Noah (8 page)

"Oh, I don't know," Kendall whispers as her hand
continues to caress my head. "I think Skye may be settling for the
Duke because she doesn't know she can have the Prince."

"And what? I'm the Prince?"

"To her you are, even if she'll never admit it."

I'm startled awake when the taxi driver slams on his
brakes
,
causing my
stomach to tighten violently as waves of nausea hit. Kendall opens
the door to get out and as soon as her feet hit the pavement I push
her out of the way and drunkenly vomit out onto the street. Noah
grabs the back of my hair as I continue to expel the contents of my
stomach. When I finally feel like I can sit up okay, Kendall wishes
us luck and closes the door to the taxi and we pull off.

We have to pull over three more times before we make
it back to our apartment complex.

Chapter Four

My head feels like a gun aimed and fired and the
bullet is still lodged deep in my brain. Turning off the warm
running water
,
I step
out of my shower and wrap my body in a clean fluffy towel.

It's going to take a miracle to get through the rest
of today. I slept most of the morning away and when I finally woke
up I was tucked into my own bed with a package of aspirin, a bottle
of water, a Hershey's Kiss
,
and a note on the nightstand.

Good morning,
Alice!

I feel an Eat Me and Drink Me Wonderland reference
is needed...but I'm sure you're in no mood for my jokes. Take the
aspirin and drink up so you'll start feeling a little better.

–Noah

Oh God. How embarrassing. He must have had to tuck me
into bed.

The night slowly starts coming back to me and Noah
tucking me into bed is the last thing I should be embarrassed
about. I threw up...several times...and then I had to listen to
them talk about Caleb and me, and I wasn
’
t even able to defend our
relationship.

Caleb
’
s a
good guy. They're jumping to conclusions.

He loves me.

After drying off and throwing on sweats that I plan
to lounge in all day because there is no way I'm working, I heat up
a few slices of frozen pizza in the fridge and sit down on the sofa
to try and relax. This hangover needs to go away. I'll have to call
both of my jobs with some excuse on why I didn't show up and pray
to God I don't get fired.

Last night is a mixture of clear memories and foggy
images after I started drinking heavily with Kendall. The part I do
remember, the memories that are etched in my brain, is dancing with
Noah and enjoy
ing
every
movement our bodies made together. Being so close to him, just like
we were the other night on the couch, ignited all those old
feelings I used to have for him. Feelings I should no longer be
having because I'm not single. I've been with Caleb for almost six
years and he doesn't deserve me harboring feelings for Noah.

And what was with Noah last night anyway? He was a
lot bolder. Usually if we're out and our song comes on he'll just
come over
to
me and
we'll talk and dance with a foot or two of dance room between us,
while laughing about my small booty. We never touch or grind up on
each other. It was unexpected and I can't help but think the only
reason it happened was because Caleb left. It's messing with my
head. I know what my feelings for Noah once were. I was in love
with him, so I shouldn't put myself in situations where I confuse
my old feelings with new ones.

There are other subjects I should be thinking about,
like the fact that Noah was talking negatively about his best
friend in the taxi. Sure, Kendall brought it up by voicing her
hatred towards the man
I
love
and I don't remember most of the conversation, but I
remember them insinuating I'm an idiot for trusting him. It hurts
to know they think I am so naive. I always knew how Kendall felt
and Noah's hinted his concerns a few times, but there's a bro code.
Noah should have Caleb's back, especially since everything they
said isn't true.

Caleb works hard. He went to school for eight years
because being a successful lawyer is his dream.
Unfortunately
,
when they
hand you a degree the hard work isn't over. You have to start
somewhere and Caleb had to start at the bottom. That means the
partners at his firm can call on him whenever they want...and they
do. That's not Caleb's fault.

It isn't.

Grabbing my phone off the couch cushion next to me I
send Caleb a quick text so he knows I'm thinking about him.

Me: Missing you today. I'm spending a lazy day on
the couch and I wish you were sitting next to me. XOXO

When he doesn't text back immediately I set the phone
down and scroll through my Netflix queue until I settle on watching
Scandal
. I've heard this show is amazing but until now I've
never given it the time of day.

I'm halfway into the first episode and just starting
to understand a little bit of what Olivia Pope does when my phone
vibrates next to me. Thinking it's Caleb I pause the show and grab
my phone and I'm a little disappointed when it's Kendall on the
other end instead.

“Hey
,
Kendall," I mutter into the phone as I munch on the remaining piece
of pizza crust on the plate in my lap.

"Hey, how you feeling this afternoon?"

"Like I've been run over by a bulldozer and left for
dead. How about you?"

"This morning was rough but after some pain reliever,
a tall glass of orange juice, and my Pilates class I'm feeling like
a brand new woman."

"Ugh," is all I can manage to groan through the
phone. I wish I had her energy and enthusiasm after a night of
heavy drinking. "Did you call to gloat about your chirpy mood or
did you need something? I have some more h
a
ngover wallowing to do."

"Actually, I need a favor. It's more like a huge
favor and before you say no and turn me down, remember that I'm
desperate and no one will know that you're doing it."

If she has to prep her favor like this I'm already
worried about what she might need from me. "Spit it out,
Kendall."

"Reese called in sick tonight and my
on-call
,
Erin
,
can't come in so I'll be manning
the office and phones all by myself. You know how crazy the calls
and request
s
can get at
night. It may be a Sunday night, but between all the different
services Forbidden Desires, Inc. offers, there is no way I can
handle the phones by myself. I'll screw it up and send an escort
where a stripper is supposed to be, or worse to a house that was
supposed to only be receiving a call from one of our girls like
you.

"I'll fuck the whole thing up, Skye, I know it. Noah
will fire me and in a week time I'll be out on the street and
forced to sell my body so I can get a decent meal. I need your
help."

I pause before answering to make sure she's done
rambling. "Kendall, I'm sorry you're short staffed but the only
phone calls I'm used to involve a lot of sighing and moaning. I
don't know how to handle what you and Reese do over at the
office...and what if Noah was to walk in? He'll flip his shit
seeing me answering phones in his office. It's not only a risk of
him finding out I'm helping you tonight, but I'm risking him
finding out he employs me as a phone sex operator."

"He'll be at the bar all night, Skye. They're short
staffed tonight, too, so Noah's bartending until close. We close up
an hour before the bar does so you'll be out of the office before
he could ever find out."

"I can't–"

"Please, Skye. I need this. It could be fun, the two
of us working together, and it means more money in your
pocket."

That line about money was clever on her part. She
knows I need cash right now.

"All right, okay, but just tonight. This is a
one-time thing and Noah can never find out I was in his office.
When I screw up one of these calls, and I will screw up, you have
to take the blame for it because he can never know I was there. Do
we have a deal?"

She's practically giddy on the other end of the line.
"We have a deal. I'll pick you up at five and we'll go over
together."

Looking down at my outfit I don't want to have to
change into regular clothes. I'm too comfortable. "Do I have to
change or can I wear the sweats I'm wearing now?"

"You have to change, Skye. Sometimes we have clients
come in and book appointments in person. They look through a book
to pick out an escort or stripper for the night. Because of that
Noah wants us dressed professionally with a hint of sexy."

"God, you're making me want to take it all back and
tell you no. I'm comfy in my sweats, Kendall. I shouldn't be forced
to put on real clothes."

"Think of it this way. I'll owe you a favor that you
can cash in at anytime with no restrictions."

"Okay, I'll be ready at five. And Kendall?"

"Yeah?"

"Expect to pay me back with one monumental
favor."

***

"Then there was Kevin. You can't skip by Kevin."

"Oh right, Kevin," she murmurs. Kendall almost forgot
about the guy we met at a
Knicks
game. "That lasted less
than two weeks. Every time he talked to me he talked to my boobs
instead of my face. At first I thought it was cute, but it got old
real fast."

"Maybe he thought your nipples were your eyes."

We burst out laughing as I spin around in the black
office chair at Reese's desk. It's just past eleven and in less
than an hour we'll be out of here and I can go home and slip back
into my sweats.

Tonight wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to
be. After getting a hang of the phone system, I was taking calls
and scheduling like a pro. I got calls for everything tonight. One
guy wanted to hire a stripper to come out to his hotel room for a
last minute divorce party. I had a few calls from men–and one angry
wife–wanting to dispute the charges on their credit cards for
webcam services we offer. There were phone sex calls with men
wanting to be set up with a "hottie" and one even asked for me by
my fake name. I told him Nora wasn't working tonight.

My most exciting phone call was from a man who
claimed to be the assistant of a very famous NBA player who was in
town for the night and wanted an escort for the evening. I
scheduled him with our most popular escort so that hopefully he'll
continue to bring business to Noah.

The only bad part is I had to change into a skirt,
heels, and dressy top to help
Kendall
at work tonight.

In between phone calls Kendall and I talked and
goofed around. Our latest conversation is about her string of bad
choices in men.

"I dated that barista you used to work with for a
couple months. That was a decent relationship."

"You dated that barista...really, Kendall? What was
his name?"

"Umm...Carter?"
s
he guesses, looking over at me puzzled.

"Phil. His name was Phil and it was not a
relationship. You were screwing him and that's all. He never stood
a chance."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because he made minimum wage and was addicted to his
PlayStation
."

"God," she groans as she leans back into her chair
and her straight black head of hair falls down the back. "Why can't
I meet one decent guy? It shouldn't be hard to find someone who
doesn't live at home, or play make-believe for hours with strangers
all over the world via a game system."

"It'll happen, Kendall. You just have to give it
time."

"That's right, I forgot. I'm talking to a
relationship expert. You and Caleb are practically married."

The mention of Caleb's name makes me cringe inside.
He never responded to my text from this afternoon, and he hasn't
called me since he left me at Noah's bar. He could be mad at me and
ignore my calls, but something tells me that's not it.

Something else is going on with him.

I refuse to believe it is anything related to what
Kendall and Noah's suspicions are about him. Caleb would never
screw around on me. He loves me too much. After six years together
we have built a strong foundation to our relationship based on love
and mutual respect. We may not come from the same type of
upbringing, but that doesn't matter to him as much as everyone
thinks it does.

He wants to be with me and he wants to take care of
me. Sooner or later he is going to call me and have a perfectly
reasonable explanation to why he hasn't texted me back.

"Is that right, sugar bear?" Kendall flirts. At first
I think she's talking to a client but then I spot the cell phone in
her hand. I don't hear what "sugar bear" says back, but she giggles
and then whispers, "I'll see what I can do," before ending the
call.

"Soooo..." Kendall's looking at me with desperate,
wanting eyes and I just know I'm going to hate what she says next.
"It's slow...and we close up in thirty minutes...and I was thinking
maybe you could do me a favor and close up alone tonight? I kind of
have a date waiting."

“Kendall
!
" I sigh out annoyed. "I'm in the middle of the
last favor you asked me for and I don't know how to close."

"It's easy and I wouldn't ask if it wasn't really
important."

"You having sex tonight isn't that important."

"My vagina feels differently."

This is so typical Kendall. I love her dearly, but
she's ruled by her hormones. "What's your latest regret's
name?"

"Gavin," she replies
,
wiggling her eyebrows and making a crude gesture
with her tongue and two fingers.

"Make sure to let Gavin know you owe me two favors
now."