Toe the Line(8)

My face flushed with heat. My thirsty brain interpreted that question entirely incorrectly. But then…duh…we shared a bathroom. I cleared my throat. “I’ll just use my mom’s bathroom. You go ahead.”

He nodded. “Okay.”

Nora smiled over at her son before he disappeared up the stairs. Then she sighed. “It’s so good to have my baby back.”

“I’m sure we’ll feel the same next year once Noelle’s away in Boston,” my dad said.

“Archie needs to start getting serious,” Archer interjected. “This time is precious. I’m afraid he’s wasting it. He needs to call—”

“He just got here!” Nora said. “He’ll call him. Don’t worry.”

Has this guy never heard of summer vacation? I brought my coffee to the table and joined them, reaching for an apple fritter.

To my surprise, Archer turned his attention toward me. “Noelle, your mother tells me you’re majoring in journalism at BU?”

I nodded. “Yes.”

“You don’t think that’s a bit of a waste?”

My chewing slowed. “How so?”

“Well, journalists don’t make much money, from what I understand.”

I straightened in my seat. “Someone has to document what’s happening in the world. Whether journalists get paid a lot or not, it’s an important job. You can’t deny that.”

“Just because someone has to do it doesn’t mean you should. Are you going to become a garbage collector because someone needs to take out the trash?”

God, he’s so condescending. “There’s nothing wrong with that, either,” I responded.

I was definitely starting to understand how Archie felt around his dad. I was a confident person, but he had a way of making you feel less-than. I wasn’t entirely sure what my father saw in him. I wondered if Dad mainly associated with Archer because it helped him professionally.

I glanced around the table, but my parents and Nora stayed quiet. It would’ve been nice if someone had come to my defense. But I suspected no one in this room quite knew how to stand up to Archer. So it would have to be me.

I opened my mouth again, unable to help myself. “Even if I don’t end up becoming a journalist, I think a major in journalism shows prospective employers that my writing and communication skills are strong. Those things can be applied to many different industries.” I took another bite of my apple fritter and spoke with my mouth full. “Many people end up majoring in one thing and landing in another field. You don’t have to commit to anything based on your major.”

He shook his head. “If you’re smart, you will. I would consider switching to business. BU has a great school of management.”

Feeling disgusted, I stood up from the table. “If you’ll excuse me, I think I’m going to take a shower.”

Upstairs in my parents’ bathroom, as the water rained down on me, I replayed the conversation in my head. That was only five minutes, but life must be like that for Archie all the time.

? ? ?

I didn’t see Archie for the rest of that day until dinner. And we didn’t say much to each other during the meal. I mostly just listened as his dad grilled him yet again while I stole glances at Archie’s gorgeous face, broad shoulders, strong forearms. The way the overhead light brought out the gorgeous blond streaks in his hair. Yeah, I was pathetically hot for him.

At one point, Nora started posing questions that I remembered her asking the other night at dinner—how Archie’s flight here had been, among other things. It perplexed me, and I wondered if she was just making shit up without thinking as a distraction in the hopes that his dad would pipe down.

Archie was once again the first to leave the dinner table. Could I blame him? Absolutely not.





CHAPTER 4


NOELLE


PAST



LATER THAT EVENING, Cici’s cousin, Xavier, asked me if I wanted to go for a walk on the beach. It seemed harmless enough, so we went for a stroll and talked—him mostly about his musical aspirations and me mostly asking him questions about life in Boston.

When we arrived back in the general area of the bonfire, we stood closer to the shore, away from people. Xavier reached out and caressed my hair.

“Your eyes are so striking, Noelle.”

I stiffened. “Thank you.”

“Seriously, they’re like…translucent. I love your dimples, too.”

I looked down at my flip-flops and repeated, “Thanks.”

When I looked up again, he was still staring at me. Then suddenly he went in for the kill. My body tensed. I hadn’t been expecting him to kiss me, and I definitely hadn’t been expecting the rough way he shoved his tongue down my throat. Flailing my arms, I leaned back to try to get him to stop, but he only pushed forward, kissing me harder. It didn’t help that he was a little drunk.

It was too much for me, all of it—the kiss, the weight of him. There were people not that far from us, but I still felt totally alone.

Then the weight lifted. When I looked up, Archie’s hand was around Xavier’s neck.

“What the fuck are you doing?” he demanded. “Could you not see she was trying to push you off?”

“Hey, man, calm down.”