Twisted (4 page)

“Why do you ask?”

“Most of my customers are
hauling around shopping bags when they come in.”

I'm assuming Paige is bored,
but I don't mind the conversation. I pick up my fork and say, “Truth is, most
of the stores here are kind of expensive.”

“I know, right?” Paige says
with a nod. “I do a lot of my shopping in those little stores on San Juan
Avenue. There's a second hand shop that has a lot of stuff that looks brand
new. Two stores down from that is a shop that sells swim wear, shorts, and all
that casual stuff a person can't live without if you live in Cali. The clothes
are really nice and dirt cheap.”

“Really?” I ask with interest,
my cinnamon roll currently forgotten.

“I'll write down the
directions,” Paige say as she moves away to search for a pen and paper. When
she comes back a minute later, she writes up directions and then slides the
paper to me.

“Thank you.”

She flashes me a grin. “No
problem. I owe you one after blocking your locker earlier. Once Blake and I get
going, we tend to forget where we are,” she says sheepishly. “Next time, just
shove us out of the way.”

“I'll remember that.”

Paige glances up as a small
group of young teens enter the bakery. Without a word, she walks over to the
main counter to do her job.

As I eat the cinnamon roll, I
study the directions and decide it's worth checking out. By the time I'm
finished with my sticky treat, Paige is still tending the counter. I wave
briefly to her before I head out the door.

In the end, it takes me a
while to find San Juan Avenue thanks to all the traffic and a few missed signs,
but I find it well worth the hassle. I decide to try the beach store first and
I am pleased to find that Paige was right about the prices. I walk out an hour
later with four bags packed with cute shirts, shorts, and even a few casual
skirts I couldn't resist. I also snagged three pairs of sandals, a pair of
sunglasses, and a couple bottles of nail polish that had been on display near
the cash register. And I
still
have half of the cash Tate had originally
given me. After a hellish day at school, my mood has finally lightened.

That is until I get lost
trying to find my way back to Tate's.

After driving around
aimlessly, I finally pull my car over in a residential part of town that I
can't seem to find my way out of. I'd originally tried making my way back to
the mall using Paige's directions, but I obviously took a wrong turn somewhere
along the way.

I run a hand across my sweaty
brow and decide it's time to text message Noah since Tate is working. After
digging my phone out, I easily locate Noah's number in my contacts directory
since I only have two contacts.

I quickly text:
Hey, it's
Blayre
. I'm in my car and I'm lost
.

Much to my surprise, I
receive a text back almost immediately.
Where are you?

ME:
If I knew, I wouldn't
be texting you.

NOAH:
Lol
.
I meant what street are you on? Are you near a street sign?

Why didn't I think of that
before
text messaging him? After setting the phone down, I pull the car back onto the
street and drive until I spot a street sign. I pull over to text him back and
it takes a few minutes before he replies.
That's quite a detour from the
high school.

ME:
I needed to do some
shopping.

NOAH:
You are way outside
the shopping district. Take a right on Glen Tree Drive, then take right on
Hanson Avenue until you reach Sunrise Blvd. When you reach that, follow it
until...

I quit reading and groan as
my head falls back against the headrest. At this rate, it was going to take me
an hour just to get back.

When I finally drag my tired
butt inside Tate's house, I am relieved. My shopping bags feel like dead weight
in my arms as I walk through the living room and make my way towards the hall.
I can't help pausing near the kitchen when I catch the delicious scent of
something cooking.

Noah happens to move into my
line of vision as he rinses some vegetables in the sink. He glances my way and
when he catches sight of me, he looks oddly relieved. “I was getting
worried. It took you longer than it should have.”

He'd been concerned?
Something inside me warms at the idea of someone actually thinking of me. “I
took a few wrong turns.” As his eyes focus intently on my lips, I find that
having his focus centered so intently on me is another thing I like about Noah.

His eyes shift up to my eyes
briefly. “Even with my directions?”

“Reading text messages in
rush hour traffic is a nightmare. I almost rear-ended someone.”

“Well, you made it back
safely, so that's all that matters. Hungry?”

“As a matter of fact, I am,”
I admit. It had been a couple hours since I'd had the cinnamon roll.

Noah nods to the bags in my
arms. “By the time you unpack those, dinner should be ready.”

“Great. Thanks, Noah.”

“Don't thank me yet until you
try it,” he says lightly.

“I'm not my brother.”

His eyes flash with humor.
“Trust me, I've noticed.”

While Noah begins chopping
vegetables, I turn and head down the hall to go upstairs. Once I'm in my room, I
dump the bags on my bed. I feel sticky with perspiration, so I strip down to my
bra and panties. I dig around for the nearest shirt and after yanking off the
price tag, I slip it on and find a pair of casual jean shorts. Once I am
dressed, I make my way into the bathroom and pull my hair up into a sloppy
knot.

There. I feel much better
now.

I'm halfway down the hall
when I realize that all my new clothes will wrinkle if I leave them in the
bags. I promptly turn around and go back to unpack just as Noah had suggested.

A bit later, I make my way
back to the kitchen and I find that there are two plates ready at the island
counter and Noah is filling one of the two glasses set out with milk. He
glances at me questioningly. “Water? Milk? Lemonade?”

“I can get it,” I say easily
as I head for the refrigerator and grab the pitcher of lemonade. As I move back
to the counter, Noah brushes past me to replace the gallon of milk he's
holding. His cologne permeates the air briefly, and I try to ignore it as I
walk over to the empty glass near my plate and pour myself some lemonade.
Crushing on my brother's housemate is a bad idea. Especially when he more than
likely has a girlfriend. I mean, how
could a guy like him
not be involved with someone already. Noah's gorgeous. Not to mention he cooks,
he obviously cleans, and he maintains the backyard lawn and plants. He's prime
boyfriend material if you ask me.

“I was thinking we could eat
on the patio,” Noah suggests as I move to replace the lemonade in the
refrigerator.

I turn so that he can read my
lips. “Sounds good.”

Noah picks up both the plates
and heads for the glass patio doors. I watch as he uses his elbow to open the
sliding screen door. I'm a girl after all. It's part of my genetic code to
appreciate the way his bicep tenses and the way his gray university tee-shirt
tightens across his toned chest.

It dawns on me that I am just
standing there, staring after him admiringly as he sets the plates on the patio
table. I quickly force myself into action as I grab the two glasses and follow
him outside. It's warm out but beneath the shaded umbrella, it's cool and
comfortable.

We settle into chairs across
from each other and I glance at what is on my plate for the first time. Holy
shit. Did he really expect me to eat all this? The plate is heaping full of
brown rice with a delicious chicken and vegetable stir fry mix resting on top.
It looks extremely appetizing, so I suppose there's a chance I might manage to
demolish it all. I pick up my fork and try a bite. Whatever sauce he used with
the meat and vegetables, gives it a tangy smoky flavor. How could my brother
not appreciate Noah's cooking? I'm not normally a health nut by any means, but
Noah's creations were definitely edible.

I glance up and find that
Noah is watching me and I smile. “It's really good.”

He nods, looking pleased.
“Good. Dig in.”

We're both silent for a while
as we eat. I try to finish my meal, but I can only manage to eat half of it
before I have no choice but to fall back against my chair and rub my full
stomach. Damn, that was good.

Noah grins at me from where
he's nearly polished off his entire plate. “I'm used to cooking for myself or
some of the guys. I forgot you probably can't put away as much as we do.”

“I enjoyed trying.”

He takes a drink from his
glass and then looks at me inquisitively. “How was your first day at school?”

“It was okay.”

Dark eyebrows lift. “Just
okay?”

I shrug. Instead of
elaborating, I decide to approach the topic of walking in on him and the woman.
If I didn't say anything, it'd always be there; awkwardly waiting to be brought
up. “I'm sorry about the other night. I didn't mean to interrupt you and your
girlfriend.”

Noah studies my lips for a
moment before his chocolate brown eyes meet mine. “She wasn't my girlfriend.
I'm single.”

Oh. I'm not sure what to say
to
that
, so I straighten up and reach for my lemonade again. Then I scan
the yard and grasp for anything to say to lighten the conversation. “Tate said
you did all the planting and gardening. It's really pretty out here.”

Noah's eyes shift from my
lips to scan the fenced in yard. Well-maintained shrubs were planted along the
fence-line, and there were a few rock gardens and patches of bright colored
flowers everywhere. There were even a few huge pots of vibrant flowers on the
patio. His eyes turn back to me. “I like to stay busy. Tate's idea of
decorating is to put a grill on the patio.”

“Sounds like Tate. How did
you two meet if you don't mind me asking?”

Noah settles into the chair,
looking comfortable. “When I moved here, I wasn't interested in living in a
dorm, so I found a cheap apartment about a block away from the university. Your
brother lived in the apartment right next door to mine. We passed each other in
the hallway once in a while and nodded, but that was about it for the first six
months. One day, I ran into him while I was doing laundry in the basement, and
he apologized to me for the rowdy parties he'd evidently been throwing every
weekend all this time.” Noah chuckles as he recalls their conversation. “He told
me the neighbor to his left kept calling in a noise complaint to the landlord
and appreciated that I had yet to do so. I told him I was deaf and Tate didn't
even blink an eye. He made some joke about me being the perfect neighbor and
invited me to his next party.”

An unladylike snort escapes
me. “That's Tate. He's boneheaded sometimes.”

Noah gives a rumbling laugh.
“I like his bone-headedness. He was the first person I'd met at the time that
didn't act awkward around me because of my disability. We hit it off and have
been friends ever since.”

“So my brother was a partier,
huh?”

“Still is to some extent. He
doesn't do the house party thing anymore, but he's always out with friends on
the weekends he doesn't work. He likes to get out and blow off steam. Being a
cop can be stressful at times.”

I can't help but study him as
I draw my knees up to my chest and wrap my arms loosely around them. “What
about you? What's your plan?”

Noah swats at a gnat buzzing
near his head before answering. “I'm in my last year of college and taking
postgraduate courses. I want to be a special education teacher and I'd love to
work with deaf children.” His eyes drop to my lips as he waits for my reply.

I nod and smile. “The kids
would love you, I bet. Especially if they have a teacher that can relate to
them and understand what they are going through as they learn.”

Noah leans forward slightly,
resting his tanned forearms on the table. “What about you? What's your big plan
after school?”

I feel myself shutting down
and I manage a stiff smile. “I'm just taking it one day at a time.”

Noah studies my expression
intently before he nods. “It's good to think things out before making a big
decision.”

His reply has me relaxing
slightly. Honestly, I don't really see a future for myself. At least not at
this point. I have no idea what I want to do after graduating and I am not up
to figuring it out anytime soon. Just living one day at a time is enough of a
struggle.

Noah rises to his feet and picks
up his plate. “I have to head to work shortly. I'm glad you're settling in. And
that you found your way back home today,” he adds with a lopsided smile.

I laugh as I pick up my own
plate and glass and follow him inside. I set my plate next to Noah's on the
counter and I note that he's going to start cleaning up. I tap him on the
shoulder to get his attention and he turns to look down at me, his eyes
questioning. “I'll clean. It's the least I can do since you fed me,” I tell
him.