Pierced by Love

by Laura L. Walker

  “Yeah, I haven’t done too much exploring around here.”

  “Thousands of people come to northern Arizona to see the Grand Canyon every year, but there are so many other spectacular places to go.”

  She nodded. “Sounds like a plan. I’ll let you know, okay?”

  “All right.”

  Noelle hopped out and shut the door. Pierce watched her go inside, fighting a feeling of guilt for not walking her to her door. But this wasn’t a date. She’d made that clear to her roommates. She didn’t know that he’d overheard her, but something inside him jumped at the challenge. Noelle was still hooked on her ex-boyfriend, but he’d bide his time. As he locked his vehicle and walked toward his apartment, he asked himself why Noelle’s situation mattered to him so much.

  Why does it matter so much what my roommates think? Noelle wondered later that night after Hannah and Jessie had come home from the dance, talking about the fun time they’d had. Their chatter had set Noelle on edge. Later, after Melody had come home and they turned their focus onto Noelle’s excursion with Pierce, Melody had remained strangely quiet. Not feeling up to answering their questions, Noelle kept her answers vague. After saying her nightly prayer, her mind recalled her time with Pierce with such clarity that she had a hard time falling asleep. Could she really go on a date with him? Noelle didn’t feel ready, but maybe he could be a much-needed friend.

  NINE

  THE FOLLOWING WEDNESDAY, Pierce and his roommates went over to Noelle’s apartment. “Hey, guys! What’s up?” David Berkeley jogged across the parking lot to join them just as they were about to knock on the girls’ door. Pierce knew that he was coming from his trigonometry class.

  “The girls invited us to dinner,” Pierce explained. “It’s pizza night.” They all grinned, knowing what that meant. The pizza wasn’t coming out of a box. It must be Noelle’s night to cook. Her recipe always made a huge batch of dough and the girls always invited them to share.

  “We haven’t seen much of them lately,” David observed.

  “Too busy,” Garret chimed in. “I’ve had a lot of homework lately.”

  “We all have,” Austin added. “I’m looking forward to spring break and chilling out for a while.”

  “Just a few more days, then we’ll be home free,” David said. “I’m breaking outta here as soon as I finish my midterms.”

  “Me too.” Garret knocked on the door and they waited until Jessie opened the door.

  “Hi, guys. Come on in.” She waved them inside. As soon as Pierce entered their apartment, his mouth watered. The girls were hard at work in their kitchen, stirring sauce that was bubbling on the stove, rolling out dough, and chopping vegetables. Pierce loved homemade pizza night. The girls went all out on every topping imaginable, minus the anchovies, but nobody complained.

  Pierce immediately zoomed in on Noelle, who looked kind of cute in her pink polka-dotted black apron knotted with bright pink ties. It was also smudged with flour. Lots of it. “Hey, Noelle,” Austin called. “Who won the fight, you or the flour?”

  “Ha, ha,” she called back from the kitchen. “Very funny, Fremont. It just so happens that we Jensen sisters know how to make the best pizza in town! Isn’t that right, Melody?”

  Melody turned from where she stood at the stove to address her. “You’ve got it, sis. Mom’s recipe for pizza sauce is a winner.”

  Noelle smirked at Austin. “I might not be Betty Crocker, but my mom taught me a thing or two in the kitchen.”

  “Don’t let her fool you,” Jessie imparted. “This and macaroni and cheese are the only things she cooks when it’s her night to feed us.”

  “Hey!” Noelle gave her a mock scowl while planting her hands on her hips. “Don’t be giving away my secrets. And besides, my homemade macaroni and cheese is way better than anything you can buy. So don’t knock it.”

  “Considering that the other version comes out of a box that’s not saying much,” Jessie countered. “But it’s fine. I’m just a little tired of it, I guess.”

  Noelle met Pierce’s eyes from across the room. It was impossible for him to mistake the sparkle in hers. She shared a lopsided smile with him before looking back at her roommate. “All right. Point taken. I’ll see if I can come up with something new to cook next time.”

  It was good to see a happy and vibrant Noelle again. It appeared that she was on the mend.

  The doorbell rang and David, who was standing closest to the door, opened it. Chase Dunlop swept into the room, barely acknowledging the welcome from the others as he searched out Melody with his gaze. Melody turned at the sound of his voice and came over to him and gave him a quick kiss.

  Pierce looked at Noelle.

  Just like that, the sparkle was gone.

  His hands fisted at his sides. If he ever had an opportunity to talk with that jerk alone, he’d give him a piece of his mind!

  The doorbell rang again. This time Garret answered it. Kasey Hamilton and her roommates entered, greeting the others with saccharine smiles, with the exception of Brianna McCray, whom Pierce had always felt was a little out of place in that apartment of superficial females. “Hi, Garret. How are you?” Kasey’s honeyed voice grated on Pierce’s nerves.

  “Hello, Kasey,” Garret responded enthusiastically, his gaze following her as she came further into the room.

  Pierce rolled his eyes. Who had invited her? I guess it’s time to set Garret straight about her, he thought, promising himself he’d find a chance to do that soon.

  Among the chatter of the college students, Kasey approached Pierce stealthily. “Hi, Pierce. I hear you’ve found a new victim.”

  Assuming an air of nonchalance that he didn’t feel, he asked, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “You’re such a tease. Charmer that you are, you don’t realize how much you hurt a girl by making her think you’re interested in her. I hear you’re going after someone else now. Someone in this room, in fact.”

  Pierce’s jaw dropped. He hurriedly scanned the room to see if anyone else was paying any attention to their conversation. The only person he noticed looking at them was Hannah Parker, whose raised eyebrows and downturned lips conveyed her disapproval. Inwardly, Pierce groaned. How could Kasey possibly know about last Saturday? Involuntarily, his eyes sought out Noelle, who was taking a fresh batch of pizza from the oven. Kasey’s eyes narrowed to slits. “You gonna play her just after a heart-wrenching breakup with her boyfriend? That’s low—even for you.”

  Pierce glared at her while crossing his arms. “If you want to talk about duping others, Kasey, then let’s talk about you.”

  “I wasn’t trying to dupe you. I thought you were genuinely interested.”

  “Not in the game you were playing,” he answered sardonically. Then he lowered his voice to warn her. “I’d watch it if I were you, Kasey. One of these days some guy is going to take you up on your offer and then you’ll be branded for good.”

  After giving him a hard look, she tossed her hair back and stormed away, leaving Pierce feeling a little shaken. So what if he dated women just for fun? By now, most of them knew that aspect of his dating life and didn’t expect anything more than a fun date. But Kasey had apparently decided that she was going to be the one to tie him down. Only Pierce hadn’t fallen for her machinations. He’d ended the date in record time and hadn’t looked back.

  Hannah’s voice sounded quietly behind him. “What was that about, Pierce?”

  A sigh escaped his lips and he spun around. “Kasey’s mad at me over something that happened when I took her on a date, which was completely her fault.”

  “You aren’t planning on hurting Noelle, are you?” A hard glint came into her eyes.

  “Of course not,” he refuted. “Why would I do that?”

  “Do I really need to explain?”

  “I get that people think I’m a player, but if I remember correctly, taking Noelle to the temple was not a date. I was giving her a ride. In fact, I asked her on a date afterward a
nd she put me off.”

  Hannah’s mouth formed an O. Way to go, Logan, Pierce berated himself. Now it will be out within the hour. Recovering quickly, Hannah replied, “Good for her. Not that we don’t like you, but she needs time to heal.”

  “Yeah, I know,” he agreed grudgingly.

  She gave him a benevolent smile and patted his shoulder. “Just checking. No harm done.”

  He shook his head in bewilderment and watched her melt into the crowd.

  Later, after they’d eaten their fill, everyone gathered around the room, squeezing into the couches and bringing in any extra chairs they could. They played a few games, which left them in hysterics. Then the chatter gradually settled to a normal noise level.

  “So, Melody and Chase, when is your wedding date set for again?” Kasey asked.

  Melody and Chase had been conversing in low whispers. Lifting her head, Melody answered, “May twentieth.”

  “I just can’t get over how gorgeous your ring is. May I see it again?”

  Melody held her hand out for Kasey to view her engagement ring. Kasey raved over its beauty, launching into a lengthy discussion on her preferences for settings. Pierce glanced at Noelle just in time to see her roll her eyes.

  “Do you have a gown yet?”

  “No. I’m going home during spring break so that my mom and I can go shopping and make our plans.”

  “What are your colors going to be?”

  “Robin’s egg blue, light brown, and ivory.” She unclasped her hand from Chase’s to gesture as she began describing her ideas. Pierce tuned her out, guessing that the other guys wanted to as well.

  His assumption was confirmed when Austin started talking about the latest Suns basketball game. Pierce snickered at Chase, who was obviously torn between listening to his fiancée and wanting to join in on the men’s discussion. Soon a glazed look passed over his face. Chase had been reeled in, all right. He deserved it. Pierce stifled a chuckle. He himself had no intention of going down that road any time soon.

  Noelle passed by him and went into the kitchen. She began running some hot water in the sink and squirted some liquid soap in it. Pierce stood and made his way over to her, ignoring the others’ discussions, and leaned up against the counter. “You have a perfectly good dishwasher, you know.”

  She looked up at him with a tired smile. “Yes, but washing them this way takes more time. And I definitely needed to get out of there,” she added under her breath.

  “Hand me a towel and I’ll dry.” She pulled one from a nearby drawer and handed it to him. They worked silently for a few minutes until Pierce asked her, “So are you going home for spring break too?”

  “No!” she said emphatically. Then, looking anxiously into the living room and turning back to him, she lowered her voice. “Are you kidding? I don’t want to be around all that wedding buzz. What about you?”

  He took his time answering while drying the plate in his hands. “My dad wants me to visit him so that I can meet his new wife.” Pierce sighed. He’d received a phone call from his dad two nights ago, extending an invitation. Since the two other visits he’d made to his dad’s new home in the past few years had been wrought with lengthy silences and stilted conversations, he was feeling more than a little apprehensive about it.

  “Where’s that?”

  “He lives in San Diego. He moved there after the divorce to be closer to my grandparents. He’ll fly me out there on Monday, but I’m only going to stay for a few days. My brothers will be there too.”

  “So you would be back by Thursday or Friday, maybe?”

  “Thursday. That’s as long as I can stand being around him.” He didn’t mean to sound so derisive. The compassionate look Noelle gave him made him feel guilty. He worked to downplay his emotions. “But, hey, it’ll be nice to kick back for a few days, hit the beach, and hang out with my brothers.”

  “I hope that you have a good time with them.”

  Something in her voice sounded off. Reflexively, his hand reached for her chin, tilting it up. Looking mildly surprised, she waited for him to speak. “Are you okay?” he asked her.

  “Yep. I was feeling a little jealous for a second, but I’m over it. I’m assuming that you still have a good relationship with your brothers.”

  “Yeah, I do.”

  She nodded. “That’s good. At least they’ll be there to act as a buffer between you and your dad.”

  “What will you be doing all week? Working?”

  Noelle shrugged. “Pretty much. I’ll try to stay busy.” The unspoken meaning behind her words was clear. She didn’t want to think about Melody and their mom planning her wedding.

  Suddenly he blurted, “Want to come with me?”

  The stunned look she gave him was priceless. Pierce couldn’t blame her. He’d managed to stun himself. “I mean, um, it would be great if you came along. There would be plenty of room and lots of things to do. My dad has a large house with a recreation room and an outdoor pool.”

  She shook her head. “I wouldn’t want to intrude on your time with your family.”

  “Believe me, Noelle, you wouldn’t be intruding. In fact, my sister-in-law, Marissa, would enjoy getting to know you. Besides, you’d also be a buffer for me. What do you say?”

  She bit her lip, pondering. “Are you sure?” she asked uncertainly.

  “I’m sure,” he said confidently. “You’ll love it. Well, maybe not my family, but at least the amenities.”

  She playfully punched him on the arm. “I’m sure I’ll love your family too.”

  “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  “Do you already have your plane ticket?” Noelle asked.

  “Yes, but I can call my dad to rearrange for an extra ticket.”

  “Wow. That’s quite a sacrifice on your part, deigning to call your dad just for me.”

  He caught her mischievous gleam. “You like to give me a hard time about everything, don’t you?”

  “I can’t help it. You’re fun to tease.” Noelle’s eyes were once again alight with that sparkle.

  “I’m glad you think so,” he said drily.

  “Seriously, I’ll be glad to reimburse him for the ticket.”

  “Don’t worry about it. He’s definitely not hurting for money. Let me know if you can get the time off work.”

  “I will.” An impish grin stole across her features. “And thanks for making me your sacrificial lamb.” He felt his mouth pulling up at the edges. This was one woman who could keep him on his toes.

  “You and Noelle looked really domestic tonight,” David taunted as they were entering their apartment.

  “Yeah, man, washing the dishes. Wow. She’s gonna have you trained in no time.” Austin mimicked pulling a dog on a leash. He raised his voice an octave. “Here, boy. Go fetch the newspaper. Take the trash out. Feed the dog.”

  Trying to hide his growing irritation, Pierce calmly stated, “Last time I looked, nobody else offered to help her. You guys were too busy yakking your heads off to care.”

  “Oh, we noticed all right, how you and Noelle have been spending time together since the breakup.” Garret slapped Pierce on the back. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think that you just don’t want to take the chance that someone else might claim her first.”

  “I’m not interested in Noelle or anybody else, for that matter.”

  “Hmm. That’s funny because I’ve seen how you look at her.”

  Pierce looked at him, alarmed. “What do you mean?”

  “The looks you were giving her were a little gooey, buddy.” Garret watched him closely. “You sure you don’t want to claim Noelle for herself? Because I might want to go after her.”

  “What is she, some kind of possession? Leave her alone,” he shot back, narrowing his eyes. “She isn’t ready for a relationship yet. She’s still getting over Chase.”

  Garret smirked. “Upset you, did I?”

  Pierce decided to return the favor. “What about you and Kasey? I know y
ou’ve got a thing for her. But I’m not joking when I say that she’s one female you don’t want to tangle with.”

  Garret’s grin slid off his face. “What’d she do to you, anyway?”

  “You really want to know?”

  “Of course I do. She seems nice enough.”

  Pierce was silent. Now was the time to level with his roommate, but he hated to tell him. Finally, he said, “I decided to take her on a real date. You know, dinner and a movie instead of the hikes and climbing stuff I like to do.”

  “You mean a boring date. Chick flick and all that.”

  “Yeah. Because I knew that she wasn’t the type of girl who would be impressed with the action or the scenery.”

  “She probably wanted action of a different kind.”

  Pierce nodded, surprised by Garret’s insight. “She wasn’t interested in the movie at all. She was always trying to massage my neck or lean her head in close to mine and whisper stuff in my ear.”

  “Technically, there’s nothing wrong with that.”

  Maybe not, but to Pierce, it had felt kind of creepy. It wasn’t like he’d never kissed a girl, but he didn’t appreciate being hit on so heavily during a first date, either. “No, but toward the end of our date, when I was dropping her off, she suggested that I come inside. There were no lights on that I could tell. I got this really weird feeling. I asked her if her roommates were home and she got this sly look on her face and said that we had the place all to ourselves.”

  Garret’s face turned white as his jaw went slack. “Really, man?”

  Pierce felt badly for his friend. “Sorry, Garret. I just thought you should know.”

  Garret seemed to consider his words carefully. “Kasey puts on a good show, like she’s beautiful and honest and caring on the outside. But lately I’ve been wondering if she plays people like a chess player plays his pawns.”

  “Most people think I’m the player. But I’ve always been up-front with everybody about where I stand.”

  “Even with Noelle?” Garrett asked. “Does she know where you stand?”