Undeclared(50)
The idea of a swim sounded great.
Noah knocked on the door at fifteen minutes instead of twenty, but I was ready. Not much preparation was really necessary for swimming. I pulled on my swimsuit and a terry cloth cover-up . A towel and a change of clothing went in a bag with some sunscreen, and I was waiting by the door when he knocked.
“Where are we going?” I asked when we got to his truck.
“Surprise,” Noah said, helping me up into the cab.
He drove west of campus in the direction of two of the city malls.
“Are we going shopping?” I asked Noah, worried that I wasn’t quite dressed for the occasion. “Because I’m wearing a cover up and flip-flops.”
He glanced over at me and said, “You’re perfect.”
For some reason this caused me to blush, and I tried to disguise my response with another question. He didn’t really think I was perfect. It was just a saying. “What’s our destination?”
“Casa de Hombre.”
“The Man House?” I translated with some amusement.
“Yup.”
“You have a pool at your house?” And I thought I lived in swanky college digs.
“Finn’s dad is in construction. He was building this house at the Woodlands.” Noah said it like I should know about it, but I didn’t.
“Never heard of it,” I admitted.
“The Woodlands is a gated community. Very rich. The guy who contracted for the house lost his shirt during the downturn, and his financing fell through. Finn convinced his dad to let him finish the house and buy it. We all contribute to the mortgage, and when we sell it we’ll split the equity,” he explained.
“Sounds all too grown up for me,” I said. I couldn’t wait to see where Noah lived. This was personal and intimate stuff, and I could barely sit still with my excitement.
Noah stopped at the gatehouse in front of a two lane street and pressed a button on a remote. The gate opened, and he waved at the attendant.
The Woodlands was aptly named. A variety of trees, none of which I could identify, hung over the streets and filled the yards of the houses that dotted the landscape. Each home looked like a private oasis of forest and green grass.
“It’s really nice back here. You have parties? Don’t your neighbors kick up a fuss?” This area looked too sedate to tolerate a bunch of college or near-college aged kids.
“We invite them or pay them off. You’d be surprised how many people won’t call the police if you give them a little money. Plus, other than the occasional party, we’re pretty good neighbors. We mow our grass and don’t keep the trashcans on the drive for too long.”
He pulled into a wide driveway that dipped down and ended in front of a large two-story house that looked primarily made of glass with a few wood beams to hold it up. The end of the drive separated the main house from another smaller structure that looked like a detached garage.
I shook my head. “I guess I understand why there are so many of you living together.”
“Yeah, it’s a pretty sweet setup,” Noah replied with pride.
We walked in the side door. Noah said, “I think Adam is practicing in his studio.” He pointed to the detached building across from the house. “Finn and Mal are watching football. The pool is empty and the games are bad.”
He led me through the kitchen and out the back door onto the patio.
“Tell me the truth. Finn whacked the buyer so he could get this house.” I couldn’t believe my eyes. The place was gorgeous. We stopped before the pool, which was laid out in a classic mosaic pattern with an infinity edge. The drop-off made the most of the forested woods behind the house.
“It’s possible. You’ve met Finn. He’s totally got that serial killer vibe,” Noah joked. Finn looked like a mischievous choirboy, innocent but with a lot of knowledge in his eyes. He probably got away with a million naughty deeds.
“It’s obvious from the start what with his illicit coffee cup in the library and his predilection for architectural design magazines. Classic signs of perversion,” I snickered.
The pool was spectacular. It had jets in the concrete on one side that arced into the pool. Attached to the shallow end of the pool was a raised, tiled round area that looked like a Jacuzzi. The pool itself was rectangular, with one end framed by a sizeable pool house. A covered deck area contained a brick oven that looked to be in disarray.
Noah led me around the scattered bricks. “Finn and Mal are building an outdoor grill, but it’s a project that has taken them all summer to get this point.”
It looked like a mess, as if someone had taken a sledgehammer to a brick wall. If this was the process of reconstruction, I worried about the houses that Finn flipped.