by Kat T. Masen
Morgan: Don’t for one minute think you’re getting out of that conversation.
It was bound to come up, and if life has taught me anything so far, I need to start being honest with everyone including myself. Sure, I have a past. Don’t we all? But I’ve left it all behind. My baggage didn’t carry itself here to Los Angeles, and I’m certainly glad that Morgan is equally baggage free.
***
The food smells delicious and true to Charlie’s word, Lex is excellent at the barbecue. There are many guests who Charlie introduces me to, from her neighbors across the street to Lex’s parents and sister. I politely say hello, making small talk like the well-mannered son my mom raised me to be.
Eric brought his couch surfers. Basically, it’s a bunch of Swedish men crashing in his apartment. I ask no further questions on that matter.
And, of course, Kate, who has conveniently positioned herself next to the table with the punch wearing a big sun hat.
“Are you wearing that to shield the earth from all the galactic forces?” I mock her.
“I’ll have you know that skin cancer is a deadly disease.”
“It is…” I agree. “You’ll turn into a lobster, won’t you?”
“An English lobster at that, but hey, I got the magic juice.” She holds up a solo cup, cheering herself on.
I leave her alone to get drunk and sunburned to see Morgan enter the yard with her dad by her side. He’s the spitting image of Scarlett—same eyes, and even the eyebrows are shaped the same. Given that he’s from Little Rock, I expected some hick-town old man and am surprised he looks young and fit for his age.
She waves at me, and I walk toward her, unsure whether or not I should kiss her. So, I lean in and kiss her cheek as she pulls back and introduces me, “Noah, this is my dad, Max.”
I shake his hand as a sign of respect and then offer him a beer. Lex and Charlie have joined us, introducing themselves. Charlie seems to take to Morgan, pulling her aside and introducing her to the girls. This is all new to me. I don’t know why I feel incredibly uncomfortable. It’s like all my worlds colliding in one backyard.
“I’m Ava, Uncle Noah’s favorite,” Ava says confidently.
Morgan leans across to me. “The sleepwalker and toothbrush bandit?”
I ruffle Ava’s hair. “Yep. She also enjoys using my cell and buying apps because Uncle Noah has never had to lock his account before.”
Ava has a way with her words, talking endlessly about anything and everything. Morgan has the patience of a saint, weighing in heavily on which Wiggle she likes best. I don’t even know what the hell a Wiggle is.
We sit down at one of the picnic tables when Kate and Mom walk outside with bowls of chips and some salad. I turn my head as Kate sees us at the table, her usual mischievous grin playing on her lips. She leans over to whisper into Mom’s ear before they both turn around and walk our way.
Here we go.
This is it.
Why the fuck are you sweating bullets?
I turn around, pretending not to notice when Kate purposely wraps her arms around me, giving me a big hug. “Hey, momma’s boy.”
I pull her arms off me, noticing her eyes are glazed over caused by too much punch. “You know my mom is standing right here?”
“Yes.” She grins. “She gave me the go-ahead to call you that. In fact, she insisted.”
In the space of a few hours, Mom and Kate seem inseparable. I don’t understand why. Kate is great, but I made it clear that nothing would happen between us. At least, nothing else would happen between us.
Mom clears her throat, raising her eyebrows at me. I shake my head, forgetting that Morgan and her dad are standing beside me.
“Morgan, Max, please meet my friend, Kate, and, of course, my mom,” I say, toning down the enthusiasm.
“Mom, Kate… this is Morgan, my uh… girlfriend.” I gulp.
Morgan’s eyes widen.
Damn! I don’t know what compelled me to call her that.
What the fuck is wrong with me?
Kate extends her hand, shaking Max’s first, then reaching out to Morgan. I notice that Morgan’s withdrawn and appears quieter than usual. She has that same expression on her face from when I first had that meeting in her office.
“I’m so happy to finally meet you. Noah’s told me so much about you,” Kate mentions happily.
“Interesting,” she says, monotone. “He never talks about you.”
There’s an awkward silence.
Of course, I don’t talk about her.
What’s there to say? We’re friends, that’s it.
I don’t understand Morgan’s abrupt change of attitude.
Beside me, Mom has struck up a conversation with Max, leaving the three of us alone as they walk toward where Lex is cooking.
Kate looks at me, raising her eyebrows. “It’s really nice to meet you. I’m going to grab a drink. The good stuff is inside. Aunty Kate needs some grownup drink to get through the game of hide and seek that’s just about to start.”
She offers for Morgan to join her, but she refuses. She’s coming off rude and snobbish. With her dad walking back toward us, it allows me to excuse myself for a moment to head to the house. Both Mom and Charlie are in the kitchen preparing some snacks for the kids. Kate is nowhere to be seen.
“Mom,” I call. “I need your help.”
“What have you done now?” she’s quick to question.
“Nothing… at least, I don’t know. Morgan’s acting weird all of a sudden, and I want to ask her why but she’s with her dad. Can you distract him again, so I can pull her aside?”
“I noticed she seems introverted.”
“She’s normally not like that,” I say in her defense. “She just met Kate and then got all weird.”
Charlie and Mom look at each other, both of them with smiles on their faces like I’m missing out on their private joke.
“Noah,” Charlie says. “She’s probably jealous. I know you and Kate are really close, as in friends, but for those who don’t know that, you guys look like a couple.”
“But we’re not.”
“I know that. Kate knows that. Women can be finicky. I can try to talk to her if you want?” Charlie suggests.
“No, I should probably try to fix this.” I sigh.
This, here, is why I don’t do relationships. Factoring in someone else’s emotions is draining. I walk outside and find them again. This time, Mom comes to my rescue, following with a plate of snacks, offering them to Morgan and her dad. Max continues to make more small talk with Mom, some joke about cheese which gives me a moment to pull Morgan aside.
“Thank you for coming today and meeting my family and friends.” I wrap my hand around her waist, pulling her close to me. I want her now.
“Your family is really nice, Noah.”
“And my friends?” I laugh.
“I’ve only met Kate. She seems nice.” And there’s that odd tone again.
“She is nice. But she’s only a friend, Morgan, nothing more.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.” She sighs, leaning into me.
I kiss the top of her hair. “You’re cute when you’re jealous.”
“Argh. Is that what this is?”
I laugh again. “Apparently so. Anyway, I’d like you to spend some time with Kate. She’s really awesome.”
“Okay,” is all she manages to say.
The party continues, and much to our surprise, Mom and Max get into a heated conversation about politics, which strikes me as odd since Mom never talks about anything political.
With Morgan chatting to Lex’s sister, I chase the girls around, making growling sounds as their screams echo around us. Between the running around and multiple times in the bouncy castle, I’m beat.
“Uncle Noah,” Ava calls again. “One more time in the bouncy castle.”
I groan, setting down my drink and following Ava into the castle. We play this game wh
ere I pretty much throw her against the inflatable wall, and she giggles, asking me to do it again. On my fourth attempt, her cousin Andy stares back at me with a pale face.
“Are you okay, bud?”
He shakes his head, then tilts forward, projectile vomiting all over my shirt. My throat closes in, my stomach contracting as I attempt to control the dry heaving. The kids scream, frantically jumping out of the castle as Andy cries. I’m barely able to contain my own need to projectile vomit, but extend my hand out to him just as his dad comes in.
“It’s okay.” His dad, Julian, soothes him. Picking him up into his arms, not caring at all that he’s now gotten vomit all over his shirt.
“Sorry, man,” Julian apologizes. “His mom warned him not to have too much Jell-O, and, well… this is what happens when you have too much Jell-O.”
It explains the array of colors splashed all over my black shirt. I tell him it’s fine, and then follow them out as Charlie enters with a bucketload of cleaning products which Lex’s sister, Adriana, takes off her.
“Do you need help?” I ask, still reeling from the godawful stench.
“No, it’s okay. You clean yourself up, but thanks for offering. I think Lex ran off and vomited in the bush.”
Morgan looks back at me with a sympathetic expression while I walk toward the house cringing. I don’t know what to do with my shirt, wanting to throw it in the trash but remembering the hefty price tag on it. I leave it in the bathroom sink and hop into the shower, quickly scrubbing myself clean. When I hop out, I dry myself and change into my jeans before heading into my room. There’s a knock on the door, and Morgan enters, closing the door quietly behind her.
She can’t peel her eyes away from my torso, her lips clenching as she stands in utter silence.
“Geez, I have a face, you know,” I tease.
She shakes her head, breaking her gaze. “Cocky bastard.”
I move closer to her, wrapping my arms around her waist. “Cocky, yes.”
I grab her hand and place it on the bulge of my jeans. She squeezes for just a moment, then tries to pull away. “Noah, there are kids here.”
“Downstairs. Outside. Not in this room. It’s just you and me.”
I kiss the side of her neck, desperate to taste her. Running my nose along her collarbone, the smell of her skin draws me in. I need to fuck her so bad.
“Let’s go to your place tonight. Fuck your roommate.” I bury my head in her hair, desperately hoping she’ll agree.
“I have this thing tonight. For Scarlett.”
“C’mon. Scarlett will understand. Just say you need the night off. After all, you’re my girlfriend.”
That word is foreign and sounds odd every time I say it.
This is why I hate labels.
“About that…” she begins, then stalls. “That was out of the blue. You could’ve warned me. My dad was right there.”
I let go of her, annoyed and walk to the dresser where I grab another shirt and put it on.
“C’mon, Noah, we haven’t even talked about any of this.”
“Is that my fault? I’m forever trying to reach out to you, yet you pull away. Isn’t that what I should be doing? I’m the guy here. I should be the one constantly unavailable,” I yell out of frustration.
“That’s sexist and unfair, Noah. I get it, you’ve been with several women. That’s all you do, fuck around. Possibly with Kate, too, right?”
“Don’t even start…”
“She had her arms around you, I can see your connection with her.”
“We’re. Just. Friends,” I shout, sick of defending our relationship.
“This is too complicated,” she mumbles to herself. “I just really needed you. I can’t explain it.”
I can’t help but release a sinister laugh. “Yep, that’s what they all say.”
Her face contorts to a shocked yet angry stare. “Excuse me? I’m not like your other girls, Noah.”
“No,” I say, looking her directly in the eye. “That’s the problem here. You’re not at all like them.”
Standing apart, silence falls over the room.
“I can’t do this anymore. This fighting—”
I interrupt her. “And running away?”
“I’m not running away.”
“So why can’t you cancel tonight? Or even invite me? God,” I tell her, embittered. “Are you embarrassed to be in a relationship with me?” It kills me to say it, but I can’t deal with her fucking secrecy anymore.
“Of course, n-not,” she stutters. “Tonight is just…”
I grab my cell that’s sitting on top of the dresser. “I’ll call Scarlett.”
“Why?” she asks, panicked.
I scroll through my contacts and dial her number. When Scarlett answers, I place her on speaker.
“Hi, Scarlett,” I say in a much sweeter tone. “I had a meeting with Morgan, and she mentioned she had something to attend tonight with you.”
“Hi, Noah,” she responds cheerfully. “Yes. There’s a red-carpet party on Sunset. You should come. And bring some friends.”
I stare at Morgan, satisfied.
She turns her head away, looking toward the window as she folds her arms.
“You know what, I’ll take you up on that. We ran out of time, and I was hoping to catch her there.”
“Sounds great. I’ll have her text you all the details. I’m really looking forward to seeing you, Noah.”
I say goodbye and hang up the phone. “So, I guess you better forward me those details,” I remind her, sarcastically.
“You’re a fucking stubborn ass, you know that?” she huffs.
“It’s like looking in the mirror, isn’t it?”
“Fuck you,” she mouths, before storming off and slamming the door behind her.
NOAH
I should’ve known better than to invite Charlie and Kate to the red-carpet event. Lex warned me it would create this bizarre frenzy within them. I laughed it off, being the naïve dickhead who underestimated the power of a woman possessed by Hollywood.
With Mom in town and willing to babysit the girls, Charlie jumped at the chance to go out for the evening. Both Charlie and Kate went into ‘wardrobe meltdown’ as they called it, spending a good hour in Charlie’s closet trying to figure out what to wear.
Morgan left with her dad, apologizing to everyone that she had to be at an event. Max was kind enough to say goodbye. Morgan chose to ignore me, without a goodbye, taking her stubborn and childish ass along with her.
We arrive at the party in separate cars, Charlie taking it upon herself to invite Haden and Presley. I don’t mind so much. It just put Kate and me in an awkward position being surrounded by married couples.
The room’s large, an ample event space that’s decked out like a nightclub, dimly lit with a stream of neon lights. The bar area takes the whole back wall, each barstool occupied with guests. The music is playing loudly in the background, making it difficult to hear each other.
“I think I just saw Zac Efron,” Kate squeals into my ear, squeezing my arm tight.
I roll my eyes, then lean in. “Isn’t he young enough to be your son?”
She slaps my chest instantly, knocking me back slightly. “You had no problem with my age before our beach incident.”
“That’s before I knew you were a grandma,” I joke lightly.
Kate’s only a year older than me but has a youthful glow, quickly mistaking her for being younger. I just like to poke fun to rile her up.
“By the way…” I add, eyeing her up and down, admiring her sexy body in front of me. I’ll admit it again, she has great tits having already seen her completely naked. “You look hot tonight.”
She’s wearing one of Charlie’s dresses, a sheer black dress that sits short with tall black pumps, making the top of her head sit just below my eyes.
“Why, thank you.” Kate grins happily. “You scrub up surprisingly good yourself. Nine out of ten.”
“Nine ou
t of ten? Where did I lose the point?”
“I’m not sure,” she says playfully. “But if I rated you ten, then I’d have to take you home and shag ya. So, you can see the bind I’m in.”
I keep my opinion to myself, distracted by chaos at the door. Scarlett has walked in, wearing a long silver gown that sparkles, almost blinding me. With her signature red lips, she’s tied her hair into a sleek ponytail, posing with guests who are taking selfies.
She’s gorgeous, no doubt, but my entire body comes to a complete still the moment my eyes land on Morgan. She’s standing a few steps behind Scarlett, carefully camouflaging herself. The second Scarlett steps away, she’s in full view.
Everything in the room slows down, and the music sounds distant. My eyes are fixated on her, and only her. She looks angelic, the white dress only accentuating her natural beauty. She’s wearing her hair out, pushed to one side, flowing down the side of her body and stopping just above her hips.
My body gravitates toward her, long steps in sync with the loud thump banging in my chest. With just the tilt of her beautiful face, her eyes meet mine.
“Noah,” she mouths, smiling.
“I’m glad you’re happy to see me. After this afternoon’s little tantrum, I thought you might banish me to the corner of this room.”
She moves closer, careful to keep a reasonable distance between us. “I couldn’t banish someone so hot to the corner. Unless, of course, I’m there riding you.”
I can only respond with a wide smirk, keeping my head down as I try to compose myself. God, I fucking love her. The way she makes me laugh even when we’re in the middle of a petty argument.
“Noah!” Scarlett calls, leaning in and kissing me hello. The cameras flash everywhere around us, and I’m not sure what to do. I follow her lead, posing along with her while scanning the area looking for Morgan.
“So, who did you come here with?” she asks, pulling me aside.
“My cousin, her husband, and a friend. Oh, and Haden and Presley.”
“Great,” she says with enthusiasm. “I’d love to say hello.”
“Kate’s here?” Morgan’s mood shifts, watching her from across the room. “Why did you come with her?”