“What the—”
I stumble into the apartment when the door is yanked open.
“I’ve had enough of waiting for you to come in.”
“Um, okay.” I move away from the door and drop my car keys onto the tray before turning to look at Noah.
He’s discovered all of his belongings that he’d left here when he took off. I had tried to throw them out countless times but I couldn’t do it. He didn’t leave that much, but the things he did leave, I’ve kept hidden and to myself all this time. I’m glad he’s here and wearing them.
The faded, low-riding jeans hug his hips and I lick my lips in excitement—these are the ones he always wore to tease me. The jeans had a way of dropping as he reached for items from the overhead cupboards in the kitchen, leaving me with a tantalizing view of his pubic hair. This would get my blood to boiling point, and nothing has changed.
I’m unnerved with the penetrating gaze he has on me as though he’s really seeing inside me to my deepest thoughts. I’m relieved right now that he can’t.
“I know I’m the one that screwed what we had up, but you fucking off to be with someone else isn’t going to fly, especially after us waking up together.” Noah stalks toward me but I hold my ground.
Irritation makes my nostrils flare but there is a small part of me that is excited by this behavior. “I wanted to make sure she was okay.” What a lame reply, even if it is the truth. “Look, I have a lot of guilt where Sylvia is concerned.” The irritation drains from my body and I sigh. I don’t want to talk about Sylvia anymore. “I need a coffee and then we’ll head out to the cabin.”
I move to the kitchen and pour a large travel mug full of the thick, dark coffee that Noah prefers and pass it to him.
He smiles and takes it, letting our fingers caress. “You mentioned Sylvia before, so tell me what’s really going on,” he asks, withdrawing to sit at the breakfast bar, not allowing me to forget Sylvia.
I was hoping to avoid this, but lying never got us anywhere.
Pouring myself a coffee, I walk around him and stand on the opposite side. “I was jealous,” I admit.
“I knew it.” Noah jumps up and slaps his hand down on the countertop.
I reach out and hold his wrist down. “I wasn’t jealous of Sylvia, although at first I thought I was.” I hold his gaze. “Please sit back down and listen.”
After a pause, he sits.
“Yes, I thought at first the jealousy I was feeling was because of Sylvia being with Eric, but when I got there, I realized that I wasn’t jealous but worried that I was going to lose a friend.” I start to pace back and forth. “I care about her, and I don’t want to lose her friendship, but there’s nothing there between us of a sexual nature.” I blush and avoid meeting his gaze.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
My eyes snap up to his and it’s like he is reading my mind.
“I know you well, Ramon…so tell me because I’ll find out.”
And that’s the truth.
“She didn’t know I was waiting for her in her bedroom. So she’d just gotten out of the shower and walked in stark naked.” I laugh, embarrassed. “I touched her breasts and realized that she wasn’t what I wanted, and felt relief that because of whatever Eric has done to her that she doesn’t want me. I realized I’d left the person I wanted back at my apartment without an explanation for my rapid departure…I’m sorry.”
Noah
I’m not too happy with his confession about touching Sylvia, but if it means that he’s free of her then I can accept that. “What about other women?” Ramon only ever swore off women when we had a relationship. I don’t know what the fuck type of relationship we have at the moment.
“You’re not hearing me. The only person I’ve ever wanted is you.” Ramon sags against the wall behind him. “I know us being together again is going to take a bit of getting used to, but that really is what I want…and I thought that’s what you wanted.”
I swallow around the lump in my throat. “That is what I want.”
Ramon lets out a loud sigh of relief. “Good…Good.” He gives me a cocky smile and holds his hand out to me.
I don’t need telling twice and reach out to clasp his outstretched hand. When our fingers touch, they entwine as Ramon gives a slight tug and pulls me flush against him.
Raising our joined hands, I keep them above Ramon’s head on the wall behind him as I slip my free hand beneath his T-shirt. His stomach quivers with my touch, setting off a similar quivering in my jeans. It doesn’t take much. It never has with Ramon.
Ramon returns my caress, but his hand dips lower against my navel to the hair of my groin that’s hidden just below my jeans.
“I love these jeans,” he whispers.