by Morgan Utley
Peyton walked onto the trail and followed it back to her most favorite spot in the whole entire world.
Chapter 15
She sat on the edge of the pier and closed her eyes, taking in all the sounds around her. She heard the sound of the water trickling below her feet and moving downstream. She heard a frog nearby croaking and then hopping farther away from Peyton. She heard crickets, the wind rustling through the trees, and the birds chirping all around her, warning the others that there was a human around. They were all sounds that Peyton welcomed and loved to listen to. This was a special place to Peyton that brought peace to her mind, helped clear her thoughts, and where she often went to pray.
She laid down and looked up at the sky, watching the clouds roll by. Off in the distance, she could see that a weather system was coming in, and it looked like there was going to be some rain. She wasn’t worried though because it wasn’t going to come for a while, so she had time to relax and enjoy the sun.
She started thinking about Noah and wondered what he had told the blonde who had strutted into the office. He had looked completely taken aback and, obviously, didn’t know how to handle the situation. She imagined they were out to lunch, sitting across from each other and talking and laughing just as they had at the grocery store. She imagined the blonde trying to reach across the table and grab his hand, but Peyton didn’t know whether or not he would take it. He probably would, just to be nice or maybe he would because he liked her.
Peyton covered her eyes with her hands in frustration because she had no idea how he was feeling right now. Last week, he had told her that he had wanted to be with her, hugged her, and held hands with her. He was very affectionate and sweet and, what seemed like to Peyton, very honest and transparent. But now, a week later, seeing him interact with this other girl, Peyton didn’t know what he was thinking or if he had changed his mind. The idea of that made Peyton’s heart sink and her stomach queasy.
She didn’t like seeing him with the other girl at the grocery store laughing like they didn’t have a care in the world and having a good time. She hated watching that girl walk up to him and very flirtatiously ask him to lunch and try to reach over and grab his hand. Peyton thought that it was her hand that she got to hold, and the blonde was overstepping boundaries. Evidently, those boundaries were not set by both her and Noah, but just Peyton. She didn’t realize how much she had truly liked Noah, but seeing him with this other girl was slowly making her go crazy.
She then started thinking about all the things she liked about him. She liked the way his hair laid and how it was sort of messy but in a good sort of messy like he had done it on purpose. She liked how polite he was and always wanted to make her comfortable. She liked how patient he was with her family and noticed how well-mannered he was. She was attracted to him on a physical level and could stare at him all day long. His physique was very muscular as if drilling teeth made muscles, but who knew? His eyes always looked like they were lively and alert, like they had enjoyed a good few laughs in his lifetime. And then there was his smile. His crooked smile, which took her breath away every time. It was as if nothing in the world was more perfect than his smile. When he smiled, his eyes would almost twinkle, and the world seemed to glow brighter. Nevertheless, no matter how perfect Noah seemed, he had disappointed her, and she really wished that he hadn’t.
She stood back up and walked off the pier. She went to the water's edge and picked up some rocks to throw into the water. She tried to find some rocks with smooth surfaces to skip into the water, but she had no luck. They would just drop to the bottom of the river. She would try over and over again but failed to get a single rock to skip. With frustration, she threw the last rock she had overhand and walked away from the river.
“You’ve got quite an arm on you,” said a male voice from a few feet away.
Peyton jumped and looked up and saw Noah walking toward her from the forest trail.
“Holy crap, Noah! I just about jumped out of my skin!” Peyton cried and put her hand on her heart as if she were trying to slow it down. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to your house looking for you, but your mom answered the door and told me where you were,” Noah said to her.
“That doesn’t answer my question. What are you doing here?” Peyton repeated.
“I wanted to talk to you. I’ve missed you, and I feel like you haven’t wanted to talk to me. Did I do something wrong?” Noah asked.
“Noah, truthfully, I don’t want to talk about this right now,” she admitted. “I…” she trailed off when Noah came within a couple of feet of her and stopped.
“Please talk to me.”
“I can’t believe you’re even asking me. I’m so sick of these mind games!” Peyton shook her head and closed her eyes.
“What mind games? What are you talking about? Please tell me!” Noah begged.
“The blonde, Noah!” she cried. “The blonde who was all over you today at the office asking you to go out to lunch with her. And then at the grocery store where she was all over you, and you were giggling and flirting and walking arm in arm.”
“Wait, what?” Noah asked with a look of confusion.
“Oh, please, you know who I’m talking about!” She waved him off.
Then she saw his eyes widen and his cheeks flush. It was as if a light bulb had gone off in his brain. But instead of looking embarrassed, he started smiling and shaking his head.
“Uh, Peyton,” he whispered and took a step toward her.
Peyton’s face started to burn up. She was getting more upset as the seconds ticked by, and she stood with her arms crossed, fighting back tears and waiting for him to explain himself.
“Peyton, that wasn’t what you thought,” he stated.
“I beg to differ,” she gritted through her teeth, determined not to let any tears escape her eyes.
“That blonde, as you referred to her as, was someone I used to date in high school. It didn’t last very long because I’m sure you can tell she’s a bit out there, and I am not,” he replied.
She shrugged her shoulders, “How was I supposed to know you weren’t interested in very flirtatious supermodels?”
Noah chuckled and took another step forward so that they were only inches apart now.
“My cousin Sarah is best friends with that very flirtatious supermodel, whose name is Brittany, by the way,” informed Noah.
“Brittany, the bubbly blonde. It just keeps getting better,” Peyton muttered.
Noah laughed louder this time and wiped his hand over his face. “Brittany came home during her school break and has been hanging around my cousin a lot, which seems to translate to tracking me down and wanting to be with me. When you saw us at the grocery store I’m assuming, she had just ambushed me and started hanging on me as if I were monkey bars or something. I was laughing out of pure terror.”
This time Peyton laughed and put her head down, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.
“And then, well, you saw what mostly happened at the office today. What you missed was me saying no and that I wasn’t interested in going to lunch with her. When she asked why not, I told her that it was because I was hoping to go with someone else. But, by the time I finally got her to leave, you had already left. So, I told my uncle I was leaving for my lunch break, and now, here I am,” he explained and smiled his crooked smile, and Peyton could feel her spirits lifting.
“So, you’re not interested in Brittany the bubbly blonde after all?” Peyton clarified and uncrossed her arms to put them behind her back.
“No,” Noah shook his head and chuckled, “I most certainly am not. I like brunettes.” Noah moved in and wrapped his arms around Peyton, and she looked up at him. His eyes were staring intently into hers, and they were locked into each other's gazes. Before she knew it, Noah was bending his head down to her face, placed his hand on her cheek, and gently touched his lips to hers. They were kissing. She hadn’t been kissed in a long time, and she felt like th
ere was electricity running through her veins. It was the perfect setting—the sound of the river in the background, the birds singing, and the sun shining on them. She felt like she was in a fairytale, and she wanted to stay in it forever.
He pulled away after a few seconds and leaned his forehead against hers. Peyton’s breath was taken away, and she tried to steady her breathing. She couldn’t believe what had just happened. She hadn’t been kissed in over a year and wondered if this was all a dream. She knew it wasn’t because her dreams were never this good.
“Do you believe me now?” he whispered.
Peyton chuckled and nodded her head, “Yeah. Yeah, I do.”
He stood up straight but still kept his arms wound tightly around her. “Did you cancel our date because you thought I was going out with Brittany behind your back?” he smirked and waited for her to answer his question.
“Yes,” she answered sheepishly and looked down at the ground.
“Oh, Peyton,” he pulled her in for a hug. “I would never do that to you. I think you’ve been through enough. All I want to do is make you happy. Not cause you any more pain. And believe me when I say that I really like you and would like to take you out. Tonight, if you’ll let me.”
“Okay,” she smiled and looked at him, so he could see that she was happy, “Let’s do it.”
“Great! Where do you want to go?” Noah asked.
“Not the new restaurant,” Peyton quipped and he tipped his head back and laughed out loud.
“Deal. I think I know a place you might like,” he decided.
“I trust you. Plus, I’m not very picky. I just love food,” Peyton admitted.
“Me too.” Noah looked at her so intently that it felt like he was staring straight into her soul. As if he were memorizing her face so that he would never forget it. He gave a little smile, barely turning up the corners of his mouth, but it wasn’t a forced one. It felt tender and sweet. He reached his hand up to brush her hair out of her face, and Peyton shyly smiled back.
“I think I should head back. I’ve been out here a while, and my mom is probably wondering where I am. Especially now that she knows you're out here,” Peyton said thinking about it. She imagined that her mom was wandering around the house doing meaningless chores like straightening up the bookshelf or wiping down the counter for the third time and repeatedly looking out the back window to see if they were coming back or not. Then she would turn around in a huff, muttering under her breath and asking herself if they were ever going to come back.
Peyton smiled to herself, realizing that’s probably exactly what she was doing, and unwrapped her arms from around Noah’s waist. Even if Noah looked a little bummed, he didn’t let her go completely because then he took her hand and kissed it before they walked back to the house together.
Once they reached the front of the house, Noah hesitated at the front porch steps.
“I would love to come in, but I need to get back to the office.” He pulled out his phone to look at the time, “Yeah, I really need to get going. I’m sorry. I wish I had more time.”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s all good,” Peyton hummed. He grabbed her other hand, so they were standing straight across from each other.
“Are we still on for tonight? I’m not going to get a text saying you're busy again?” he chortled and eyed her in a flirtatious manner.
“Nope. I’d say so far so good,” she teased. “I’ll let you know though.”
Noah laughed and shook his head, “You think you're so funny.”
“I don’t think,” she paused for effect, “I know.” They both laughed, and he pulled her in for another kiss. This time he wasn’t as gentle but was more persistent in an affectionate sort of way. He held her tightly and placed his hand on the back of her head. Peyton couldn’t believe that this was happening to her. Her heart felt as if it was beating out of her chest, and she could almost feel herself becoming lightheaded.
“Now I really don’t want to go,” he whispered.
Peyton giggled. “You’ll see me tonight,” she encouraged.
“At least there’s that,” he admitted. “Is six okay? I get off at five, so that should give me enough time to run to my apartment, shower, and then come pick you up.”
“Yeah, six works great,” she confirmed.
“Great. Well, I will see you later tonight then,” he restated. He kissed her on the cheek and walked to his car. He waved before climbing in and driving away.
Peyton waved as he drove down the driveway and didn’t start walking inside until she saw the car disappear.
Chapter 16
Peyton was welcomed into the house with screaming from her mother.
“Peyton!” she squealed as she ran over and hugged her tightly. “Peyton! I can’t believe what I just saw! I can’t believe he just kissed you! Like actually kissed you. Oh, I never thought I could be so happy, honey. Are you happy? What happened? What did he say? What about the blonde? You have to tell me everything!”
“Mom! You were spying on us?” Peyton said, feeling completely embarrassed.
“It wasn’t just me! Your dad was too,” she informed her.
“What?” Peyton screeched. “Dad?” She spun around and saw her dad sitting in his chair, flipping through channels again and trying to act nonchalant.
“Honey, we were both curious to see whether or not he would come back to his car hand in hand with you or with an imprint of your hand on his face,” her dad admitted. “Thank heaven it wasn’t the latter. But I did see him on your face. I don’t know if I liked that much better.”
“Daddy!” she exclaimed.
“Peyton,” her mom said to turn her daughter’s attention back to her. “What happened? What did he say?”
Peyton sat on the stairs and recounted everything that had happened to her mom. She explained to her about Brittany the bubbly blonde, about the office, and about how he had kissed her, twice.
When Peyton told her mom about the first kiss, she swooned and put her hand on her heart. Then when she realized she had seen the second kiss, she clapped excitedly and smiled so big that it looked like her cheeks were going to start hurting.
“Are you happy?” she asked again.
“Yeah,” beamed Peyton. “Yeah, I am. He’s picking me up at six, and we’re going out to dinner.”
“Please, let me help you get ready. I can help pick out an outfit. You're going to shower, right? You smell like the river,” her mom looked over her and scrunched up her nose in disapproval.
“Yes, Mom, don’t worry. I plan on it,” Peyton rolled her eyes and tried to smell herself without her parents noticing what she was doing.
“Uh, actually before you do that, Sis, do you mind mucking out the stalls for me? They absolutely need to be done, but I’m not going to have enough time today. And then after you're done, will you make sure to put more hay down and check the cows’ water?” her dad asked. “I would really appreciate it. The stupid cows messed with the fence on the back of the property, and I need to go all the way out there and fix it.”
“Yeah, Dad, sure thing. I need something to do anyhow to help the time go by,” decided Peyton.
“Make sure you give yourself enough time to get ready though. I want you to look beautiful tonight,” her mom pestered.
Peyton sighed, “Yes, Mom.” She quickly walked out the back door before her mom could say anything else.
She felt grateful for her dad because working out in the barn did help the time go by. She spent the entire time thinking about Noah. She hadn’t expected him to show up today and kiss her no less. She felt she had gotten herself all worked up over nothing and was truly embarrassed. She had wasted time and energy worrying and being upset over something that she had completely misunderstood. Despite being embarrassed, Noah made her feel like it was okay and that she was human. He made her feel comfortable and safe with him, and she didn’t like when he was away. It was like she noticed this safety net being taken away from her the mome
nt they parted ways. She hadn’t felt so head over heels in a long time. She wondered whether or not she was moving too fast and if it was a good idea. It had been barely a year since Derek had passed, and she didn’t want to rush into anything. However, whenever she was with Noah, she couldn’t help herself. It was easy to be around him and be herself when she wasn’t in her own head.
By the time she was done cleaning out the stalls, she looked at her phone and noticed she had been out there for three hours. She ran back to the house and hurried up the stairs, hoping her mom didn’t notice that she hadn’t showered yet.
“Peyton!” called her noisy mother, “Is that you? Have you still not showered yet? I can smell you all the way from in here!”
“I’m going now, Mom!” Peyton replied and shut her door quickly and jumped in the shower.
When she walked out of the bathroom to grab some clothes, her mom was sitting on her bed waiting for her.
Peyton jumped and grabbed her towel to make sure she was covered up. “Oh geez! Were you sitting there the whole time?” she screeched.
“Most of the time. It’s been a while since I’ve heard you sing in the shower,” her mom pointed out. “You sound good.”
“Gee, thanks,” she stalked over to her dresser and found some old sweats and a baggy shirt to throw on quickly while her mom played dress up. She walked into the bathroom, quickly put on the clothes, and walked back out.
“Alright,” Peyton jumped onto her bed and spread her arms out, “the closet is yours.”
Her mom sprang from the bed and started whirling around Peyton’s room throwing clothes everywhere, encouraging her to try everything on from jeans and a blouse to a skirt and cardigan and then Peyton’s least favorite dress with heels. Her mom made her walk around the room in the heels to practice, but she kept stumbling and tripping over her own feet. She realized she hadn’t worn heels since Derek’s funeral. She sat on the edge of her bed and felt a tear fall from her cheek.