Noah's family was exactly the same in person how they were on Face Time, but much warmer. There were also a lot more hugs. Their house was small and quaint, with white walls and wonderful, warm smells from the kitchen. The house did seem a bit claustrophobic for a family of five though, and now six when I stood inside.
His mom and dad converged on me as soon as I stepped out of the car, hugged me, and laughed at Noah's surprise. While a few weeks ago I would've been mortified in such social chaos, today I simple laughed in the middle of all of it.
"Maggie, you are lovely." His mom looked at me warmly as her hands squeezed my upper arms. "Just like on the telly."
"You could have just used your phone." I threw Noah a warning look.
He just winked, strode towards the doors, and nodded at his dad.
"Come in, come in!" She grabbed my shoulders and led me inside. I recognized the boxes stacked up in their front entrance area and rested my purse on the top one.
I recognized Christian once we stepped inside and gave him an awkward hug, then smiled at Connor, who just waved in my general direction with disinterest before turning back to his phone.
"Don't mind him," Noah nudged me. "He's trying to score a date with a girl up the street. Normally wouldn't stand a chance but she's quarantined in, so..."
"So, what's first?" His dad squeezed past behind me.
"If it's okay, I'd like to change my clothes since we were at the hospital." I ran my fingers through my hair. "Just to be safe. Maybe shower?"
"Of course. First, sleeping arrangements." His mom pointed at my belongings, which also included a backpack and suitcase. "Noah, take those up to your room."
"That's okay?" I asked with wide eyes.
She nodded and just gave me a knowing smile. European parents were obviously a bit less uptight.
My parents would've put Noah in the basement.
"Yes love. Change, wash up for dinner. I assume you want to get reacquainted tonight," she paused. "Then Noah tomorrow after breakfast you can take Maggie to see Gram."
"Okay, thank you." I followed Noah upstairs. Their house seemed to get smaller upstairs, with four bedrooms wedged around a single bathroom.
"Here." Noah led me into his room. The room was only ten feet by twelve feet, and taken up mostly by his bed. It reminded me of my small apartment, although he at least had a closet. I smiled when I saw his guitar case propped up in a corner, before my eyes traveled to a display wall above his desk.
He'd attached a lot of pictures. Some of them were years older, with friends and family embracing a younger version of him. I recognized some more recent ones from our tour. He caught me smiling at them, dropped my stuff on the floor, and came up behind me. I felt a sense of security as he wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his chin on my shoulder.
"Mum printed them for me when we sent you the first care box," he mumbled then brushed his lips against the side of my neck.
"Noah," I giggled at the soft sensations and swatted playfully at him. "Your family's downstairs."
Suddenly, I felt a bit embarrassed about our phone conversations. The walls in this house were paper thin. I could hear thumping from the living room television in the floor and muffled conversations through the floor.
"I know." His fingers played with the edge of my shirt and rubbed the skin underneath suggestively as his kisses against the skin on my neck turned deeper. His thumb slid higher and drew soft circles on my ribs. "They turned up the telly, so it's okay."
"Is it? Your mom literally said wash up." I tried keeping my eyes focused on the pictures, but his fingers were distracting. I lifted my arm on that side to give him more room to maneuver, bent my elbow and ran my fingers over the nape of his neck behind me. The burning sensation started building back up inside me again. His thumb gently lifted up the bottom of my bra and rubbed against the underside of my breast.
"Noah... We were just in the park -" I shuddered slightly against his soft touch.
"I can't help it, love." He tugged me to turn around. "You're distracting."
"I'm distracting?" I laughed, but obliged until I faced him.
"Very." He nodded, with his eyes full of the same look of intent. "I was fine until you said we need to take off our clothes. And shower."
"I did say that." I paused as he leaned towards me for a kiss. He only needed a few seconds before his for tongue found mine again. His hands slid to my front and tugged at my sweater.
"I meant to be safe. Germs." I sighed into his mouth then pulled back.
He was twisting my words, I'd just meant - oh, it's pointless now.
"If you have any more johnies in you're coat pocket, then we're plenty safe." He winked.
Johnies?
My mind needed a second for my mind to register he meant condoms.
Don't get me started on the rubber/eraser confusion.
"I've created a monster." I sighed, stepped out of my shoes, and bent over to peel off my socks. "Just tell me if you have a laundry hamper."
"Here," he stepped away and handed me one from his closet. I stripped off my sweater, yanked off my skirt, and tossed them in with my socks. I pulled one hand behind me and reached up behind me to unclasp my bra, when I paused since he stared at me in shock.
"What?"
"Definitely better in person." A smile slowly spread across his face as his eyes traveled over me. They warmed when he saw the silver cross around my neck, then paused on my navel, which evoked a smirk.
"Didn't know you had that though." He pointed at my piercing.
"Rash decision when I first moved here." I blushed.
In a moment of ridiculous self-defiance, the first week I was here, I'd walked right out of my apartment riding on a cloud of independence into a tattoo parlor. I picked out a simple, silver ring, which in hindsight was silly really.
"I think -" I held up my hand and stopped him from stepping any closer to me.
"You were at the hospital too," I looked pointedly at the hamper.
"Don't have to ask me twice, love." He let out a small laugh and slipped off his shirt.
My eyes gently washed over him. He had the lean build of a runner, but subtle muscle definitions suggested he'd been exercising more than our daily three-mile runs. I watched in interest as he stripped himself completely naked with ease and put everything in the hamper. He turned his bare bottom around, and my eyes widened and cheeks flushed at his obvious excitement.
Enough of that.
I grabbed my suitcase, laid it flat on the floor, and pulled out a towel. Noticing a flicker of disappointment in his eyes since I was still in my bra and underwear, I simply wrapped the towel around me.
"Bathroom's this way, right?"
"You can't just leave me like this." He pointed at his obvious awkward disposition. I just smiled and gestured for him to follow.
"Take it the shower was good." His dad threw us a knowing glance from across the dinner table. I lowered my eyes to my plate, cheeks burning. Noah grabbed my hand under the table. "Any hot water left?"
"Yes," Noah squeezed my hand with a laugh.
"We tossed our clothes in the washer," I announced. "Hope that's okay."
After his Mom nodded silently, I searched for the quickest diversion I could think of. "So... Christian, you're in eleventh year, right?" The British education system was a bit different, but I hadn't exactly followed the traditional US high school path either.
"Don't ask him about that," his mom piped up. "He'll get all sad missing out on prom."
"They have proms here?" That was news to me.
"Quite recent development that we stole from American telly," his dad answered. "And ridiculous, if you ask me."
"I don't know, I would've liked to dress up and have you take me." His mom side-eyed his dad.
"What was your prom like Maggie?" Christian asked.
"I didn't have one," I admitted. "I was home-schooled. But it's quite big in the States."
"How does that work, love?" His mom asked as she passed around some napkins. "Home schooling."
"I studied at home, took some high school exams when I was fifteen, then went to college."
"So that's why you aren't much of a talker," she mused. I didn't know what to say, so I just nodded and gave her a small smile. "Bless your parents, I'd be daft if I had to stay home with this lot all day."
"Why don't you have a prom here?" I asked Christian.
The idea at least flicked some interest in his expression. "If Olivia can come over."
"That one's been sneaking in at night, between what they're doing in the garage and you two upstairs on the phone, my ears could use a good bleaching." His mother shook her spoon at all of us. Connor looked like he wanted to crawl under the table. My face immediately flushed red and I threw another look at Noah. He simply smiled.
"Now, everyone eat up. Tonight it's whist or bastard night." Three sets of blue eyes - Noah's and his brothers' - rolled. Mine probably just looked confused.
"Maggie," Noah finally broke the silence between us. I'd been reminded of the long day, stretched out by another two hours of playing cards with his incredibly competitive family. I would have slipped right into sleep if he hadn't absently traced patterns on my arm the past few minutes.
"Hmm?" I mumbled with heavy eyelids that didn't want to open.
"I-" He paused.
"Yeah?" I rolled over towards him and squinted open my eyes. We had laid close to the same position we were in the night before we said good-bye, with my back against his bare chest, except this time he was warm instead of feverishly hot.
"I'm glad you're here." He slid his hand around my lower back and pulled me closer. I smiled, brushed a small kiss on his cheek, and rolled back over. I'd forgotten how comforting his warmth was, as it lulled me towards sleep.
"How long are you staying?" His voice whispered over me.
"As long as you'll have me, I suppose," I mumbled into my pillow.
The warm softness of his lips brushed against my shoulder as he replied with just one word.
"Good."