Fat

He followed her finger and overlooked the beautiful country. The mass of forest, and he even caught sight of a lake—it was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

“Wow,” he said.

“It’s pretty awesome right? Bird watchers come here, hikers, and photographers alike. They all love the view, and it’s so magical.”

He saw it. Noah saw it all. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

“I come here to think about the world, and what I’d like to be. This, the beauty, the nature, it puts everything into perspective.”

Noah stared at her, and he was struck by how beautiful she was. “Yeah, it really does.”

Chapter Five

“Where are you going?” her mother asked.

Elsa glanced across the kitchen island to see her mother staring at her. “To a friend.” She tapped her bag. “We’ve got to work on our English assignment.”

“Oh¸ you didn’t say anything about going out today.”

“I’ll be back for dinner.”

Lorna, her mother, nodded. “I was hoping we could go to the country club today, maybe have some dinner. I put you a dress on your bed. I thought you might like to wear it.”

She’d seen the dress. It was an old fifties style dress that nipped in at the waist, and flared out. Elsa had tried it on last night, and of course she couldn’t do it up. The dress was a size too small.

“Erm, I’m sorry.”

“I don’t want to go to the country club, Lorna. I’ll take you out to dinner. We can bring something back for Elsa, right?”

She perked up. “Yeah, I’d like that. Seriously, you don’t need to worry about me. I can fend for myself.”

“How is school?” he asked. Bill, her father, took a seat at the counter, and accepted a glass of juice.

“It’s going great. I’ve got this project in English to finish up.” She finished her toast, dusted off her hands, and walked around to her father, kissing his cheek. Next, she kissed her mother before she left the house.

Once she was safely outside of the house, she let out a breath, pleased that she’d been able to escape.

There was no way in hell she was going to the country club.

Several of the girls from school went there, including Kim, and she knew her friend hated going there. Fortunately, Kim’s mother never made her.

She started walking toward Noah’s house.

Her cell phone binged, and she grabbed it out of her pocket.

Kim: What u doin today?

Elsa: Not a lot. Busy right now, homework. C u l8r?

Kim: Sure.

While she had her cell in her hand, she sent a quick text to Noah letting him know she was on her way.

Noah: Cool, c u soon. I’m timing.

Picking up her pace, she made her way toward Noah’s, and was knocking on the door. She noticed two cars in the driveway. Neither one of them was Noah’s.

He opened the door, holding his watch up. “Impeccable timing.”

“How long?”

“Ten minutes.”

“I wonder if I can get that down.” She entered his home, which was similar to her parents’ in size.

“My mom and dad are home. Don’t worry, they’re outside having breakfast.”

“Noah, show off your little friend,” a feminine voice said.

“Ugh, that’s my mom.”

Elsa smiled. “Parents!” She shrugged, trying to pretend she wasn’t nervous when the truth was, she was as nervous as hell.

He held her arm and led her down a long corridor toward the back room.

“If I don’t do this, they’re only going to keep on nagging, and they will find a reason to embarrass me.”

“I’d rather like to see you all embarrassed. It could be cute.”

Noah raised his brow, and she was struck again by how handsome he was. This had been happening to her quite often, and it had only been a week. When she saw him at school, during their training together, she noticed little things. The twinkle in his eyes when he was teasing her, the way he stood too close to her. All of them had become something that she really enjoyed when she was in his company.

They entered a large garden with a patio area that led down to a pool.

On two chaise lounges lay his parents. His mother sat up and pushed her sunglasses up on top of her head. She was so breathtakingly beautiful.

“Hello, I didn’t know it was a girl.”

“I told you I was working on a history paper.”

“Hello, Mrs. Stewart,” Elsa said.

“Hello, dear, I don’t know your name as Noah failed to mention it.”

“It’s Elsa, Mom.”

His father turned around, and Elsa tensed up. Wow, she was being faced with a plastic surgeon and a model. This had to be one of the worst moments of her life.

“It’s nice to meet you both.”

“Tell me, Elsa, what do your parents do?” his father asked.

“Er, okay, my father is a defense lawyer, Bill Quinn.”

“I’ve heard of him.”

“My mom doesn’t have a job. She looks after us.”

“Is your mom’s name Lorna?”