I laugh, but then I realize that he’s serious.
“Andrew! You can’t do that. That’s like, that’s like paying me for sex. Nuh uh. I’m not doing it.”
“No. You’re not going back to that sleazy bar. I’m not having all those guys look at you like you’re some prime piece of meat. You’re mine now,” he’s so fierce about this that I shiver a little with pleasure. I like the sound of being his. A lot. “The internship is a real position. Whatever you want to know more about, I’ll make it happen. You’re not going back there though Noelle.”
I open my mouth to argue, but I realize that I don’t want to. Being Andrew’s intern was way better than the Double D Ranch Bar and Grill. I’d always wanted to open up my own jewelry business, and this would give me invaluable experience in running one. It didn’t hurt that I’d be able to see Andrew more often too.
“Okay,” I say at last. “But only if you let me properly thank you.”
“Of course,” he says leaning down for a kiss. “I expect nothing less.”
*********
We soon settle into a perfect groove with one another. The internship is amazing. Not only do I get the inside scoop on how to run a company, but I also get an intimate look into Andrew’s mind. He runs his company well; there’s nothing that happens without him knowing. Even though it now has a staff of over 2000 people, he makes a point to know everyone in each department and drops in to check. His office might have been fancy, but he’s not often in it. Instead, he will pick a department to drop into for the day, sitting in meetings and brainstorming sessions. I don’t know how he does it. It’s like he’s got an endless supply of energy.
“That’s what happens when you’re doing something you love,” he tells me over dinner one night. “You have to have that source, otherwise you’ll never make it. Starting and running a business is brutal, and if you don’t have your heart in it, it’ll be too hard.”
After two weeks, I tell my parents that I’m moving out. What I don’t say is that it’s to Andrew’s. They know about my new job at Andrew’s because I figure I should tell them something. It feels less like a lie, more like an omission, and I push the guilt away with a promise that I’ll tell them if it actually gets serious. We’re still so new, and who knows what might happen? I don’t want to overturn everything if it’s just a fling. That’s what I keep telling myself anyways.
In reality though, I can’t see myself with anyone else. It seems like we’re rushing, and Andrew worries that he’s pushing me into it, but in reality I am just as impatient as he is to be together. I love starting and ending my days in Andrew’s arms. He encourages and supports my education; in fact, he recently came to my university to do a special night lecture. It was thrilling to watch him speak while I sat in the front row. After school, I go to work at the internship. It started out as a favor from him, but it’s developed into a real position. No daily Starbucks runs for me.
When I get home, we’ll have dinner. Andrew loves to cook, and he gets such joy from showing me all different kinds of cuisine. One night we had Ethiopian, piling spoonfuls of meat, beans, and veggies onto the flat injera bread. Another night he got inspiration from Japan, making ramen noodles by hand. I love coming home and seeing him cook in the kitchen. It’s such a domestic scene. All we need is a baby in a high chair and maybe a little boy begging to help out his dad. I keep these thoughts close to my chest though. Right now we’re still in the thick of things, and we’d hardly even told anyone that we’re seeing each other. Why jump ahead when we haven’t even crossed the first hurdle?
“This is amazing,” I said as I slurped up the noodles as instructed. “It’s almost as good as going to Japan and having it.”
“You’re welcome,” he says. “I’ve always wanted to try my hand at noodle making. I just never found the time.”
I instantly feel guilty. I hadn’t meant to make it harder on Andrew when I asked him to make me some. I’ve always been intrigued by travel, but I’d never had the money or the time. This was his way of showing me the world for right now.
“I shouldn’t be pulling you away from work like this,” I say. “Don’t you have that big meeting with the other angel investors tomorrow?”
He takes my hand in his and pulled it to him.
“Don’t feel bad,” he says. “All I had in my life before you was work, work, work. And as much as I love it, I was working myself to the bone for nothing. Now, I have a reason to go home at night. I have a reason to be working hard. Providing for you makes me happy. Cooking for you, if that’s what you want, makes me happy.”