Chapter 103
891 Words
Three weeks later
King kissed Callie goodbye on the cheek and watched her head off through the Heart Center. He turned to Noah.
“OK, man. Have a good day. Remember that Sarah and Jax can’t pick you guys up today, so Garrett will be here at three o’clock.”
“Yeah. King?”
“What’s up?”
“You understand women?”
King paused. “Well, Noah, I’ve been on this planet for almost thirty-five years, and just about the last thing I’d say that I understand is women.”
“Oh.” Noah turned to go.
“Wait, hold up. I was trying to be funny."
“Yes?”
“Yeah.”
“You weren’t.”
“Sorry.”
“So you understand women?”
“A bit. What do you want to know?”
Noah looked at Callie’s retreating back. “How can I be a boyfriend?”
King c****d his head, intrigued at the turn this conversation had just taken. “You like a woman, Noah?”
“Yes. But I won’t tell you who.”
“OK. Keep that to yourself for now.”
“OK.”
“And you want her for a girlfriend?”
“Yes.”
King stared at Noah for a few seconds, trying to think how to handle this situation. “Sit down, man.”
They sat, Noah gazing at King steadily.
“OK.” King cleared his throat. “You sure you like her?”
“Yes.”
“And what do you…ummm…” King hesitated. “What would you like to do with her?”
Noah blinked. “Be her boyfriend.”
“Oh, right. Uh. So you want to – to kiss her?” It was surreal talking about his niece like this, but dammit, King was going to take one for the team. “Touch her?”
“No.”
“…No?”
“No.” Noah was very adamant on this point, King saw.
“So what do you want to do with her, then?”
“Be her boyfriend.”
“I think you need to tell me what that means to you, Noah.”
“Stand next to her. Talk to her.” Noah thought for a few seconds. “Tell her she’s pretty.”
King had the sudden and overwhelming urge to hug Noah. “Is that what having a girlfriend is all about?”
“Yes. Sarah and Jax do all that.”
“Yeah, they do, don’t they?”
“They’re happy. They laugh.”
“You want a woman to make you happy?”
“No.”
“No?”
“No. I want to make her happy.”
King felt a lump in his throat as he stared at Noah’s earnest face. God, his words were echoing King’s most secret thoughts about Naomi, and he was stunned at the simplicity and the beauty of what Noah wanted to give Callie. He wanted to stand close to her, and talk to her, and say nice things, and give her happiness. Just happiness. Such small things; such huge f*****g things.
I think Noah’s got this all figured out. Hell, I may even learn a thing or two here.
“OK, well.” King thought for a few seconds. “Do you talk to her?”
“No.”
Yeah, that’s true. They sneak little glimpses at each other in the back seat and never say a damn word. Not one word in almost a month.
“How come?”
Noah shrugged.
“You’re scared to talk to her?”
“A bit.”
“Completely normal.”
“Normal?”
“I promise you it is. When you really like a woman, it makes you nervous to be around her.”
“Not helpful. Makes it harder to be a boyfriend.”
“I totally agree,” King said. “That’s why you have to be brave, and you have to be honest with her about how you feel.”
“Tell her?”
“Yes. You tell her that you like her.”
“Then?”
“Then I don’t know.” This was the part that also had King stumped about Naomi. “Sometimes she likes you back and you can be happy together. But sometimes, she likes someone else. Or she doesn’t want a boyfriend. Then, it can be hard.”
“Because you can’t be happy with her?”
Damn, Noah really gets this, huh?
“Exactly. Because you can’t be happy with her.”
The two men gazed at each other.
“If I don’t tell her, I can’t know,” Noah said slowly. “But if I tell her, maybe I’m sad.”
“Yep. That’s the eternal conundrum.”
Noah looked puzzled.
“I mean, that’s the risk you have to decide if you want to take,” King said. “You need to decide if you like her enough to maybe be sad when she says no.”
“And maybe happy when she says yes.”
“Right.” King smiled. “She might say yes.”
“If I’m honest, maybe she’ll say yes.”
"Yep. Maybe."
Come on, man. She might say yes if you’re honest. The answer may be yes.
Am I talking to Noah or to myself?
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