Page 16 of Strong Side
Noelle walks over to her and gives her a side hug. “Hey, hey. How’s your man?”
“Dreamy.” Lily closes her eyes and smiles.
“That’s awesome, Lily. So happy for you.”
Noelle forces a smile, but I’m the only one who sees her pained expression. Something is definitely going on, and I’m about to ditch this dinner to find out what it is.
She walks over to me and notices me watching her. “What?”
I place a hand on her shoulder. “You okay?”
“Mmhmm. I’m good. I brought some cookies for dessert. I know you guys have to watch what you eat, but a few won’t hurt, right?” She smiles at me.
“Chocolate chip?” I raise an eyebrow and smirk.
“Your favorite.”
This time, I get a real smile. She reaches over me to grab some shredded cheese from the bowl. When I look down, I see a bruise on her forearm. Clearly fingerprints.
What the fuck?
I reach out and gently take her arm in my hand. “Noelle. Who did this to you?” I look at her face to see her eyes. My stomach tightens, and I feel sick to my stomach.
“Case, it’s fine. I’m fine. I promise. We’ll talk later, okay?” She removes my hand from her arm and pulls the arm of her long-sleeved shirt down to her wrist.
The fact that she is wearing a long-sleeved shirt in this heat didn’t exactly register with me because we keep our house cold and she’s always cold. But I think this time is because of the bruise. It’s still hotter than hell outside.
“Who hurt you?”
Her eyes shift, and she gives me a reassuring smile. “Not here, okay? I promise I’m totally good, and I will tell you the whole story later.”
“Stay after dinner.” My tone is commanding, and I can feel the shift in her energy as she takes in a deep breath.
If I push too hard, Noelle will act like whatever is bothering her, whatever happened, never did. She’ll shut me out becausethat’s what she does to protect herself from dealing with hard situations.
I change my tone. “We can watch a movie, or do you need to get home early tonight?”
She nods. “I think I can hang around for a while.”
“Perfect.” I relax, knowing she’s not going anywhere. “Okay, let’s get everyone in here to eat. I’m starving.” I clap my hands together. “It’s taco time!” I yell.
The sooner I can get this dinner over with, the better. I want some time with my girl.
I feel like I inhaled my dinner tonight. Noelle seemed fine with everyone at dinner, although she didn’t eat much. But that’s not uncommon when something’s on her mind.
Walking into my room after stopping in the bathroom to brush my teeth, I see her lying on my bed, propped against the headboard. Long legs, arms crossed over her chest, and her fingers playing with her full lower lip—a thing she does when she’s overthinking … which she does a lot. She’s been in my bed like this more times than I can count. Like she owns the place—and part of me—and doesn’t even know it. But now that I know Trey is out of the picture, this is like a goddamn fantasy. The amount of control I have right now? I should get a fucking medalfor not physically showing off how my body reacts to the sight of her.
“What’re we watching, pretty girl?” I walk over to the bed and drop onto my back.
Her laugh is light, but there’s also a bit of nervousness to it. “Uh, I don’t really care what we watch, but there’s something I need to talk to you about.”
I knew it. “Okay, yeah. What’s going on? You okay?” I reach over and take her hand. There’s a slight tremble to it, so I run my thumb over the top, trying to calm her.
“Yes.” She shrugs.
“Okay … you gonna tell me?” I smile at her.
She takes a deep breath in. “Before you completely freak out, let me tell you everything first, okay?”
