Marked. Part II: Becoming Noah Baxter (19 page)

Chapter 30

Friday, April 4

6:02pm

I look at the clock on the stove to see it's two minutes past the time I told Noah to arrive. I'm surprised he's not here yet; he was so nervous about making a good impression.

The story I had told my family was that Noah got hurt at his new security job working for Cole Private Bank and Trust. The doctors didn't think he would make it and that's why I had to fly down there, needing to say goodbye and to make sure he knew that I loved him. I then explained to them that when Noah had left the first time, it's because I couldn't openly share how I was feeling, so he had accepted the great job opportunity thinking I didn't feel the same. Now that Noah knows (and survived), he has moved back to give us another chance. I have no clue if my family and friends believe all that, but nobody is saying they don't.

I take a peek out of the kitchen window to find him sitting in the car he bought the day after we returned (I thought he'd get a truck but he told me he doesn't have a need for one anymore, he's not going any where), staring out the front.

What the hell is he doing?

I text him but he doesn't respond, doesn't even move to acknowledge he heard it. (Yup, he also got a cell phone, wanting me to be able to always get a hold of him. He said I wasn't allowed to give him shit for it, but I most definitely will.)

I leave my house and head to him. His body is rigid, expressionless, and his legs are lightly bouncing. I rap on the driver side window. It takes me three times before he snaps out of his thoughts and realizes I'm there.

He rolls down the window, “I can't do this, Lily.”

“It's just dinner, Jay,” I realize my mistake after I say it, but I don't correct myself.

“
No, it's not. It's your family sizing me up to see if I'm good enough for you.”

I open the door and hold out my hand, “
Give them a chance.”

Noah swipes his head before accepting my hand and following me inside. His hand has a death grip over mine as we enter. You wouldn't know anything was wrong looking at him; if anything he's giving off a “don't fuck with me” vibe.

My mom is the first to greet Noah, throwing her arms around him in a big hug, “It's so nice to finally meet you. Lily goes on and on about how wonderful you are.” She tries tightening her squeeze but can't from how huge he is. She laughs, “You
are
a big guy.”

She then takes his hand to lead him to the dining room, “I'll show you where you'll sit. Lily made a special dinner for you.”

Noah looks back, lifting his brows and motioning with his head for me to follow.

“
I'll join you in a second, I just have to finish in the kitchen.” I hold in a giggle as the color washes away from Noah's skin. I have no sympathy for him. If I can survive his world, he can survive mine.

I continue chopping the vegetables for the salad, listening to my mom introduce Noah to my dad, brothers, and Jill. I kind of wish I was in there to see how uncomfortable he must be. I bet it's hilarious. My dad and Jill are the friendliest couple. I don't think there's a person they can't make a life long buddy out of.

“Your boyfriend's kind of scary. You know that, right?” Cody's voice makes me jump, having not heard him enter the kitchen.

“
He looks scary, but give him a chance. He's a really good man.”

He comes over to help me finish chopping, “I know. I have a good feeling about him.”

I pause, “You do?”

“
Yeah. I didn't with the other douchebag, but I never said anything. I'm sorry, Lily,” his apology comes out like he blames himself for what happened.

I gently nudge him, “Hey, it's over and done. We all learned from it, okay?”

He hangs his head down in shame and mumbles, “I'm your brother. I should have protected you.”

I place my hand on his shoulder, “You're an amazing brother. This was something I had to learn on my own.”

Cody wipes his eyes with his shirt and sniffles. “Onion,” he explains.

Onions aren't a part of dinner.

I pull him in for a hug, “I love you, Cody.”

He pushes me away and makes a disgusted face, “Please don't get all mushy on me.”

“Keep making the salad and I won't.”

“
Remember to come to me if this guy is ever a jerk. I'll put him in his place.”

I try to keep a straight face, because Cody is completely serious and I love the fact that he would attempt to fight Noah for me.

“Some girl's going to be lucky to have you one day.”

Cody sets down the knife, “That's it, I'm done. I warned you: No mushy.”

I laugh as he goes back to join everyone else.

As I'm pulling out the main dish from the oven the doorbell rings. Seth hollers that he'll get it. I freeze when I recognize my two best friends' voices.

Great, they better not be here to interrogate Noah.

I wipe my hands on my apron and pull them into the kitchen.

“I know why you two are...” I trail off when I notice their conjoined hands.

Noami sees my astonishment, “I took your advice. We're taking things slow.”

“We're having our first date on Friday,” Stevie informs me, glowing.

“
I expect a full report from both of you. I want all the juicy details.” I point a finger at Noami, “Be romantic. Stevie deserves romance.”

Naomi smirks, “I think I can manage that.”

Stevie tugs Naomi's hand, “Come on. Let's go meet...Noah, right?”

I nod that she's correct, “Did my mom invite you two?”

Stevie shakes her head, “We invited ourselves. We had to meet this guy.”

Perfect.

“Be nice. Please? For me?”

“
I'll keep her in line, don't worry,” Stevie reassures me.

Now my stomach is in knots about how everyone will treat Noah, and nervous about him liking the special dinner I've cooked. I'm worried I made the wrong choice, that I stepped over a line I'm not allowed to cross.

I guess it's too late now.

I bring out the side dishes, happy to see that my dad and Seth are carrying most of the conversation. Noah's body is stiff, but at least he's softened his expression a bit. His eyes light up when he sees me and I take a moment to get lost in him, a goofy grin on my face, wanting to pinch myself that we are finally together like this. He returns my same look. E
verything and everyone around us becomes forgotten. I'm not sure how long we stare at each other, but it's long enough for my dad to clear his throat.

That's when I become aware that everyone around the table is staring at us.

Embarrassed, I swiftly turn around to get the main dish.

My steps back to the dining room are slow. I really wish I had chosen something else to make. At the time it seemed like a good idea, but now I regret it.

I set the dish on top of a hot pad, nervously glancing at Noah.

His eyes are wide, staring down at it, “Is that macaroni and cheese?”

I swallow into my now very dry throat and nod, too nervous to speak.

“
Lily's been working on it all day,” my mom proudly informs him. “She must have searched a hundred sites trying to find what people believed to be the best recipe.”

Noah doesn't respond, his expression giving nothing away as he continues to stare at the dish.

Shit. This was a bad idea.

Everyone seems to notice the sudden tension, making the moment even more uncomfortable.

“We don't have to eat it. We can order pizza or something,” I quickly blurt out, hating the tears that threaten to come out.

Noah finally looks up, his gruff voice returning, “No, it's perfect.” He gets up and closes the gap between us, cupping the back of my neck and bringing his lips to mine, giving me a tender, sweet kiss. “I love you, Lily,” he breathes into my mouth. “I can't believe you would do this for me.”

I wipe away a tear that betrayed me, “It's not overstepping my place?”

“
No. It's the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.”

More tears drop down and he wipes them away with his thumb, “Let's eat before it's cold.” Taking my hand, he leads us to the two empty chairs.

Once again, everyone is staring at us.

Jill, Stevie, and my mom have a hand over their hearts, looking like they are watching a romance movie.

Not wanting things to get awkward for Noah, I encourage everyone to dig in.

“
Dang Lily, this is really good!” Seth declares, shoveling more into his mouth.

“
Mmm,” Noah bobs his head in agreement, eating a huge forkful, “Lets have this at least once a month.”

I take a bite.

Wow, it
is
really good. “We might have to do it two or three times.”

My dad sets down his fork and wipes his mouth with a napkin, “So Noah, this thing between you and my daughter is pretty serious?”

Everyone stops mid-bite; my dad's not really the interrogator type. In the past, if I liked a guy it was good enough for him, trusting that I knew my boundaries, but you wouldn't know it with the way he's glaring at Noah.

My dad doesn't wait for a response, “She was serious about the last guy too.”

Noah stiffens next to me. I place a hand over his thigh and squeeze.

“
Dad, this is different,” I begin to explain, but he talks over me.

“
I suppose I don't need to explain about him?”

Noah's jaw locks, “She told me.” He's still the only one that knows the whole story. Everyone else still thinks Will only hit me that one time and I left him. I don't know why I can't find the words to share, but at least I can talk to Noah about it.

“I understand your concern,” Noah begins, taking in a deep breath. “I have a good idea of what I must look like to all of you, but you need to know that I love your daughter. I'm not asking for you to trust me, after what she went through. I can only hope that time will let me prove myself to you, and you will come to see how deeply I care about her; that her love means everything to me.”

I look to my mom, who seems just as close to crying as I am.

“Okay,” is my dad's response.

“
Okay,” Noah repeats, and they both go back to eating. What does that mean? Is everything cool now?

“
So what's up with the scars?” Seth asks, mouth full of food.

I kick him under the table but he ignores me, waiting for an answer. I guess it runs in the family.

Noah swallows his food, “Three headed dragon attacked me with his claws, almost killed me.”

Seth rolls his eyes, “Fine, if you don't want to tell me just say so.”

“It's true,” I pipe in. “I saw it with my own eyes.” I point to the three small scars on my neck that are still healing, “Tried to get me too.”

The whole table is looking at us like we're nuts.

“How did you escape then?” Cody challenges.

“
There's this old dagger,” Noah divulges. “It's been passed down through generations and was the only thing that held the power to slay this particular dragon.”

Cody rolls his eyes, “
Let me guess, you had to stab it straight through the heart?”

“
Nope,” Noah takes a finger and slices it across his throat to show how it was done.

“
Sweet!” Seth bobs his head forward with enthusiasm, “Cool story, probably more interesting than the truth.”

“
It
is
the truth,” Noah deadpans.

This is exactly how folktales must come to be.

Cody doesn't seem as impressed, “Did your other scars come from this supposed dragon?”

Noah contemplates, “In a way, yes, they did. They came from my adventures of hunting for this dragon throughout his kingdom.”

Jill laughs,”I can tell you're going to fit right in, with an imagination like that.”

The conversations take off from there. It's mostly Noah asking questions, generally interested in learning about everyone. They ask us a lot of questions about the business we are buying and what exactly drifting is. My dad and Naomi still don't seem convinced that we are fully serious about this; I think they're both expecting it to fail. Maybe it will, but we are at a time in our life to take chances.

By the end of dinner Noah is visibly more relaxed, an arm slung over the back of my chair, playing with my hair. I've noticed he likes to touch me a lot. I'm hoping it's because I bring him comfort.

“
Who's ready for dessert?” My mom asks, clearing the table after we've all stuffed ourselves. “Lily made her specialty.”

Seth can't fetch it from the kitchen fast enough.