Love In The Fast Lane Part 21

Nate just stared at her. Eyes dark and his expression aloof.

"And the next time you want to throw a b.i.t.c.h fit at me, do it away from Noah because he thinks you are disappointed in him after all of that."

Nate had the decency to look affected. "I'm not upset with him."

"You can't be. He's done nothing wrong."

He opened his mouth to retort but thought better of it.

"Tell him I will call him tomorrow," he grunted before pushing himself off the counter and walking out the door into the cool, dark night.

What the h.e.l.l had just happened?

The next day, Nate paced anxiously around his apartment, waiting for time to pa.s.s so it would be a decent hour to call Noah. The bomb Brielle had dropped last night had eaten at him all night, being the major cause of his insomnia. How could Noah think for even a second that Nate would ever be disappointed in him? h.e.l.l, he made Nate proud at every turn.

When nine a.m. rolled around, he couldn't wait any longer and dialled Brielle's land line.

Noah picked up after five rings, "Haaalloooo."

"Hey champ," Nate greeted, his heart lifting.

"Hi, Dad." Noah's voice dropped and Nate's heart fell with it.

"Hey, Noah. How are you?" Nate felt awkward. His usually easy-going child was being so closed off.

"I'm fine."

"What are you doing?"

"Eating Cheerios."

"Is your mom up?"

"Yes."

"What is she doing?"

"Making yoba?"

"Yoba?"

"Yeah she's a pretzel."

"Oh, yoga!"

"Uh huh."

"Can I come and see you?"

"Okay," Noah answered sullenly.

Despite that Nate felt like his son was at an emotional distance with him, he jumped in his Mustang and opened her out on the road as he sped toward Noah, offering a little reprieve as he revved the engine and accelerated onto the highway. Fifteen minutes later he knocked on Brielle's door and was greeted by his half pint.

Noah looked up at him with sad eyes and Nate bent down to his level.

Before either of them could open the conversation, Nate wrapped his large arms around the small child and enveloped him in a hug. Noah barely moved.

"I missed you," Nate whispered against his s.h.a.ggy brown hair and to his surprise, he felt two thin arms slide around his neck and squeeze him.

Nate held on as long as Noah would allow him before pulling apart.

The sadness remained in the boy's eyes.

"What's wrong?" Nate pressed.

Noah shrugged his small shoulders.

"Tell me buddy. Do you think I'm disappointed in you?" Nate recalled Brielle's words the night before.

Noah shrugged and nodded at the same time.

"Why would you think that, Noah?"

He shrugged again.

"Tell me, son," Nate prompted.

"Cos I cried like a girl and I wanted to come home to mom."

"Oh, Noah," Nate gushed. "I would never think that way. You can never disappointment me. You don't need to put on any type of face around me. If you want to cry then you cry, as long as you tell me why, ok?"

Noah nodded, a small sparkle in his eyes.

"It's normal that you would feel anxious, spending your first night with me, away from your mom and your familiar home. But I don't want you to feel scared anymore. I want you to be comfortable because my home is yours now too." He let his words sink in with Noah before adding, "And I want you to spend a lot more time with me too."

Noah beamed and Nate felt like the sun could shine again.

If Nate was honest with himself, he'd admit that Noah's performance the night before was a kick to the gut. He'd felt so useless, not being able to pacify the child. He'd been helpless and the only option that presented itself was to take him back to Brielle's. But that was in no way the young boy's fault.

The real kicker was that he'd been struggling to deal with the wailing child. It had brought out every doubt he'd ever had about procreating and the c.r.a.ppy father he would undoubtedly be. And while he had been tortured, Brielle had been out having a grand old time with Emma's brother. Granted she did deserve some fun after single-handedly raising their child, as she'd duly stated, but did she have to look so pleased with herself about it. And right after she'd spent the weekend with him? Hadn't she a.s.sured him she wasn't seeing Matt?

The usually agreeable Brielle was all guns blazing at him the previous night, not even allowing him the window to blow off some of his steam. No, instead she'd looked flushed and completely f.u.c.ked. Which had royally p.i.s.sed him off. Even more so than seeing her pressed up tight against the loser as she whispered who knew what in his ear. The look she'd given Matt had been like a punch in the chest. No man wanted to see the woman he'd bedded just a week earlier, staring adoringly into another man's eyes.

f.u.c.k, what if Noah had seen them?

But that was not what had put the bee up his b.u.t.t. Nope, he was just outright p.i.s.sed to see her with another guy. And for what? It's not like he wanted a commitment. He'd made sure things were left casual.

"Where's your mom?"

"She's in the shower."

Despite how p.i.s.sed he was at Brielle, he found himself reminiscing about the time that they had shared a shower together and how they had soaped off every inch of each other and then proceeded to lick off any and all traces of moisture from the other's body afterward.

"Ok, well I'm going to go then kiddo. I just wanted to come by and make sure you were ok."

Noah beamed again and leaned into Nate for another hug.

Nate felt a lot better as he walked out and got into his car... About one Woods anyway.

CHAPTER 16.

ON THE MORNING OF HER birthday, Brielle awoke to the sound of shattering gla.s.s somewhere in the house. She awoke with a start and instinctively grabbed for the baseball bat she kept in her closet. She tiptoed quickly toward Noah's room and panic gripped her throat to find his bed empty. The intruders had already gotten him! She moved toward the clamoring in the kitchen only to find the place an absolute mess. There were flour and eggs splashed across every surface of the floor and walls, dishes piled across the counters and in the sink, and in the center of it all stood little Noah, with an ap.r.o.n that fit him too long and the rest of the flour covering him from head to toe.

He stared at her when she walked in, like a deer caught in headlights. "Happy Birthday, Mom," he greeted, somewhat sheepishly.

"Oh sweetheart! Was this all you?" she gestured to the epic kitchen mess.

He nodded enthusiastically. "I was gonsta make you pancakes but I kept forgetting the recipe, and if I had added eggs or not. It's so confusing, trying to remember it all. I'm sorry I couldn't get it ready before you woke up." He looked so sad that she couldn't even begin to get angry at the mess that she was bound to clean up.

"Oh, baby, the gesture in itself is all I could have ever wanted." She pulled his powdery body toward her into a warm hug.

"Now get into the bath while I mix us up a batch of pancakes."

"Vanilla?"

"Any kind you want my love."

He grinned from ear to ear and raced off in the direction of the bathroom as Brielle made headway against the kitchen disorder.

She couldn't break his heart and chastise him about the mess, not when his intentions were so good in trying to make her birthday special. It was the first year that he'd actually tried to do something for her. Last year he'd made her a birthday card, which was a gift in itself, but the fact that this year he'd woken up early on a Sat.u.r.day morning and attempted to make her breakfast, really melted her heart. Being the only man in her life, it made her feel special and cherished in a way that she never had ever.

h.e.l.l, even Nate had been off the map over the past week. After their fight last weekend, he hadn't come over at all and had gone back to his routine of calling Noah when she was out of the house. Which was fine by her. She had done perfectly fine before he had come back into their lives and she would do superbly now that he had come back to play daddy to their son. Besides, today was her birthday. It was all about her.

Brielle had no idea what Emma had planned for them, she'd just said to dress to dance and let loose. And she had to admit, she was really looking forward to this night. She knew that Noah would not have a repeat episode of the previous weekend because he had stayed over at Tommy's house before and he was fine.

When Noah returned to the kitchen, bathed and dressed, no further trace of flour or eggs on him or the kitchen surfaces, Brielle dashed into the bathroom for a quick splash before they shared their breakfast of pancakes and syrup. As usual, Noah entertained her with his playful antics as he talked about his conversations with Nate and shared jokes between them that she was not a part of. It made her realize that she now had to share her son and it made her sad. It had been her and Noah against the world from the time he was born and suddenly Nate came back and he was the fun parent. She immediately scolded herself for the thought. She was being selfish. For years she had hoped that Nate would step up and be the father that Noah so desperately needed and she certainly didn't need to bemoan the fact that he now did. This wasn't about her, this was about Noah.

As they were finishing breakfast, the doorbell rang and Brielle went to answer it, expecting Emma with some ridiculous display of balloons or something. Instead, she was surprised to find Nate standing there in his dark jeans and t-shirt, his hair still wet from his shower, looking so unbelievably s.e.xy.

"Hi," she greeted cooly, yet she felt anything but cool.

"Hi," he parroted. "Happy Birthday." He handed her a single frosted cupcake.

Brielle was thrown. That was not at all what she would have ever expected. She stared at Nate but his jade eyes were covered by his aviators and his expression was giving nothing away.

Still staring at him, she heard Noah come up behind her and greet Nate.

"Hey champ!" Nate greeted casually as the two males exchanged some complicated handshake combination. Another sign that she was not part of their secret boys club.

"What are you doing here?" Brielle asked.

"I told Noah I would take him to get ice cream before I dropped him off at Tommy's place."

"Oh."

"Didn't he tell you?"

"No, he didn't." Brielle was surprised to realize that she felt disenchanted. She didn't understand why when all Nate brought her was disappointment. Hot and cold.

"Sorry, I told him to tell you." He looked pointedly at Noah who had the decency to look sheepish as he muttered an apology.

"It's ok," she waved him away. "Gives me more time to primp."

"Big night?"

Brielle smirked. "Who knows what Emma has in store."

Nate's expression remained unchanged.

Tough crowd.

"Here, come in," she gestured, opening the door to let him in.

He walked in past her but was immediately whisked away with Noah to pack his overnight bag. Tommy's parents were allowing them to camp in the family's backyard for the night, so Brielle had aired out Noah's sleeping bag the night before. She heard laughter coming from Noah's room and realized how rare the sound of a man's laugh was in her home. The rough, deep timbre of it. It sent pleasurable shivers down her spine. Well, Nate was a fixture in Noah's life now, which meant he would be a fixture in hers and these were moments she would have to endure the 'boys only' club.

She sat on the couch and took a bite out of the birthday cupcake Nate had brought her. Oh it was heavenly. The cake was soft and fluffy and the icing was just the right amount of b.u.t.tery sweetness. What an odd thing for him to do. How had he even known it was her birthday? Oh, of course, her son was a blabber mouth. But why would he even bother to bring her anything? They were nothing to each other except parents to Noah. Perhaps it was a safety net he'd brought to b.u.t.ter her up because he hadn't told her he was coming to pick up Noah. Who knew? It was a d.a.m.ned amazing cupcake though.

Half an hour later the boys emerged from Noah's room, bags packed and slung over Nate's shoulder. Even the look of him with a child's bag over his arm made him look incredibly delectable. She gave herself a stern chiding for even thinking the thought. He had a string of women behind the scenes. She was not going to give her hormones the satisfaction of noticing his s.e.xability, if that was even a word.

"Well, we're off," Nate announced.

Brielle bent down to address Noah.

"Have the best birthday, Momma. I will miss you." But the smile on his face a.s.sured her that once he was out the door, she would be out of sight, out of mind.

"I will miss you the mostest, Sweetheart." She hugged his small body against her. "You behave tonight ok? No nonsense with Tommy and the other boys."

"Yes, Momma." He grinned, a.s.suring Brielle that they would indeed get up to all sorts of mischief.

"Bye kiddo."

Brielle walked them to the door and watched as Nate strapped Noah into his beastly car. Gosh, the man had more money than he knew what to do with. He got into the driver's seat and with a wave they were off.