“Noah, you still in here?” Lucky walked back into the kitchen, her long, wet hair hanging down her back. She gave me a concerned look. “Everything okay?”
“I take it Zane rushed right up to tell you about the call.”
“No, of course not.” She blushed and I knew she was lying.
“Lucky, I don’t want to talk about it.” I shook my head. “I’m going up to shower.”
“Wait a second.” She called out to me as I was leaving the room. “If you’re in love with someone else, it’s not fair to keep seeing Robin. It’s not fair at all.”
“I like Robin a lot. I’m not using her.” I turned around and looked at her with bleak eyes. “We have a very special connection.”
“As special as the connection you have with Skylar?”
“That’s not fair. Like I told you before you have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Then tell me, Noah. Tell me and Zane. Let us in. We may be able to help you sort it all out.”
“Lucky, I would love to tell you both more than anything. But it’s too risky.” I shook my head. “I don’t want either of you to get into trouble. I just …” I broke off as Lucky’s face became even more worried. “I’m sorry, the less you know right now the better for you both.”
“You’re not going to do anything stupid, are you?”
“I always do something stupid.” I sighed and gave her a half-smile. “Thanks for your concern, Lucky, but I’m going to take care of everything.”
“Okay.” She sighed and looked away. “Hey, can I borrow your phone quickly? I wanted to test the Facetime feature out with my phone. Just while you’re in the bathroom?”
“I guess.” I handed over my phone reluctantly. “If Sidney calls me, don’t answer. I’ll just call him back later.”
“Okay, sure.” She smiled and took the phone. “Oh wait, can you unlock it for me, please?”
“I guess so.” I sighed as I punched in the numbers giving her access to my phone. For some reason I didn’t think she was being honest about wanting to play around with Facetime, but I didn’t really know what else she would want my phone for. “I’ll see you in a few minutes.”
“Take your time.” She turned away from me and opened the fridge and I walked back to the stairs slowly. I felt like a fraud going back upstairs to Robin, pretending everything was the same as it had been just minutes ago. I felt nauseous walking up the stairs. Last night had been one of the best nights of my life. Making love to Robin had awakened something in me that I didn’t know existed. I had felt truly alive for the first time in my life, but now I would never be able to explore that connection.
“Hey,” Robin looked up at me as I opened the door. She was sitting on my bed, wrapped in a white towel and she was combing her hair. “I thought you went missing.”
“Sorry, had a call and then had a chat with Zane.”
“Is he okay?”
“Yeah,” I walked over to the closet so that I could avoid looking at her. A part of me was already aching as I stared at her. “He’s fine.”
“I suppose that must have been a super big shock for him. I couldn’t imagine finding out that my mother wasn’t really my mother and that my real mother was dead.”
“Yeah.” I pulled out a shirt and jeans. “Life can be a bitch sometimes.”
“That’s true.” Her voice was soft and I looked back at her. She was staring into space with a thoughtful look on her face.
“What about you? Where are your parents?”
“Not sure.” She looked over at me with a wry smile. “My foster parents are in Ohio, but I have no idea where my real parents are.”
“I didn’t realize you were adopted.”
“I wasn’t adopted.” She made a face. “Just fostered. Went through five different families until I hit thirteen and then stayed with the same family until I aged out of the system.”
“That must have been hard.” I walked over to her and sat on the bed next to her. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault.” She shrugged. “The older I get the more I realize just how shitty some families can be. So maybe I got lucky. One of my foster fathers told me that my father used to beat my mother and then she killed him. I don’t know if that is true, but I’m sure it’s true for someone out there.”
“I don’t understand people sometimes.” I clenched my fists. “Or men that hit women and children. Or women that hurt children.”
“Abuse is horrible.” Robin nodded and I looked at her quickly. “And no, I was lucky enough to have never been abused.”
“Thank God.”
“Yeah, I’m lucky that my last foster family was made up of two parents who really cared. They weren’t just in it for the paycheck.”
“Do you consider them your family?”
“Yeah.” She paused and then looked at me with wet eyes. “They loved me. They supported me. They took care of me. It doesn’t matter to me that they aren’t my blood. I still love them with all my heart.”
“Love isn’t about what family you’re born into.” I pulled her into me. “Sometimes we form families with people we would never expect to.”
“Have you ever—” She started to talk, but I leaned down and kissed her, not wanting to think about anything else. All that mattered right now was that we were together and we were bonding. All I wanted was to feel her lips under mine as I kissed her. I listened to her low moan and sigh and I couldn’t stop myself from pulling her towel off and slipping my boxer briefs off at the same time.
“Oh, Noah,” she moaned as my hand cupped her breast and squeezed. I pulled her down with me to the bed and allowed my body to enjoy the feel of her naked skin against mine. “We have to go to breakfast.”
“I need you.” I groaned as I continued to kiss and caress her. “I need to feel myself inside of you.”
“You were inside of me all last night and this morning as well.”
“Well, my body needs to feel you again. I’m thirsty and only you can quench my need.”
“Oh, Noah,” she giggled.
“Don’t you want me as well?”
“Yes, I want you.”