Pierced by Love (12 page)

“Where’s that?”

“He lives in San Diego. He moved there after the divorce to be closer to my grandparents. He’ll fly me out there on Monday, but I’m only going to stay for a few days. My brothers will be there too.”

“So you would be back by Thursday or Friday, maybe?”

“Thursday. That’s as long as I can stand being around him.” He didn’t mean to sound so derisive. The compassionate look Noelle gave him made him feel guilty. He worked to downplay his emotions. “But, hey, it’ll be nice to kick back for a few days, hit the beach, and hang out with my brothers.”

“I hope that you have a good time with them.”

Something in her voice sounded off. Reflexively, his hand reached for her chin, tilting it up. Looking mildly surprised, she waited for him to speak. “Are you okay?” he asked her.

“Yep. I was feeling a little jealous for a second, but I’m over it. I’m assuming that you still have a good relationship with your brothers.”

“Yeah, I do.”

She nodded. “That’s good. At least they’ll be there to act as a buffer between you and your dad.”

“What will you be doing all week? Working?”

Noelle shrugged. “Pretty much. I’ll try to stay busy.” The unspoken meaning behind her words was clear. She didn’t want to think about Melody and their mom planning her wedding.

Suddenly he blurted, “Want to come with me?”

The stunned look she gave him was priceless. Pierce couldn’t blame her. He’d managed to stun himself. “I mean, um, it would be great if you came along. There would be plenty of room and lots of things to do. My dad has a large house with a recreation room and an outdoor pool.”

She shook her head. “I wouldn’t want to intrude on your time with your family.”

“Believe me, Noelle, you wouldn’t be intruding. In fact, my sister-in-law, Marissa, would enjoy getting to know you. Besides, you’d also be a buffer for me. What do you say?”

She bit her lip, pondering. “Are you sure?” she asked uncertainly.

“I’m sure,” he said confidently. “You’ll love it. Well, maybe not my family, but at least the amenities.”

She playfully punched him on the arm. “I’m sure I’ll love your family too.”

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Do you already have your plane ticket?” Noelle asked.

“Yes, but I can call my dad to rearrange for an extra ticket.”

“Wow. That’s quite a sacrifice on your part, deigning to call your dad just for me.”

He caught her mischievous gleam. “You like to give me a hard time about everything, don’t you?”

“I can’t help it. You’re fun to tease.” Noelle’s eyes were once again alight with that sparkle.

“I’m glad you think so,” he said drily.

“Seriously, I’ll be glad to reimburse him for the ticket.”

“Don’t worry about it. He’s definitely not hurting for money. Let me know if you can get the time off work.”

“I will.” An impish grin stole across her features. “And thanks for making me your sacrificial lamb.” He felt his mouth pulling up at the edges. This was one woman who could keep him on his toes.

“You and Noelle looked really domestic tonight,” David taunted as they were entering their apartment.

“Yeah, man, washing the dishes. Wow. She’s gonna have you trained in no time.” Austin mimicked pulling a dog on a leash. He raised his voice an octave. “Here, boy. Go fetch the newspaper. Take the trash out. Feed the dog.”

Trying to hide his growing irritation, Pierce calmly stated, “Last time I looked, nobody else offered to help her. You guys were too busy yakking your heads off to care.”

“Oh, we noticed all right, how you and Noelle have been spending time together since the breakup.” Garret slapped Pierce on the back. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think that you just don’t want to take the chance that someone else might claim her first.”

“I’m not interested in Noelle or anybody else, for that matter.”

“Hmm. That’s funny because I’ve seen how you look at her.”

Pierce looked at him, alarmed. “What do you mean?”

“The looks you were giving her were a little gooey, buddy.” Garret watched him closely. “You sure you don’t want to claim Noelle for herself? Because I might want to go after her.”

“What is she, some kind of possession? Leave her alone,” he shot back, narrowing his eyes. “She isn’t ready for a relationship yet. She’s still getting over Chase.”

Garret smirked. “Upset you, did I?”

Pierce decided to return the favor. “What about you and Kasey? I know you’ve got a thing for her. But I’m not joking when I say that she’s one female you don’t want to tangle with.”

Garret’s grin slid off his face. “What’d she do to you, anyway?”

“You really want to know?”

“Of course I do. She seems nice enough.”

Pierce was silent. Now was the time to level with his roommate, but he hated to tell him. Finally, he said, “I decided to take her on a real date. You know, dinner and a movie instead of the hikes and climbing stuff I like to do.”

“You mean a boring date. Chick flick and all that.”

“Yeah. Because I knew that she wasn’t the type of girl who would be impressed with the action or the scenery.”

“She probably wanted action of a different kind.”

Pierce nodded, surprised by Garret’s insight. “She wasn’t interested in the movie at all. She was always trying to massage my neck or lean her head in close to mine and whisper stuff in my ear.”

“Technically, there’s nothing wrong with that.”

Maybe not, but to Pierce, it had felt kind of creepy. It wasn’t like he’d never kissed a girl, but he didn’t appreciate being hit on so heavily during a first date, either. “No, but toward the end of our date, when I was dropping her off, she suggested that I come inside. There were no lights on that I could tell. I got this really weird feeling. I asked her if her roommates were home and she got this sly look on her face and said that we had the place all to ourselves.”

Garret’s face turned white as his jaw went slack. “Really, man?”

Pierce felt badly for his friend. “Sorry, Garret. I just thought you should know.”

Garret seemed to consider his words carefully. “Kasey puts on a good show, like she’s beautiful and honest and caring on the outside. But lately I’ve been wondering if she plays people like a chess player plays his pawns.”

“Most people think I’m the player. But I’ve always been up-front with everybody about where I stand.”

“Even with Noelle?” Garrett asked. “Does she know where you stand?”

“No worries there. She’s the one who’s letting me know where she stands.” Pierce might have been offended at his question if Hannah had not asked him the same thing. Why had he invited Noelle to go to San Diego with him? He’d never admit it to anyone else, but a small part of him wanted her to go and hoped that she would like his family. Or at least his brothers. It bothered him that he couldn’t even answer the question of why it mattered so much to him. A love match between the two of them was about as likely as Noelle and Melody reconciling before the wedding.

TEN

R
OOMMATES COULD REALLY be annoying at times. Especially the kind that knew a person backward and forward and shared the same set of parents! Noelle silently fumed at Melody as she jogged the Foxglenn Trail from the Foxglenn Skatepark near Butler Avenue. Initially, she had been thrilled with the warmer weather permitting her access to this more challenging run that followed along the canyon bottom of the Rio de Flag River. But right now, she was simply pounding out her frustration. Only a few minutes ago, Noelle had been sitting on her bed, entering statistical data on her laptop for the thematic unit she and Jill were working on, which was coming along nicely, when her phone rang. It was Pierce, confirming that he’d been successful at securing an airline ticket for her. Ecstatic, Noelle had thanked him and hung up, focusing once again on their lesson plans.

A knock then sounded on her bedroom door. Noelle had opened it to find Melody on the other side. “Mind if I come in?”

In the past, Melody would never have needed to knock. But now, Noelle appreciated her sister’s discretion. “Sure. What’s up?”

An awkward pause followed Melody’s entrance. Instead of saying whatever was on her mind, Melody apparently chose to take the easier way in breaking the ice that had existed between them lately. “What are you working on?” She pointed at the various sheets of paper and school supplies that were spread out on the bed. Noelle explained the science- and math-based activities that she was working on in conjunction with the language arts and social studies lessons that Jill was preparing, which followed a spring theme that included plant and insect life cycles.

“Good idea,” Melody said. “I can see how much work you’ve put into this. I’ll bet you’re excited to do your student teaching this fall.”

“In some ways, yes, but I’m a little nervous because a name on a piece of paper doesn’t tell me what kind of a teacher I’ll be teaching under.” Noelle had received notification in the mail concerning her student teaching assignment. She had put in a request for an elementary school near her parents’ home so that she could save money on living expenses. While she was sad to be leaving Flagstaff soon, she was excited to be moving on with her life.

“Maybe you could meet with her some time during the summer.”

“I hope so.” They talked for a few more minutes about the possibilities, then Noelle looked speculatively at her sister. “Melody, I know you didn’t come in here to talk about teaching. What’s on your mind?”

A slight hesitation followed. Then Melody expelled a breath. “Last night, when we had everyone over, we were all having a good time in the living room when I went to grab a drink of water. You and Pierce looked pretty cozy, washing dishes together. Dishes that Jessie was supposed to do, by the way.” The roommates took turns with the chores. Noelle recalled the moment Melody was referring to. She and Pierce had been chuckling over something Pierce said when Melody had entered the kitchen. Suddenly and by unspoken agreement, they had turned their attention to the dishes, not saying another word.

“We decided to do her a favor.”

Melody searched her face for a long moment. Noelle kept it carefully neutral, hoping that Melody wouldn’t pick up on the fact that her heart had started pounding. “Noelle, is there something going on between you and Pierce?”

She shrugged. “He’s a good friend.”

Melody’s face clouded over. “I’ve heard some things about him. I’m wondering if you’re making a very good choice by hanging out with him so much.”

That statement really got Noelle’s ire up. “Are you trying to keep me in line like a wayward child, Melody? That isn’t your responsibility, nor do I need your interference. And as for your statement about hearing things about Pierce goes, who did you hear them from?”

“Kasey Hamilton.”

Noelle sighed. Kasey was one of those people who buddied up to others whom they felt would forward their interests. She and her roommates had learned to endure her presence when it would be rude to not include her with the others. But as far as Noelle was concerned, Kasey was just plain catty. Melody hadn’t been up here long enough to learn who was who. She turned back to her lessons.

“Noelle?” Melody’s voice came out a little more sharply—well, sharply for Melody, anyway. “Aren’t you going to say something?”

She gave her sister what she hoped was a demure smile. “Melody, I don’t put much stock into anything that Kasey Hamilton says. You’ll eventually see her true colors. They always come through sooner or later.”

Melody huffed in exasperation. “You’re sidestepping the question, Noelle. Are you telling me that there is nothing going on between you and Pierce Logan?”

“Come on, Melody. You aren’t Mom. In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been here at NAU for two years on my own. I can handle myself just fine without you keeping tabs on me.”

“But, Noelle, Pierce is a—”

“Player. I get it. Quit nagging me.” She shot Melody a pointed look. “As far as I’m concerned, you lost any credibility with me when you stole my boyfriend.”

“Are we really going to rehash all of that?” Melody asked in exasperation.

“Nope.” The wispy ends of her hair brushed against her neck as her ponytail swayed back and forth with the motion of her head. “We don’t have to. But I need for you to understand that what I do is my business. You’re out of this jurisdiction, sis.”