Exit Wounds | Noah Sebastian

T W E N T Y S E V E N

It's still early in the morning when we make it back to Nashville.  The leggings and t-shirt I had worn on the plane are not warm enough for the freezing temperature here and I have to dig a hoodie out of my bag.  Noah grabs both of our bags and wheels them outside.  Finn was going to be picking me up.  Well, he was picking us both up, but I didn't mention Noah was with me.

"Did you tell Finn I was with you?"

"Noah!" Finn shouts from his car, but he pulls me into one of his best hugs.  My feet lift off the ground a little as he shakes me like I'm a ragdoll.  "I missed you so much," he says to me, letting me go.  Finn hugs Noah as I hug Ashley to me.

Noah and Finn load our bags into his trunk, and Noah sits close to me in the backseat of Finn's car.  His hand finds my knee as we drive back to my apartment.

"I have a lot of questions," Finn says, catching my eye in the rearview mirror.

"Can we meet for dinner tonight?  I want to tell you everything, but I need a nap right now," I say as he drives.  I was going to have to tell him I was leaving, he knew it was a possibility, but it's real now.  

"I've cleared my whole day for you," he laughs and I kiss him and Ashley on the cheek as we pull up in front of my building.   

We say goodbye quickly and Noah and I grab our bags and I let him into my building.  I lived in an old building just on the other side of the river, it was huge and the inside was industrial with exposed brick walls and flat black exposed duct work.  It had floor to ceiling windows that had a beautiful view of the river and downtown just beyond it.  I was going to miss this apartment.

Noah looks around my apartment, and it's dark charm.  I wonder if he's thinking about what kind of place we will move into like I am.

"First I want a nap, then I want a shower, and then I think I need alcohol because it's been too long since my last drink," I tell him, wheeling my suitcase to my washer.  I don't bother separating anything and dump all of my clothes into the washer and turn it on.

I pull Noah into my bedroom, curling against him, and pass out.  

We wake hours later and I feel a lot better.  We take turns showering, and I throw my clothes in the dryer.  I pour us a glass of wine and we sit on the balcony, the sun is low in the sky and it's cold, but the sunset is worth watching.

When we finish our glasses of wine it's time to get ready to meet Finn.  I apply a little make up and brush out my hair, before I pull on a sweater and jeans.  When I come out Noah is dressed in jeans and a hoodie.  He was always so casual, and I loved it about him.  

Noah gets us a ride to Jack Brown's on the other side of town.  It's small and loud, but they have the best burgers and a huge selection of craft beer.  Noah and I sit on the same side of a picnic table and order Black Abbey's.  

"You think he's going to freak?"

"He shouldn't, he knew there was a chance I was moving.  Even if I hadn't ran into you," I tell him.  Finn and Ashley are running late, so Noah and I have another round.  I'm lost in thoughts of Finn and how much I would miss him.  It wasn't like it was forever, it was a four hour plane ride, and we had already learned to spend more time apart now that he was married, but it wasn't the same.  

Noah nudges me under the table, I look up and Caleb is standing at the end of the table.

"Hey," I grin at him, because seeing him isn't painful anymore.  

"I saw you guys come in, I wanted to ask about the trip," he glances at Noah, "a little better than expected I guess."

"Yeah, Noah you remember Caleb?" Noah nods and shakes his hand, "I liked it so much I brough home a local," I joke and Noah squeezes my thigh.