Noah’s Journey(39)

“Are you going home?” I asked when he placed his truck in park.

“Yeah, Stacey is gonna bring Austin over and leave him for an hour while she gets her hair colored. Afterward, she’ll stop back by and take him home.”

I had gotten so much better with accepting Stacey being around Noah. But when she was with him without me near, I always felt a small tinge of jealousy.

“I can text you when we’re about done.” I had unfastened my seat belt and gathered my bag from between my feet.

Trinity had already opened the passenger door and crawled out and was smoothing her shirt as she waited for me. I’d started to slide across the seat when Noah cupped the back of my neck, stopping me from going any farther.

“You forgetting something?” He watched me with worried eyes, and I suddenly felt bad. I let go of the bag I had just lifted from the floor and left it in the set next to me as I leaned in and wrapped my arms around Noah’s neck. “I’m sorry,” I whispered just before placing my lips against his.

I took control of the moment and rolled my tongue with his, causing him to groan. When I pulled back, he followed me, sneaking in just a few more seconds. I smiled against his lips, giving him one last peck before releasing my hold. “Until later,” I said with a wink.

He waited in the driveway until Trinity and I were safely inside with the door closed behind us.



***



When you got a few drinks in Trinity, she became a whole new ball of fun. Not to mention extremely talkative. At one point she had Bailey laughing to the point of tears before she hurried off to the bathroom with her legs pinched tightly together. She was on the verge of hyperventilating, saying something about peeing her pants in between gasps.

I watched as Tammy laughed so hard she snorted.

Olivia and Bailey were the only sober ones in the bunch. Bailey used the excuse of taking medication she couldn’t drink with. Tammy and Olivia gave her skeptical looks, but she quickly changed the subject. Olivia kept threatening us with taking some incriminating photos to use against us later, but no one seemed to care.

The invitations were all ready to go out, the first few bottles of wine had been consumed, and the radio had just been turned on. Who knew acting like a fool with a group of half-loopy women would be so fun?

“Do it.” Amber nudged me with her shoulder as she nodded toward Olivia and Trinity. Both girls were standing in the center of the room, their backs facing as us they twerked to the music. Olivia was sort of a natural as she bounced her hips and took herself lower to the floor before rising once more.

“Yeah, Alena,” Olivia taunted as she looked back over her shoulder, still shaking her ass at us. Tammy was laughing to the point of almost falling over, and Trinity was doing her best to keep up with Liv.

“Does your father know about these moves of yours?” Tammy asked between laughs, and Olivia spun around to face us as she began rolling her hips more suggestively.

“Come on, Gran, don’t be a stick-in-the-mud. Let me see you work it,” Olivia taunted, completely ignoring her question.

Tammy looked over at me, arching a brow. After a few seconds of staring at one another, we both crawled from the floor and joined the girls in the center of the room.

I knew I was tipsy, but I truly did not know just how much until I stood up. I held my hands out to my sides, trying to make the room stop spinning. My reaction only made Trinity bust out in giggles, and Amber rolled back on her back, her feet in the air as she snorted like a pig.

“Okay, now show me how to move like that,” I slurred.

Olivia got on one side of me, placing Tammy on the other side of her, and Trinity was at my left. They both began to roll their hips, making their asses bounce. The movements gradually increased, and I did my best to keep up.

I had been so focused on the music and not falling on my face that I hadn’t heard the front door open. But when I heard a loud hoot followed by a “what the fuck?” I spun around quickly.

Ryan, Jackson, and Noah were standing in the entryway, staring at us with smiles on their faces. Well, all but Ryan. He was giving his daughter a warning look.

“What?” she asked.

“I better never see you dancing like that outside of the house,” he said, and she rolled her eyes.

“Seriously, Dad.” She walked over toward the radio and flipped the switch.

“Yeah, seriously. I swear, girl, I am gonna lock your ass in the basement and feed you your meals through a goddamned hole in the door,” he mumbled as he stepped around her and walked toward his wife. “We really need to look into a big-ass padlock or steel fucking doors,” he told Amber.

We all waited for him to finish his fatherly rant before we laughed at his ridiculous behavior.