The Next Door Boys (16 page)

“Wow, great. You're the freshman genius then.”

“What?” I asked, not following.

“That's what I've been told. Leigh, freshman genius, does wonders with fabric.” He stepped closer to me. His smile was unfaltering.

“Well, I guess there are worse things. What can I help you with?” I tried not to stare.

“I'm Bob Cratchit in the show, and nobody can get my pants right. I hoped you could help me?” He cocked his head a little sideways, but his eyes never left mine.

“I'll do my best.” I looked him over again. He wore a plain white T-shirt, slim leg jeans, and a great lightweight jacket. He ran his hand through his dark hair, and I realized that I'd probably been staring too long. I glanced to my left; the other two girls in the room were watching him—at least I wasn't the only one distracted.

He held out the pants for me to inspect.

“Sorry.” I shook my head in an attempt to clear it. “Why don't you put them on, and I'll see if I can fix it.”

“Great. Thanks.” He turned and headed for the dressing rooms.

“Isn't he gorgeous?” one of the girls whispered to me.

I felt my cheeks heat up and didn't know how to answer, so I went back to my hemming.

He came back out in his dress pants for the play. They were all bunchy on the outside seams, and the crotch sat too low and crooked. I wondered who made them. They were terrible.

“Uh.” I looked down, puzzled. How had these even made it to a rack to be tried on? And how would I fix them?

“I told you they were terrible.” He looked down at the mess.

“You were right… um…” I hesitated, hoping that I wouldn't have to ask his name.

“Noah. I'm Noah Watson.”

“Nice to meet you, Noah. You obviously already know who I am.”

He stood only a couple of feet away from me. He was a few perfect inches taller than I was, someone I could wear heels next to and see straight into his face. I sighed. I was letting my imagination get the best of me.

“We match,” he said, looking at me.

“What do you mean?”

“Our eyes, we match. I've never seen someone else with the same shade of green.”

“Oh.” I looked down, embarrassed. His comment felt personal for someone I'd just met. “Well let's see what we can do about these pants.” I took a pen and made marks down the outside where the seams needed to be. I'd probably just end up taking them apart and starting over. “I need you to pull up your shirt for a minute.” I said as I grabbed a few pins.

“Excuse me?” He looked confused.

“Do you want your pants fixed or not?” I asked.

He sighed and pulled his shirt up just slightly.

“Don't worry, I have a brother. This is entirely not a big deal. I've seen boys’ stomachs before.” I had to laugh at him a little.

“Okay,” he said slowly.

I slid my chair over so my face was even with his waist. I pulled on the waistband of the pants and tucked in a few places. It only took me seconds to get lost in the project. I marked each spot with a pin to make sure I could get them right. I did my best to concentrate on the top of the pants rather than the strip of skin he showed. What was wrong with me?

“You're not going to get me with one of those, are you?” he asked as I sat poised with another pin in my hand.

“Only if you get smart with me,” I teased. I didn't meet his eyes. I kept working. Our situation was starting to feel intimate, and I wanted to make sure I kept some distance.

I stood up and looked at his pants again to make sure I had in all the pins I'd need. “I think that's it. You can take them off now.”

“Right here?” he joked.

“Careful, that's the kind of smart comment that can get you stuck with a pin.” I let myself look at his face again, doing my best to look serious.

“You put your pins down. I figured I was safe.” He chuckled as he turned toward the dressing rooms.

I shook my head, tried not to smile, and sat down to finally finish the hem I was working on when he came down. The phone rang in my pocket as I pulled them off the machine.

I flipped it open. “Hey Jaron, what's up?”

“I'm stuck on campus for another hour, is that okay?”

“Jaron, I don't want to wait around for another hour,” I whined. “I want to go home.” I wanted dinner and quiet.

“I'll take you.” Noah offered as he came back in the room.

“Are you sure?”

He nodded.

The thought of spending just a few more minutes with Noah was pretty appealing. A ride home seemed innocent enough. “Never mind, Jaron. I have a ride. I'll see you later.”

“Okay, bye.” He sounded hesitant. Yep, still way overprotective. I slid my phone back in my pocket.

I followed Noah to his Land Rover. A college student in a new Land Rover. So, hot and had money. Why did those two things seem to often go together?

He opened the passenger-side door for me. The car smelled new. I shouldn't have been impressed by something like a new car, but I was.

“So are you a theater major or something?” he asked as we pulled out of the parking lot.

“I actually don't know.” I wasn't sure how to answer that since the identity of my major hadn't been decided on yet. “You?”

“Yep.” He nodded. “I like it.”

“Do you live on campus?” I asked, trying to make polite conversation.

“No, my brothers and I have a small condo in town.” His eyes caught mine a few times as he drove.

“I live in the basement of a house with a few other girls. It seemed better than the dorms.” I looked back out at the road in front of us.

“Anything's better than dorms.” He laughed. “I really appreciate your help. It sucks to be on stage in something you're not comfortable wearing.”

“I take it that's happened before?” I looked over at him. His eyes met mine, and I felt a tingling in my chest and stomach.

“I did ‘A Midsummer Night's Dream’ once. The costumes were…” His brow furrowed in concentration or maybe he was just trying to figure out how best to say it.

“Inappropriate?” I offered.

“Yes.” He looked out his left window, decidedly away from me. “Inappropriate.”

We pulled up between the houses, right behind Brian. My stomach sank. My arrival with Noah would lead to unnecessary questions.

“Thanks again for the ride.” I smiled at him as he pulled to a stop. I wanted to make a run for my door to avoid Brian. I didn't want to be watched over, not today. Noah jumped out and had my door before I'd gathered my bag and books.

“Thanks.” I climbed out. Yep, this would definitely lead to questioning. Brian still hadn't gotten out of his car. What was he doing? I knew he was watching. Sometimes living next to my brother and his best friend was really annoying.

Noah walked with me to the other side of his car. I was suddenly unsure of why he gave me a ride home. Did he like me? Was he just being nice? Did it matter?

“Well, it was nice to meet you, Leigh.” He leaned toward me a little. “Here's hoping for a successful fitting next time.” He stuck out his hand and I shook it. His hand felt warm and tingly. Very, very, nice.

“See you then.” I smiled and watched him climb back in his car and pull away. I'd forgotten to run inside.

“Well, there's a guy who knows how good-looking he is,” Brian teased as he got out of his car.

“Well, he has a lot to be proud of, doesn't he?” I laughed at my cleverness, spun on my heel, and walked to my house. I knew Brian would have to make some sort of comment.

eighteen

I heard a knock at the door. I jumped up and opened it to see Evan.

“Hey… Evan… What can I do for you?” I had no idea what to say to him, and I didn't want to make eye contact—way too uncomfortable.

“I'm here to ask Kim a quick question on something wardrelated. Is she around?”

I looked over my shoulder. Where was she? It wasn't like you couldn't hear the door. “Kim?” I called. “It's for you.”

She appeared a moment later, her pajamas switched out for a great pair of jeans. She'd obviously done a quick touch up when she heard his voice.

I smiled at her perseverance and walked back into the living room.

They talked in the doorway for a few minutes and then he left.

“So what was that all about?” I asked, my eyebrows rose.

“I don't know.” She grinned. “He's been… different around me lately.”

“Hmm.” I said, smiling at her, hopeful that maybe things between her and Evan were turning in her favor.

“Yeah, yum…” She laughed back.

“I can't believe these are the same pants!” Noah smiled as he walked back into the sewing room.

“Magic hands.” I wiggled my fingers in the air, and he laughed. “I'm glad you like them, but I gotta get out of here. I'm starving.” I leaned over my bag and started to put my phone and iPod back in.

“Hey, me too. Why don't we grab something together, and then I'll give you a ride home?” He shrugged.

“Umm.” Was this a date? Did I want it to be?

“If you're worried that it's a date, it's not. It's avoiding starvation.”

I stood there watching him for a moment. “Well, in that case, I'm in.” Surely that wasn't a big deal; we were just two hungry people… avoiding starvation.

“Let me change. I'll be right out.” He jogged off to the dressing rooms.

I gathered my stuff. I was about to go on a date with Noah. I didn't care what he said about it. Two people getting together for a meal was a date. Did I want to be on a date with him? Did I want to date anyone?

“Ready?” Noah asked from across the room.

“Yeah. Let me call my brother on the way out.” I dialed Jaron's number as I followed Noah up the stairs. I probably should have just said “ride” instead of brother.

“Hey sis, what's up?” he answered.

“I have a ride home, so I'll see you later on.”

“Uh, okay.” I could tell he wanted to ask more, but he didn't. “Will we see you tonight?”

“I'll be there.” I hung up my phone and stuffed it in my pocket.

“Your brother is a little overprotective?” Noah asked. “It's just—you calling him, you know.”

“Yeah. I was really sick last year. He just worries about me, is all.” I'd realized after the first couple of months at school that things would be easier if I went ahead and let some things out right away.

“You seem all better now.” His gaze shifted to mine as we walked up the stairs together.

“Yep. All better now.” It was nice of him not to pry further but also nice for him to know enough that my brother's presence wouldn't be weird. I was already talking like we'd be spending time together. The cold hit me when we stepped outside, and we both walked quickly for his car.

“So, Leigh doesn't date anyone?” he asked as he opened the door for me. “I just ask because you seemed hesitant.”

I climbed in. “It has to do with being sick last year.” Were we going to continue this direction? I didn't know what else to say or what else he'd ask.

He walked around the front of his car and climbed in. “Oh?”

“You probably don't want to know this much about me, Noah,” I warned.

“No, I probably do.” He leaned toward me as he started his car. It made my stomach flip. He wanted to know me, to know about me.

I sighed. I knew I should just spit it out and get it all over with. Maybe it would scare him away and I wouldn't have to worry about whether I did or didn't want to be on a date with Noah Watson. Even though, every moment, I wanted a little more to be on a date with him. “Fine. I found out I had cancer last year. I had to take a year off of school, and now I'm just not as strong as I'd like. I'll never have kids, and I'll always have an overprotective family.” I couldn't believe I'd gotten it all out. All of it.

“Whoa.” He sat and stared at me for a moment. His expression was a mix of sadness and things I didn't want to face.

I looked away from him. That would be the last time I let it all out like that. It wasn't worth it.

“Okay.” He exhaled. “That wasn't so hard, was it?” He'd recovered well.

I smiled over at him. “A little,” I admitted. The tension in my stomach started to loosen.

“Thanks for sharing.” He reached out and touched my shoulder, letting his fingers slide off as he took back his hand.

I sat and tried not to stare.

I learned a lot about him over dinner. He'd served his mission in Brazil and spent all of his time in big cities. He spoke both Portuguese and Spanish fluently. He'd been singing and acting since he could remember and had auditioned for several commercials since being home. It made his life a little crazy. I wondered more than once why he'd taken any interest in me.

When Noah pulled into my driveway, Jaron and Brian were throwing a football in the backyard… in the snow… while it was getting dark…

“Oh, great,” I muttered. “That's not conspicuous.” I really didn't want them scaring Noah off. I picked up my bag from the floor of his car.

“So, which one's your brother?” Noah asked.

I pointed him out.

“And the other guy?”

“That's Brian, my brother's roommate.” Brian caught my eye and waved.

“That's it?” He watched my response carefully.

“Yes, that's it.” I couldn't imagine Brian as anything but a friend. He was a lot like a brother or cousin, watching out for me the way he did.