I stared into Gemma’s eyes though, I realized the strangest thing. I wanted to tell her. I wanted her to know things about me that the world didn’t. I wanted her to know where I came from and the experiences that had shaped me.

I was a gut guy, and so, when my gut told me to do something, I mentally grabbed my balls and did it. “I’ll share if you will.”

She didn’t seem too surprised to hear it, simply inhaling a deep breath before she nodded. “You’ve got yourself a deal, Parks. Everyone else is asleep and it’s just you and me, so go for it. Tell me all your deep, dark secrets and I’ll tell you mine.”

“My father split when I was three,” I started bluntly. “Love of my mother’s life and he disappeared one night while she was putting me to bed. Told her he was going out for a smoke and never came back.”

Gemma’s forehead puckered. “Wow. That’s rough. I’m sorry, Noah. No kid deserves for that to happen. No mother either, for that matter.”

I shrugged, taking a swig of my wine and swallowing it as I tried to think of the words to encapsulate the nightmare that followed. “The way I see it, he always had to have been a piece of shit to have taken off like that. I’ve never met him, but there is no excuse. He didn’t even say goodbye to her. She just woke up the next morning, and when she started really looking for him, she realized all his stuff was gone.”

“That’s awful.”

I drew in a breath through my nostrils. “It is, but what’s even more awful is that neither of us ever heard from him again. For the longest time, she was convinced he really had gone out for a smoke and had somehow simply never found his way home.”

Gemma frowned. “But his things were gone.”

“Exactly.” My knee started bouncing slightly and I took another long sip of wine. “Personally, I don’t think she was ready to deal with the truth of that, though. She didn’t want to believe that he’d left her, so she had all these elaborate theories about him being taken for ransom or that he’d been mugged and suffered a head injury. That maybe he couldn’t remember who he was.”

“I suppose our hearts don’t always agree with our brains,” Gemma said gently. “I’ve had some experience with that myself. Not on your mom’s level, but I think denial can be pretty normal.”

“Yeah.” I blew out a heavy breath. “Unless you drive yourself so crazy with all your theories that you wind up looking for answers at the bottom of every bottle.”

She blinked hard. “Your mom started drinking?”

I scoffed. “Drinking? More like drowning herself in alcohol. It’s more than just drinking, you know? It’s like she can’t get through a minute of any day without her brain being drenched in the juice.”

Gemma paused before she scooted slowly closer to me. Her hand came up to rest on my forearm on the back of her couch. “How long did it go on?”

“I don’t know yet. I’ll let you know when it ends.”

Her eyes widened. “You’re serious? She’s still at it?”

I nodded slowly. “She’s a complete alcoholic. I pay for her rent every month to make sure she has a roof over her head and I send her neighbor money to buy her groceries, but somehow, she still has cash for booze. Even though she hasn’t worked for years. When she falls and gets hurt, I pay the medical bills. I pay for everything, really, but I refuse to give her money.”

“Understandably.”

“To you, maybe.” I sighed. “She doesn’t understand it all. She cut me out of her life years ago because of it. The only time I ever hear from her is if she’s on a bender and her stash has run dry, or when she’s feeling weepy after a bottle or two of vodka.”

Gemma’s grip on my forearm tightened. “I’m sure you’ve tried, but she doesn’t want help?”

I shook my head. “I’ve promised her the sun, the moon, and the stars if she gets clean. I’ve had the cops drag her out of her house to a facility. I’ve begged, pleaded, and fought, but she’s not interested.”

I paused. “She’s gone into rehab a few times, but it never lasts more than three days. Even the best places have told me she’s not a candidate for rehabilitation. Whatever that means.”

Gemma grimaced. “This pales in comparison, but I know a thing or two about parental rejection.”

“You do?” I frowned. “Your parents seemed so nice, though.”

She shrugged, her gaze on the fire. She drew in a breath before she replied. “I’ve been through a divorce. My parents are picture perfect. They’ll never understand, no matter how necessary it was. They just refuse to get over it.”

“Shit.”

“Yep. As a result, they’re pretty much out of the picture,” she murmured, sighing before she brought her gaze back to mine. “The thing is that I’ve realized they’ve always been pretty much out of the picture. Whenever they need to be home, or be there for me, they are. Like at holidays. Or when Mariam or Laurel needed a place to stay when their parents went out of town, but my parents…”

She trailed off, groaning as she shook her head. “Gosh, I can’t believe we’re even talking about this, but they’re just not a loving, devoted people. They do love me, and they’ve given me every opportunity in life, but they’re just more interested in each other and their friends than they’ve ever been in me.”

Feeling a chasm in my chest open up for her pain, I hooked an arm around her, pulled her to me, and settled her between my legs on the couch as we kept talking. While I hadn’t seen tonight playing out this way, bonding with her like this felt almost as good as holding her, and before I even knew what was happening, she’d drifted off to sleep in my arms and I followed, making sure our glasses were on the coffee table before I nodded off myself.

The next morning came too early, but I gently carried her to her bed when the sun was barely rising outside. I took my rental and headed back to Brandon’s house. I would’ve happily spent the day in bed with her, but yesterday, I’d heard them talking about some big shopping trip today and I didn’t want to be the reason she missed out on a tradition with her friends.

I hoped it wouldn’t be the last I would see of her while I was in Austin. I didn’t really know what to think about what was happening between us, but I did know that I liked her even more now, and that I really hoped she would reach out again before I had to leave.

I sent her a text.

Me: I’m in town all week. I want to see you again. Let me know when you’re free. I had a great time with you tonight. X

And now, the ball was in her court. I just seriously hoped she’d catch it.