Come Back to Me

Chapter 5 Present Day

"Did you forget your key again?" I laughed, opening the door for Beth.

She had left before the sun had even come up to go open her store, a cute, slightly off-kilter café and bakery she owned in town. She promised she'd only be gone a few hours and would be back by lunch – which had come and gone. She just needed to go in and check on a few things and make sure the payroll was all set for her staff. I had told her that she could take all the time she needed and not to rush as long as she brought home some of the amazing butter croissants she sold.

She had called a little while ago, saying she was on her way and with a surprise.

"Hey, beautiful. Peace offering?"

Noah stood on the front porch holding up a brown paper bag filled with what I could only assume was food of some type. Despite the icy weather and biting wind, he was without a coat, his shoulders hunched against the cold, and his hair windblown. The black sweater was doing nothing to shield him from the weather, and I received a small amount of glee, knowing that the longer I stood there not answering him, the colder he got. His smile widened as his eyes traveled over my UMaine sweatshirt, black yoga pants, and fuzzy pink and white polka dot slippers.

"Are you still so pissed at me you're going to let me freeze to death?"

I chose not to answer.

"At least take the food so it doesn't get cold."

Grabbing the bag from him, I peered inside to inspect the contents. Damn him. He had brought me Chinese food, and I'd bet he had ordered it from our old favorite place in town.

"It's your favorite. House fried rice."

Grudgingly, I opened the door wider. "Fine. Come in."

He lunged inside, probably afraid I'd change my mind before he got through the door. Over his shoulder, I spotted his black SUV in my driveway. Not just any SUV but a Porsche Cayenne. It looked brand new.

So, he was still rich.

I shut the door with a little more force than intended and stomped to the kitchen. His car was irritating and pretentious and he probably paid for it with his parents' money.

Noah muttered something as he followed behind me, smoothing his hair back down into place. I didn't bother holding open the kitchen swinging door, and he caught it just in time before it smacked him in the face.

Reaching for a plate out of the cabinet, he came up behind me and grabbed two from the stack before I could. "What are you doing?"

He gestured toward the bag of food. "I was thinking about eating if that's okay with you." He didn't wait for my answer as he began taking out the little white boxes of food and lining them up on the counter. I watched him for a bit, liking how he still kept his hair long on top and cut close on the sides. It was falling across his forehead as he arranged the food. He used to love it when I ran my fingers through his hair, deciding to let it grow over the summer we were together. As he pushed up his shirt sleeves and swiped his hair out of the way, I noticed a black Breitling watch on his wrist.

"Why are you here?"

Raising an eyebrow, he gestured to the food. "Dinner. We covered this already."

I shook my head. "You and Riley hadn't been friends for a long time."

He seemed saddened by my comment. "We grew up together, Reggie. That means something."

"Yeah, but the way it ended," I trailed off, not needing to explain it further to him.

He gave me a sad smile, setting down one of the containers and bringing his thumb to his lips. As he sucked the sweet and sour sauce from it, he looked at me, stopping with the pad of his thumb still pressed to his mouth. When his tongue flicked over his skin, I looked away.