Nick nodded, then leaned in to plant a kiss on my temple before he started moving and clicking the mouse. “Done. And now, I need a drink of water after watching you be fine as hell on-screen.”
He started to stand up, but I quickly stopped him. “I can get it for you. Sit down.”
“Noah...” he groaned, then stood up anyway. “Chill with that.”
“Chill with what?” I asked, knowing exactly “what”. Nick had been out of the hospital for a week – after being in the hospital for four days – and I’d... probably been too much. Trying to cater to his every need, trying to wait on him hand and foot, all of which he’d firmly rejected in favor of – mostly- caring for himself.
He’d let me put my nutrition degree to good use by cooking for him, and there had been one shower that started with me insisting on him letting me wash him, and ended with him pinning me up against the shower wall, with my legs locked around his waist. Largely though, he didn’t want me babying him and I knew it, but at the same time... I kinda couldn’t help it.
I just wanted him to be okay.
“Do you need me to get it for you?” I asked, hovering behind him as he bent down to get a bottle of water from way in the back of the fridge.
When he turned around, bottle in hand, he frowned at me. “Noah... relax.”
“I am relaxed,” I insisted, watching him open the bottle. As he was lifting it to his mouth, Puppy came racing into the room, awake from his nap and ready to play. Caught off guard, Nick let the bottle slip, and water went pouring on the floor. “I can get that!” I said, rushing to the counter to grab a towel. Before I could get back to the spill, Nick had grabbed me, easily hoisting me up to put me down on the counter.
“Stop that shit.” His expression was dry as hell, and completely unamused as he stepped between my legs, basically forcing me to look at – and listen to – him. “Seriously.”
“I’m trying to help,” I whined, words that were met with a shake of his head.
“Please, please understand that I love and appreciate you for holding me down, not running away from my illness, all that. But I am a grown ass man, Noah. I don’t need you to do things for me. If I ask, that’s one thing, but... the shit makes me feel like you think I’m weak or something.”
“I do not think you’re weak!”
“You damn sure act like it though. When I’m sick, I’m sick, and that’s a whole other thing. But you can’t treat me like I’m some frail dude that needs his girl for everything.” I poked out my bottom lip, and he shook his head. “Uh-uh, put that back in. I don’t need you pouting, I need you to hear me. Okay?”
I pushed out a sigh, because I knew he was right. “Okay. Okay.”
He stepped even closer, wrapping his arms around me. Below us, Puppy was busy licking up the spilled water before he went to his bowl, in search of more. “You’re not mad at me, are you?”
“Of course not. I’d be pissed if you were treating me like I couldn’t do anything for myself, so... I get it. But... hey... you said... you “love and appreciate me”. You want to talk about that?”
He frowned. “I said that?”
“You said that,” I laughed. “Don’t play with me. Was it a slip, or... you mean that?”
Nick bit down on this bottom lip, staring at me for a second before he leaned in, pressing his forehead to mine. “Not gonna lie to you gorgeous... it was a slip... but I meant it.”
My hands took a life of their own – reaching up to grab either side of Nick’s face to pull him into a kiss after a whispered, “I love you too.”
His lips were like velvet –as good as they’d been since that first kiss in the airport. At first contact, my touch was feather-light, assessing how much I was going to give him, but then he took over, covering my mouth with his. He didn’t have to say a word before I opened up for him, accepting the sweetness of his tongue, still stained with the flavor of the bowl of fruit we’d shared earlier. Shamelessly, I slipped my hands under his tee shirt and pushed into his sturdy frame as he kissed me, and I kissed him right back.
When he finally stepped back, eyes hooded with lust, I smiled.
“You remember how after you kissed me, you told me you hope I had a great life?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I remember.”
“Well... I guess you knew what you were talking about, didn’t you?”
#NICK
“Are you awake?”
I looked away from the TV, and tilted my head up at the sound of Noah’s whispered words. After Dani hit me back saying she loved the film, and wanted to use it for her video, Noah and I had gone out to dinner to celebrate.
Afterwards, we landed at my couch, which had become our designated “spot”. I’d spread myself out, with my head propped in her lap, turned toward the football game. Noah had her legs propped up on the footstool, ignoring the game in favor of whatever she was doing on her phone, and Puppy had found himself a comfortable spot, curled up on my stomach.
We were chilling.
Noah had been using the hand that wasn’t holding her phone to rub absent circles over my chest – an action that was soothing as hell, and damn near putting me to sleep. But not quite yet.
“Nah... what’s up?” I murmured, lifting my hand to stroke her cheek.
She smiled, and then wrinkled her nose at me. “I gotta pee.”
Chuckling, I lifted myself off her legs, taking a non-too-pleased Puppy with me. He jumped down, trotting to the kitchen, where a scratching sound a few seconds later told me he was trying to get outside.
While Noah handled hers, I took Puppy outside to handle his too. By the time we came back, Noah had returned to her place on the couch, and Puppy immediately ran to her, claiming her lap as his.
“Got yourself some competition here,” she laughed, lovingly stroking his head as he settled in.
I shook my head as the scene unfolded in front of me, filling my chest with what I could only describe as... warmth. “I see how his little ass does me,” I teased, raising my hands. “But that’s aiight... I’m gonna hop in the shower anyway.”
Noah looked up from the dog, biting her lip as her eyes narrowed in mischief. “Save some hot water for me. Give me a minute, and then I’m going to join you... if that’s okay?”
“If it’s going to go like that last shower, you are more than welcome,” I told her, and she smiled.
“That’s exactly what I have in mind.”
“Well... wrap it up then,” I said, playfully circling a finger in the air before I turned to head to my room. There, I pulled my shirt off and tossed it into the hamper, then paused on my way past the dresser.
I reached for the little box contained there, pulling out the folded sheets of notebook paper. Since meeting Noah, I’d crossed off several things, adding to the ones my father had already done, and the ones I’d accomplished before her.
There was only one left.
I grabbed a pen from the cup on my desk, and came back to the list, flipping to the back of the last page. There, I crossed off, “get caught off guard by something beautiful.”
Finally, I understood.
For a long time, that one had given me trouble – how the hell did you purposely get caught off guard? I couldn’t make sense of it, so I’d put it off, chalking it up to my father simply being... deeper than I was. Just because it didn’t make sense to me, didn’t mean it wasn’t perfectly attainable to him.
But, as I finished undressing to get into the shower, I saw the picture perfectly clear. I still had a lot of life to live, still a ways to go, but I’d chosen a great story so far. I’d taken the risk – I’d kissed the stranger.
A beautiful stranger, who was adding unimaginable to value to my life – vibrancy to my story – and whose mere presence had caught me off guard.
I grinned at Noah in the mirror as she snuck up behind me, peeking around my side as she slipped her arms around my waist.
“You ready?” she asked, and I turned to her, smacking her fi
rmly on the ass as I pulled her into me.
“Always, gorgeous.”
Mission accomplished.
- The End
I hope you enjoyed Nick and Noah’s story! Please consider leaving a review. You can also reach me via my website (www.beingmrsjones.com) on facebook (www.facebook.com/beingmrsjones) on twitter (www.twitter.com/beingmrsjones) or instagram (www.instagram.com/beingmrsjones) For notifications about new releases, sales, events, or other announcements, you can subscribe to my mailing list.
Christina C. Jones is a modern romance novelist who has penned more than 30 love stories. She has earned a reputation as a storyteller who seamlessly weaves the complexities of modern life into captivating tales of black romance.
Other titles by Christina Jones
Love and Other Things
Haunted (paranormal)
Mine Tonight (erotica)
Ante Up
Sweet Heat
Hints of Spice (Highlight Reel spinoff)
A Dash of Heat
Truth, Lies, and Consequences
The Truth – His Side, Her Side, And the Truth About Falling In Love
The Lies – The Lies We Tell About Life, Love, and Everything in Between
Friends & Lovers:
Finding Forever
Chasing Commitment
Strictly Professional:
Strictly Professional
Unfinished Business
Serendipitous Love:
A Crazy Little Thing Called Love
Didn’t Mean To Love You
Fall In Love Again
The Way Love Goes
Love You Forever
Something Like Love
Trouble:
The Trouble With Love
The Trouble With Us
The Right Kind Of Trouble
If You Can (Romantic Suspense):
Catch Me If You Can
Release Me If You Can
Save Me If You Can
Inevitable Love:
Inevitable Conclusions
Inevitable Seductions
The Wright Brothers:
Getting Schooled – Jason & Reese
Pulling Doubles – Joseph & Devyn
Bending The Rules – Justin & Toni
Connecticut Kings:
CK #1 Love in the Red Zone – Love Belvin
CK #2 Love on the Highlight Reel
CK #3 – Determining Possession
CK #4 – End Zone Love – Love Belvin
Relationship Goals Page 16
