Touch (Will not be completed on Wattpad)

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Noah

            I had thought Jen bolting out of the apartment more pissed off at me than she has ever been before was going to lead to another world war in the lobby of the building.  I wasn’t going after her because I wanted her to come back; I was trying to take the argument outside where we could at least not disturb everyone else.  I never would have imagined that she would slam right into one of the most beautiful girls I have ever seen.  As soon as I saw Leah I no longer cared about any of the drama I was running after. 

            Now I am sitting here with her in my apartment and I can’t stop thinking about how torturous it is going to be to live next to her.  I don’t make a habit out of hooking up with neighbors and now that I know she has just started school here, I really don’t want to get involved because when it goes bad, and it will, she will be right next door everyday for God only knows how long.  Still, my body is revved up and ready to start something as we sip our wine and get to know each other. 

            I let my fingers dance up the soft skin of her ankle and know immediately that it was a mistake.  My nerves along my entire body begin to wake up and take notice of what I have right in from of me.  She is gorgeous, and not in a want-to-be sorority sister type of way.  Her long brown hair is pulled messily back into a ponytail and she is wearing cut off shorts and an old concert tee.  Nothing pretentious about her appearance and yet she is obviously well educated and confident. 

            Leah’s eyes are a deep chocolate brown and I love the way they peek out from behind dark lashes.  Her cheeks are flushed from the moving or wine, and her lips are plump in the shape of a bow.  She didn’t want me to take her here, but I just wasn’t ready to let her go yet.  It has been so long since I have had the desire to sit and talk with a woman like this, but that is changing as I listen to Leah and watch as she gracefully drinks the wine I gave her.  She also steals glances at me when she thinks I’m not looking.

            She is playing with fire.  I have been studying men and women for a long time now and I don’t have any room in my mind for ideas about fairytales and forevers.  I can tell by the box of old pictures I saw in her apartment that she is a forever kind of girl. I am not going to be the boy that shows her how wrong she is to believe in that.  As crazy as it sounds, I am pretty sure I am going to friend zone myself with this girl. 

            “So…I know it isn’t really my business, but did I just witness an epic break-up today between you and Jen?”  She smiles at me from above the rim of her wine glass and I love the way her cheeks flush a little deeper pink.

            “I’m not sure you could call it a break-up.”  I look to her and she casts her eyes down.  It isn’t that she is coming back; we just were never really a couple.  I can’t avoid the fact that I am going to sound like a totally dick when I explain this.  “I don’t do serious relationships.  Since we were never really committed to each other I don’t consider it a break-up.  It is however, a permanent goodbye.”  I look down at my wine and then bring to my mouth for another drink. 

            “You mean you just haven’t found that special someone?  You can’t be serious about swearing off committed relationships.  Eventually you will want that.  Everyone does.”  She sounds so confident in that belief, but I know it is just because she hasn’t seen what I have.  I’ve been studying couples breaking up for the last three years.  I see them when they have a chance at making it work but most of the time I watch them crash and burn. 

            Of course, some couples make it, but I am not convinced it will be forever.  I was hopeful once and had a three-year relationship with someone I thought I could be committed to forever.  School was a wedge between us and as I dedicated more hours to studying and she started working a few cities away, we failed just like all of the other couples.  I know the game now and I have no interest in playing it.