When August Ends(18)

Disappointed in my impulsive behavior, I swore at myself under my breath the entire walk home.

And I was still feeling self-destructive when I got there, because when I returned to my room, I did the one thing I knew I would end up regretting.

Taking out my phone, I scrolled down to Eric’s name.



Heather: I can meet you tomorrow night.





CHAPTER SIX




* * *



NOAH




With hard strokes, I took out my frustration on the house as I painted the next morning.

Heather’s words from last night kept playing in my head as I rolled the paint over the wood of the boathouse.

I’m very drawn to you…and very attracted to you.

I’d felt like a piece of shit after she left. She’d taken my rejection personally, when that was the last thing I wanted.

I still had no clue if I was going to tell her why I’d left Pennsylvania to come here. But I knew I needed time without complications. And my twisted feelings for Heather were starting to become a complication.

Shit, if there’s anything sexier than a woman who isn’t afraid to ask for what she wants. But Heather wasn’t exactly a woman. She had a lot of growing up to do. While she was old enough to know what she wanted sexually, she wasn’t old enough to know what was good for her. That would only come with time and years of experience. I wasn’t going to be the one to teach her about the kind of guy not to get involved with. She needed someone grounded, who would make a good husband to her someday, not someone messed up in the head who’d already proven incapable of marriage.

More than anything, she didn’t know the truth. I could never take advantage of her advances—no matter how hard it was to resist. It didn’t matter that she was drop-dead gorgeous, that I was horny as fuck, or that she seemed to be the only person capable of making me smile.

Though I continued to ruminate while painting, at one point, the sound of music playing registered. I got down from the ladder and took a little walk to see where it was coming from.

“MMMBop” by Hanson.

Sure enough, it came from Heather’s room. It was like the nineties threw up in there. I was tempted to yell up to her window and tease her, but after last night, I didn’t think she’d appreciate it.

So I bit my tongue, shook my head, and walked back to the boathouse.

***

Later that afternoon, I was back up on the ladder when my heart nearly dropped to my stomach. I looked over to see someone standing on the roof of the main house. The structure was three stories high, so anyone who fell off was going to be seriously injured.

It didn’t take long for me to figure out it was Heather.

What the hell is she doing on the roof?

She was looking down as if she was…pondering jumping? I found it hard to believe she would ever do that. Why then? Adrenaline pumped through me as I climbed down and ran toward the house.

With my heart pounding, I called up to her, “Heather! What are you doing?”

She put her hand on her chest. “Oh my God. You scared the shit out of me.”

I held my hand over my forehead to block the sunlight. “I scared you? Get down! Are you crazy?”

“Why?”

“Because you could fall. Why are you up there?” I swallowed, terrified of her answer.

“It’s an exposure exercise,” she said.

“What? What the hell are you talking about?”

“I have a massive fear of heights. I’ve been listening to this podcast on facing your fears, and the doctor says to overcome any fear, you have to challenge yourself, expose yourself to it. I decided to climb up here and experience the fear for a bit, to habituate to it.”

My mouth hung open. “That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard, especially when you can fall and break your neck in the process.”

She crossed her arms and looked down at me. “What did you think I was doing up here?” After a moment, her face changed. “Oh my God, Noah. You didn’t think I was going to jump?”

I let out a long breath as my heartbeat started to return to normal. “I don’t know what I thought. But what in God’s name else would someone be doing up on the roof, standing there and looking down at the ground?”

“I can’t believe you thought I was going to off myself. What—did you think your rejection last night put me over the edge?” She started to laugh.

As sick as it was under the circumstances, I was happy to hear her joking about last night. I’d been worried I’d hurt her.

“You do realize this is the second botched attempt at saving my life you’ve had since your arrival, right?” she shouted down.

I shook my head and couldn’t help but laugh.

She climbed carefully down the ladder and walked over to stand in front of me.

“You’re insane, you know that?” I said. “You scared me. I’m not gonna lie. But now I see how ridiculous the whole thing is.”

Her face turned serious. “Do you really think I could do that to my mother after what happened to my sister?”

That question hurt my chest. “I wasn’t thinking. I saw you up there, and I freaked out for a second. I had no idea what you were doing.”

She reached out to pinch my cheek, letting her hand rest a bit on my face. “It’s cute that you cared.”