I’m so overcome by his words that I drop my gaze down. He’s so intense and sincere. I’m not used to that. Lana tells me all about the various guys she dates and sees. There’s always a game going on, always this need to play it cool. It makes my head spin. Andrew’s totally different though. I don’t know if it’s his age, or his experience, but he hates bullshit and he goes for what he wants. He’s past needing to play games. He’s secure and unafraid. I’m so happy being with him, and yet...
“Andrew,” I start to say, then stop. I’ve already got so much from him. How can I ask for anything else?
“What is it?”
I bite the inside of my lip. I shouldn’t.
“Noelle?” His blue eyes are concerned.
“I’m really happy with you,” I say. “Really, truly. Everything you’ve done, everything you’ve given me, it’s all amazing. I feel like I shouldn’t be asking for anything else.”
“But there is something,” he prompts.
“After what happened at the zoo...”
It had been early on in our relationship, when school had just started and I hadn’t had a mountain of schoolwork. It just so happened that a baby panda had just been born, and I was dying to go see them. Everything was going well. We’d gone straight to the panda exhibit first, followed by the giraffe feeding. Just as we finished though, I saw someone I recognized in the next group. It was one of my dad’s coworkers. Andrew recognized him too. He tensed up, and pulled on my arm. I quickly turned around and we left. Once we were safely out of sight, he told me that the guy sometimes came golfing with them. After that close call, we agreed not to have dates in public anymore.
“It’s just. I’d love to go away somewhere for a weekend,” I say at last. “I want to be able to go out and hold hands with you. To kiss you. I want to feel like a normal couple you know, instead of having to keep things a secret.”
Andrew doesn’t say anything, and I worry that I asked too much of him. Finally he speaks.
“Where do you want to go?”
I let go of the breath that I’ve been holding and smile.
“Anywhere. You can pick.”
“Consider your wish granted Noelle,” Andrew says, and I know that he will.
Chapter 6
Andrew decides on New Orleans, which both surprises and delights me. I always wanted to go to the Crescent City, and I know that the French Quarter would be both fun and romantic. It’s going to be a short trip, because I have midterms coming up, and I can’t afford to miss any class time. Since it is such a short trip, I don’t pack more than an overnight bag. A few sets of underwear, a jacket, a dress for a fancy dinner, and a spare t-shirt or two is more than enough. Even Andrew takes it easy, switching out his starched shirts for cozy plaid ones, and his trousers for well-worn jeans.
“I can’t believe we’re going just like that,” I exclaim. It’s only been a few days since I made the suggestion, and I figured it would take much longer to put this all together.
“That’s the fun of it, isn’t it?” he says as he starts up the car. “Packing up and going on a whim.”
“To be honest, I haven’t done a lot of traveling. I’ve never had the time. And my dad was always so busy helping run the store. I’ve always wanted to though. I think if I’m going to be a good designer, I have to always find new sources of inspiration.”
“Well, I can promise you that we can travel as much as you want, whenever you want once you’re out of school. Do you have a list of places you’d like to go?”
“Oh for sure. There’s Europe of course, and Japan, and China. India would be really, really cool too, and maybe Egypt...”
We start discussing different countries and what we’d like to see. It turns out that Andrew likes to travel too, though he’s only gone for business. Lots of meetings and very little sightseeing means that he isn’t that much more experienced than me, which is a nice change for once. And he hasn’t been to New Orleans yet either. While it’s great that he knows so much more and has done so much more than me for most things, it’s still refreshing to have some things where we’re evenly matched. I start googling different things we might want to do in New Orleans when my phone beeps.
Oops, I think as I shut off the alarm. Forgot to take my birth control pill this morning. It’s in my overnight bag, but that’s in the trunk. I’ll have to remember to take it when we get to the airport. I turn back to my search and find these things called beignets that we have to try. Andrew nods knowingly. Of course a foodie like him would know all about that already, but the mouthwatering tower of fried dough and powdered sugar has my mouth watering.