Page 22 of Torn Mate
Noah
I couldn’t believeAda had given me a tiny toy Jeep that I could see had been painted black, and a keychain that you could tell she made to look like me. It was a gray wolf with a pink ball glued to its mouth. It was supposed to be me, and I was still holding it in my pocket. I was going to show Pa when I got in there. He had told me how to pick up a lady and take her to a restaurant and, so far, Ada liked it. I was doing a good job of showing her I would make a good mate. Opening the doors and holding my elbow out for her to take was my favorite because she touched me.
“Happy Birthday!” Grandpa was the first to see us as we made our way over to the table. He stood up with arms open wide for a hug. Ada let go of my arm so I could hug him, but I didn’t like that. I wanted her to keep touching me.
“Thanks, Grandpa.” I patted him on the back as he brought me in closer and whispered in my ear.
“She’s a real pretty one, boy. I can see why ye’ so smitten with her.” I felt my cheeks heat. I hoped she didn’t hear that, but when I turned back I saw Mom had stood and was hugging Ada. I felt really good about this, and as she talked to Mom about her parents, I moved over to Grandma. She stayed seated but handed me a card, patted my hand, and told me to spend it wisely. I kissed her hair.
Dad and Elijah pointed to two empty seats between them. I called over to Ada. When she came over, I pulled the seat out for her and she smiled, tucking her hands at the back of her dress, and sat down. I moved it in for her before I took my seat. I looked over to Pa. He had a twinkle in his eye—or was that a tear? He could get very emotional over things, but when he nodded, I knew I was doing good. I turned to Dad and he winked at me.
“Ada, I don’t think we have officially met. I’m Elijah.” My brother held his hand out to her and she shook it.
“Nice to meet you.”
I could smell she was a little uneasy being here, but one day I knew she would be good. My family all liked her and she didn’t have to even speak one word to them. I had told them just how amazing she was, and they already knew from everything she had done for us as a pack. They loved her already, she didn’t need to be nervous around them.
The main meal had arrived,and Elijah wouldn’t stop talking to Ada. It was making my wolf a little irritated. Okay… like a lot irritated. Even Big Papa told him to leave her alone to eat her meal. He could see I was getting upset by Elijah giving her a hundred questions to answer, then telling her jokes that she would laugh at. I knew I shouldn’t, but I didn’t like the way he was making her laugh. I wanted to do that. Plus, he was older than me. Older than her.
She had such a big thing on age, but just on me being younger. He was perfect for her, and I could smell how happy she was to talk to him. My wolf didn’t like it. It felt like he wanted her, like he would take her from me before I even stood a chance.
“So, Ada, do you like gaming?” Elijah asked. I rolled my eyes. He wouldn’t let up. She laughed and turned to me. I smiled at her beaming face. As soon as she turned back to Elijah, I glared at him and mouthed, “Fucking stop.” He just raised his brows like he had no idea what I was talking about. My wolf was getting riled up by him. But when I felt a small hand on my forearm, my wolf calmed instantly. It wanted to claim her right there and then.
Ada was touching me in front of my family. I looked to Pa and he was nodding at me. This was good. Very good. She did this in the Jeep earlier, but now she was doing it in front of everyone who mattered in my life.
“I haven’t really gamed before. I was hoping Noah would teach me?” She turned to me, those big brown eyes looking up at me. Her beaming grin almost had me in a puddle on the floor. Dad grabbed my shoulder and shook me a little. I realized I hadn’t answered her.
“He’s really good, he practices everyday with Luca,” she added. All my parents and Elijah laughed at that. I laughed too and shook my head, surprised. Wow, she must listen to everything I talked about at lunch. She picked up on and remembered that?
“Yes, I would love to teach you, Ada.” My chest felt all light and happy. Like I was on a cloud floating with an angel in front of me, but she was holding onto me so I didn’t float away.
Elijah caught my eye from behind Ada. I wanted to punch him but he surprised me when he just winked and nodded. Maybe he wasn’t trying to hit on Ada, he was just making sure she was perfect.
But I already knew that.
When dessert came, Ada had completely eased into my family like she always belonged. Grandpa and Grandma insisted that she called them that, and she did, talking to Grandma about how she tried to knit a scarf and it looked like a mouse had eaten at it. Grandma insisted that Ada come over and they would knit together, that she would show her how to knit a scarf and baby booties.
Baby booties?Please don’t scare her away, Grandma.But Ada agreed that she would love that. She just fit like she was the missing piece and it was Ada sized, which was small because she was so tiny.
Ada spoke to everyone; she was so smart, much smarter than me. I wasn’t anywhere as good as she was with school. She spoke to Papa about accounting—her dad was an accountant and she would normally help him out. That was a confusing conversation because I had no idea what they were saying, but she knew enough of it that it impressed him.
Big Papa told her he was a builder. He built houses, but he loved to build furniture. She told him about a jewelry box she made for her mom and how hard it was. But she liked the dovetail joints, so it was worth all the pain in the end. Even I dropped my mouth open at that. He had shown me once and I left in tears. I didn’t have the skills for furniture making.
At the end of the night, I didn’t want it to end. It had been so perfect. I could feel everyone’s reluctance to leave. Ada had charmed them all by just being herself.
“Goodbye, my love. Get this big guy to drop you ’round one day and we will knit all day and talk about how cute he was when he was a little baby.” Grandma pulled away from hugging Ada and reached her arm up to my face. I rolled my eyes playfully at her before lowering my face so she could pinch my cheek as if I was two. She shook her head and pursed her lips.
“Happy birthday, my big baby grandson. I love you, and this girl is a keeper.” She kissed my cheek and I didn’t know what to say. Ada didn’t say anything, she chose to ignore that. Or maybe she didn’t hear her from everyone else saying goodbye.
Either way, this night had to end and I didn’t want it to. I had never had a better birthday. It was bizarre without Callum, but him not being here made it more enjoyable, I think.
The driveback to her house was a little tense, I could feel it. I didn’t know if what Grandma said upset her. I said it was a birthday dinner and not a date, but Ada was unusually quiet. Maybe she was all talked out and tired?
I tapped on the steering wheel and bit my lip. Do I ask her if she was okay? Should I ask her to prom even though I promised I would let Huxley take her? I needed to speak to him, let him know my interest in Ada. He was a good guy, and I would be happy to be his packmate. It would be weird at first, but I think if anyone could do it, it would be us. He wasn’t as hot-headed as someone like Saint.
When I stopped outside her house it was dark. The only thing on was her porch light and her living room light. The curtains were closed but it must be where her parents were waiting for her.
I jumped out and made my way to her door. I took her hand and helped her down but I noticed she didn’t let go. She curled her fingers around mine and held on. I nervously held on like it was a lifeline and walked her to her front door. She turned to me and I could smell her emotions. They were like mine, a rollercoaster of feelings.
“I had a really great night, Noah. Your family is amazing.” I smiled down at her and agreed.
“I had the best birthday ever, thank you for coming tonight. My family thinks you’re amazing… I think you’re more than amazing. You are smart and funny, sweet and kind. I like how your eyes light up when you laugh, and your nose scrunches when someone says something cheesy and you’re trying to hide your smile… I like… I…”
There was something unspoken that settled between us. My heart was racing. All I could think about was how badly I wanted to hold her in my arms and tell her how much I liked her.
Her breathing got deeper, her pupils large as her eyes flicked from my lips to my eyes, then back to my lips. My heart started pounding in my chest. I didn’t want to mess this up. I had never kissed a girl before. I didn’t think it would actually happen tonight and I didn’t know what to do. She cleared her throat.
“Noah, you are amazing, cute, and funny. You make me laugh… You are sweet and big. I love how tall you are next to me, I feel safe when you’re around.” I could feel her words through my body like a current, all the way to my toes and the tips of my hair. She pulled on my hand and my body arched towards hers, my face lowering so I could be close to hers… She placed her small hand on my cheek and looked deep into my eyes, the corner of her lip coming up in a half smile as she moved in… Her thumb ran over my scruffy facial hair I didn’t shave that morning. I closed my eyes and…
She kissed my cheek.
