Chapter 1
Noelle stirred and opened one eye. “Aaack!”
The sun reached the perfect spot to bore through a gap in the bedroom curtain, and the solar input hit her eye like a laser. She rolled to the other side of the bed and tried again to open her eyes. “Fuck. Stop throbbing please, head!”
Her eyes focused on the nightstand, specifically the tall glass of water. A bottle of Tylenol sat next to the water.
“What the fuck? There’s no way I was sober enough to… Shit!! Ryan!”
She shook her head and crawled across the bed to the nightstand. Fumbling with the child proof cap, she managed to extract two tablets. She washed them down with half of the glass of water.
“Seriously, that guy rocks. Now get to work, little pills.”
Noelle sat up in her bed and pushed her tangled hair back from her face. Now she spied her dress from last night laid neatly over a chair, with her shoes on the floor next to it. Her eyes were wide open as she absorbed the image. She looked down to see that she was wearing her nightshirt. She downed the rest of the water, hoping it would dispel her cotton mouth. Taking a deep breath, she wobbled to her feet.
Pee first, then coffee.
Noelle came from the bathroom, feeling slightly more human, and entered the kitchen. Her eyes caught a sheet of paper next to the coffee maker. Eyes wide, she snatched it up and read:
Hi Noelle,
Sorry you didn’t feel well tonight. I hope you had some decent sleep.
I need to head back to Cleveland by 3ish, but if there’s a chance you feel well enough to join me for brunch, say around 10:30, here’s my number: (999) 466-9896
Ryan
“Oh my fucking… I made a complete fool of myself, and he’s asking me out?”
Noelle grabbed her phone and tapped the icon for her BFF Mollie.
“Good morning, sunshine! You made it home okay?”
“Sort of,” mumbled Noelle. “Ryan drove me home.”
“You don’t sound very happy about it. I thought you liked him!”
“I do like him, but I kind of made an ass of myself.”
“Uh-oh. What happened?”
Noelle put her phone on speaker. She pulled a coffee mug from the cabinet and poured herself a steaming cup, then replaced the carafe.
“Well, I think I maybe had a bit too much to drink at the reception yesterday.” She took a gulp from the mug.
“No shit!” Mollie giggled. “You and like thirty other guests.”
Noelle winced and pinched her nose. “It’s not funny, Molls. When Ryan brought me home I asked him in, then I kinda threw myself at him, you know, like some major slut move.”
“Still not seeing the problem.”
“Shut up. Then I passed out on him before it could go anywhere.”
“Oh,” said Mollie, “that’s not so good.”
Noelle took another sip of her coffee. “This morning I woke up in bed wearing my nightshirt. My dress was folded over the chair.”
“Ohhh.”
“Yeah. I'm pretty sure he got himself a nice eyeful while he was putting me to bed. I mean, I didn’t wear a bra with that dress. At least I still had my panties on.” She had another sip. “So he tucked me into bed, left me a glass of water and Tylenol, then let himself out.”
Mollie absorbed this information. “Well that was super considerate. Okay, he got a good look at the girls, so what? He didn’t take advantage of the situation, did he?”
“No, not at all. I mean, I was practically a zombie, but I know that he didn’t. And now he wants to meet up for brunch.”
“See, he’s still interested!”
Noelle sighed. “I’m so fucking embarrassed about last night, I’m not sure I can face him.”
“Bullshit! You were totally vibing with him at our table, bantering like crazy, and it sounds like he tried to help head off your hangover.”
“Yeah, but… ”
“‘But,’ nothing, missy! Pull yourself together, throw on a cute outfit and meet him! Besides, a mimosa or two might help.” Mollie giggled again.
Noelle couldn’t help giggling too. “I am starting to feel a bit more human. Maybe just one mimosa, though!”
Noelle felt better after talking to Mollie. What was she so worried about? At worst she would have a nice brunch and more lively conversation. She finished her coffee and yogurt, staring at her phone. He’s expecting an answer, just start a conversation.
She grabbed the phone and typed.
‘Good morning Ryan. So sorry about last night, hope u can forgive me 😟’
‘Hey! Happy that ur back in action. No worries about last night, we’ve all been there, done that’
‘Thank u for taking care of me, water and Tylenol worked wonders’
‘Good to hear. U up for brunch?’
‘I’d like to give it a shot. Moveable Feast in Wheaton is good’
She waited, trying not to be nervous. He’s probably looking it up. Her phone buzzed again.
‘Looks good, maybe fifteen minutes from my hotel. Does 10:30 work?’
‘Yes, I’ll meet you there. Brace yourself, I’m gonna apologize like six more times 😟’
‘lol! I’ll be waiting!’
Noelle hopped into the shower. She had to admit, she felt better after accepting Ryan’s brunch invitation. This headache wasn’t going to cure itself, but going out for some decent food would definitely help. And bacon – she totally needed some bacon. Warm water coursed down her skin as she reached for the shower gel and lathered herself.
She dried off with a fluffy towel and headed back to her bedroom. She pulled her damp blonde hair back into a bun with a clip. “He’s not getting to see me in a dress today, but maybe my Breton pullover?” She put it on, and added a cute pair of black jeans that fit her like a glove. Even if he’s seen most of me, this should be a nice reminder! She pulled on a pair of black zipper boots.
Noelle rubbed in some eye cream to reduce the puffiness. It wasn’t nearly as bad as she feared. Then she turned to her makeup kit. “Shit, it’s already ten o’clock! Okay, he only gets moisturizer and lip balm. It’s a casual brunch, not a wedding.”
Noelle pulled into the last parking spot. Even skipping the makeup she was already three minutes late.
Shit, shit, shit. Why can’t I ever get out of the house on time??
She bustled through the restaurant door and scanned the hostess station with no luck. As she turned to see if he was at a table, he stepped through the doorway to greet her. “Hi, Noelle. I just got here.” He moved to her for a hug.
His crooked grin disarmed her and her anxiety ebbed. “That’s good, I didn’t want to embarrass myself again.” The subtle notes of his cologne had her holding the hug longer than she intended.
“You worry too much, you know that?”
She blushed a bit. He was right, she’d always been a worrier. It was often over silly things, too, like being just three minutes late.
He turned to the hostess and nodded. She took two menus and smiled at them, though she held obvious eye contact with Ryan. “Right this way.”
Noelle tried not to roll her eyes. Flirting with a guy who was already with a date struck her as a super desperate move. They were soon seated in a booth and they both ordered mimosas to start.
Noelle took a sip of her cocktail and faced the question that was bugging her. “I hope you didn’t have too much trouble putting me to bed last night.”
Ryan flushed but met her gaze. “I just couldn’t leave you lying on that couch. You would have had a very stiff neck or back, maybe both, this morning.”
She nodded. “That sofa was a hand me down from my mom. I haven’t got around to replacing it yet, but I agree it’s seen better days.” She paused and chose her words carefully. “Thank you for making sure I was comfortable.” The statement was ambiguous enough, but she waited for his reaction.
Ryan had a crooked grin. “Are you sure you were comfortable?”
“You know what I meant.”
“I imagine you would have been much less comfortable trying to sleep in a tight dress.”
She nodded, noting the warmth and humor in his eyes. “I know. I was just surprised to wake up in my nightshirt.”
“It was lying at the foot of your bed, you asked me to help you with it. You... don’t remember?” His eyes looked puzzled.
Noelle shook her head. “Mostly I remember acting like a…”
He cut her off. “You are way too hard on yourself. I wasn’t about to take advantage of you.”
She blinked at him, a mixture of surprise and confusion on her face. She glanced around, lowering her voice. “I think we both know you could have fucked me if you wanted to.”
“That’s not the point. If I’m considering intimacy with a woman, it’s because we’ve developed a real connection. She will be feeling it too, because I don’t do that casual hookup bullshit.”
Noelle was stunned. This attitude was very different from the entitled assholes she encountered on the dating apps. Maybe she was right to delete them all in disgust.
He continued, “And just so you know, you weren’t all that wasted. Mostly you just needed to sleep.”
Noelle bobbed her head. “You may be right. Mollie and I were out late the night before, I guess it caught up with me.”
“You seem rested now, so don’t worry about it.” He perused the menu. “What’s good here?”
“This girl needs some bacon, so I’m going for the BLT.”
Ryan chuckled at that, then crooned in a honeyed baritone, “Everybody needs some bacon sometiiime…”
Caught off guard, Noelle laughed out loud. “Stop that!”
“Stop what, having fun?”
The corners of her mouth crinkled as she scrunched her nose, and Ryan thought that he had never seen anything quite so cute.
“No – don’t you dare stop having fun with me.”
“Okay, then. I’m on board with that.”
Their server, the same woman from the hostess station, returned. “Are we ready to order?” She beamed at Ryan, but his eyes were still fixed on Noelle’s.
She grinned at Ryan before turning to the server. “I’ll have the Farmer’s BLT with fries, please. Babe, did you decide what you want?”
Ryan’s eyebrow cocked. He caught that Noelle was sending a message to their overly attentive server with too much eye shadow. “Yes, I’d like the Huevos Locos, with the avocado. And we’ll both have some coffee.”
He took Noelle’s menu and handed them both to the server. “Here you go.” He reached for Noelle’s hand.
The server huffed at their overt affection, but caught herself and walked away.
Ryan leaned forward and pushed at a lock of his wavy hair. ”So we’re on ‘babe’ terms now?” He grinned at her.
Noelle giggled and took a sip of her mimosa. “We are if there are sharks in the water. I guess we’re on hand-holding terms too?”
He shrugged. “You can’t be too careful when dealing with sharks.”
“Oh, I agree. I’m taking bets on whether her number mysteriously appears on the back of the check.”
His easy laugh filled her ears, making her face suddenly warm.
“That doesn’t matter, I like the one whose hand I’m holding.”
Noelle’s face held a shy smile. “Have I apologized for last night recently?”
“Yes,” he responded, “and it’s still not a problem.” Ryan tried to put her at ease. “Look, we both know that I undressed you under circumstances that you weren’t anticipating. But you needed to get to bed, and I hope you understand that was my focus. I didn’t somehow engineer things so that I could perv on you.” He shrugged. “You may not believe that, but it’s the truth.”
Noelle considered Ryan’s words. She didn’t have a need to respond immediately since their food arrived, and surprisingly the server did not fawn all over him like she had before.
They each dug into their meals. Noelle relished the salty goodness of her bacon, with avocado, havarti, and aioli adding to the taste fest.
That was a good call. She felt a thousand percent better than when she woke. She looked up to see Ryan enjoying his savory eggs.
“Pretty good, huh?”
“Yeah, it sure is,” he responded. He looked at her. “Would you like to try some?”
Noelle was surprised. This was their first real date, and he was offering her some of his food. It wasn’t the kind of treatment she’d received of late.
“If you’re okay with it.”
He nodded, and she speared a forkful of egg, then some of the citrus slaw, beans, and roasted pepper.
“Mmm, that’s yummy.” She cut off a chunk of her imposing BLT and offered it to him. She added a few fries to his plate.
“You’re giving me some of your bacon??” His eyes teased her as he accepted the piece of sandwich and chewed it. “Okay, I am now your slave. Do with me what you will.”
Noelle’s laughter trilled. “Oh my God, stop! I’m afraid to think about what I would like to do with you.”
Ryan was silent for a moment. Their flirting was fun, but he wanted to see if there could be more to this. He spoke again, quietly yet with directness. “I signed a lease two days ago, Noelle. I’ll be moving here in a month. Can you tell me if you’ll consider dating me when I move?”
Noelle finished her bacon-laden bite. “You’re kidding me, right? Of course I’ll date you. I can’t stay embarrassed forever.” She registered the look of relief that crossed his face.
“I was hoping you’d say that. I mean, I’m not asking you to be exclusive or anything, but...”
“I get it, Ryan. You want to try it and see where it goes. We don’t know each other all that well yet, but we can sure work on that.”
He considered the woman across the table. She was undeniably cute, but also whip smart and full of spirit. Her green eyes crinkled at him as she dug into her BLT.
She grinned. “At what stage are you gonna let me call you ‘babe’ for real?”
“I’ll have to get back to you on that.”
Noelle giggled. “Well don’t wait too long. You can’t be too careful when you’re shark bait!”
