Are you mine?

Chapter 36

I sip my coffee with a goofy grin on my face, entranced by the sight of Noah inserting himself into my family as quickly and smoothly as he made his way into my heart. He looks comfortable, relaxed, and genuinely happy to be here, which makes me wonder how long it's been since he last had a family breakfast. I reach up and put my hand to the little heart dangling from my neck and the sadness of that thought washes away, quickly being replaced by the happy memories we made last night.

"So, are you guys excited about the senior trip coming up? What is it, two weeks away from now?" My mom asks, looking at me and catching my attention. "We should go shopping together!" she offers excitedly. "I know you still need some outfits for the themed parties."

"I'd love that," I say, swallowing down a sip of coffee, "But Syd already offered and I agreed to meet her today to get everything we need,"

"Oh, okay." my mom replies, sounding a bit disappointed.

"We can still go buy my dress for the graduation ceremony if you want." I offer as a consolation.

"Oh right!" she claps, excited, "I saw a navy blue dress in that boutique on Linden Avenue that would look gorgeous on you. It would match your complexion perfectly."

"Okay, great! That will have to wait until we're closer to the date though, I wouldn't want to buy a dress that won't fit me in two months." I say stuffing a piece of waffle in my mouth.

"That reminds me, I still have to get a suit." Noah interjects.

"Have you ever bought one before?" My dad asks, looking at Noah over his glasses.

"I'm guessing the one my mom bought me when I was eight for my cousin's bar mitzvah doesn't count?"

My dad laughs shaking his head. "Well, do you at least know your measurements?"

Noah just purses his lips into a straight line.

"I'll take that as a no." my dad says. "Let me help you, my friend Anthony is a tailor and he has a shop not far from here where he sells the best quality custom suits in this town. He'll get you fitted, and if you come with me he'll cut you a pretty good deal. He owes me for fixing his power generator last month."

"You'd do that for me, Sir?" Noah asks incredulously.

"Of course son," he replies "Every young man needs a good quality suit."

"Thank, thank you Sir." Noah stutters and seems to be lost for words for the first time since I met him.

"Anytime," my father smiles, and I smile too, knowing I couldn't have asked for a better dad if I wanted to. "Now come on," he says pushing off his chair, "I'm curious to see that bike of yours." he pats Noah on the back lightly and they walk towards the house together.

I look at my mom, incredulous to my father's warmth towards my boyfriend, and she just shrugs raising her eyebrows as if to say «I don't know either»

Realising I'm running late, I jump out of my sit and kiss my mom on the cheek before running up the stairs and getting changed for the day. When I come down, I follow the men's voices outside to the driveway, where I find them standing next to a beautiful piece of machinery.

"Oof," my dad exclaims in awe, "May I?" he asks Noah with his hand inches away from the metal.

"Please," Noah gestures, giving him the go-ahead, and my dad runs his hand over the leather seat of the motorbike.

"A 1997 Kawasaki Eliminator," he says as he analyzes the chrome eagle head designs on either end of the handlebar, as if the gibberish he just blurted out is supposed to mean anything to me. "You don't see one of these in such great conditions often around here."

"She's a beauty, isn't she?" Noah asks, admiring his pride and joy with his arms crossed over his chest.

"That she is," my dad confirms, "You should be carefull, or I'll be forced to take this off your hands." he says jokingly.

"My dad is a bit of a 'motorcycle aficionado'" I say in Noah's ear.

"Well, when I eventually put it up for sale you'll be the first to know, Sir." Noah assures my dad.

"Oh, believe me," my dad says "You do not want to get rid of this."

As my dad continues gawking at Noah's vehicle and examining it closely, I, in turn, study Noah. Being bathed by the golden rays of the early morning sun, he looks like he belongs in an oil painting hung up in a classy art gallery. My eyes trail over his toned biceps, down to the visible veins on his forearms.

His wild golden hair is being messed up by the breeze, the sun hitting it perfectly and making specific strands shine brighter than the others. Every time I look at him like this, I find something new I hadn't noticed before, like the tiny little mole that sits on his earlobe, just next to his earring.

"You alright there?" he asks with a cocky grin.

"There you go again, ruining my moment." I sigh, a little embarrassed that he caught me drooling over him.

"By all means, go ahead" he smiles. "Perv," he adds looking straight ahead and I punch him in the arm, scrunching up my face and making him laugh.

"I should probably get going." I say, looking at the time.

"You want me to drive you?" Noah offers.

"Absolutely not, young lady," my dad responds for me. "You're not getting on a motorcycle without my supervision under any circumstances." he prohibits, but I know he's only looking out for my safety. Besides it would be way more convenient for me to take my own car anyway.

"Thanks, but I can drive myself." I say to Noah, ignoring my dad. "I don't want to be an inconvenience."

"I wouldn't call spending my time with you an inconvenience, it's more of a privilege." He discretely winks at me, making me smile as a light blush coats my skin.

"I should probably get going too," he says. "Thank you for everything Sir. Dinner, breakfast, and for letting me stay here." he addresses my dad, "I really appreciate it."

"It was no trouble at all, son. You're welcome to come back anytime you want," my dad says shaking Noah's hand.

"Thank you, Sir."

"Now stop thanking me and get out of here. Both of you." my dad says picking his newspaper up from the front steps and making us chuckle as he disappears into the house.

"I think now is my turn to thank you for last night. And for helping my mom this morning, and for being so sweet and-"

He interrupts my sentence, placing a soft kiss on my lips before I can keep going through the infinite list of things I'm thankful to him for.

"Have fun with Syd," he says, rubbing my cheek with a sweet smile on his face, and simultaneously using his free hand to open my car door for me.

"Thanks," I say plopping down onto the driver's seat "Have fun with...whatever it is you're doing today."

He lets out a soft laugh "Bye Mads." he says closing the door.

"Bye Noah."