“Who is Hemmingway?” Rose shouted out when Derek drew one of the pictures for the game.
Of course Rose was right. She was extremely smart and could probably have kicked everyone’s butt at Pictionary. Derek wasn’t all that much help but he typically took credit for the win. Noah loved it when Derek and Rose came to hang out with them though, mostly because of Rose. She had a brilliant smile that made everyone around her also smile. She looked into Noah’s eyes and he always felt like she was looking right into his soul.
“Isn’t my girlfriend so good at figuring out what I’m drawing?” Derek yelled out.
“I think Rose is just really skilled, I’m not sure your drawing was all that much help,” Noah joked.
“Rose, darling, tell them you couldn’t have done it without me.”
“Oh, of course. My big strong handsome man here did a fabulous drawing. That was the only reason little old me was able to figure out the puzzle.”
They all broke out into laughter. It was fun to hang out together and spend their weekends as a group. The four of them grew close together and even though Noah desperately wanted Rose, he kept that to himself. He wasn’t the type of guy who would stand up and take another man’s woman and Rose was clearly in love with Derek. She idealized the man and Noah wasn’t going to ruin that for her.
“I’m going to put the pizza’s in the oven. Anyone need anything?” Noah asked.
“I’ll come with you, I need a drink,” Rose said.
As Rose followed Noah into the kitchen she pulled him toward the refrigerator and held onto his arm as she whispered. Noah stopped breathing in anticipation. Somewhere deep in his stomach he hoped that she would pull him to the side like that someday and confess her love for him. He waited with every anticipation that Rose might just be ready to announce those feelings for him.
“Noah, some girl came up to me in the library and said Derek and her went on a date and I better stay away from him. I have no idea what’s going on. He’s not dating anyone else is he?”
Noah had feared that Rose really didn’t know what was going on with Derek. But he had hoped that Derek would get bored of the relationship and move on. It wasn’t the way he wanted her to find out, but then again, Noah never really knew what Rose knew and didn’t know about Derek. She had a different view of Derek than Noah did, her vision was colored by her feelings for him.
The longing in her eyes broke Noah’s heart instantly. Not to mention that she hadn’t pulled him aside to announce her love for him, instead to worry about her love of Derek. How could he possibly answer that question? Yes, Derek was dating other women. He hardly tried to hide it at all but it shouldn’t be Noah’s responsibility to tell Rose. Derek had to be the one to tell her.
“I’m not sure. We haven’t actually been hanging out that much, maybe you should talk to him.”
“Yeah, she’s probably just crazy. I know how much the ladies chase after him. He got a call from a girl in the middle of the night a few weeks ago and he had to tell her to stop calling him. It’s a little crazy how these girls stalk him like that.”
Noah knew it wasn’t just the girls fault though and that Derek had certainly been leading them on. Noah wanted to grab Rose and scream that she was worth more than this and she should just leave Derek, but he didn’t. He kept his mouth shut and although he didn’t protect his friend, he didn’t tell the truth either.
“Yeah, well talk to him. I’ll call Angela in here so you two can talk for a minute.”
Noah felt his body fill up with excitement. If Rose really hadn’t known what was going on with Derek she certainly wouldn’t stick with him when she found out. Derek thought there might be a small chance that he could date Rose in the future. Not right away, he would wait and approach the idea a few months down the road. Derek wouldn’t care by then, he’d be moved on to his next flavor of the month.
“Okay, thanks. I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding,” Rose said as she wrapped her arms around Noah’s neck and kissed his cheek. “You are the sweetest guy I know. I hope you and Angela stay together.”
Noah groaned with the thought. He didn’t want Angela, he wanted Rose. He didn’t want kisses on the cheek, he wanted kisses on his lips. Noah wanted to feel Rose’s body under his hands all the time. It killed him that Derek had one of the most beautiful and perfect women in the world yet he wasn’t willing to even be faithful to her. Rose deserved better.
“Angela, can you come here for a minute?” Noah yelled into the living room. “Get going,” he said as he pushed Rose back into the other room.
Noah and Angela were in the kitchen for about fifteen minutes before they made it back into the living room and sat down. Rose didn’t look upset at all, in fact, her arms was wrapped around Derek’s and she was cuddled up next to him like she was even more in love than ever.
“You two look cozy,” Angela said.
Noah braced himself to hear what had happened, or not happened between them. Rose was obviously not angry with Derek so she couldn’t have heard the truth about what he had been up to.
“Some crazy girl had tried to upset Rose at school today. I just reassured her she’s the only one in the world for me and that I love her.”
Noah’s eyes darted to Derek’s; he knew his friend was lying. Noah had seen other women coming and going from Derek’s room. There was no doubt in his mind that Derek was with other women and not just Rose. But to tell her he loved her, that was a pretty low move. Of course Rose was going to forget about anything else. She was in love with Derek and had been waiting for him to say those words. Noah couldn’t take it another moment, he stormed out of the room and back into the kitchen. He couldn’t believe the man he called his friends was being so callus.
Noah literally couldn’t sit in the same room as Derek and Rose. His mind was spinning as he stood in the kitchen and contemplated telling her everything he knew. The only thing that kept him from telling Rose the truth was how much she cared for Derek. Noah didn’t want to be the person who ruined that for her. He didn’t want to be that guy who took away the perfect life she thought she had.
“I do love her,” Derek said when he came into the kitchen after Noah.
Noah didn’t believe Derek at all. The idea of love to Derek just wasn’t the same as it was to Noah. Whether it was Rose or another girl, Noah didn’t have a say in the matter but he wasn’t going to sit by and watch Derek lie to get what he wanted. He couldn’t have sat in that room for another moment longer.
“You have other girlfriends. You’re going to break her heart. At least be honest with her. You owe her that much. Why do you have to be such a jerk?”
It was killing Noah to watch Derek tricking Rose into loving him. Derek didn’t even care who the woman was on his arm, he just wanted a beautiful and kind woman to someday marry him so he could run for office. It sounded like Derek even planned to cheat on this someday wife while he continued to work his way up in the political field.
“I don’t owe her anything. We just now decided to be exclusive. I’m breaking it off with everyone else. I want to make things work with Rose. I think she’s the perfect girl for me.”
“Oh, yeah your public wife,” Noah said sarcastically.
“I do love her Noah and she’s in love with me. Can’t you just be a good friend and be happy for us?”
“I am happy. If you are going to actually be with just her. But don’t play these stupid childish games. If you don’t love her move on.”
“I said I love her now stop with this shit.”
Noah took his friend at his word and dropped the subject. It was clear that Derek and Rose wanted to be together. They cared about each other, maybe even loved each other, Noah had to let go of the feelings he was having toward Rose.
***
Noah did end up breaking up with Angela. She just wasn’t the right girl for him. He actually had a very hard time finding the right girl for him, most likely because she was currently dating his best friend. But N
oah held out hope that there was another woman out there that would be just as good of a match for him. There were millions of women in the world, one of them had to match up with him.
As school came to a close that year, Noah took off overseas on a volunteer mission and did his best to get Rose off of his mind. She was clearly in love with Derek and that wasn’t going to change. Derek had gotten rid of his other girlfriends and appeared fully dedicated to Rose, so Noah couldn’t even complain about that. Instead, it was time for him to officially move on.
Noah worked for a non-profit group in India and helped build houses and work with a local charity. The work was rewarding for him and gave him a new focus for his life. He had Rose to blame for his new feelings about helping others and Derek too. Noah didn’t want to be one of those guys who became successful but didn’t help anyone else at all. He wanted to be someone that Rose thought was a good person. There was no doubt in his mind that he was going to be a lawyer still, but he would find a way to help people along the way as well.
Luckily, Noah had grown up with a family that had money. He didn’t have to become a lawyer if he didn’t want to. His parents were okay with him doing anything he wanted with his life. That kind of support wasn’t sometime to be taken for granted and as Noah grew older he realized that more and more. No matter what happened in his love life, he would always have his family.
He planned on going to law school with Derek but he was perfectly okay with taking a year off. Life just didn’t need to rush by for Noah. He was alright with taking his time and moving slowly so he could enjoy each step that came his way. He had watched his father work himself into a heart attack and a difficult marriage. Although his parents were still together, things were sometimes rough between them because of the choices his father made to put work first. Noah didn’t want to make those same mistakes in his life.
Working overseas was fulfilling and really did help to get his mind off of Rose. He helped to build houses in India for a year before going to law school in Chicago with Derek. Derek and Rose had moved there right after school and even though Derek had started before him, by the second year they were pretty much at the same level.
Things had changed for Noah though. His perspective on life was so much different and happiness was much more important in his life. Not only his own happiness but that of his loved ones. As Derek and Rose grew closer, Noah stepped away to give them space. Occasionally they would all get together and Noah would bring a random girl that he was dating over to meet his friends. He just couldn’t stand to go to their apartment alone and it was easier on him if he had someone with him.
Watching Derek and Rose build their life together was difficult for Noah. His mind was stuck and he felt stuck. He wasn’t moving forward in his life like he wanted and he was reminded of that when he visited his friends. Noah wasn’t unhappy but he wanted more for himself. He wanted a future, a wife, a family and Derek was just moving along that route faster than Noah was.
“Noah!” Rose said as she opened the door and hugged her friend. “We’ve missed you so much.”
His heart skipped a beat as her arms wrapped around him. No matter how many days, weeks, or months he was away from Rose he couldn’t get her off of his mind. But he had come to enjoy the thoughts of her as happy ones instead of longing. Rose was his friend now and he wanted her to be happy, so if Derek was going to do that for her he was happy for them all.
Noah had spent many night fantasizing about Rose and how she was doing. Sometimes he worried about how Derek was treating her, other times he just worried how Rose was getting along in life. He had never been so consumed by a woman in his life and it was weird to have such feelings about his best friends girlfriend.
“I’ve missed you two as well. How are you guys doing?”
“It’s our anniversary this weekend, two years together can you believe it?”
“You two have been dating for two years already? Wow that’s pretty impressive. Next thing I know you’ll be getting married.”
“Hopefully soon,” Rose said with her sweet smile.
Rose was genuinely one of the nicest people Noah had ever met. She was constantly helping others and would literally give someone the shirt off of her back if she thought it would help them. She did graduate with a degree in social services and was working in a welfare offices, so the helping thing worked out pretty well with her job.
She spent her weekends helping at various charity organizations and was constantly trying to convince Derek to come with her. But Derek was struggling with his law studies and needed up spending many extra hours working while he tried to pass his classes.
“Hey old friend,” Derek said as she came to the door as well. “Who’s this?”
Noah had brought a new girlfriend with him and she was still in the hall as they all were saying their hello’s.
“Oh, I’m sorry guys, this is Erica. She’s in beauty school here in Chicago.”
Noah honestly hadn’t remembered that Erica was behind him. He was caught up in his memories of Rose and his thought of her in that moment. But Erica was a really nice girl. She looked much younger than she was, although she was pretty young as well. Erica was fun and Noah needed a little fun in his life at that moment in time.
“How old are you?” Derek blurted out.
“Derek!” Rose said, shocked at her boyfriends rudeness. “I’m sorry, sometimes I can’t control him.”
“Oh, it’s okay. I get that a lot. I’m actually twenty-one, I just look young for my age.”
Derek winked at Noah and then whispered something to Rose. Noah couldn’t hear what he said but it was enough that Rose swung her arm at Derek and told him to be quiet.
“Let’s have some dinner,” Rose said as she invited everyone in to the table.
“So how is everything going with school boys?” Rose asked when they finally got sat down to dinner. “Only a few more classes and you two are going to be on your way to being full-time lawyers.”
“I’m excited. I can’t wait to head out to Washington D.C. and find me a fancy high paying job,” Noah said.
“Me too,” Derek added.
“What? I thought you said you were looking for a job here in Chicago?” Rose asked with concern in her voice. “I just signed my new contract for a year a work.”
“Oh, they won’t care about the contract if we move. You can’t help that. I’m sure it will be fine.”
“But you never told me we might be moving.”
“I’m tell you now darling. Let’s not fight in front of our friends. We can work it out later.”
Rose instantly became quiet and Noah felt his heart sink. He knew how much Rose loved her job helping people and it was her biggest passion. But Noah also knew that Rose was going to follow Derek anywhere he went. Not because she had to, but because she loved him dearly, it was visible in the way she looked at him.
Throughout the dinner Rose and Derek laughed and were happy as could be. Noah, as usual, felt himself being left out. His new girlfriend wasn’t the one, he could tell that again. It seemed he could always tell they weren’t the one when he’d get them in a room with Rose.
“Hey Noah, can I talk to you for a minute?” Derek asked just as the evening was wrapping up.
“Of course.”
The two men made their way into a side room and sat down for a minute. It was good to catch up with his buddy and Noah was impressed at how well Derek and Rose seemed to be doing. It did finally feel like things were settling for them.
“I’m heading out of town this weekend, can you cover for me?”
“What are you talking about?” Noah asked, thoroughly confused.
“I’ve got this girl friend the gym on the side. She’s got us tickets to see Aerosmith up in Minneapolis. I’m going to tell Rose it’s a thing for my internship and you’re coming with me. Just cover for me alright?”
“No, I’m not covering for you. I thought you gave up those women?”
“I di
d, I did, I’m just going on this one weekend thing then I’ll be done. I think I’m going to propose to Rose soon. I want to get married before we head out to Washington D.C.”
“It’s your anniversary this weekend. What are you going to tell Rose?”
“Oh, shit. It is?”
“I’m not going to have any part of this. Either break it off with your other woman or I’ll tell Rose myself,” Noah said as he stormed out of the room. “Rose I’m going to head out for the night. Erica, let’s get going.”
Noah couldn’t stand for it another moment and he wasn’t about to take part in deceiving Rose. She deserved better.
Over a week had gone by when Noah ran into Rose at the grocery store.
“How was your anniversary?” Noah dared to ask.
He was nervous to hear what Derek had told Rose and he told himself he was going to tell her the truth if she asked him anything about Derek or if Derek had used him as an alibi.
“Oh, it was great. Derek was supposed to go to Minneapolis for his internship but he canceled and stayed home with me. We had a great anniversary. I really do love him so much.”
Relief and sadness both washed over Noah. Of course he didn’t want Rose to get her heart broken, but he was starting to hate Derek more and more for the games he was playing. At least he had stood up to Derek and for that Noah was happy about the outcome.
“That sounds like a good weekend. How’s your work going?”
“It’s so perfect. I helped at the domestic violence shelter some this week. Those women are so strong. I can’t believe what they have gone through. They are true inspirations.”
“How are you and Erica doing?”
“Oh, we broke up. It was a short thing, just not a good fit. We are still friends.”
“Of course,” Rose said with a smile.
Mine to Protect Page 40
