𝑺 𝑬 𝑹 𝑬 𝑵 𝑰 𝑻 𝒀 (18+)

twenty-three

                             S E R E N I T Y

♥

"Where are you taking me?" I attempted to make out familiar streets and signs while Noah zipped down the busy highway. We'd been driving for over an hour and he showed no signs of stopping any time soon.

"To dinner," he answered sarcastically. My eyes rolled and the corner of his mouth tugged in satisfaction. I was starting to see a little bit of Bev in him with each passing day. "Why do you ask so many questions?"

"What do you mean?"

He scoffed as if I'd just proven his point. "You ask too many questions."

He wasn't concerned with my inquires about dinner. No, he was referring to the questions he so delicately avoided. I was curious by nature but something about him sparked an intensity within me. I didn't have access to him, which in turn made me want to know everything.

"How am I supposed to know things if I don't ask questions?"

"And somehow you manage to answer with another one."

"Why don't you ask questions?"

Noah's cold stare fell on me before he turned his attention to the road. "I don't care to know." That was a lie. Noah did ask questions with genuine curiosity. His were personal, they made me feel vulnerable. The difference between my questions and his was evident. Noah expected an answer while I knew he'd never give me one, at least not one I wanted.

"You're an ass, have you always been this arrogant?"

He smirked, "careful. This ass still has to take you back to the office to get your car."

"I'll take my chances." Noah pulled into a dimly lit parking lot and sighed, "I'm going to have to do something about that mouth of yours." His finger dragged against my bottom lip and he held it there, "I've been gentle with you thus far." Gentle? He and I had very different definitions of gentle. No matter, if he had been holding back I wanted to feel him at his worst.

As if he'd known what I was thinking Noah smirked and leaned in closer, his cool minty breath tickling the hairs in my nose. His eyes dropped to his thumb on my lip before he said, "next time I'll break you." He dropped his hand to my seatbelt and unfastened it for me.

"Let's go inside."

I wouldn't have guessed the building was a restaurant from the outside. It looked old and worn like it had been at a standstill for centuries. The sides of the building were covered in vines with wild overgrowth of plants and flowers in the grass. I was a tad suspicious, but if Noah knew of this place there certainly had to be more to it. He warned me to watch my step as he lead me down a narrow pathway. We entered these massive gold double doors that unveiled a warm and cozy interior. Renaissance paintings decorated the walls and Jazz music echoed throughout the long hallway. Noah led me to another dimly lit area where he greeted a young man that looked to be the same age as him.

"Jason, It's good to see you man," the pair shook hands and went into a hug. "I have to say I was surprised to get a call from you. I thought you'd never cash in that favor I owed you." The man turned his attention to me and looked me up and down whistling. "And it was an even bigger surprise to discover you were cashing in that favor for a woman." He put out his large hand for me to shake and I accepted it, "Jason Montgomery, and you are?"

"Serenity Taylor, nice to meet you." My hand lingered in Jason's grasp a second too long for Noah's liking. He placed a gentle hand on my waist and pulled me closer, "our table Jason."