Chapter 20
“Whatever happened between you and Adam?” I asked once we were settled at our table. I held Harper like I did when she was a newborn as I fed her. She wasn’t being as fussy as I’d come to expect, which relieved me. I wasn’t really all that eager to get home anyway. There was a chance Adam could get home a little early today and I wasn’t looking forward to the conversation we’d have when he found out Nolan was going to be staying a little longer than expected.
“What do you mean?” Nolan asked, hiding behind the menu.
“I mean you went from being best friends to not even talking. Was there a fight?”
“Why haven’t you asked him about it?” He asked and I was stumped.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I guess I figured he wouldn’t answer anyway.”
“Then why are you asking me?” He peered over his menu at me and grinned.
“Because you’re here, I guess, and I wasn’t expecting you to be.”
“Expect the unexpected,” he remarked, and placed the menu down. “What do you think it was?”
“Harper,” I replied and he looked surprised.
“Why would Harper make Adam and me not friends anymore?”
“Because he had to settle down and be a dad and you didn’t.”
Nolan raised his eyebrows. “It was most definitely not that,” he said. “If anything… never mind.”
“What?” I asked, intrigued. He shook his head.
“Nothing, forget it.” He waved the waiter over and placed an order for an appetizer.
I asked for a salad, and Nolan began to laugh. “You haven’t changed all that much, have you?”
“There’s nothing wrong with eating healthy,” I defended myself. “And you can’t get much healthier than a salad.”
“I guess not, but where’s the fun in it? Don’t you ever just want to dig into a greasy burger and even greasier fries?”
“No,” I replied. “At least, not while I’m not pregnant.” I remembered the earlier stage in my pregnancy when I actually enjoyed burgers and shuddered. I could never go back to that.
“We can change that,” he offered with a wink, and I rolled my eyes.
“Stop, Nolan.”
“You know I’m just kidding. The last thing I needed to do is steal my best friend, or possible ex-best friend’s, girlfriend and then impregnate her. Besides, I’m already interested in someone else.”
“Already?”
“Always.”
The rest of lunch went pretty smoothly and Harper fell asleep soon after I finished feeding her and placed her in her car seat. I was impressed by how well she was behaving but decided not to get my hopes up for the future. Maybe she just liked Nolan or the cooler air that was coming with the approach of December.
I leaned back in my booth after I was done eating, feeling content. “Thanks for lunch,” I said to Nolan and he shrugged noncommittally.
“No biggie. You’re giving me a place to sleep and you came to look for an apartment with me, it’s the least I could do.”
“When did you get so nice?”
He grinned. “I’ve been nice. I’ve just always hidden it well.”
“Yeah? Well it wasn’t really nice when you dated Maggie and practically broke Hannah’s heart,” I pointed out.
“Yeah, that was a little much,” he agreed. “But you have to understand, Lainey, girls like you and Hannah scare guys like me.”
“How?” I asked, bewildered.
“You just do. I mean, I thought Adam was crazy when he first started dating you, to be honest. Because you were so… good. I’d never seen you at a single party before, even though you apparently met at one of mine and you got good grades and I don’t know. You were a far cry from Maggie.”
“So?” I asked. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Girls like Maggie are safe,” he explained. “They’re fun and cute and easy, but there’s no real risk of falling in love with them, you know? You’ll probably say that’s harsh, but it’s true. Girls like you and Hannah though, you’re more real and you have expectations. Hannah wouldn’t let me get away with all that much and you don’t let Adam get away with anything. At least, you never used to.”
“He can do whatever he wants,” I argued.
“I’m not saying that. I’m just saying that guys, at least guys like me, like having a girl that cares enough to try and keep them in line. I dated Maggie because I knew she’d never do that and I was scared of Hannah.”
“What changed your mind?”
He shrugged. “Honestly? You and Adam. I mean, the whole pregnancy thing kind of threw me for a loop, but you two remained so in love afterwards. I wanted something like that and I knew I’d only get it if I dated someone I could actually care about, and that was Hannah.”
“I’m sorry it didn’t turn out too well,” I said sympathetically.
“Yeah, well I’m sure I’m at least partly to blame for it,” he admitted. “It’s pretty embarrassing when a girl dumps you right after you have sex for the first time, though.”
I clamped my hand over my mouth, holding back laughter. When he put it that way…
“Yeah, laugh away,” Nolan said, straight-faced. “It’s all fun and games until it happens to you.”
“Oh, Nolan,” I sighed, shaking my head. “I never thought I’d say this, but it might actually be fun having you back around.”
Nolan grinned his crooked grin. “Yeah?”
“Yeah, I think so. You’re so much more amusing than you used to be.”
“I guess that’s what happens when you move away from home and away from the stereotype you built up for yourself,” he admitted. “I never thought I’d actually look back and not like the Nolan Reeves I used to be.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I was way too cocky. I mean, don’t get me wrong – I still think I’m pretty awesome. I just know how to control how that comes across better.”
“Oh, okay,” I said, amused. “That didn’t sound like the old Nolan at all.”
“You’re cute when you’re smug.”
I rolled my eyes. “Are we ready to go? I think Harper wants to finish her nap in the appropriate place.”
“Yeah, I’ll go pay the bill up front and then we’re done.” He pulled a twenty out of his wallet and placed it on the table. I raised my eyebrows. Maybe I should look into whether or not this place was looking for more waitresses if twenty dollars was considered an appropriate tip.
I got Harper situated as Nolan paid the bill, putting her bottle and whatever else I’d pulled out back into the diaper bag. I buckled her car seat before lifting it up and heading towards the front of the restaurant, where Nolan was chatting up the hostess.
“Oh,” she said when she spotted me standing next to him. “Oh, what a cute baby!” She smiled brightly and looked oddly embarrassed.
“Yeah, she’s five and a half a months,” Nolan said, sliding his arm around my shoulders. I looked at him for a brief second but he avoided my eyes, smiling down at the hostess instead. She looked at me quickly, then away.
“You make a really cute family,” she said.
“Thanks,” Nolan replied with a grin before I could say anything. “Have a nice rest of your day.” He winked and guided me out the door.
“What was that all about?” I demanded.
“Trying to mess with you again, but I think it’s getting old.”
“You think?”
He laughed. “Come on, Lainey, it’s just fun and games. What do you think Adam’s going to do, punch me out because I pretend Harper’s mine for a day?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “He’s gotten to be a little unpredictable lately.”
“Something like that,” Nolan agreed.
Almost as if on cue, my phone rang. I answered it just as I was buckling Harper back into the car. “Hello?” I said.
“Where are you?” Adam asked.
“I’m on my way home now. Why?”
“I just got here and no one’s here,” he replied. “Where did you go?”
“Apartment hunting with Nolan and then we stopped to eat. We’re on our way now.”
This was met with silence. “Adam?” I asked.
“Yeah. Um, okay. I’ll still be here, I guess.”
“Okay. I love you.”
“You too.” He hung up, leaving me standing there and looking at my phone.
“What’s wrong?” Nolan asked but I shook my head, not wanting to get into it. Adam had gone back to the way he was when we met briefly, but now it seemed like the new, unhappy version of himself was making a return. I couldn’t help but feel like Nolan was at least partially responsible for that, even though I didn’t understand why.
“Nothing. Let’s just head home, okay?”
He looked like he wanted to pry but didn’t. We didn’t speak the entire car ride home.
Chapter 21
Nolan stayed with us for the rest of the weekend. December 1
st
fell on a Monday and that was the day he officially got the keys to his new apartment. He requested it fully furnished so all he had to do was unpack his bags of clothing and he was good to go.
Adam was less than happy about it but when I pressed him as to why he couldn’t seem to come up with an answer. Greg was still in town so he spent a lot of the weekend with him, which surprised me. But I was done questioning it. It was clear that whatever happened between Adam and Nolan wasn’t something I was allowed to be in on.
Sunday night I put Harper to bed and sat on the couch with Nolan who was watching an old movie on television and laughing every so often at what appeared to be nothing.
“What’s funny?” I asked, sitting down next to him and instinctively resting my head on his shoulder. For whatever reason I felt more comfortable with him in these past few days than I ever imagined I would. Even more comfortable than I was with Adam, who I always felt I had to tiptoe around lately.
“I have no idea,” he admitted, resting his head on top of mine. “It’s just so corny.”
“Hannah used to love old movies,” I remarked. “Especially horror ones.”
“Yeah, I remember. When is she getting back?”
“Tonight. Do you want to see her?”
“Not tonight,” he said. “Does she know I’m back?”
“I told her in a text. She said cool.”
“No one is ever too excited to find out the dreaded ex is back in town,” he said.
“You’re hardly dreaded. I think she just doesn’t want to add anything else to her plate right now. Finding her dad after all this time was enough.” I’d given Nolan a brief overview of what happened with Nora and finding out about her dad. He’d been shocked to say the least, but seemed to understand that trying to pursue a relationship with her as soon as she got back probably wasn’t a good idea. I was pretty sure she was the girl he’d admitted to being interested in.
“Yeah, I bet.”
“Do you miss her?” I asked, the question coming out of nowhere. Even Nolan looked taken aback.
“Yeah,” he admitted softly. “I do sometimes. She’s the first girl I’ve ever been serious about, which makes her the only girl I’ve ever been serious about. You don’t get over that too quickly.”
“No,” I agreed. “I hope I never do.”
He looked at me then and there was something in his eyes that unsettled me. It was like he had a secret, something he knew that I didn’t. Something I should know. But it was gone and he was looking away before I had a chance to ask.
“You and Adam are solid,” he said finally. “You have nothing to worry about.”
With that said he wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close to him. I closed my eyes and breathed in the scent of his cologne, so different from Adam’s.
Probably more expensive
, I thought, smiling to myself.
“Well, I wish I could say this was a surprise,” Adam’s sarcastic voice filled my ears. I opened my eyes, having not realized I’d fallen asleep until I saw him standing over us, arms crossed over his chest and an angry look on his face.
“Hey,” I said, sitting up. “When did you get home?”
“Too early, apparently.”
“Oh Adam, shut up already. She fell asleep on me. Big deal,” Nolan spoke up, unable to hold back the annoyance from creeping into his voice.
“Yeah, because you’d never try anything,” Adam shot back.
“She’s the mother of your child, Adam. I think I’m a little more loyal than that.” He shot him a look and I wasn’t sure if it were that or the words he spoke but Adam closed his mouth, turned around and stormed back to the bedroom.
I immediately stood up. “Where are you going?” Nolan asked.
“To go calm him down,” I replied.
“Let him go. Stay and finish this movie with me.”
I shook my head and smiled softly. “No, I’d better go before he gets angrier. I’ll see you in the morning though, okay? Moving day.”
“Yeah, moving day,” he agreed and smiled back. I turned away from him, checked on sleeping Harper and then ducked into the bedroom.
Adam was standing with his back facing me, pulling his shirt off. I felt an electric feeling rush through my body, something I hadn’t felt in a long time. I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around my waist, resting my head against his back. I felt him tense up.
“He wants you, you know,” he told me.
“Who?” I asked, playing dumb while I had the chance.
“Nolan.”
“He does not.”
“Yeah, he does. I see the way he looks at you.”
“You think every guy looks at me that way.”
He sighed and pulled away, turning around to face me. “I wish you wouldn’t spend so much time with him.”
“He’s been living with us for the past five days, Adam. I haven’t really had much of a choice.”
“Okay but he’s moving out tomorrow, so then maybe you two can cool it.”
“Why are you so jealous?”
“I’m not,” he insisted. “I just don’t want you hanging out with him so much.”
“Why?” I demanded. I was losing patience fast.
“Because, Lainey. I know how he is. You might think he just wants to be friends or whatever, but Nolan is actually physically incapable of being just friends with a girl. I don’t buy the crap about him not trying anything because you’re the mother of my baby. He’s always been that way and he always will be.”
“And I’m assuming I have no say in the matter?” I asked sarcastically. “That if he tries something, I have no reaction but to go along with whatever he wants?”
“I didn’t say that,” he argued.
“You didn’t have to. God, Adam. You haven’t acted like yourself in months and now you’re back to being as jealous as you were with Scott. I’ve never cheated on you, and I never will.”
“No one said a word about cheating!” He exclaimed. “I’m going to bed.”
He pulled the blankets back and climbed under them, leaving me standing there and staring at him in disbelief. I had no idea what was going on with him anymore and I wasn’t sure I was ever going to find out. Silently I left the room, closing the door behind me and went back to the living room where Nolan was still up and watching TV, waiting for me.