The typing stopped for a few seconds and then started again. First came a message with Noah’s home address, and then quickly after: We’ll see about that.
Taylor shook her head. Wet hair clung to her collarbone as she did. This guy was certainly determined to change her mind. And she kind of liked that, despite herself.
Taking a deep breath, she stepped in front of the bathroom mirror. Should she let her hair air dry like usual or try to style it somehow? Wear it up or down? And for that matter, what did a girl wear when headed to a cute guy’s apartment to play video games?
Oops.
Okay, so now she was admitting to herself that she liked this guy. It still didn’t mean she wanted to date him. She didn’t want to date anyone, especially considering she expected her transfer to come through any day. And also because her career was too important to get sidelined by a guy. Because it was never just a guy. Oh, it started with one “just a guy,” but then there was marriage, babies in a baby carriage, and, just like that, her whole life would pass her by.
Nope. No, thank you.
Well, that settled that, but it still didn’t help her figure out what she should wear.
She studied her face in the mirror, noticing that her cheeks were unnaturally red today, and deep bags puffed at the underside of her eyes. If she had some makeup, maybe she would have put it on to even out her complexion, but Taylor had never been a makeup girl. A quick coat of chapstick and a high and tight ponytail had always been enough—and it would be enough today, too.
Noah would just have to deal with it. After all, it’s not like anyone expected guys to wear makeup. So why should they expect her to?
She was different enough already. In middle school, she’d stood a head taller than most of her classmates, boys and girls included. Heck, even her name was a boy’s name. Nobody pictured a 5’11, raven-haired woman when they heard the name Taylor Hunt—and frankly, she couldn’t blame them.
Of course, she felt comfortable with herself now, but her school days had been very different. The mean girls picked on her, and she often got called to the principal’s office for fighting, even though it was just to defend herself.
In fact, she got so used to fighting that by the time she graduated, she decided she’d like to keep doing it in her adult life, too. Only this time she’d be fighting for something worthy—for her country, for the right for people like her to be free, to be themselves, and to not have to answer to anybody about it.
Except her experience with the Army had thus far involved zero fighting, unless you counted arguing with her bunkmates over who would choose the next movie.
No, the higher-ups continued to station her at remote bases, calling on her skills as a Unit Supply Specialist, saying she was needed here, was too valuable to send abroad.
Yeah, right.
A part of her died every time someone else got shipped off to Afghanistan or Iraq, leaving her behind to man the fort on home soil.
It was so… boring.
Such a waste.
At least for tonight, though, she had an adventure ahead of her. She liked that Noah was intent on pursuing her. It was fun to rebuff his advances, and frankly, it was fun just to banter and flirt for a change.
But she definitely could not get backed into a relationship. Because if she did, any chance of ever seeing adventure would disappear forever.
Chapter 3
Noah definitely hadn’t expected Taylor to reach out to him, but he loved that she did. Unfortunately, the last-minute nature of their plans left him with barely any time to clean up. He’d only just managed to scoop Billy Idol’s litter box and run the waste down to the dumpsters when Taylor pulled up in her sleek, shiny sedan.
“I thought you drove Humvees in the Army?” he joked as she ambled out of the car.
Taylor rolled her eyes and made a face. “Stereotype much?”
“Not at all. Just trying to get you figured out.”
“Maybe there’s nothing to figure out. Maybe I’m exactly what you see.”
“Hmm, well, I do like what I see,” he said, giving her a quick glance up and down. Her wet hair clung to the sides of her neck, and her oversized sweatshirt screamed “Not a date!” It screamed so loud that Noah knew Taylor was trying to convince herself just as much as she was him.
She cleared her throat and looked away, but not before he caught the rising blush on her cheeks. “Anyway, the car’s a lease. Supposed to get good gas mileage, so seemed like a good choice to me.”
“So you’re an environmentalist? Interesting.”
“I wouldn’t go that far, but I will go away if you don’t stop assessing me like I’m some kind of research project. Are we going to play this game or not?”
“Oh, we’re going to play,” he answered with a chuckle. “And I’m going to win.”
“Never underestimate an opponent,” she shot back, rising to her full height in a show of bluster. “Especially when that opponent is me.”
Noah stared at her, unable to decide if she was being serious or trying to flirt. Either way, he’d find out soon enough.
“After you.” He opened the door to the apartment building and stepped back to let her enter ahead of him.
They jogged up the stairs and returned to a very ornery kitty. Billy Idol let out a slow, irritated meow, drawing both of their attentions to where he stood on the TV stand.
“I wouldn’t have taken you as a cat person,” Taylor said, side-eyeing him before striding over to say hello to Billy Idol.
“I’m not,” Noah answered as the cat arched his back and hissed, then ran off to hide in the bedroom. “I’m a family person, and I couldn’t say no when my mom asked me to take Billy Idol in.”
“And you’re an 80’s pop music person, too? Seems you’re the one who is full of surprises here.” This time, she didn’t even try to hide the smile as it bloomed upon her face.
“Again, that’s all my mom. She was in a girl band in the 80’s, my dad was in a hair metal band, and neither of them is willing to admit their favorite decade has ended.”
“They sound like quite the pair.” Taylor laughed as she sunk down onto the far end of his couch. “So if both of your parents are singers, does that mean…?”
He shook his head so hard, it was almost as if he was channeling his dad’s hair metal days. “Heck no. I can’t carry a tune to save my life.”
“Prove it. Sing something for me.”
He crossed his arms and scoffed. “No.”
“Please?”
“Nope.”
“What if we made a bet?”
He raised an eyebrow at her. “What did you have in mind?”
“Well, we’re here to play some games. Let’s play a few. If I win two out of three, you have to sing any song I pick.”
“And if I win?”
“You won’t,” she answered with a completely straight face.
He laughed again, loving her competitiveness. “If I win…” He sunk onto the couch beside her, so their legs were touching, then turned toward her so their faces were hardly more than a few inches apart. He licked his lips and continued, “If I win, you have to kiss me.”
A moment passed where she said nothing, but he caught the shiver that ran through her body. He also noticed the way her breath hitched and she blushed yet again. She could deny it all she wanted, but she clearly liked him, too.
And she wanted that kiss, too.
“Since I won’t be losing,” she said, her swagger having returned after the brief lapse. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”
Taylor groaned as the “kill cam” showed how Noah had butchered her character in the game for what felt like the millionth time. “I hate first person shooters.”
“C’mon, fair’s fair. You chose the first game, so it was my turn to pick.”
“Yeah, but you knew I didn’t want to do this one.”
“I didn’t know you would be so bad at it though.”
Taylor threw her controller at
Noah, and he fell back on the couch laughing. Even though she was losing—and badly—she was still having a great time.
“You totally knew it. That’s why you picked this one!”
“Fine, fine. Put in something new, and I’ll go grab us some snacks from the kitchen.”
Taylor sifted through his collection of video games, which had to be the largest she’d ever seen from anyone. Was this Noah’s entire life—flirting with strangers, fighting with a cat, and playing video games? It didn’t seem bad, actually—just the complete opposite of her world of discipline, order, and often boredom.
“How about some taquitos and hummus?” Noah called from the kitchen, just as Taylor had settled on one of her old favorites, a game she hoped and prayed she could beat him at to help even the score a bit better.
“That’s a really weird combination,” she said, pulling up her selected game on the screen.
“Well, you don’t have to eat them together. I just don’t have a lot in my fridge right now… or ever,” he muttered that last part under his breath, but Taylor still managed to hear it.
She laughed, feeling more relaxed that she was at least partially in control. “You’re such a typical meathead guy.”
“I don’t know whether to take offense to that or feel honored,” he called, poking his head out from the kitchen for a second.
“Tell me something different about you, something unique.”
“Nope,” he shouted as he moved out of her line of sight once more. “I’ve been an open book this whole time. I think it’s time you revealed your dark secrets.”
Taylor laughed, this time from shock. “Dark secrets, huh? Well, I haven’t got any. What you see is what you get.”
Noah came back into the living room then and dropped a couple plates of food onto the coffee table. Looking her up and down, he broke out into a smile and said, “Well, what I see is a gorgeous woman who doesn’t realize how gorgeous she is and despite being so very, very gorgeous, she can still bro out and have a good time.”
“Did you say gorgeous enough?” she asked, embarrassed.
“One more time? Because really, you are gorgeous.” He nodded as if doing so would get her to agree. Hardly.
She tore his eyes away from him and studied a stain on the carpet across the room. “Umm, thanks, but that’s not what I meant,” she mumbled. “I’m just an ordinary tomboy who likes rules and order but is also willing to throw down in a fight.”
When she raised her eyes to look at him again, Noah was wearing a huge, mischievous grin, his mind having clearly gone other places. “Not what I meant at all!”
“Why do you turn bright red when I tell you how pretty you are?”
“Because we’re friends and only friends,” she said aloud, then added in her mind, And I don’t believe you when you say that.
“Yes, I know. We’ve been over all that, but we also made a friendly bet. And you lost.” He leaned in close to her again and wiggled his eyebrows.
She couldn’t help but laugh. Half of her actually did want him to collect on their bet, but she also knew how much she had to lose by getting involved with Noah or with anyone. She’d always known that dating a fellow soldier would create a world of trouble for her, so she’d pushed down the desire—deeper, deeper, until she could no longer find it.
Sure, Noah wasn’t a soldier, but he was still a man and his life was here in Anchorage, while hers was with the Army and where ever they decided to send her next.
Oh, why was she playing with fire like this? Was she truly that bored back at base that she needed to stir up some trouble to feel alive again?
Noah backed away again and handed her a controller. “Even though I’ve clearly won and there’s no way you can recover, I would never make you do something that made you feel uncomfortable.”
She swallowed the huge lump that had formed in her throat, finally feeling as if she could breathe freely again. “Thank you, I appreciate that.”
“I will, however, remind you at every opportunity that you lost a bet and owe me a kiss.”
“Then it looks like I’ll be keeping my distance.”
“We both know that’s not true. You’ll be back, and I’ll have my kiss before the end of the week.” He leaned in close again and gave her a smoldering gaze.
“Back away, lover boy. If you try anything funny, I’ll break both of your arms.”
“I don’t doubt you would.” Noah laughed. “Now show me what you got.”
The intro music of their new game swelled, and the return to their competition allowed Taylor to relax and enjoy herself for the rest of the night.
No arm-breaking required.
Chapter 4
Noah slept in late the next morning. After all, it was his one day off that week, and he planned on moving as little as possible.
Those plans flew out the window, however, when his brother, Sebastian, banged through the front door and into the apartment. “Big brother, wake up!” he called, kicking at Noah’s bedroom door.
Billy Idol growled and ran to hide under the bed, scratching Noah with his hind claws as he did. Why had he ever agreed to give Sebastian a key to his place?
“Go away,” he grumbled, pulling the pillow over his head with a groan.
“I hope you’re dressed, because I’m coming in!” Sebastian said right before he barged in and hopped down onto Noah’s bed, crushing him in the process.
“I’m sleeping here!” Noah moaned from beneath the pillow.
“Not anymore,” Sebastian insisted.
“Why are you so annoying? Why are you here?”
“Aww, you love me and you know it.”
Noah pried the pillow from his head and shoved it at Sebastian’s smug face. “Right now you are my least favorite person on the planet,” he said truthfully.
“I brought you donuts, though.” Sebastian pushed the pillow aside, then shoved a box at him. The inviting smell of greasy goodness eased Noah’s annoyance some.
“Get off me,” he said, pushing his brother to the floor. “And give me a chocolate glazed.”
“Here you go.” Sebastian handed a donut over with flair and a huge, goofy grin.
“Now what do you want?”
“What makes you think I want anything other than the company of my favorite big brother?”
Noah glared at him, but Sebastian just shrugged.
“Okay, okay, fine,” Sebastian said after a few blessed moments of silence passed between them. “Maybe there is a small, tiny, itty-bitty something.”
Noah smirked at how well he knew his baby brother. “There it is.”
“I know it’s your weekend with the plane and everything, but I thought maybe you wouldn’t mind switching it out for one of mine. The caribou hunt is starting up and I got pulled in the lottery this year, and I don’t have to work, so…” He flopped back down onto the end of the bed and clasped his hands together in an overdramatic prayer. “Please, Noah. Please!”
Noah picked at his donut, eating it slowly just to torture his brother as payback for waking him up early on the weekend. He’d actually completely forgotten that it was his turn to take their dad’s small hunting plane out this weekend, but now that Sebastian had reminded him, he had the perfect idea.
“Sorry, bro. I’m going out this weekend. You’ll have to wait your turn.”
“But you don’t even have a caribou license this year! Where are you planning to go?”
“Fishing,” Noah answered confidently, reaching for a second donut from the box.
Sebastian was too quick, though. He’d already flung himself off the bed and over to the nightstand, grabbing the box away before Noah could help himself to a second glob of heavenly fried dough.
“Fishing can wait, and you know that. Why are you being such a pill about this?”
“I’m just looking forward to it is all. We have the schedule for a reason, you know.”
“Fine, then let me come with you. Drop me off and you can fish to you
r heart’s content. We don’t even have to talk to each other. But, you will have to pick me up after a few days.”
“No can do.”
“I’ll pay for fuel! C’mon, you know that plane seats two. Stop being such a jerk.”
“Yup, it seats two. And with that big head of yours, I think you count as one and a half.”
Sebastian quirked an eyebrow at him and sighed. “So what’s really up? Who is going with you? Oscar? Dad?”
“Nope, somebody else.”
“Who?”
“You don’t know her.”
“Her? What? No, no, no, Noah. You aren’t going soft like Oscar, are you? You know if you get yourself married, then Mom will never leave me alone. Don’t do it, Noah. Think of your baby brother.”
“Don’t do what? Go fishing? Stop being ridiculous.”
“I kind of hate you right now, you know?”
“Fine by me. You can go now, but leave the donuts.”
“Seriously? You’re blowing me off for some girl, and you won’t even tell me about her?”
“That is correct. Bye bye now.” He walked his brother to the door and shut him out.
“You suck. You know that, don’t you?” Sebastian called through the door before finally trudging away.
Noah watched his brother make his way across the parking lot below and waited to be sure he wouldn’t be coming back before texting Taylor. He decided to start the exchange with: Good morning :)
She was already up and answered him right away. Hi. Still don’t want to date you.
All I said was good morning.
Yeah with a smiley face! I know what that :) means…
Jeez. Jump to conclusions much?
Okay, then why are you texting me?
To ask you out
!!!
Not on a date
???
The Alaska Sunrise Romances: A 9-Book Sweet Romance Collection Page 9
