Waiting for Midnight (3 page)

Right then and there, Maddie was kicking herself for initiating this whole thing.  Here she was talking about how she didn’t like being alone while knowing how Noah preferred it that way.  For the remainder of the meal, the conversation was fairly generic – weather, current events.  When they were done, Maddie helped clear the table and load the dishwasher.

“Do you want to take these containers home with you?” he asked.

Maddie shook her head.  “No rush with them.  Keep them until you’re done with the food and then you can just leave them by my door.”  Quickly washing her hands she turned the water off, dried them, and was thankful she could finally leave.  Facing him, she pasted a smile on her face.  “Enjoy the leftovers.  I’m glad you’re feeling okay.” 

Stepping around him, she made her way toward the stairs.  Noah’s hand on her arm stopped her.  “You’re leaving?” he asked, confusion written on his face.

Nodding, she said, “I appreciate the invitation to join you for dinner, Noah, but I know you would have preferred to eat alone.  I’m not going to bug you anymore.”

His brows furrowed.  “What do you mean? You don’t bug me.”

The bark of laughter that came out of her should have embarrassed her, but it didn’t.  “Oh, please.  Noah, it’s okay.  You like your privacy.  You prefer being alone.  I shouldn’t have pushed.  But don’t worry, I got the hint loud and clear.”  She moved away from his touch and began to move toward the stairs again.

He followed.

He wasn’t supposed to follow, she thought.

“So…um…I’ll see you around,” she said and turned and quickly walked down the stairs.  Maddie was out the door and about to close it when she noticed Noah right behind her. 
What the
…?  How was that even possible?  Normally she could hear him through the walls in her apartment and here he was right behind her without making a sound?

“Maddie…”

Turning to face him, she wasn’t sure what she was supposed to say. 

“I’m not going to lie to you,” he said quietly.  “I do like my privacy and I do prefer to be alone, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t want to have dinner with you.”

“O-kay,” she said slowly.

He sighed loudly.  “I don’t want you to think you forced me to hang out with you, okay?” he said with a bit of frustration. 

“It’s fine, Noah.  Thanks for clearing it up.”  She was being sincere – kind of – but she had a feeling he didn’t quite believe her. 

“Maddie…”

Looking over her shoulder toward her own door, she wished she were on the other side of it.  Turning back to Noah, she gave him another small smile.  “Look, I really need to go.  I’ve got a bunch of stuff to do before work tomorrow.  I’ll see you around.”

And then, as if her body had a mind of its own, she moved in and hugged him.  And as if that wasn’t shocking enough, Noah’s arms came around her and hugged her back!  When Maddie went to step out of his embrace, she couldn’t.  Noah’s arms seemed to tighten around her.  She looked up at him questioningly.

And in the most surprising move of all, Noah lowered his head and kissed her.

****

For the life of him, Noah couldn’t say why he did it. 

She was leaving.  She’d promised to keep her distance.

So why was he kissing her right now?  And not just kissing her, but kissing her as if his life depended on it.

And why was she responding the same way?

One more taste, he told himself.  But he was lying.  Because one taste turned into two, and then three, and then he stopped counting and allowed himself the pleasure of putting all his attention on how the curvy brunette felt in his arms.

Incredible
.

She felt so good and tasted even better that Noah knew he needed to stop this before he ended up taking her right there on their shared porch.  Maddie’s tongue touched his and he figured he could wait a little bit longer and enjoy this moment of insanity.

Maddie was the first to break the kiss, her breathing ragged.  Noah instantly released her when she tried to move away.  Her eyes were glazed, her lips were glossy, and looking down he saw her nipples were hard.

Damn.

Her hand trembled as she touched her lips, looking at him.  “I…I really need to go,” she said right before she quickly turned and ran into her apartment and shut the door. 

Noah stood rooted to the spot for several long minutes before he was able to make himself move.  Back inside his own apartment, he wondered what the hell had gotten into him.  He never acted impulsively.  All his years in the military had taught him that doing so could be dangerous.

And they were right.

Kissing Maddie was more dangerous than he ever could have imagined. 

For a while now, Noah had thought about Maddie.  A lot.  Hell, she starred in every one of his late-night fantasies.  But he knew better than to act on his attraction to her.  She was all sweet and light and good and he was far too dark and miserable for her.  The last thing he wanted was to dim all that was bright with Maddie.  She was always smiling and everyone in the apartment complex seemed to love her.  He would be a bastard – a selfish bastard at that – to get involved with her.

One kiss.

It was all he’d allow.

Sitting down on the sofa, he scrubbed his hands over his face and threw his head back.  Who was he kidding?  The fantasies were only going to get more vivid because he knew how she felt, knew the taste of her lips and how her tongue felt dueling with his.  For a man who prided himself on his self-control, he’d pretty much kicked that to the curb down on the porch. 

So now what? 

It wasn’t the greatest boost to his ego that Maddie had essentially turned and ran from him, but he had no idea what tomorrow would bring.  He hoped nothing would change – that everything she’d said earlier would still hold true.  Noah knew he wasn’t relationship material and everything about Maddie was.  With any luck she’d be pissed off at him for kissing her and that would help her stick to her resolve to stay away from him.

It was for the best.

For her.  For him.  For the both of them.

He just needed to tell his hardened body to believe it.

For almost three days Maddie made sure she was too busy to take note of Noah’s comings and goings.  She spent extra time volunteering so she wouldn’t be home when she knew he tended to leave and come back – less chance of running into him that way. 

Not that she didn’t want to.  That kiss – that hot, steamy kiss – had been running on a constant loop in her mind.  She had a feeling if she ran into him, there was a very good chance she’d jump him and demand a repeat.

Yes, avoidance was definitely the smart way to go.

Looking at her watch, she saw it was after six and the community center would be closing soon.  The kids had loved the Thanksgiving crafts she’d worked on with them today and that made her happy.  Her original plan had been to grab some takeout on the way home and spend the evening working on her report for a local electronics company.  She did a monthly gig with them that went out in their newsletter.  It wasn’t a challenging report to do, but it would fill her time at home.

Unfortunately, Kiera had texted her about an hour ago and begged Maddie to meet her for dinner.  She loved her friend, she truly did, but it was a Wednesday night and it was Kiera’s usual night to go out with her co-workers for drinks.  Maddie had a feeling if she was being invited, it was because Kiera was going to try and fix her up with someone.

So. Not. Interested.

But, in a moment of weakness, Maddie had agreed.  Now, scooping up her art supplies, she knew she was stuck going.  “Dinner and a drink,” she muttered, zipping up her satchel.  “That’s all.  I can be home by eight – nine the latest.”

Twenty minutes later, she walked into a downtown pub and immediately spotted Kiera.

“Maddie!  I’m so glad you’re here!”  Kiera walked over and hugged her.  “I snagged us a booth.”

Within minutes they were seated and had their drinks ordered.  “So what’s up?” Maddie asked.  “I thought this was your teacher’s night out.”

Kiera rolled her eyes.  “Normally it is.  But today was brutal and I was in no mood to talk shop.”

Maddie sagged with relief. 

“Why?  What’s the matter?”

“I thought you invited me out to fix me up with someone,” Maddie admitted. “I was kind of dreading coming here so I am very happy no one else is joining us.”

Kiera’s eyes darted away as a small blush crept up her cheeks.

“You didn’t,” Maddie murmured.

“It’s not what you’re thinking,” Kiera quickly said.  “You know Tommy and Chris from the gym?”

Maddie nodded.

“Well, I sort of mentioned we’d be here.  So…”

With a groan, Maddie threw her head back.  “So there’s a good chance they’re going to stop by.”  She cursed under her breath.  “Why?  Why would you ambush me like this?”

“Oh, please.  It’s not an ambush,” Kiera said.  “We talked about this on Saturday.  We need to get out there more.  Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and then before you know it Christmas will be here, and then
BAM
!  New Year’s.  So here we are!  Out there!”  Her enthusiasm and smile were – no doubt – there to encourage Maddie.

It didn’t work.

“I started Christmas shopping,” Kiera said, hoping for a change of subject.  “And are we still on for Black Friday?”

“You should have told me.”

Kiera sighed.  Loudly.  “If I had told you, you would have found an excuse not to come out.  Then you would have spent the night peering through your blinds hoping to catch a glimpse of Sergeant Sexy.  Not that I can blame you, but…still.”

After having spent some time with Noah over the weekend, she could only imagine how he would react to that nickname.  A small smile tugged at her lips.

Kiera eyed her curiously for a minute.  “Is there something you’d like to share with the class?” she asked coyly.

There hadn’t been a lot of time for Maddie to share what had happened with Noah with Kiera.  Well, that wasn’t entirely true.  There had been – but she was still trying to figure it all out for herself. 

Their waitress returned with their drinks and took their order, and as soon as she was gone, Kiera leaned across the table.  “Out with it!  I can see it on your face.  Something happened with Sergeant Sexy!  Spill it!”

With a roll of her eyes, Maddie told her about Noah falling, the trip to and from the ER, and their dinner together Sunday.

“That’s it?  You guys had dinner together and you told him you were done bothering him?”  She sat back with a huff.  “Well that’s a drag.”

Maddie shrugged and took a sip of her water with lemon.

Kiera’s eyes narrowed.  “No…”  Leaning forward, she studied Maddie’s face.  “You’re totally leaving something out!  Come on!  Tell me!  You know you want to!”

“Okay, fine.  He kissed me.”

“
What
?” Kiera cried.  “Oh, my gosh!  This is awesome!  Amazing!  So…so did you sleep with him?  Are you going out with him?  What’s going on?”

She couldn’t help but chuckle at her friend’s enthusiasm.  “Nothing’s going on.  We kissed and I…ran.”

“You ran?”

Maddie nodded.

“Why would you do that?  You’ve been watching this guy for like…a year.  Then he finally kisses you and you run away?”  She gasped.  “Oh…was it…” Her voice lowered.  “Was it bad?  Is he a bad kisser?”

Maddie wished.  “No.  He’s actually a fantastic kisser.  Probably the best kisser ever.”

“Then my question still stands – why run?”

She shrugged.  “Because it didn’t mean anything.”

“How do you know?”

“The man lives a solitary life.  He likes it that way.  He admitted it to me.  So why would I want to get involved with someone like that?”

“Um…because he’s hot,” Kiera said with a hint of sarcasm.

“Not good enough,” Maddie said with a sigh.  “I’ve had to deal with loneliness for years.  I enjoy being around people and – trust me – Noah is
not
the kind of guy who is going to suddenly get social.  It’s all for the best.”

Kiera was about to respond when two attractive men approached the table. 

“Ladies…good to see you.”

Both Maddie and Kiera smiled.

“Hey, Chris,” Kiera said and slid further into the booth.  She smiled when he sat beside her.  Across from them, Tommy took a seat next to Maddie.  “I wasn’t sure if you guys were going to stop by.”

For the next two hours, Maddie did her best to smile and relax.  It wasn’t that she didn’t like the guys – she did – but their timing pretty much sucked and now all she was able to think about was Noah and their kiss.

For his part, Tommy tried to engage her in conversation, but by the time they had finished eating, Maddie knew she wanted to leave.  “Listen guys,” she said to the three of them, “I need to get going.  I’ve got a report to finish tonight and I haven’t even really started it.  Sorry.”

Neither Tommy nor Chris seemed to be bothered, but Kiera gave her a knowing smirk.  “Are you sure you have to leave?  It’s still kind of early,” Kiera said.

“And this report is kind of tedious.  I shouldn’t have procrastinated, but I did.”  Tommy moved so she could slide out of the booth.  With a round of good-nights and a promise to call Keira the next day, Maddie made her way out to her car.

“Freedom,” she sighed as she walked across the parking lot. 

Once she was in her car, her thoughts immediately began to drift back to Noah.  Her dashboard clock showed it was almost nine-thirty and she knew he would be home by now, therefore eliminating any chance of running into him in the parking lot or on their porch.   With a quick prayer of thanks, she made a mental note to text Kiera and apologize.  She knew her friend was disappointed when she’d left.

The ride home was short and while she was still in the car, she turned it off and reached for her purse to fish out her phone. 

It wasn’t there.

Cursing, she turned the bag upside down and began to frantically search for it with no luck.  Then she remembered putting it on the table during dinner.  Another curse.  With a sigh of agitation, she loaded everything back into her purse and climbed from her car.  She’d just turned and locked it when she ran into someone.  “
Oh
!”  Looking up, she saw Tommy.

Eyes wide, Maddie looked around.  “Hey…what are you doing here?”

He held up her phone with a big grin.  “You took off kind of fast.  By the time I was out in the parking lot, you were gone.  I figured you’d need this.”

Relief swamped her as she took the phone from him.  “You have no idea,” she said, smiling back at him.  “Thanks.  I’m sorry to make you have to chase after me.”

He shrugged.  “Not a big deal.”  Putting his hands in his pocket, he continued to look at her.  “So…um…I got the impression you weren’t thrilled we joined you and Kiera for dinner.”

She couldn’t help but blush.  “No, it wasn’t…”  She shook her head.  “I had only found out you were coming about fifteen minutes before you showed up.  Kiera has a habit of doing that to me.”

“Oh…well…sorry,” he said, still grinning.  “Would it be all right if…maybe I called you sometime and we went out – just the two of us?”

Having known Tommy for a while, Maddie considered him a friend.  Hearing him imply he was looking to ask her out on a date was a bit of a shock.  She didn’t want to hurt his feelings – and she really was anxious to get inside – she said, “Sure.  That could be fun.”  When he didn’t make a move to leave, Maddie took a step back.  “Anyway, thanks for getting my phone back to me.”

“No problem,” he said, and then took a step closer to her.  “It wasn’t a big deal at all.”  Another step.  Then he kissed her on the cheek.  “I’ll talk to you soon,” he said softly and then turned and walked away.

She stood still until Tommy was in his car and driving away.  There was a chill in the air and before she realized it, she spotted a couple of snow flurries.  With a shiver, she turned and walked toward her apartment, marveling at the fact that she hadn’t been on a proper date in months and in the last week, she’d been kissed twice.

The front steps creaked as she walked up and she made yet another mental note to call the management company in the morning.  At least the light was working.  Only…it wasn’t on.  Sighing, Maddie jingled her keys in her hand until she found her door key.

“Date night?”  A low masculine voice asked in the darkness and she screamed.  Noah stepped forward and gently placed his hands on her shoulders.  “It’s just me.  Sorry.  I thought…I figured you saw me standing here.”

With her heart beating frantically in her chest, she did her best to calm down.  “Geez, Noah,” she said breathlessly, “what are you doing lurking out here in the dark like that?”

“I wasn’t lurking,” he said a little defensively.  “I was returning your containers and saw you out in the parking lot with that guy.  I figured I’d wait here and give these to you rather than leaving them on the floor.”

It made sense.  Sort of.  But part of Maddie was secretly hoping he had noticed her talking with Tommy and he was jealous and coming out to investigate. 
This is what an over-active imagination and reading too many romance novels will do to you
, she chided herself.

“Oh, well…thanks.”  She reached out to take the containers from him but Noah didn’t hand them over.  Instead he stood there looming over her, staring.  Rather than continue in the awkward silence, Maddie unlocked her front door and clicked on the outside light.  Noah blinked until his eyes adjusted to the brightness.  From her spot in the doorway, she held out her hand again.

Instead of handing them to her, he stepped in close. “How come your date didn’t walk you to the door?”

Date?  What date?  Oh, yeah.  Tommy.  “He’s a friend.  I left my phone at the restaurant earlier and he followed me home to return it to me.”

“So you had dinner together?”

Seriously?  “Uh, yeah.  Me, Tommy, my friend Kiera and Tommy’s friend Chris.”  Maddie didn’t know why she was bothering to explain it to him, but Noah’s eyes were boring into hers.  She shifted from one foot to the other and tried to look away.  But she couldn’t.  “Anyway, I…I hope you enjoyed the rest of the chili.”

“Maddie?”

“Hmm?”

“Invite me in,” he said, his voice low and gravelly.

Unable to help herself, Maddie stepped aside.  He closed the door behind him.  Not sure of why he wanted to come in, she reached out and took the containers from him and flipped on a couple of lights on her way to the kitchen.

“You really could have just left them outside.  It wasn’t a big…” She gasped loudly when she turned around and found Noah standing directly behind her.  “I can’t believe you did that again,” she said nervously.  Swallowing hard, Maddie looked around her kitchen.  “Um…can I get you something to drink?”

He shook his head.  “So that wasn’t a date?”

Why was he fixating on it?  She sighed – loudly – and met Noah’s serious gaze.  “No.  It wasn’t.  What’s going on, Noah?”

“You kissed me three days ago.  It kind of rubbed me the wrong way that you would do that and then go out on a date tonight.”