Noah

by Allison LaFleur

  “Oh, sorry. I didn’t see you sitting there. Did I get you wet?”

  “You know you did!” I laughed, smacking him with the New York Times he always requested first thing in the morning. He hadn’t once read it in the office but took it home to read on the couch every night.

  “Hey, Lena, meet us in my office? We can eat there,” John said. “I don’t seem to ever really use my desk for work. Noah’s always got me running to do something.”

  “I’ll meet you guys there,” I said, swooping up the still warm food and grabbing several water bottles from the little apartment refrigerator under my desk. That was another gift from Noah when he realized I liked to pack my lunch most days. I didn’t have time to run to the lounge and eat, so some days I missed lunch altogether. With the mini fridge, even if we worked through lunch, he made sure I ate.

  As he walked by, Noah squeezed my shoulder, sending delicious chills down my spine. We needed to figure this out, or I needed to find my own place. I was afraid I was falling for my boss, and that was just a recipe for disaster.

  Lena

  “Hi, Barry!” I smiled and waved at the stock boy retrieving grocery carts from the parking lot. He gave me a little wave back as he continued pushing his line of metal carts over the cracked asphalt. He struggled a bit as several wheels just spun uselessly and the nose of his cart train dipped into a water filled pot hole.

  “Here.” I helped him get his carts back on even ground and then continued on into the store. “I’ll see you next week. I’ve got to get back to work.”

  Trotting a little faster, my right foot wet and squishing as I walked, I hurried back to the manager’s office. “Steve?” I called, peeking in.

  He held up a finger for me to wait and finished up his weekly sales call before placing the phone in its cradle and motioning me in.

  “Hi, Steve. Sorry I'm late. My regular bus broke down, and I had to take a later one. Here,” I held out an envelope, “this is all I could spare this week. Can you keep it for Mama, please?”

  “I’m not a bank, Lena. I’m really not supposed to do this.”

  “I know, and I hate to ask you every week, but things at home..” I trailed off, “…you know they aren’t good. Otherwise, you wouldn’t deduct Mama’s groceries from her check before you give it to my dad every Friday.”

  He just shook his head and slid the white envelope in his desk drawer like he did every week. I think he just wanted to make sure I knew he was doing us a favor. He saw the bruises, the black eyes she tried to cover with heavy foundation, the limps when it was a particularly bad weekend. He also always asked her to throw away the expired food, never noticing that it went into her bag and not the dumpster. I had eaten more than my share of bruised apples and stale bread.

  “Thank you, Steve.” I leaned down and gave him a quick peck on his bristly cheek. “I gotta run. See you next week!”

  I made a dash to the door, not seeing my mother around the corner until it was too late.

  “Ooof!” I plowed right into her in my haste to catch the next bus back to the office. Noah didn’t know I’d gone there, and I didn’t know how he would feel about it. He didn’t think too fondly of my family based on the two times he had met them.

  “Lena!” Her eyes widened in surprise. I hadn’t seen her since the day Noah dropped me off.

  “Hi, Mama.” I gave her a quick hug.

  “Do you have a minute?” She looked over her shoulder to make sure we were alone. “Are you okay?”

  “I am. At least, I think I am.”

  “Your father… he was in a rage, and you were gone. I didn’t know what to think.”

  “Noah, my boss…” The words caught in my throat as I remembered the beating, the pain. “I really thought he was going to kill me, Mama. I don’t know what would have happened if Noah hadn’t been there.”

  “Your father… it’s been hard on him since his accident.”

  “Hard? Hard?!!” My voice rose at the end. “It’s been hard on HIM?” I was incensed. She was still making excuses for him. “Do you know it was two weeks before I could get out of bed? My ribs still hurt when I breathe. Noah is certain Daddy broke several ribs when he kicked me. And you—” I grabbed her by the wrist and pushed up her sleeve. “Look!” I demanded. “Look at your arms, Mama. How many beatings is this? Two? Three? Five?” I pointed to the multicolored marks on her arm, some fresh, some in various states of healing.

  “He doesn’t mean it, Lena. He really doesn’t. And he always apologizes.”

  “Mama, it’s wrong. You don’t deserve to be treated that way.”

  “This Noah… he is good to you?” A speculative gleam appeared in her eye as she changed the subject. I never could get her to say one bad thing against Daddy. One day, he really would kill her, and there was nothing I could do about it but send her money every week so she could feed my brothers and sisters.

  “He’s just a friend, Mama. He’s my boss, and he is engaged.”

  “Ahhhh… and where is this young woman he is engaged to? You are the one he takes home at night, yes?”

  I sighed. Ever the optimist was my mama. “It’s not like that. I was hurt. I had nowhere to go. I’ll be getting my own place soon.”

  “We’ll see,” she replied, nodding knowingly. “You make sure he does right by you, Lena. You look happy. Don’t let this one get away. And you look….” She cocked her head and tapped her chin with a finger.

  “Mama, I’m sorry. I’ve really gotta go. The bus…” I squeezed her gently and dashed out again, not wanting her to look any deeper. My mama could always see too much.

  Noah

  “Where were you off to?” I had been surprised to get to the office after meeting the contractors for a walk through our potential building site and not finding Lena at her desk.

  “I’m so sorry. I had to run an errand, and the bus broke down.” She panted, dropping her coat on the back of her chair and sliding behind her desk. “I’ll stay late to make up the time I missed.”

  “Lena, I’m not worried about the time you missed. We always work late. I’m sure I owe you for a lot more hours than appear on your paycheck. I was just worried something had happened. Is everything okay?”

  “Fine. Just family business.”

  “You didn’t go home, did you?” Now I really was concerned. Her father was dangerous.

  “Oh, no.”

  “Good. I don’t want you to go back there without me. And you can always ask me for a ride if you need to run an errand. I’m sure it would be faster and easier than trying to catch the bus.”

  “It was nothing to bother you about, but…” I looked around, feeling just like my mother, not wanting anyone to overhear us, “we do need to talk. I need to find my own place.”

  “Lena, you just got back to work. There is no hurry.” I knew she was right, but for some reason I just didn’t want her to go. My world was brighter with Lena in it.

  “I don’t want to be a burden, Noah. You’ve been so good to me.” She looked down at her hands, saying so softly I almost missed it, “And you really need to start thinking about your engagement to Haley.”

  “Lena.” I bent down to look her straight in the eye as she sat there, nervously twisting her fingers. “I don’t know what is going to happen between me and Haley, but right now, you are the one I am worried about. I am not going to throw you out and leave you homeless. You can stay with me as long as you need to.”

  “Thank you,” she whispered, her eyes glassy with unshed tears. “I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

  My heart turned over at the thought of what could have happened to this fragile woman had I not gone back to check on her that day. Would her father have killed her?

  “I will take you to look at apartments if you really want me too, but know that does not mean I am asking you to leave. You will always have a place with me if you need it.

  “Well, isn’t this just sweet?” Haley’s voice dripped sweetness with
every word. As any well-bred southern belle knows, you can kill more flies with sugar. And she was laying it on thick.

  “Haley, what are you doing here?” I stood, instinctively blocking Lena from view so she could get herself together.

  “I could ask you the same thing. Mama thought it would be nice if I brought you a picnic lunch we could eat together. That is,” she raised an eyebrow at Lena, “if I’m not interrupting anything.”

  Lena stood and stepped out from behind me. “I am sure Mr. Hendrix would love to have lunch with you. I don’t believe he has eaten yet.” she grabbed her coat and purse. “I was just going to pick up some things for Mr. Alexander. Please excuse me.” All business, she nodded at Haley, “Enjoy your lunch, and congratulations on the engagement.”

  Looking at Lena, one would never have known that she had come apart three times in my bed just the night before as we’d made love for hours. Her appetite seemed insatiable those days. Not even an eyelash twitched at being faced with my fiancé, making real what had formerly been just an idea.

  Haley stood there, holding her picnic basket, chin up and shoulders straight as her eyes followed Lena from the office. She then turned those accusing eyes on me. “So what,” she walked up to Lena’s desk and trailed a finger across it, “was that?” She came to a stop in front of me, hands on her hips, waiting for an answer.

  “Nothing, Haley. That was nothing. My secretary had a personal issue and asked for some time to deal with it. Nothing to concern you.”

  “I think finding my fiancé on his knees for another woman certainly does concern me, considering you have never gotten down on your knees for me.”

  I sighed. Haley and Lena were both right. I really needed to figure this out. I needed to come clean with Haley and tell her I did not want to marry her. “Haley—”

  “Never mind. She’s gone. Now we can discuss why I’m really here.”

  The words died on my lips.

  “We need to plan the engagement party.”

  Noah

  “Lena, could you come look at this?”

  “I don’t know who Lena is, but she’s not here,” a voice answered me wryly.

  “Mom!” I looked up, startled as the petite form of my feisty mother appeared in front of me. I had been engrossed in the new plans and wanted to get Lena’s opinion on a change the architect had made. I wasn’t sure if it worked like we’d had in mind.

  “Hello to you too, Son.” She swept into my office, filling the space like a mini tornado.

  “To what do I owe the pleasure?” I dropped the pencil I was holding and leaned back. There would be no work done while she was here.

  “Haley tells me she stopped by.”

  “No need to pretend, Mother. I know you sent her.”

  She nodded once, pursing her lips. “Haley is a good girl. A good match.”

  “I know she is, Mother. Haley and I grew up together. She is a beautiful woman.”

  “If you hadn’t gotten in trouble, you might have more options, but with one skeleton in your closet, you must be squeaky clean. If even a hint of a scandal arises, you need her name, her connections, her background so no one cares.

  “Mom, no one cares that we took a neighbor’s car joyriding. Hell, no one even knows I was there. You and Dad covered everything up.”

  “Things like that have a habit of coming back to bite you. I know you still talk to that Frankie who dragged you in to that whole mess. He spent time in jail. It really isn’t seemly for you to be seen with him.”

  “Mom, sit.”

  “I don’t see why you insist on doing these things that are bad for you.”

  “Mom.”

  “What?”

  “We need to get a few things straight. Frankie didn’t drag me into anything. It was my idea. He tried to talk me out of it.

  “Don’t be foolish, Noah.”

  “MOM. Listen to me.”

  “Really, Noah.”

  “Frankie begged me not to steal that car. He had a college admissions meeting in the morning to take the entrance exam to Stanford.”

  “Now you are just being silly. Frankie would never have gotten in to Stanford. That boy came from the wrong side of town and had a drunk for a father.

  “STOP!” I was shouting, so incensed I couldn’t see straight. “You listen to me. Until that night, Frankie was class valedictorian with a full ride. I was just a spoiled little rich kid. I was used to you and Dad bailing me out, so I didn’t think anything of it when we got hauled in to the police station. Then you bailed me out and left him there. He missed his appointment, got sent to juvie, and he lost his scholarship. I am lucky he still speaks to me because now instead of being a Stanford educated lawyer, Frankie parks my car, and it’s all because I was a stupid, spoiled rich kid. I could only be so lucky as to be seen with Frankie. He did his time, which was really my time, came out, and has made something of himself.” I collapsed back into my seat, my anger spent, knowing that no matter what I said, my mother would never change.

  “Harrumph.” My mother stood, miffed at me of course. I wasn’t going to hear the end of this. “Haley said you were distracted. I can see she was right.” She gathered her things. “Your engagement to Haley will be announced in the papers in the morning. Your engagement party is two weeks from Saturday at the country club. I am warning you, Noah, don’t screw this up.” And she turned and left.

  I was so fucked.

  Lena

  I flipped the bathroom light off and padded into the bedroom. Noah was sprawled out face down in the middle of his king size bed. Even though we had shared the space for the past two months, our nights always started out this way. Upper torso bare, he had the sheet pulled up to his hips and one foot kicked outside the covers. He looked so much younger this way. The faint lines in his face relaxed, and he didn’t look so serious.

  I tiptoed my way around to my side of the bed and raised the sheet just enough to slip under without letting too much cold air in. My feet were freezing, and Noah was like a furnace. He put out so much heat the bed felt toasty in no time.

  “Your feet are cold,” he mumbled, turning his face toward me, eyes still closed.

  I slipped the soles of my feet onto his shins as I snuggled up to him, trying to get warm.

  “Really cold.”

  “Hush. You know they stay that way.” I laughed as he reached one arm out and dragged me into his side, pushing up the long t-shirt I wore to put his hand flat on my belly.

  “Don’t care. C’mere” Once satisfied I was as close as I could get, the hand on my belly started to stroke the flesh under it, sending little ripples of pleasure through me. He used the softest touch, running his hand over my navel, circling my belly button, then moving up to my breasts. Using the backs of his fingers to stroke the flesh on the sides, he then drew circles around my nipples with the tips of his fingers. Finally, after several long, tantalizing minutes, his thumb brushed across the nipple, dragging a sigh from my lips as he finally reached the tip that was tight and begging for attention.

  He played with the right breast first, tugging the nipple, rolling it between his fingers, rubbing across it until I moaned. Then he turned his attention to the left, doing the same thing until I was panting.

  I felt him roll onto his side, and a sudden rush of cold air made goose pimples rise on my body. Then his hands grabbed the hem of the shirt, whisking it up over my head before replacing it with his body. Skin to skin, I pressed back into him, feeling his hardness and grinding my panty-covered ass into it. By that time, I was desperate with need. I wanted him. I wanted to feel him possess me with every fiber of my being.

  “Lena,” he groaned out, fully awake now. He rolled me onto my back, and I arched up, pressing my breasts into his hands. “You are so beautiful.”

  He kneaded the mounds, kissing my neck, nibbling on my ear. Releasing my breasts, his hands slid down my waist, hooking my lace and silk panties and pulled them down over my legs until I was completely bare to him.<
br />
  He slid out of his boxers, the only thing he wore to bed, and his erection sprang free, bouncing a bit before hanging low between his legs, thick and hard.

  I parted my thighs, inviting him in. I was ready and not interested in waiting.

  Noah had something else in mind. He spread my legs a bit more before settling between them, his cheek resting on my belly, his warm breath tickling the short curly hairs at my apex.

  He ran his fingers through the curls, watching them stretch and spring back before he explored further. Nudging me opening with a finger, he brought it back glistening with the moisture I could feel dripping down and coating my thighs. “You are so ready.”

  His fingers went to explore again, parting my outer lips, tracing my cleft, finding my clitoris and circling it.

  “Oh!” I gasped as a zing of electricity shot through me, a tendril beginning to spiral from the nub he touched to deep within my center.

  He chuckled and that finger began to play, first gently flicking back and forth across me, then pressing in, circling and massaging as I began to swell. He took another finger and used it to hold back the hood, exposing that live nerve center.

  Rubbing, rubbing, circling, circling, his movement came faster, bringing my hips up off the bed as that tendril coiled tighter and tighter, and I began to beg for release.

  “More, more…”

  “Not yet.” He breathed across my belly, making the little hairs stand up. “Not yet.”

  I felt his other hand below the first, sliding through me, finding my opening, and tracing it as he continued to tease.

  I felt that finger circle, dip inside for a moment, and retreat. “Please!”

  And again, as he brought me closer and closer, that finger circled me, before finally dipping all the way inside. But it wasn’t enough. “More!”

  A second finger joined the first, circle, dip, circle, dip, until they both plunged in, filling me a little more, but it still wasn’t enough.