Right Person Too Late

chapter 10

Arsema

"What would I do without you to see me through?"

Song: What Would I Do Without You by Ray Charles

"Nice car. We had one exactly like this back when we lived in Ethiopia. '76 right?" I ask, running my hand over the smooth leather of the dashboard, and looking around the interior of the car. It's a really nice version with most of its original features, the car must be manual with the way Noah has to keep shifting the gears, which are on the floor between the front seats, with no centre console. The seats at the back are bench-like, wide, double seats facing each other taking up the entire space and the doors to get to the back open from the rear, meaning there must be no trunk.

"Yeah, my dad bought it about a year after you left. It was in really bad condition, but he didn't care, said that he wanted to work on it with his children. The thing was none of us wanted to help him. I was too focused on school, Mataeo was always out with his girlfriend and mates, Lucas was too young and couldn't be bothered and Elena was basically a baby. He never got enough time to do it on his own though, with work and all. So, it just sat in the garage out back till I decided to fix it up before I left for uni."

I slap him on the shoulder, and tell him off, "You guys should've helped him, I've always wanted to restore an old car. And I nearly did. I got this beautiful, worn down '60 red Mustang for my 17th, and wanted to fix it up myself. But Baba got his hands on it within hours and sent it to get fixed. It just wasn't the same, you know."

"Yeah, well we were young and stupid. And you're lucky you have a dad who'll do anything for you." He shrugs, fixating his gaze on the road. I feel like there's something he's not telling me, but I don't bring it up, wanting to go into this brunch with both of us on the same side. Within minutes after leaving my apartment we reached Little Hall.

"Do you want to wait here or you wanna come in?" Noah asks, switching off the ignition and reaching to the backseat to get his bag. His right arm flexes as he picks up the bag, straining from the weight.

"Nah I'm alright here, I've got a book downloaded so I'll just read. But don't be too long, yeah? We've probably only got twenty minutes to get there."

"Don't worry, I'll be back soon." He hops out of the car and walks into the building.

Ten minutes later I look up from my phone to see Noah striding out the door of the Hall looking like sweet sin in a pair of loose light brown dress pants and a white untucked shirt, with brown leather dress shoes. He's fixed up his hair, brushed backwards, but there are a few curls that refuse to hold their place, falling in his face. He brought his backpack with him, but it looks considerably lighter now. Despite how good he looks, he looks extremely uncomfortable, and he keeps consciously glancing down at his shoes.

"Dawwmnnn, you look fine as hell! You don't have a girlfriend, right? Cos I might just snap you up for myself." I hoot when he gets in the car, trying to lift his spirits and confidence. It works because a small grin lifts his face as he looks at me.

"Oh, shut it, Arsema Mesfin. Are these shoes okay or should I change them? I've got a pair of air forces in my bag."

Snickering, I checked his shoes and placed my hand on his shoulder in reassurance, "Don't worry you look smexy buddy, the shoes too."

He rolls his eyes at me, eyes bright and twinkling in amusement, those dimples of his popping out, "Okay, do you have the address for this place?"

I pull out my phone and go to my calendar's app to where I'd put the name of the restaurant when Michael told me about the brunch. I thought I'd set it up to give a reminder on the day, but I guess it didn't work or something. "Uh...oh it's not a brunch place, it's The Hotel Windsor near Fitzroy Gardens, I think. Do you have GPS? I'll put it in for you."