Playing with Fire (19 page)

Without another word she went
upstairs. Trent stood frozen until the closing of the bedroom door
snapped him out of it.

He smiled to himself and placed his
hand over his heart. He’d whispered those same words to her the
night before, thinking she hadn’t heard him, but obviously she
had.

Trent finished rinsing off the few
dishes and thought about how many times he’d heard a woman say
those words – I love you. There were more times than he could
remember, and each time he’d run for the hills. But he didn’t want
to run anywhere now but upstairs to Noelle.

He put the dishes in the dishwasher
and hummed to himself again. For the next few hours, he channel
surfed and mindlessly stared out the window. All he could think
about was that Noelle loved him. Whatever else was to come they
would deal with together, but for now nothing could bring down his
good mood.

To her surprise, Noelle slept
peacefully for several hours, waking only when the doorbell rang. A
moment later, there was a soft knock on the door.

Trent opened the door slowly and
whispered, “Noelle? Are you awake?”

She sat up in bed and stretched with a
yawn. “Yeah. Thanks for letting me sleep. I needed it!”

He walked over and kissed her on top
of the head. “You are welcome, mi amor. It seems we have guests.
Avery decided since we weren’t going to see them that they would
come over here. I’ll tell them to go if you want.”

Noelle shook her head, “No, don’t do
that. It’s fine really. Just let me take a quick shower and I’ll be
down.”

He eyed her for a moment. “Are you
sure?”

She smiled, feeling genuinely happy.
“Yeah, I’m in a much friendlier mood than this morning.”

Trent kissed her again and winked at
her before heading downstairs. Noelle grabbed a change of clothes
and headed for the guest bathroom down the hall. For several long
moments, she stood under the showerhead as hot water cascaded over
her hair until steam hung in the air.

A few minutes later, she walked
downstairs and was greeted by Avery, Damien, and another couple.
Trent quickly introduced them as his other best friend Mitch and
Avery’s friend Molly.

Avery held out her arms and gave
Noelle a big hug. “How are you? When I heard what happened I was so
worried!”

Noelle returned the hug. “Thank you,
that’s so sweet. I’m doing fine, thanks to Trent.”

She exchanged a look with him as he
pulled her to his side and kissed her temple. “Like I said,
anytime.”

Avery sighed and Damien spoke up.
“Alright, let’s knock off the lovey stuff. Avery’s already been
talking non-stop about how you guys would be a great
couple.”

Noelle smiled. “One step at a
time.”

She wondered how excited Avery would
be to know they had already said they loved each other. The thought
made her smile even bigger and she ducked her head as she
blushed.

Avery broke the silence, “Ok, so
usually on Sunday mornings the guys here go surfing, so what if
they do that, and us girls can go get a late lunch. My
treat!”

Noelle gave Trent a questioning look,
waiting for his thoughts. He shrugged. “Hey, I told you earlier,
whatever you want to do today is fine with me.”

She asked, to no one in particular,
“Isn’t it too cold to surf?”

Damien shook his head, “Naw, we wear
bodysuits that keep us warm. I’ve gotten Avery to go out a few
times. Maybe we can get you and Molly out with us too.”

Noelle laughed and her eyes got big,
“I don’t know about all that, but maybe someday.”

Trent smiled. “I look forward to that!
Seeing you in a bikini sounds like a plan to me.”

Noelle backhanded him playfully. “You
wish. Molly, does Mitch get you out in the water too?”

Mitch coughed and Molly blushed. “Uh,
no, we aren’t a couple. We are just friends of Damien and Avery.
I’m from Minnesota where the wardrobe in November is thermal
underwear and wool socks.”

They all laughed and Noelle felt
herself relax even more. “I think Avery’s plan is good. I’m
starving!”

Trent eyed Avery, “Do me a favor,
don’t go telling her all the bad things about me.”

Avery huffed playfully and put her
hands on her hips. “Geez, thanks for the vote of
confidence!”

Noelle waved him off. “Oh, don’t
worry. I’m pretty sure I’ve already figured out the bad things
about you. Need I remind you of your lame one-liners the night we
met?”

Trent’s eyes widened and he looked
slightly shocked for a moment, but finally he broke into that
dimply smile. “Now there is the Noelle I know and love.”

She leaned in and kissed him, not
caring that other people were around or that Avery let out an
excited squeal.

Mitch slapped Trent’s arm when they
finally broke their kiss. “Alright Romeo, grab your gear, we got
waves to catch.”

Trent rolled his eyes, “Yeah, Yeah.”
He turned back to her and whispered, “Are you sure you’re alright
with this?”

Noelle smiled at him and lightly
touched his cheek, “Yes I’m fine with it. You’re right; some time
with friends will help today.”

Ten minutes later, the two groups were
loaded into separate vehicles. Avery honked as they pulled out of
the drive and headed south. “Alright ladies, I think I see some
peach maragritas in our future!”

Molly agreed. “Sounds like a good plan
to me!”

Avery eyed Noelle in the rearview
mirror as she stopped at a red light. “What about you Noelle, do
margaritas sound good?”

Noelle nodded. “Sure. Trent took me to
a really good Mexican restaurant in San Diego, I think I remember
how to get there.”

Avery smiled at her again as she
accelerated the car. “I know which one you’re talking about, he
took me and Damien there to celebrate our engagement.”

Molly nodded in agreement. “Oh yeah, I
love that place! I think it’s called Habaneros or Jalapeños or
something like that. I know it’s named after a pepper.”

Noelle spoke up, “It’s Habaneros.
Trent said the owners are family friends.”

For a few minutes, they chatted about
random things - the half-off sale at the thrift shop, what the
weather was going to be for the week, and how the driver in the car
next to them looked like the pregnant hooker from their favorite
soap.

Finally, Avery let out a sigh.
“Alright, I can’t take it. Start talking Noelle.”

Noelle eyed her in the mirror and gave
her an innocent look. “What are you talkin’ about?”

Avery returned to look with a laugh.
“Oh don’t give me that. You know what I’m talking about. What
happened between the Trent and Noelle that were at my house two
days ago and the Trent and Noelle who were all googly eyed in the
kitchen ten minutes ago?”

“Oh, that.”

Molly turned in her seat and gave
Noelle a pitying look. “I’ll forewarn you, you might as well spill
the beans, because this one here is worse than a pitbull with a
T-bone.”

They all laughed when Avery nodded in
agreement. “Yeah, I am. She’s right.”

Noelle sighed. “Alright, fine. Where
should I start?”

Avery pulled the car to a stop in the
restaurant’s parking lot and looked at Molly, then turned to look
at Noelle. “I’m good if you wanna fast forward to the steamy
stuff.”

Noelle laughed again. “Let’s get
inside and order some drinks before we get to that part. Do you
think the guys are gonna grill Trent too?”

Molly and Avery both
nodded.

“I’m sure of it. In fact, when we
pulled out, I’m pretty sure I saw Trent slug my dear, sweet hubby
in the shoulder. That’s a clear sign to me that he asked something
inappropriate.”

They were shown to a table in the
corner and ordered the biggest margaritas they could get. When the
drinks finally arrived, they were the size of a fishbowl. The women
exchanged looks with each other, and then looked back at their
drinks.

Molly took a sip first. “I have a
feeling we are gonna be here awhile. I think it’s safe to start at
the beginning Noelle. And don’t leave out a single
detail!”

By time they left the restaurant, the
ladies had the rated – PG version of the last few days with Trent.
Noelle also had another new friend in Molly. It was the first, and
best, girl’s lunch she’d ever had.

As they drove back to Trent’s place,
Avery said a silent prayer that days like today would become more
common, and nights like last night never happened again.

CHAPTER
FOURTEEN

Trent sat up on his surfboard and ran
his hands across the surface of the cool water. It was almost
surreal to be sitting so calmly out with the guys, doing the norm,
when last night had been one of the scariest of his life. As much
as he tried to clear it out of his head and enjoy the day, it was
still there, replaying on a loop.

He sighed and tried to focus on the
present moment. “Well boys, I don’t think it looks like we’re gonna
get many more waves today.”

Damien nodded, “Yeah, even the ones
we’ve gotten haven’t been all that exciting.”

Mitch raised his face to the sun and
exhaled. “Man, this would be a great day to go golfing, clear
skies, mild temps, barely a breeze … it’s perfect.”

Trent and Damien exchanged a look and
then said simultaneously, “We aren’t going golfing!”

Mitch scowled at both of them.
“Really? We can’t go just once more. Maybe that first time wasn’t
the greatest, but come on guys give it another chance.”

Trent shook his head. “No way, dude.
It was the most boring five hours of my life and that even includes
the day we spent in detention for toilet papering Principal
Moffitt’s place.”

Damien smiled nostalgically, “Yeah,
but at least that time we got dates out of it with his daughter and
her two friends. When we went golfing all I got was a touch of
poison ivy and a pulled back muscle.”

Mitch rolled his eyes, “I tried
telling you not to jerk on your swing, but you didn’t wanna
listen.”

Damien nodded. “You’re right, and I’m
not gonna listen now. This wave is mine boys. See you on
shore.”

Trent and Mitch watched as Damien
paddled ahead and rode the wave in. They both looked back over
their shoulders to see there were no waves on the
horizon.

“I think we may be out here
awhile.”

Trent nodded, “I think you may be
right, Mitch. That lucky bastard there always gets the good stuff,
the nice house, the great wife, the last wave of the day. Makes me
wanna punch him.”

Mitch laughed. “Yeah I know. But after
the last few years he’s had, it’s kinda nice to see things working
out for him. Besides, things seem to be working out alright for
you.”

Trent braced his arms and leaned
forward on his board. He couldn’t help the cheesy smile from coming
out. “Yeah, life is pretty good. I mean, if you overlook the whole
thing with Noelle’s ex, that part sucks. But it’ll pan
out.”

Mitch nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure it will.
Just let me know if you need any help in the legal department with
it, you know I’m more than happy to help.”

Trent squinted over at Mitch. “You
really think it’s gonna go that far?”

Mitch looked at him as if he were
bat-shit crazy. “You don’t? From what you’ve said, she leaves this
controlling man and you think he’s just gonna go away nicely? Come
on, Trent. You gotta be real about this.”

Trent swore and smacked his hand
across the water, sending up a spray that was immediately blown in
his face by a small burst of wind.

Mitch nearly fell off his surfboard
laughing. “That’ll teach ya.”

Trent gave him the evil eye, but it
only made Mitch laugh harder. “I’ll remember that, asshole. I’m
gonna punch you later, you just wait.”

Mitch gained control over his
girly-giggle fit and held up his hands. “Now, now, no need to be
violent.”

Trent waved him off. “No, sorry, my
bad. Just you saying that about Noelle’s ex has me tense now. I
mean look at all the drama Damien just went through. If something
like that happened to Noelle, I don’t know what I’d do.”

They both fell silent for a moment
remembering the night, only a few months ago, when Damien was
nearly killed by a stalker. He’d amazingly survived with only minor
injuries, but the damage caused to his home by the S.W.A.T. team
had taken weeks to repair. It could have been so much worse had
Trent and the other officers not arrived in time.

Mitch finally broke the silence. “That
really sucked. I mean really. Between that stalker and hearing what
you’ve said about Noelle’s ex, it’s no wonder I’m in no rush to be
with someone. People are crazy, man.”

Trent shrugged. “I can’t say I agree
with you. I mean, yeah, you’re right on the people being crazy. But
the other part, about not letting someone in because of it – that’s
BS. Even if I gotta deal with Lenny, Noelle is more than worth it
to me.”