Entangled (38 page)

I enter the lobby and find Noah sitting on the bench reading one of our pamphlets. “Hey.” I approach him.

He looks up and smiles, lighting up his face when he sees me. He sets it down and stands up, greeting me. “Hey pretty girl.” I walk into his embrace and sink into his warm set of arms that envelope me, wrapping my arms around his waist. “Ready?” He kisses my forehead when I pull back to look at him. I shake my head and reach for his hand.

“Bye Amanda.” I call from the doorway. There’s a faint reply of “bye, have a great weekend” before the door shuts behind us.

“I have a surprise for you.” Noah opens my door, I turn and look at him. “Should I be worried?”

“Well, actually, it’s a surprise for me. I got some brownie mix on the way here with some other groceries. I thought we could bake tonight, together.”

I smile, reach up on my tiptoes and kiss him. “I would love to bake brownies with you, Noah.”

We get to the apartment and unload the trunk of grocery bags. I help put the food away and pop the top off of a beer. It’s the weekend and I want to do nothing but lounge around in Noah’s apartment and relax. As I finish stocking the canned of vegetable in the pantry, I feel Noah’s arms slip around my waist, pulling me against him. I lean my head back onto his shoulder and close my eyes.

“Mmm, you smell good.” He says into my hair. I smile and enjoy the feel of his hand moving up, under my shirt and massage my stomach just below my breast. My arm reaches back around his neck and into his silky hair. I love the feel of it, the way his hair threads so easily through my fingers. I want to take this moment of passion further but-

“Uh uh.” I say as I turn to face him, still in his arms. “Not now.”

“What’s wrong? I’ve missed your body like crazy.” He kisses my neck, backing me up against the counter. I’m trapped. I tilt my head, giving him better access and he plants hot kisses across my throat. The heat from his mouth sends little shocks coursing through my entire body, I almost give in.

Almost.

“Not yet.” He jerks his head up and meets my gaze. “I want to make brownies, first.”

He shoots me a cocky grin and whispers in my ear, “The brownies can wait.” His deep voice sends pleasure straight between my legs. Then he nips at my lobe.

I pull back and attempt to feign perplexed. But the intensity in his gaze almost shatters my resolve. I kiss his nose and duck under his arm to get away from his greedy hands and enticing green eyes. Otherwise I’d say to hell with the brownies and strip naked right here, right now. “Let’s bake, Noah. Come on. It will be so fun.”

“Okay.” He reluctantly gives in and walks to the fridge, removing the eggs and stick of butter. I pull out the remaining items and we set everything on the table. I completely forgot about my beer but that’s not important. He wraps me in a hug before I can pull away. “So, how was your day angel?” After he kisses my cheek, I grab the mixing bowl and pan.

“It was fine. The day went by so quickly. But I got a lot done, aside from daydreaming of you.” He smirks and then winks. I crack the eggs open into the bowl, pour the flour, sugar and cocoa. Noah drops the butter in with the remaining items. I mix it all together. The smell of brownie batter permeates the kitchen and I inhale the deliciousness, catching Noah’s amused expression. “Andi and I used to bake cakes and cookies all the time. We would eat more of the mix than we baked.”

“That doesn’t surprise me.” My smile turns into a frown, which Noah catches before I can hide it. “What’s wrong?”

“I just…I feel guilty for having fun or being happy at a time like this.”

“We’ve been over this babe.” He runs his hands down my arms. “You can’t feel guilty every time you find something to smile about. Andi wouldn’t want that.” I force a smile, knowing he’s right but I still can’t stop the guilt from burying itself into my gut. I pour the mix into the pan, leaving just enough for me to eat. Noah sets the timer- “Crap, we forgot to pre-heat the oven.” He says. “Okay, three-fifty.”

“It doesn’t matter, just put it in and we’ll check it. Set the timer for twenty five minutes.” I take the bowl, set it on the counter and lift myself up to sit, dangling my legs. With my right finger, I scoop out some chocolate and rub it on my tongue, savoring the taste. Noah watches me, entranced or turned on. I lick my lips. He slowly sashays to stand beside me. “I’ve got a game we can play.”

“Oh goody, I love games.” I say excitedly.

“How about truth or dare?”

I scoff in dislike. “That is so eighth grade.” Actually, I just don’t want to play it with Noah. I can only imagine what kind of embarrassing dares he’d come up with.

“Fine, then let’s just Truth.” I give him a sideways glance, confused. “We ask each other a question and we have to answer truthfully.”

“O-kay.” I’m uncertain where this is going but I’m also curious of his motives. “Okay, you first.” He leans against the counter, facing me.

“Okay did you do anything with Trey? The night you left the bar with him?” I purse my lips together, surprised by his question. I’m also a little baffled because of his distrust in me.

“Are you serious? I thought I told you nothing happened.”

“Just answer, please. I don’t mean sex necessarily. It could be anything, I mean did anything happen? Kissing? Touching?”

I let out a breath, “No nothing happened. I left with him to make you jealous. I was mad at you.”

His brows rise, meeting his hairline. “Mad at me? Why?”

“Yes, mad. Um, there was a moment…in the bathroom…between us. I wanted you to kiss me, but I didn’t want to ask and sound stupid. I was lost in your eyes though; I was willing you to just kiss me. But you didn’t and I got mad. I also wanted to rub up against you, or something. Stop staring at me like that.” I feel stupid for confessing this. He smacks his lips together to keep from laughing. I have the sudden urge to smack him.

“Wow.” I glare at him, dipping my finger into the bowl.

“Yeah, so after I left the bathroom I made it a point to flirt and make you jealous.”

“Well, it worked. I wanted to tear his eyes out, the way he was ogling you.” I flash him a guilty smile. “Leaving with him was not part of it though. That was kind of unplanned. I felt rejected and Trey was kind of making me feel like he was interested.”

He waves a hand dismissively. “To be honest, you did nothing wrong. I felt it too.” Oh this chocolate is so damn good, I moan. “In the bathroom. I felt it. But you were vulnerable that night. Wasn’t that the night you found out about Andi’s dad?”

“And cried like a fool in your arms, not once but twice? Yes.” He was really sweet, I’ve never forgotten. I catch sight of the timer, fifteen minutes left. “I’m sorry you had to endure that.” He takes my hand and rubs the top of my thumb with his.

“I’m not. I’d do it again, Maddy. Like I told you before, I’ve always known of my feelings for you. But I wasn’t sure how to deal with all these emotions and it scared me.” He looks deep into my eyes, as if he could see all of me with one glance.

“My turn.” I let go of his hand and scrape more chocolate. He dips his head and licks my finger clean. “Hey, that was mine.”

“And it was good. Now ask your question.” I stick my tongue out.

“Very mature, Maddy.” He jokes.

I ignore him and stall, juggling the right words in my head for a question I’ve always wondered but never had the nerve to ask. “Um, have you and Lex ever dated?” His whole demeanor changes, making me wish I could take the words back. I want to slap myself for bringing up a tough topic. He covers his expression and forces a smile. “I’m sorry, I blurt shit out without thinking. You don’t have to answer.”

“It’s okay; it’s the name of the game. I’ll answer. No, we never dated. I didn’t see her that way. She was my best friend. But that didn’t stop our classmates from assuming we were a couple. She was an amazing person, though.” He closes the gap between us and settles his hands on my waist. “Now enough about our pasts. I want to kiss you.”
He stands between my legs and grabs my hips, scooting me closer to the edge. His tongue darts out of his mouth and grazes my bottom lip. "Mmm, chocolate." He licks his lips, making me squirm.

I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him closer to me. Our lips meet lightly, at first. He cups the back of my neck with one hand, while the other explores elsewhere. Just his touch sends me into a frenzy. Our mouths move more urgent now, as our tongues tangle together. I wrap my legs around him, trapping him. Needing him closer.

"You're naughty, Noah." I breathe into his mouth, inhaling his odor.

He pulls back and grins. "I could be nice, if you'd prefer."

I smile, shaking my head. "Just shut up and kiss me." He obeys, and traces kisses from my jaw, down to my collarbone. I lean my head back, completely aroused at this point.

"Maddy." I meet his gaze, unable to speak. "What you do to me...I want it. I need it."

I don't reply. I don't have to because I want the same thing. I've wanted it as bad as he did that night. His demanding kisses slow down to sensual caresses. My hands run through his hair, stopping at the back of his neck and then back again.
He pulls back, I glance at the clock. Shit, five minutes. Either he's going to finish what he's started, or I'm going to have to stop this. Now.

He takes the bowl, and while keeping his eyes locked on mine, he brushes a hand over the edge of the inside, taking a lot of my chocolate goodness. I want to protest, but don't, curious what he's doing with it. And then looking down as if inspecting it, he licks his lips. What the fuck? Just when I think he's going to lick the chocolate off his hand -my chocolate- teasing me, he smears it over my chest. All over. I gasp at the contact. At first, it's from shock, not expecting it and then it turns to disbelief.

"You're...you're wasting the chocolate. What the hell?"

He grins, devilishly and my face reddens. I wanted to eat that shit.

"Oh, I'm not wasting it." My head tilts to the side in confusion. Then he drops his head down and licks the chocolate right off of me. Right off my body.
Holy. Shit.

"Mmm. Very sweet." His tongue rubs over my skin and the sensation causes me to cry out in pleasure. Just as the oven timer goes off.
I'll never be able to look at brownie mix the same again, that's for sure.

He backs up, giving me space. I don’t know whether to hit him or jump him. I’m still in shock insulted that he wasted my chocolate. “Your brownies are done.” I try to speak but nothing comes out. I need a shower though.

He turns off the oven and opens it, letting it air out. I jump down and take the pan out with mits. I stick a knife between the brownies and the pan-

Oh shit! “Do you know what I forgot to do?” It comes out as a whine.

Noah strolls to my side, “What’s wrong?”

“I forgot to grease the pan. It’s all stuck to it. Ugh, I never forget to grease the pan when baking.

“Relax, it happens. It’s no big deal.” He wraps his arm around me.

“It’s your fault. You distracted me.” I try to act mad at him but it’s impossible to be mad at someone you care so deeply about. Especially someone as amazing as Noah.

“I take full responsibility, it was worth it.” He looks down at my chest which still has some chocolate smeared, thanks to him. “You’re gonna need a shower to clean that off.” He whispers.

“You think?” He smirks. “What about my brownies?” I pout, but have no clue why. What happened just a few minutes ago was pretty hot so why am I getting all annoyed with him?

“Suck that sexy lip back in and get cleaned up, I’ll take care of the brownies.”

“Thanks.” As I turn to leave, he smacks my ass but I pretend not to notice. I can still feel his tongue on my chest and I shiver but thankfully, I’m already in the bathroom so he can’t see how he affects me. I’ve never had such a sensual baking experience before and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like it.

Noah

The brownies are perfectly fine, maybe a little stuck to the bottom and sides of the pan but I’m sure it’s redeemable. I carefully slide the knife through the brownies and underneath to break it apart. I take a plate out of the cupboard and set it down, cutting the brownies from the center. I lift a piece onto the plate.

A smile spreads over my face, thinking about my brownie mix incident. Tasting it, licking it off Maddy’s chest was hardly a waste and I’d do it again. It was the most intimate moment in which I felt out of control. I couldn’t help it though. The look on her face was priceless. I find her tough act endearing. Baking can apparently turn into an erotic exercise, which I’d play over and over.

My smile is wiped away when I think of the question she asked me about Lex. Part of me wonders what the hell possessed me to suggest a game that potentially opened a door to the past I was trying to close. It wasn’t really her question that set me off, well it did. But it was thinking back to the night at the bar, the night Maddy cried in my arms. She was vulnerable, emotional and I didn’t know how to comfort her. And it was the night she found out about Andi’s father. I knew there was something bothering her but didn’t ask, only gave her my shoulder to cry on. I wasn’t good at dealing with women crying so it was confusing and uncomfortable. But knowing what she was feeling, and then Trey trying to make a move makes me sick, now that I think about it. He’s the kind of guy I despise, the guy I’m trying so hard to stay away from. He’d take advantage of vulnerable girls without a second thought. It made me happy to accept that nothing did happen between them, even if I was avoiding my feelings at the time. She didn’t deserve to be treated like meat by him either. She deserved to be treated with care and love from someone who wanted more than just her body. She still deserves that.