Henry’s voice grabs my attention and what he says makes me smile. “Young man, I’m not happy with that stunt you pulled at brunch, but your mother and I appreciate it.”
Noah smiles and reaches for my hand. “What did you want to talk to me about?”
He clears his throat and looks over at Ellery questioningly. We both watch as she nods and smiles softly, prompting Henry to say, “Noah, come to my office with me?”
“Yeah, sure.” Noah gets up and follows Henry into his office down the hall.
Ellery moves across the couch to sit closer to me. “Now tell me all about the ballet.”
NOAH
I follow Henry into his office, which looks out onto the water through oversized bay windows. It doesn’t surprise me that the room has four floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, which work as a focal point, filling the room with knowledge and color—I now know from where I get my hunger for knowledge.
Henry’s desk is positioned in the middle of the room with a large coffee brown leather chair behind it. He walks over to the desk and pulls out a rectangular piece of paper—a check.
“Take a seat, son, please.”
I do as he asks and sit down at one of the two seats facing the desk. He surprises me by taking the seat to my right and leans back.
“Before you say anything, let me tell you a little bit of what happened after you were taken from us.” He clears his throat, crosses his ankle over his knee, and starts to rub his jaw as he looks out of the window.
“We have spent thirty years looking for you, and as the years went on, it became harder and harder for us to find agents willing to help our search.”
I watch quietly as he thinks back. “Your mother, as I’m sure you could imagine, was a wreck. It was a hard time for us. It always has been.”
He looks back at me and swallows. “After two years of searching, your mother and I hired an attorney, and under his guidance, we filed suit against the hospital for negligence.”
I’m speechless and too nervous to say anything.
“I won’t go into too much detail, Noah, but there was a settlement between us and them.”
“A settlement?”
“Yes, they didn’t want us to tarnish their sterling reputation,” he adds, “so from that settlement we received a hefty amount. Ellery suggested that we deposit the money into a bank account for you, hoping it would pay for your college tuition. As the years passed, the investment grew, and Ellery then suggested—and I agreed—that we invest some of that money into the stock market, and that is where it has been for the past twenty-odd years . . . until now.” He reaches over and places the folded check on my knee.
“No, Henry, I don’t need that.”
“Noah, please?”
“Henry . . . I can’t accept this,” I say in a voice thick with emotion. I’m anxious as all hell. This is fucking uncomfortable, and I can’t get out of it.
“Noah, I insist,” he states and pats my knee before withdrawing, leaving that small piece of paper on my leg. “Your mother and I are so happy to be able to give you this.”
I hesitate to move my hand, but I pick up the check, quickly deciding not to open it in front of him. “You did not have to do this.”
I don’t want to take this. I don’t want a handout from anyone.
“Noah, I won’t hesitate to pull the sympathy card and use your mother against you.” I feel my eyebrows raise and I look over at him. He’s grinning, but I know he’d do it in a heartbeat, just like I did to Heather. I pulled a card on her once, not too long ago, when I thought she was going to leave me. I can’t help but laugh in shock and mock disgust.
“Damn,” I respond as I shake my head and tap the check against my knee.
“Listen, son, that money is rightfully yours. Your mother and I have never struggled financially, and no, I don’t know what your life was like, but you’ve been through more than anyone could have ever imagined. I won’t take that back, and if you shred it, your mother will certainly hear about it, and trust me . . . you do not want to deal with that. I am speaking from experience here.”
My jaw clenches and I stare into space, thinking. I know he isn’t bluffing; I can read him well enough. My hand creeps up to the back of my neck and a thought enters my mind. With the help of this money, regardless of the amount, and what I’ve gotten from the diner . . . I could buy Heather a home. I could get my ballerina out of the city and into somewhere she deserves.
“Son? Are we in agreement?” he asks, breaking into my thoughts.
My hand clenches the back of my neck and I look over at him, exhaling a deep breath. “Damn, I don’t know.”
“Shall I get your mother in here?” he threatens.
I can’t help but laugh, and he stands up, clapping me on the back. He looks triumphant as he grins. “That’s what I thought you’d say.” He pauses as I stand up and put the check in my back pocket. “Glad to have you home, son,” he says and reaches for me. Before I can have the chance to feel uncomfortable, he grabs me for a hug. It’s brief, but I feel his love for me in his embrace before he lets go. “Come on. Let’s go check out Heather’s foot before you two need to head out.”
I follow him out and back down the hallway into the living room where Heather and Ellery are chatting up a storm.
“Ladies . . .” Henry says at our entrance, causing them to look up at the two of us. Heather beams up at me, and hell, I just figured out what else I’ll be spending the money on. I wink at her, partly to see her cheeks flush and partly to let her know that everything is fine.
“Heather, why don’t you let me take a look at that foot now?”
I watch as he crouches down next to her leg. I’m watching, but also my mind is racing. Things I’ve never really spent time considering are pushing their way to the forefront and making themselves known.
I’m startled when I feel someone touch my arm. I look down to my right and see Ellery smiling up at me. “Are you okay, honey? Henry didn’t bully you, did he?”
My tense shoulders relax and I laugh lightly. I know then that Ellery knew what our brief meeting was about. I also realize that they played an excellent routine of good-cop-bad-cop to get their end result with me.
“Of course he did.” I smile and put my arm around her shoulders. She’s more than willing to accept my hug, and I can’t thank either of them enough. “Thank you . . . it’s unnecessary, but thank you.” I lower my voice to help conceal our conversation while Henry and Heather talk.
Ellery doesn’t let go of me as we watch Henry inspect my ballerina’s injured foot, “Mmhmm, just what I thought. Heather, you’re going to need to go through a month or two of regular physical therapy before you’ll be able to dance, and depending on how your recovery proceeds . . . you may or may not be able to dance on pointe again.”
Oh shit.
My eyes fly to Heather’s face. I watch as the smile that once adorned her face quickly disappears. “Wait, what?” she asks in total surprise.
“Heather, I just want you to know what could happen if it doesn’t heal correctly. I’d like to be the one you come to for physical therapy, if you don’t mind driving out here three times a week. Ellery and I could drive into the city too. I want you to have the best chance of getting back on the stage and I won’t trust you with anyone else.”
Heather looks to me for answers, and my chest swells. Fuck, I can’t help how it makes me feel that she turned to me for help. I nod slowly. “Let him, Heather. We can make it work.”
“Okay,” she says softly, and fuck, I just want her in my arms. She looks up at the ceiling and blinks quickly to keep her tears at bay.
I know how much she worried about being able to dance again and now she’s getting her worst fears vocalized by a professional. Hell, I know she needs my touch right now just as I need hers. I move out of Ellery’s arms and kneel down next to my girl. “Let me get your boot back on, baby.”
Henry pats my shoulder and gets up. “Good on you, son.”
She doesn’t look down but nods. I run my thumb across the top of her bare foot and smile when her toes wiggle. I guess I never realized that her feet were ticklish.
“Why don’t we go for a walk along the beach before you two leave?” Ellery suggests.
I smile and nudge her. “That sounds nice, don’t you think, sweetheart?”
She instantly smiles and looks down at me. I don’t know the reason for her smile but it lights me on fire.
“Yes, I’d love to,” she answers Ellery, and I feel like we’ve successfully sidetracked her mini tornado of tears.
I stand and offer her my hand. She gets up and wraps her arms around my torso instead. Ellery and Henry look at each other and decide to give us a few moments. “We’ll be waiting out front, dear,” Ellery says as they both walk away.
I look down at the top of her head as I rub my hand down her back. “We’ll get through this, Heather. I know you’re upset, but it’s going to be okay. Everything will work out for the best.”
She nuzzles my chest. “I’m okay. I’m sorry, I don’t mean to ruin this time for you.”
“You couldn’t ruin anything even if you tried, beautiful.” I tilt her chin up and force her to look at me. “Now give me a kiss and let’s take a walk.”
She pushes up and presses her lips to mine. Fuck, I feel like I’ve needed her lips more than anything at this point in time.
I kiss her, and then move my lips to her ear. “I’m ready to get you home.”
My cock grows hard when my hand trails down her throat. I feel her swallow, and she steps back, grabbing my hand. “Come on, lover-boy, enough of that,” she teases and tugs at my arm. I smirk and watch her ass as I follow her.
It’s just over a two-hour drive back to the city from Southampton, but the traffic is ridiculous and we’ve been stuck on this highway-turned-parking-lot for about forty minutes now. Heather has fallen asleep in the passenger seat, and hell, she’s unequivocally beautiful. After our walk on the beach, we spent a few more hours talking in their sunroom before Ellery and Heather made dinner together. It was one hell of an interesting weekend; I’ve learned a lot about my parents, Heather, and myself.
She loved me when I ached, when every piece of who I am was scattered across a space that I was unable to venture to alone, but she ventured there with me, and it’s because of her that I haven’t given up and resorted to drinking my days away. Everything about our relationship has been hard to control, but I think we’ve found the in-between—the place that we are both happiest with each other, and a place where we can both promise to give each other everything we have to offer. She set my damn world on an axis that didn’t exist, and switched my poles around: north is now south and east is now west. As much as she’s helped set my world spiraling out of control, it has not once been in the wrong direction.
I glance back over at her after moving up five inches. Fuck, this is taking forever. She takes in a deep breath before shifting slightly and stilling again, and in this moment I know she’s right. Unmistakably, bravely, and honestly right: I need to talk to Mae.
I believe that everyone is brought into our lives for a reason, whether it’s to help us grow or for us to help them grow. When it comes to Mae, I don’t know the reason for her being in my life; I have yet to find something good that has come out of the past thirty years. Yes, I loved my life before I knew it wasn’t supposed to be mine, but how can I turn back to that when it’s long gone?
I need to go and see her.
I keep telling myself that I need to make up my mind about this, and now I have. It’s set. I just need to make it all happen. Shit, what are my parents going to say when I tell them I’m going to go and see her?
The traffic starts to inch forward, and I follow while my thoughts are lost to the darkness of the SUV’s interior. My past is my past, and it has molded me into who I am today. If I was given the opportunity to change anything, would I?
No, I don’t think I would, because as much as everything has bothered me . . . I don’t think I would be able to go a day poisoning myself with an altered future.
Hell, what I wouldn’t give to be pounding my feet against the asphalt rather than wheeling over it right now; as much as it exhausts me, it’s also the most effective way to lose myself. It keeps me from losing my mind, and spilling out for the world to see exactly how fucked up I am.
My mind switches from first to fifth gear as if I’m all of a sudden hurling down this overcrowded highway; fuck, I can’t accept that much money. The check that Henry and Ellery gave me is sitting too comfortably in the pocket of my jeans.
What the hell do I do with that money? Give it away? Invest it?
I need to breathe.
I need to collect myself and being surrounded by people in metal boxes all pretending not to stare into the darkness of the metal box next to them is not helping my thought process. I’m being watched and judged in the dark while they don’t know me. They don’t know that I can see dawn; it may just be a speck of light, but it’s what I have to go by.
I get over into the right lane of 495 to turn off the expressway at the next exit and then follow secondary roads heading west toward Manhattan. I drive another fifteen minutes before getting off at Smithtown, where I find a place to get gas and just fucking inhale without being suffocated.
The cool night breeze hits me when I get out of the SUV. I shut the door and start filling the tank up before I walk back to the driver’s seat. I pause when I see my ballerina through the window, sleeping soundly. Every time I see her in all of her innocence, I have to pause and remind myself that she’s mine. I have to remind myself that the path that I’m on is where I want to be, and it’s where she wants to be too.
It’s in this moment that I decide that I won’t put us on a hiatus for anyone or any petty excuse anymore. I know what I want with her, and I trust that she knows what she wants out of this relationship too. Sure, we’re on the fast track, but it’s what has been working for us.
The gas pump clicks before I’ve even managed to open the door again. I finish up and get back into the car.
“Where are we?”
“Hey sleeping beauty. I had to stop and get gas. We’re about an hour out from the city and an hour from Southampton.”
“Oh? I feel like I’ve been asleep for much longer.”
“You have been. We were stuck in standstill traffic for a while. Go back to sleep. I’ll get you to bed when we get back.”
“Mmm, okay.” She moves and lays her head on the center console before she’s lights out again, and I’m drawn back into my turbulent ocean of thoughts.
HEATHER
I’ve been in better spirits, but Noah is trying his best to keep me in a good mood. He knows I’m bummed out about what Henry told me regarding my foot. I had a feeling that something like this was going to happen. I miss dancing but I’ve also enjoyed my time off. I’ve enjoyed my time with Noah. It’s been like a vacation for me, a vacation that I’ve needed for years. I’m lying on the couch on my stomach, searching for a movie to watch. He was rather adamant about having this time with me tonight. I can hear him whistling while he makes popcorn in the kitchen. I’ve tried making it myself, but it’s one of the few things that I can’t do. I burn it every time, so he’s taken over. I sigh and drop the remote on the living room floor and lay my head on my arms.
“There’s nothing worth watching,” I mumble into my arms, not necessarily talking to anyone.
“Well, I’ll have to disagree with you, beautiful,” he says close to my ear, startling me, and I almost jump out of my skin.
I sit up and groan, “Noah . . .”
“What is it?” he asks and sits next to me, offering me the bowl of popcorn.
“I just like moaning your name.”
He raises his eyebrow and laughs. “Well, that makes two of us. I quite enjoy you moaning my name as well.” He winks and I have to squeeze my thighs together. I push the bowl of popcorn away and out of his lap.
He watches as I crawl closer to him and lie on my back with my head resting on his thigh.
“You don’t want any?” he asks and stretches for the bowl, moving it within his reach.
“No, I don’t feel like it,” I reply, sounding a little more bummed out than what I thought.
He grins and hands me a different bowl, setting it on my stomach. I lift my head and my spirits are lifted if only just a bit.
“Peanut butter M&M’s?”
“I had a feeling you would want something sweet.”
I love how well he knows me; this Greek god is someone I never thought I’d have in my life. I push his black V-neck up and sink my teeth into his side.
He grunts and his abs clench.
His hand finds the back of my head, and he pulls on my hair just a little. “Damn it; give me some warning next time.” He growls that sexy growl but leaves my head in place. I can’t help but smile and kiss him where I bit, before moving back out from under his shirt.
He looks down at me and runs his fingers through my hair. It’s soothing, and I smile softly as I eat an M&M.
“I want to talk to you about something important,” he says with a serious but soft tone.
“Uh-oh, that doesn’t sound good,” I joke, but I’m honestly a little frightened. He runs his thumb over my eyebrow softly, and it makes me close my eyes. I instantly force my eyes open and focus. He doesn’t know that this move could render me unconscious in seconds. My father used to do that to put me to sleep when I was little.
He avoids my small joke and continues to rub my eyebrow. “What are your thoughts on moving out of the city?”
“Mmm . . .” My eyes close slowly and I try to picture living somewhere other than the city. I think about what it would be like to be Henry and Ellery, with yard work. I can feel my lips move, and I grin. “Mmm, maybe.”
“Yeah?”
I can hear his surprise, and I think he’s smiling, but I’m too comfortable to open my eyes. “Mhmm,” I reply and continue to think about what he’s asked me.
He hasn’t stopped rubbing over my eyes, and I try to fight off sleep. I think he’s realized that this is a surefire way to relax me. I lazily move my hand up and weakly shove his away before frowning and turning my head. He chuckles low and deep, and I hear him move the popcorn and M&M’s before lying down beside me.
A Winter's Date Page 24
