Page 59 of All of Him
“Can I ask you a crazy question that you’ll probably say no to?” I asked Noah.
After having a Saturday away from him, my feelings had gone into remission. I still felt a draw to him, but the brief chemistry I’d detected went underground. Whether those feelings were going to come back was up for debate.
It had been a couple of weeks since the panic attack at work, and things were going smoothly. Noah and I hung out almost every Saturday night, and I was starting to hope we’d never finish the house. With the speed at which we were moving, it would be done by mid-December. My heart sank when I realized how I’d be spending less time with him.
“Oh no.” He laughed, “Acrazyquestion? That’s not good.”
We were at my apartment on a Friday afternoon, enjoying a happy hour without the crowds. It was the first Friday in November, but unseasonably warm, so the windows were open to let in some air. Still, it felt stuffy with what I had to ask.
“Well,” I started, “my sister is getting married in June. I know it’s a long way off, but if you don’t hate me by then…” I paused. The correct words were hard to find. “Will you be my date?”
Noah raised his eyebrows and downed his drink.
“Can I say maybe? Or will that crush you?”
Fuck.
“You can say maybe,” I lied. “I know crowds aren’t your thing. I just want to have a date, and I really don’t know anyone else to ask…”
“So, I’m a backup?” He smirked.
“No!” I shot back. “I want to go withyou. I just…”
“So, you want to go on a date with me,” he joked, starting to laugh.
“Shut up, Noah! You know what I meant.” I chucked a pillow at him. “What I meant was that I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather spend a fancy evening with. Is that better?”
“It’s still a maybe,” he answered seriously. “But I kind of knew that’s what you meant to begin with. Why don’t you venture out and do some online dating or something? Find someone who likes going to weddings?”
I rolled my eyes, trying not to show how rejected I felt by his “maybe.”
“I didn’t realize dating was a priority in my life, Mr. Matchmaker. Especially when I just got over the whole ‘slut’ thing.”
Noah cringed and nodded in agreement.
“Besides, why don’t you get out there and make some more friends? You have to be getting tired of me.”
“That’s not possible,” he said sincerely, running his thumb over his palm. “And I don’t really have the desire to make more friends. It’d be nice, but it seems like a lot of work. Remember how much I pushed back atyouat first?”
I nodded.
“So, why would I go and try to make friends with someone when I’m going to alienate them eventually?”
“But look whereweare,” I disagreed. “We’re happy with each other’s company.”
“How about we agree tobothmake more friends?” he started.
It seemed like he was going to continue with his thought, but an idea popped into my head.
“A party!” I said, standing up on the couch. It might have been the beer, but the idea seemed so obvious. “You should have a Christmas party at your house! It’ll be done in time, and we can invite Teel and Delia and thegoodpeople from work…”
“Whoa, buddy!” he argued. “Simmer down. I don’t evengoto parties, let alonethrowthem.”
“But you’ll have full control over who comes. No Brayden, no strangers, just the people you like. I’ll do all the work for you. I just need your house and your blessing. You can even hide in your room the whole time!”
Noah tilted his head, looking up at me, and I realized that was a dumb idea.
“Yes,” he mocked me. “I’ll make friends by letting them into my house and then hiding in my bedroom.”
