Claiming Xana (Wildcat Graduates Book 2) Page 15

  “I don’t know. She says she’s fine, and I really don’t have any proof that she’s not, but something just doesn’t feel right. Hopefully it’s just been school or her job that’s gotten her all out of whack, and this break will snap her out of it,” Cade sighs and resumes his game.

  “Whenever you talk to Xana next, see when she wants to go to Shreveport or Monroe with us. She can help me finish my Christmas shopping.” I agree and end the call.

  Figuring Xana is already asleep, I gather my things and head for the bathroom to get showered before bed. It’s been a long week and I am ready to crash. Letting the hot water soothe my muscles, I think about Xana and how I am going to continue forward with our relationship. I’ve told her how I feel about us and with everything that just happened with her ex, I don’t want to mess anything up.

  I am almost out of hot water, and since I have made no real progress on how to proceed with Xana, I get out of the shower and get dressed in some flannel sleep pants and a long sleeved tee. I’m about to brush my teeth when I hear my phone ringing.

  Rushing to answer before the caller hangs up, I don’t look at the caller ID and have no idea who it is when I answer.

  “Hello?” I sit on the side of my bed and wait for a reply. I’m just about to hang up when I hear a small voice.

  “Hey,” the voice says, almost too quietly. “Am I calling at a bad time?”

  “Never. I thought you’d be asleep now,” I tell her. Xana sounds almost sad and that makes me wish we were talking face to face so I could see her reactions.

  “I wish I were,” she whispers.

  “Talk to me. What happened?”

  “Nothing, I’m just really tired. I wanted to thank you for being there with me today.”

  “Xana,” I warn her. She’s trying to hide from me and I’m not having that. “Is it about Jeff?”

  “We broke up. He…” she falters and I can hear her voice becomes shaky. “He cheated on me. I saw him with her and he denied it. He acted like I saw someone else, but I know what I saw and what I heard. Then he tried to blame everything on you. It all makes sense, and I was too dumb to see it. What’s wrong with me, Noel?” Xana sniffles as her voice grows quieter.

  “Xana, it’s nothing about you. He is the one who screwed up.”

  “I know, but I’m...I’m not…” I can hear how upset she is, and if I could get my hands on Jeff again, he may have to use crutches. I swear I let him off too easy tonight.

  “Sshhh, Sweetness. What’s done is done. Do you want to be with him, Xana,” I ask, wanting to make sure I know where her head is at.

  “NO! I’m not even really upset that we broke up. It’s just that I don’t understand why he did all of that behind my back if he really didn’t want me. Why not just break it off? It’s not like we were really seeing each other all of the time anyway. Why did he even make such a big deal out of this date? I haven’t spoken to him in weeks, Noel.” Xana’s voice becomes quieter the longer she speaks. She sounds defeated, and I hate hearing her talk like that.

  “I don’t know what he was thinking. All I know is that you’re free of him, and now you can be happy just the way you are.” Xana sighs into the phone, and I can hear how tired this has all made her.

  “Are you still hurting?”

  “A little, but it’s getting better. Thanks for everything. I’m glad you were here.”

  “Always, Sweetness. Always,” I tell her softly. “I’ll always be here.”

  “I know. You’ve given me a lot to think about, too,” she whispers.

  “Hey, Cade wants to know when you’d like to go to Shreveport with us? He said he needs your help to finish his Christmas shopping,” I tell her, hoping to change the subject and stop her from dwelling on everything that’s happened.

  “He needs my help, does he?” She pauses and I can hear a slight teasing in her voice. “I’m not sure gag gifts are part of my expertise.” Xana giggles a little and I’m glad my diversion worked.

  “Maybe not, but you never really know what Cade’s thinking, so maybe he’s doing serious shopping this time,” I joke and lean against the headboard.

  Our conversation continues as we remember all of the gag gifts Cade’s bought for every occasion imaginable. The ones he got for Stacy were the funniest, by far. I remind her to call Stacy as soon as she can, and she informs me that Stacy has already tracked her down by calling her house phone. She turned her cell phone off after she got home and forgot to turn it back on.

  Forty-five minutes pass when I hear yawns coming over the phone. “You should go to sleep now. I know you’re tired. I can hear you yawning. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay?”

  “Mom and Dad want you over for dinner tomorrow to thank you for all you did to help me. You’re coming, aren’t you?”

  “I’ve told them that they don’t have to thank me. You know that.”

  “Please say you’ll come. I want you to,” she tells me, her voice almost begging me to say yes.

  “Of course, I’ll come. Now, go to sleep.” I can never say no to her, no matter what it concerns.

  “Talk to me a little longer?” she asks, quietly. I tell her about baseball practices and stories Gramps told after I ate dinner. Fifteen minutes later, I decide she’s tired enough so I end the call.

  “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

  “Goodnight, Noe,” she says in the middle of a loud yawn. I love that she’s the only one to ever call me that.

  “Goodnight, Sweetness.” I end the call and brush my teeth before going to sleep.

  Noel and I are going to Shreveport with Xana and my sister, Michelle, to finish up some Christmas shopping. Our parents had a few things they needed us to look for, and Xana needed to get out for a day. She hasn’t really left the house since Jeff dropped by. He really did a number on her and she hasn’t been quite the same since. Even Stacy can see that when they’re talking on the phone. In fact, she insisted I do something to get Xana out, like Noel and I hadn’t planned to take her shopping with us before any of this happened. She must have forgotten that conversation. I swear that girl drives me out of my mind sometimes.

  We’re taking my truck today because it has more seating room that Noel’s Mustang. Since the pickup bed has a cover on it, we can put anything we buy back there without having to worry about what the weather may do.

  Noel meets Michelle and me at our house, so we only have to pick up Xana before we leave town. Michelle insists on sitting in the back with Xana so they could go back to sleep if they wanted. Something about beauty sleep, or whatever she was babbling on about. She even brought a blanket and pillows. Her husband’s going to have to be a near saint to put up with her.

  We didn’t make it twenty minutes before the girls were asleep in the backseat. I’m actually quite surprised they weren’t asleep sooner. I know Stacy would have been asleep before we left town.

  “Anywhere you need to go in particular for your parents, man?” I ask Noel before taking a drink of my coffee.

  “Not really. Just a few things Mom wants me to look for while we are at the mall. She said if I could find them and keep her from having to shop for them herself, she’d owe me,” Noel laughs. That sounds like his mom, alright.

  “Yeah, that sounds like my parents. Mom tried to get everything early, but there is always something she forgot, or someone unexpected she has to buy for.”

  “When is Stacy coming back from Texas? I know Xana will be glad when she gets home.”

  “You know Stacy will be the happiest to be home. Her being away from Xana while all of that mess happened has driven her insane, and me with her. You’d think she was Xana’s mother by the way she worries about her. You know I love Xana like a sister, but Stacy’s about to make me lose my mind if she asks one more question about how Xana’s really feeling. It’s not like they don’t talk on a daily basis. Why the hell isn’t she calling you instead of me?” Noel laughs at me, but I’m not kidding and it’s really not funny.

 
“She’s your girlfriend, not mine, and I aim to keep it that way. Besides Xan, you’re the only one who can put up with her neurotic tendencies,” he informs me, laughing harder than before.

  “Shut up. Make yourself useful and find something better to listen to on the radio,” I order him, trying to sound irritated. Noel isn’t one bit concerned that I’m possibly irritated, and continues to laugh while finding a more suitable station to listen to.

  Once we arrive at the mall, we decide to grab an early lunch before we work our way around shopping. The four of us agree on eating at a sandwich shop they have there that has a variety of salads and gourmet sandwiches. Noel and I couldn’t care less where or what we eat, but it seems to spark Xana’s appetite, so that’s where we eat.

  I’m actually glad that Stace isn’t here to see how bad Xana looks. She looked a little tired and wasn’t eating as much before school was out, but she really looks thinner, now. No wonder Noel is eager to eat wherever she wants. He’s trying to make sure she’s eating enough.

  As we sit down and enjoy our meal, we watch the various people shopping and make up stories about what they’re shopping for. I swear my sister has no filter, even in public.

  “Okay, that couple over there,” she says, pointing to the middle aged couple walking out of Victoria’s Secret. “See them?” We all nod and watch the couple as they leave the store.

  “You’d think they were shopping for lingerie he wants her to wear for him, right?” she asks us. Everyone nods in agreement except for me, because I know how her mind works.

  “Wrong. They were shopping for things she’s going to make him wear for her, because she’s the dominant one in their relationship. They’ll hit up the toy shop on their way home, and it won’t be his choice, either.” Finished, Michelle sits back in her chair and crosses her arms, a smile on her face.

  Xana and Noel bust out laughing, making several passersby stare at us, but I can only shake my head and and close my eyes. Xana’s laughing hard enough that her face is turning pink, and Noel is wiping the tea from his face that she spit on him. She’s never been around Michelle much to know just how crazy my sister can be. Although, she knows me well enough that she shouldn’t be too surprised.

  “Oh my coconuts, Michelle! Where do you come up with this stuff? I think you might be worse than Cade,” Xana exclaims as she wipes a fallen tear from her face. She really found that funny.

  “You think that’s funny? Check out that guy over there walking out of the bookstore,” she says as she points behind Noel. We all look to see who she’s referring to before some little kid comes running by our table, knocking over Michelle’s drink. We all rush to keep the mess from getting everywhere and forget about the game we were playing. Most of us are finished with our lunch so we decide to go ahead and throw everything away and start our shopping.

  We walk around the mall for a few hours before Michelle starts complaining about her feet hurting. We decide to see a movie while we are here, so we walk over to the theatre to see what’s playing. The girls decide to see In the Heart of the Sea since the new Star Wars movie, The Force Awakens, is already sold out. I should have guessed they’d pick that movie. Chris Hemsworth is the reason for their choice. Noel doesn’t seem one bit surprised. I guess he’s run into this before.

  Noel and I should have let the girls sit by themselves. They seemed to be in their own little Hemsworth world. It’s a good thing the theatre was only half full or we might have had several people mad at us for being too loud. Having Stacy here would have only made them louder. The movie wasn’t half bad, and I’m glad we saw it.

  After the movie is over, we finish up our shopping and have everything our parents were looking for. Noel is carrying all the things Xana bought, plus his own, as we make our way back to the truck. She tries to fight him on it, but Michelle intervenes, much to her irritation.

  “Girl, when a guy offers to carry your shopping bags for you while you walk around window shopping, YOU LET HIM. Doesn’t matter if you can do it on your own or not. You. Let. Him. Especially if he’s going to carry them regardless of your abilities.” Michelle stops, her free hand on her hip, and looks at Xana.

  Xana’s face has turned pink as she’s smiling at Michelle. She nods in return.

  “Now, what do you do?” Michelle asks her, with a raised brow.

  “I let him,” Xana replies slowly, her eyes cutting toward a grinning Noel.

  “Damn straight you do! Now, let’s get something sweet to eat,” Michelle orders, dragging Xana along with her to the cupcake store at the end of the food court. She is almost as bad as Stacy at finding sweets nearby. It must be coded into female DNA.

  “I’m not hungry for anything right now, but I’d love a strawberry lemonade,” Xana tells the clerk who asks which cupcake she’d like.

  “Are you sure, Xan? I’ve never seen you turn down cupcakes,” I ask surprised by her refusal of one.

  “I’m sure, Cade. I’m still full from lunch,” she replies and shuffles her purse over her shoulder. “I’m just going to go to the bathroom while you guys eat,” she looks at Noel who smiles back at her and nods his head.

  “You’re crazy for not getting one, girl. But, I’ll go with you. I need to go to the bathroom before we leave, too.” Michelle hands her bags to me and walks with Xana to the restroom area, which is just around the corner.

  Noel and I pay for the desserts and walk over to the restroom area to wait for them to come out. There are so many people here today there’s no way we’re getting too far away from them.

  The girls fall asleep on the way home and are still asleep when we get to my house. Noel loads all of their things into his Mustang before Xana’s awake enough to get out of the truck on her own. Dad meets us in the driveway to help us carry the things Michelle and I bought into the house.

  “You and Xana are staying for dinner, so come on in and get washed up. Sharon’s almost got everything ready to eat,” he says, grabbing the last bags from the back of the truck and walking inside.

  “Well, alrighty then,” Noel says as he guides Xana inside, laughing at Dad’s matter of fact statement. He talks to Stacy the same way. Just goes on like she’s his to command. Dad’s never been one to beat around the bush. As far as he’s concerned, we’re all one big, happy family.

  I went to the mall with Noel, Cade, and Michelle today, and I am completely exhausted. I haven’t been around Cade’s sister all that much, but she’s so much like Stacy in some ways, I found it easy to get along with her. We had a lot of fun walking around shopping, yet doing nothing at the same time. It was a really great feeling to get out of the house and just be, not having to worry about what’s happened with Jeff and my PCOS acting up.

  When we arrived back in El Dorado, Cade’s parents insisted we stayed for dinner, and from what I could tell from Noel’s reaction, they do that quite often. I wasn’t really hungry, but I had such a good time, I just wasn’t ready to go home right then.

  Dinner was really good, and I’m glad that Noel and I stayed and visited afterwards. Michelle is clearly crazier than Cade is, and it was apparent that she gets that from their father. Cade is always up to something, but he is more reserved like his mother, from what I could tell, and that really surprises me. Just watching them interact had me laughing so hard my sides started to hurt a little. It was an awesome way to end the day.

  It’s almost ten o’clock when we finish watching Christmas Vacation and are saying our goodbyes to Cade and his family when Stacy calls him. I promise to call her later and he takes the call to his room when we walk out to Noel’s car.

  “I had a really great time today. Michelle is hilarious! I wasn’t sure he could be out done, but I’m rethinking my stance on that,” I tell Noel as he pulls out of Cade’s neighborhood and onto the main street.

  “I’m glad,” he says as he reaches to hold my hand. He gives me a quick smile before turning at the green light. “I’m glad you had a good time. I’ve missed seeing you smile lik
e that.”

  I can’t help but smile back at him. Everything is so easy with Noel. I’ve missed that. “Noel,” is all I can say back to him. I’ve had a lot of time to think about what he told me after I got out of the hospital. We both made mistakes and reacted badly to things that happened. No matter how long it’s been, my feelings for Noel haven’t changed. I can’t deny that fact anymore, but I’m not sure where we go from here. Things can’t be the way they were, but I’d like for them to be better. I’m just not sure if that’s possible right now.

  “I know.” That’s all he says before squeezing my hand and winking at me. We finish the rest of the way to my house in silence, his hand holding mine. It was perfect in my opinion.

  Noel parks his car in my driveway and turns to look at me. He pushes the hair out of my eyes and tucks it behind my ear then rests his hand against my cheek. I can smell his cologne and I’m swamped with memories of us in this very car. Noel’s thumb runs along my lips and I want desperately to kiss him.

  Noel leans in closer to my face and I can feel him breathing on my mouth, his eyes never leaving mine. My heart is beating so fast I feel like I’ve run a marathon. I’m unsure just how long we look at each other before he breaks the silence.

  “I really want to kiss you right now,” he whispers as his hold on my face strengthens. Leaning in a little closer, his nose touches mine and I can feel the warmth of his mouth hovering in front of my lips.

  “Then do it,” I demand, and he doesn’t hesitate before crashing his lips into mine. I return his kiss with as much intensity as he gives me. I’ve missed his mouth.

  My hands slide around his neck and my fingers twine themselves in his hair. Our tongues move with each other, remembrance in their dance. Noel wraps his arms around me and pulls me closer, not seeming to care the console is in between us. Honestly, neither do I, so I lean forward into him as much as possible, almost laying across him. Noel continues to pull me into him and over the console until my back is against his door and my bottom rests in his lap. Thank coconuts he has long legs so there is room between his chest and the steering wheel.