Chapter 17
With the track just about ready, Noah has been spending more and more time working on his car, even though it’s already perfect. I literally don’t think there’s anything more he can do to it, so I’m pretty sure all he’s doing is pulling pieces out, giving them a clean and putting them right back in the same spot. I mean, this whole car thing is kind of an obsession.
The fact that the boys all stand around to watch him do it…I mean, that just boggles me. How is it so interesting? Today it’s Jared, but usually, Spencer and Aiden are here, but they have some family thing and will probably end up over here in another hour or so.
Don’t get me wrong, when Noah gets all hot and sweaty and takes his shirt off, working on his car suddenly becomes interesting, but for the guys whose eyes are focused on the engine…nope, I just don’t get it.
I sit back with Tully on the porch, sipping on sodas while Aria runs around the yard. Ari’s supposed to be doing her homework but seeing as though she fell over and scraped her knee earlier, I’ve been a bit of a pushover. I can get her home early tonight and we can do it after dinner. I know everyone always says not to mix up a child’s routine but screw them. I’m doing the best I can, and besides, she absolutely loved all the attention she got after she fell over. Everyone was pawing at her to make sure she was alright. She put on the crocodile tears and sure enough, Violet came out two seconds later with a popsicle for her to suck on.
That little lucky ducky. I wish I’d had a mom like that who would dote on me all the time. Noah, Tully, and Lily must have had the best childhood with her. I’ve never been so jealous.
Jared gets a call from his older brother and within the blink of an eye he’s gone, leaving just us feeling empty without the fourth member of our group. It seems to be happening all the time. When others are around, we’re busy and our attention is elsewhere, but the second they leave, we’re left remembering that there’s a big gaping hole in our lives.
Noah finishes up on his car and I somehow convince Aria to start on her homework, though it doesn’t happen without her throwing it right back at me, and she’d be right; I should be focusing on my homework. After all, those grades won’t raise by themselves.
I take Aria inside and get her set up on the dining table knowing that Violet will check in on her every thirty seconds or so and by the time I go back outside, Noah is nowhere to be seen, but the garage door is still wide open.
I head in to find Noah working out in his little home gym and grin to myself as I pull up a chair. He hangs from a pull up bar and I watch as his arms bulge as he pulls himself up before slowly lowering back down.
Damn. That’s nice.
Noah smirks, knowing exactly what he’s doing to me. “You good, babe?”
“Uh huh,” I murmur, watching him go back up again. “So freaking good.”
Up. Down. Up. Down.
Yeah, I could watch this shit all day.
“Henley,” Tully yells from outside. “Where the hell did you go?”
“Garage,” I call back.
Tully comes striding in, completely oblivious to the sight before me. “When did you come in here? I’ve been waiting for you.”
She pulls up a chair and drops down beside me with her eyes down on her phone. “Are you serious?” I laugh. “I literally just walked past you like two minutes ago but you were too busy looking at your phone, just like you’re doing now.”
“Really?” she grumbles.
“Uh huh,” I say “What’s so interesting on your phone anyway? Who are you texting?”
“I swear, Tully,” Noah says before she has a chance to respond. “It better not be another dude. I think I’ve had enough of seeing you with random guys for a while. I mean, how many have there been?” He lowers himself down and lets go of the bar. “The Travis guy, Spencer, the guys at the beach, Rocko…Rivers. Can’t you just cool it for a while?”
Tully’s eyes finally snap up from her phone. “Watch it, D-bag. Travis and Spencer were just a little fun. The other guys were to make Rivers jealous, and Rocko was…I’m not really sure what it was, but what’s the problem anyway? Before Henley, you were screwing around all the time.”
“I was not,” he defends. “I was with Monica.”
“Right,” she says slowly. “Tell me with a straight face that you never cheated on her.”
“I never cheated on her,” he says.
“Wait, really?”
“Of course,” he says. “Shit. What kind of dickhead do you think I am?”