Sprinkle All The Way (Evergreen Lake: Under the Mistletoe)

Chapter 5

five

VIOLET

I barely got any sleep last night after depositing Noah in his bed. He was asleep the second his head landed on the pillow. I put a glass of water and a garbage can next to his bed to be safe, but planned to check on him today so I wasn’t worried. I couldn’t stop thinking about him and Gingerbreads all night.

Last night was a shock, but a pleasant shock. I expected seeing him for the first time after years would be horrible, ending with me potentially hitting him. Part of me almost did, not wanting to hear about who he was dating, what he was doing, or his excuses for leaving so suddenly and not returning any of my calls or texts. That maybe yelling at him and storming off would make me feel better, but all those thoughts left my brain when I saw him. Finding out he was in the same spot as me was pretty satisfying, misery does love company after all, and I’m willing to build our relationship up again before we dive into what happened.

One thing I’m seriously mad about was the total lack of information provided by my mother and sister. I need to talk to Mom this morning before all the Thanksgiving festivities start. Luckily, I’ve been sitting in the kitchen since seven waiting for her to come down.

After my second cup of coffee she finally emerges, with my dad close behind her. He gives me a kiss on the cheek and heads out to the garage to tinker around with something.

I don’t waste any time confronting her. “How come you didn’t tell me Noah was home?”

Mom freezes with the pot of coffee in her hands, the ‘World’s Best Grandma’ mug shaking slightly. “What do you mean?” She feigns innocence.

“I asked you about Gingerbreads. You didn’t mention him at all,” I remind her. “I saw him last night at The Reindeer Hole.”

She nods, understanding dawning over her. “Right. Iris and I didn’t think you needed to hear about it last night. We wanted to give you a day to be home before bringing your mood down, especially since he just got out of jail. I didn’t think you would run into him so soon. I was going to tell you today.”

“Wait what? He was in jail?” Confusion washes over me, he never mentioned anything like that last night.

“Oh, sweetie, you missed a lot over the last year,” she says, wrapping her arm around me.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I ask.

She sighs. “When he left for college you spent hours crying in my arms before we took you to college. You never got into specifics, but I didn’t want to bring up any reminders of him on your first night back. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”

I want to yell at her so badly, but she’s looking at me with such caring eyes that I can’t blame her for trying to protect me. “It’s been years, Mom. I’m fine. Plus we were just friends. He left, and that’s the end of it.”

“Are you sure it was only a friendship?” she pushes.

“Yes, Mom,” I lie, rolling my eyes at her. Now I’m annoyed. If she had told me, I could’ve been more prepared to see him last night. The fact that he didn’t tell me this either is evident that our relationship needs repairing. We never kept anything from each other. Well, I might’ve kept my feelings about him a secret—or so I thought. It seems like I might’ve been more obvious about that.

“Whatever you say. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.” She kisses the top of my head before letting me go.

“It’s okay,” I tell her, sipping the last of my coffee. “Did you know Noah came over a lot during high school?” I ask her the question I’ve been curious about for years before I can chicken out.

Mom laughs. “Yeah, we knew. You two didn’t laugh low, and him climbing through your window was never quiet.”

“Great, that’s not mortifying at all,” I whine, my face heating thinking about how I thought I was so sneaky. “Do you have any muffins? I need to run an errand.”

Mom tries to hide her smile, pulling a muffin out from the pantry. “Sure do, but be back in time to help cook. Iris is coming over around ten.”

“I will, this shouldn’t take me long,” I tell her, grabbing the muffin and filling a travel mug of coffee. “Love you,” I shout, putting on my coat and boots before slipping out the front door. Now it’s time to go get some answers from Noah. And maybe find some solutions to fixing both our problems too.

Standing at the foot of Noah’s bed I pause before attempting to wake him. He didn’t hear me come in, call his name, or enter his room so what’s two more minutes of me silently standing here taking in the sight before me .

His head is completely buried under his pillows, and the sheets are all over the place. Almost like he was tossing and turning all night. He’s uncovered from the waist up and I realize he must’ve gotten rid of his clothes sometime during the night. His back is bare as my eyes roam over the muscles all the way down his spine to a pair of dimples I’ve only seen a few times. I can’t tell if he’s wearing any underwear, but my desperate desire to find out if he’s completely naked consumes me. The image of a naked Noah sends shivers down my spine and between my legs, and I shouldn’t be thinking about this while he’s lying there.

Taking one last look at the tattooed biceps disappearing under the pillows I lean back and do my best to kick the foot hanging off the bed. I have to hop and almost lose my balance. Thankfully I left the coffee on the kitchen counter.

He doesn’t move at all, and I’m not surprised. He really could sleep through anything, even my alarms. One time I tripped over him on my way to the bathroom and he didn’t stir. If he didn’t wake up on his own, I would have to shake him awake before my parents got up so he could go back to his house before they found him in my room. But I guess it didn’t matter since they always knew.

I kick him again with more force and he finally stirs, but doesn’t fully wake up.

“Noah, wake up,” I hiss, followed by another kick.

“I don’t want to go to school today,” he groans, burying himself deeper under the pillows. The sheets move further down his hips and my suspicions of a naked Noah are confirmed. I can see the top of his ass and my whole body gets ten degrees warmer. He always slept in his underwear, so I was prepared for boxers—not what looks like the start of a perfectly round ass that I want to bite .

I avert my gaze to the ceiling to avoid staring. “We aren’t in high school. Now get up and cover your ass please.”

“Wait, what?” I hear shuffling and sheets, but I don’t tear my gaze away from the ceiling. “Violet, how did you get in here?” The alarm in his voice is evident, and guilt tightens in my gut for showing up unannounced.

“I borrowed your key last night. I wanted to make sure you woke up in time for Thanksgiving,” I tell the ceiling. “I also brought you coffee and a muffin. I would have gotten it from Sips, but they’re closed today.”

“Of course you did,” I hear him say through a laugh. “Can you leave so I can get dressed?”

My eyes betray me, and my head snaps to Noah, who is still lying in bed, now fully covered by his sheets.

“I mean I’ve seen you without a shirt before—” I start to argue while grabbing a piece of my hair to distract myself. I’m craving to see what his chest is like after all these years. I want to find out if it’s as sculpted as his back and if his tattoos are anywhere else besides his arms.

“Violet,” he warns.

“Fine, fine. I’ll be in the kitchen.” I spin, leaving his room and shutting the door behind me.

A few minutes later, he unfortunately appears in dark sweatpants and a hoodie.

“Glad to see our habit of breaking into each other’s room is still alive and strong,” he quips, grabbing the coffee from the counter and leaning against it.

I spin around on the kitchen stool to face him. “I didn’t break in. I simply ensured I would be able to return today. Plus you never broke into my room, I always left the window unlocked for you.”

He raises his eyebrow like he might argue with me, but he changes course last minute. There’s a tension in the air both of us ignore. “Thank you for checking in on me, but you really didn’t have to.”

My heart stings at the comment. I don’t like him making himself seem unworthy of someone checking in on him. “Did you really think I wouldn’t check on you?”

“Honestly?” he starts, pulling the muffin out of the bag and peeling the paper off. “I still wasn’t a hundred percent sure you were actually real. I thought it might have been a dream,” he confesses.

“It does feel that way, doesn’t it? It’s weird being here after so long. But we’re both here, so…” I shrug, trailing off because I can’t figure out what to say without blurting it out. I have so many questions for him, but I don’t want to bombard him.

“So…” he says, sipping his coffee.

“I want to help you open Gingerbreads,” I quickly say, and Noah chokes on his coffee. It comes out of his mouth and spills down his chest. I hop off the stool and rush over to him, grabbing some paper towels off the counter and patting his chest. It’s firm, and I linger too long before he takes the paper towels out of my hand.

“Thanks, Vi. I never did get used to your bluntness.”

“One of my many charms,” I joke, dropping into a small bow before meeting his eyes. “I’m not joking though. I want to help you.”

His eyebrows come together at the center of his forehead, his skin creating a deep groove between them. “Why? How?”

“Why not? I can help with all your business needs, plus baking if you teach me,” I shrug.

“Because we haven’t spoken in years and you’re jumping back into us like we’re eighteen again?” he counters.

“Yeah, well, I’ve got nothing else to do here and you need help. You’re really turning down help?” I cross my arms and raise my eyebrow at him .

“This is weird.” He gestures between us.

“Why? It’s not like we hate each other. Why would anything be weird?” I challenge, knowing full well it’s weird. The tension of what happened—or more specifically what didn’t happen—hangs between us, but I’m not going to be the first to bring it up. Then there’s my feelings for Noah, which haven’t gone away, and that was clear when I saw him in bed this morning. Although, that might be my lingering hormones talking and not my brain, since I’m not ready to explore any type of romantic relationship so soon after Greg. I can keep these feelings under control and spend time with my old best friend.

He hums, eyes squinting in contemplation. “It’s weird it’s not weird,” he finally says.

I perk up, pushing off the counter and jumping in front of him. “You mean I can help?”

His hand comes to my shoulder, keeping me still. “Not yet, let me think about it. I’ll let you know after Thanksgiving, okay?”

“Fine,” I sigh. I suppose I had more time to think about this than he did, so I want to give him time. I head toward the door to give him the time he needs to think it over. “You know where to find me. Tell your mom happy Thanksgiving,” I call, closing the apartment door but hopefully not my opportunity to be near Noah again.