Saltwater Kisses

chapter 19

chapter 19

"It's small. Really small. And a bit of a mess too. Also, if it smells funny that would be because Mum tried to make a curry last night and it didn't go exactly to plan-"

Noah and I had been standing on the porch outside his house for the past five minutes as he warned me about his house. The rain had only got heavier; thick droplets came down in torrential waves, hitting the tin roof above our heads.

"Noah, as long as it's warm and dry, I don't care." I said, interrupting Noah's tirade.

Noah looked down at me, eyes widening as he watched a shiver come over my body. His voice softened. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

I felt a sense of excitement bubble up as he reached to open the door. Houses tell you a lot about the people who live in them, and as someone who kept his cards very close to his chest, I was excited to see what Noah's gave away. As Noah fiddled with the keys in the lock, it came to my mind that I didn't even know who Noah lived with. The exterior of the house looked too small for there to be any more than two bedrooms, so I assumed he didn't live with any siblings.

We had barely stepped inside when a feminine voice called from the back of the house.

"Noah, is that you?"

"Yes, Mum!" Noah called in response, before turning to me with panicked eyes. "I didn't realise she was in," he hissed.

I heard footsteps coming towards us and soon a short, blonde woman that looked to be in her fifties came into view. Her eyes widened when she saw me.

"Noah, you didn't tell me you had company!" She said, smiling kindly at me. Despite the fact that everything else about her was polar opposite to Noah, her smile was identical. She was wearing a light wash pair of jeans and a baggy t-shirt, and her face was freckled and clear of any makeup. Despite her casual look, it was obvious that she had always been beautiful. "Hi dear, I'm Sarah, Noah's mum."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Lois." I said. I suddenly became aware of my wet clothes causing a puddle of water on her wooden floorboards. "I'm so sorry for coming in here like this, it was raining-"

"Don't be silly!" Sarah said, waving off my apology. "You poor thing, you must be freezing. Noah, show Lois the shower."

"Thank you so much," I said, letting out a smile at the thought of warm water on my cold skin.

"No worries. I'll have some hot chocolate ready by the time you're out." Sarah said, giving me a wink before walking down the hallway, presumably to the kitchen.

"I'm so sorry," Noah said as he led me up a narrow set of stairs. "I honestly thought she would be out."

"Are you joking? She seems so nice." I said, letting my eyes wander to the pictures lining the steep staircase. I was instantly drawn to a picture of a young boy proudly displaying a large fish in his hands. With the scrappy black hair and blue eyes, it was unmistakably Noah.

"You fish?" I asked, stopping to look closer at the photo.

Noah turned around sharply. A scowl crossed his face as he saw what I was looking at. "You're not allowed to see those." He said, grabbing my hand to pull me sharply up the remaining steps.

"But Noah, I haven't even seen a picture of you in the bath yet!" I said, letting out a laugh at his extremely grumpy reaction.

Noah led me to a door at the top of the stairs. "This is the bathroom. I'm sure an Oxford girl like you will figure out how to work the shower, there's towels under the sink. I'll put some dry clothes outside the door for when you're done."