When August Ends
Sure. That’s all she’s offering.
Noah barely looked over at her as he continued to paint. “Thanks.”
I was happy that he seemed noncommittal and uninterested about the whole thing. But the summer was long, and like my mother said…if a woman throws herself at a man enough, he’ll eventually give in. It wasn’t like there were a ton of options around here.
The mere thought of them together made my stomach sick.
She nodded once. “Good seeing you, Heather.”
“You, too.”
After she was out of earshot, I said, “She’s making a play for you with that dinner invitation.”
Noah continued painting and didn’t look at me. “You don’t say…”
“She’s trouble. You don’t want to get involved with her.”
“How is it any of your business?”
“It’s not. But consider it a friendly warning. I know her. She’s with a different guy every week. She’s only out for one thing.”
He stopped for a moment, looked down, and smirked. “Perfect, then.”
A rush of adrenaline coursed through my veins. “You don’t mean that.”
Waving the roller at me, he said, “Is that why you came over here pretending to care about my thirst? Because you saw her talking to me?”
“No,” I lied.
“Come on, Heather. I’ve been out here all day. If you were concerned about my hydration, you would’ve come a lot sooner. You came out here to stick your nose where it doesn’t belong.”
“I’m just looking out for you.”
“Why? You don’t even know me.”
I attempted to answer. “Because…”
I had no good reason to give. There was no way I could admit the truth—that I was jealous because she might have a chance with him because she was older and less emotionally high maintenance than me.
“I’d better go. I’m…I’m late for work.”
I’d started to walk away when he called out from behind me.
“Thought you said you didn’t have to work for another hour.”
I turned around and glared at him.
He shook his head, laughing.
He’s laughing at me.
Again.
Great. It seemed Noah was either scolding me or laughing at me. There was no middle ground.
The only way to handle this and keep my pride in check was to continue walking away, which was exactly what I did.
***
Jack Foley’s Pub is known for its burgers, local beer selections, and pool tables. While not the fanciest of places, it’s a popular joint around the lake. Especially in the summer, Jack Foley’s is a happening place any night of the week.
Despite its brisk pace, my shift this evening had been uneventful until about 9PM when I looked toward the corner of the room and spotted him.
What’s Noah doing here?
Looking all broody and mad, he stared right at me. Still ticked off that he’d called me out on my behavior earlier, I refused to acknowledge him.
No way was I going to serve him.
“Can you handle table nine in the corner?” I asked my friend and co-waitress Marlene.
“Why?”
“That guy is my tenant, and I don’t want to talk to him right now.”
She turned around to look at him. “Jesus.”
“I know.”
“Why the heck are you avoiding him?”
“I made a fool of myself earlier. It’s a long story.”
“He’s hot as hell, Heather.” She bit her lip. “I’d be glad to service him.”
“I asked if you would serve him, not service him.”
I watched as she waltzed over to Noah and said a few words, only to return a minute later.
“He asked if you could take his order.”
Shit.
When I glanced over, he was looking straight at me.
With a sigh, I walked over and made sure to match his cold demeanor. “What can I get you?”
“Shouldn’t you be a little more cordial to your customers?”
“Not when I know the customer is here to chastise me.”
His expression softened. “I’m not here to chastise you.”
“No? Then why did you come here of all places? You know this is where I work.”
“I came here intentionally, yes…but not to make trouble. I came to apologize.”
I inhaled and calmed down a bit. “Really…”
“Yes. I was hard on you earlier. You were looking out for me. I snapped at you for no good reason. I’m sorry. I can be an insensitive asshole sometimes. It’s who I am. I don’t hide it very well.”
“Well, I’m glad you see that. Not that you’re an asshole—which, yes, you can be sometimes—but that I was only trying to look out for you.”
We stared at each other in silence before he spoke.
“Look, not that I owe you an explanation, but I didn’t come to Lake Winnipesaukee to fuck around with women or complicate my life. I came to get away from stuff like that. So you don’t need to worry about me and what’s her name. I don’t even remember what her name was, to be fair. All I want is to be left alone—some peace. That’s the truth.”
“I seriously feel like you think I’m this crazy buttinski.”
“A what?”
“Buttinski. You’ve never heard that term?”
“No. Is that a New Hampshire thing?”
“No.” I laughed. “It means someone who meddles in other people’s business.”
“Oh. Well, then, you’re definitely that.”
He smiled. I felt goosebumps all over my body. This guy had the strangest effect on me. One minute I was dreading talking to him, and the next all I wanted to do was get lost in his big brown eyes.
I cleared my throat and grabbed the pad of paper out of my apron. “What can I get you?”
“I’ll take whatever you recommend. I didn’t even look at the menu. I just came to say sorry, actually. But since I’m here, I might as well eat.”
“I’ll hook you up.”
He cocked a brow. “Should I be concerned?”
“No. I’m not gonna spike your food or anything, although maybe I should after the way you spoke to me today.” I winked so he didn’t think I was still hung up on that whole thing.
I ended up asking the chef to make Noah one of his specialty burgers with mushrooms, Swiss, and fried onions.
I handed Noah the plate with a heaping portion of garlic parmesan fries and watched as he devoured his meal. It gave me a strange pleasure to be feeding him, which was not something I could say I’d ever felt before. Look at the way he’s inhaling that food. Poor guy must have been starving after slaving away all day.
I imagined what other things he might do with such vigor. I shook my head and forced myself back to work.
Later, when he tried to give me his credit card, I held up my hand. “It’s on me.”
“I can’t let you do that.”
“Seriously…it’s on the house. Told the chef you were a friend. He insists.”
I paid for his meal with my own money. It was the least I could do after everything he was doing around the property.
“Well, thank you. It was really good.” He put his card back in his wallet before throwing down a twenty, which defeated the purpose of my treating him.
“You okay getting home later?” he asked.
“Yeah. I have my car.”
“That clunker I see parked in front of your house?”
“Yeah. It runs well enough, at least to get me here and back.”
“Well, be careful driving home.” He stood. “I’ll see you around.”
He wasn’t even gone yet, and immediately my brain began plotting my next opportunity to see him. Without knowing exactly what I was going to say, I called after him.
“Noah…”
He turned. “Yeah?”
What now?
I had nothing to say. I just didn’t want him to leave.
After a pause, I fabricated a story.
“My mother wants to meet you…to thank you for your help with the house painting. She asked me to invite you over for dinner this week—on Thursday, my night off. I’ll do the cooking, of course, because she isn’t capable of making more than a sandwich lately. I told her you would probably say no, but I promised her I’d ask.”
Noah chewed his bottom lip and seemed hesitant. He finally shrugged. “Okay.”
“Really? You’ll come?”
“It’s just dinner, right? Why not? Thank you for the offer.”
I smiled wide. “Great. Say seven?”
“Yeah. Okay.” He nodded. “Goodnight.”
“’Night.” I watched as he walked away and disappeared out the door.
I was still in a haze when Marlene crept up behind me.
“Spill. Are you fucking that guy or something?”
I shook my head, eyes still on the door. “No.”
“Then why are you grinning like a fool right now?”
“I am?”
“Yes. So why aren’t you fucking him?”
“Because he won’t go near me with a ten-foot pole for starters. He treats me like a kid.” I sighed. “God, he’s…I don’t know…different. I can’t figure him out… Well, except for the fact that he doesn’t seem interested. That part is pretty clear to me.”