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She was right. She owned my eyes from the moment I saw her. They found purchase on any bit of her that was visible. Too much too soon, sure, but I was willing to fall in as deeply as she’d let me.
I nodded, and we walked in silence until we reached the restaurant. We were seated immediately among the empty tables. The Christmas decorations made the place look cozy. Little trees lined up along the windows and lights hung from the ceiling.
A waitress came up and took our drink orders, handing us menus. Noa refused hers, saying she already knew what she wanted, a small grin on her face.
I leaned forward with interest while she relayed the dish and exactly how she wanted it as she shrugged out of her coat and removed her gloves.
“Please don’t serve it with zucchini. I’d rather have the steamed broccoli. Also, extra sauce on the side. Thanks so much.”
I handed the menu back to the server and said I’d have the same.
“So, what are we doing here?” Noa’s head tipped to the side a bit.
“Eating,” I said with a shrug.
“You just look like someone who cares what other people think. Like, your image and all that. Which doesn’t explain why you’re here, sitting across from me, buying me dinner. I don’t think I fit that image, Dexter Andrews.” She leaned forward to whisper, “Do you know how many times you’ve walked past me, not ever really noticing me?”
Her brown irises were turning me inside out. I didn’t know what to say. Noa was intimidating but I couldn’t look away, even as she further proved just how much of an ass Dex had been.
“I wasn’t seeing as clearly as I am now,” I said, hoping she didn’t think it was cheesy. My honesty was a bit more timid than hers, but it was honesty nonetheless.
She nodded like she knew exactly what I meant.
The waitress came back with our drinks. When I ordered the same exact thing as Noa, I didn’t realize she requested ginger ale. I stowed that random fact into myAll Things Noabox.
“What’s your deal, Dexter?” she asked, just when I felt myself relaxing.
“My deal?” I still had no idea what I could say to this girl, other than I would follow her for the rest of my life. Which was insane. But I believed it wholeheartedly. I just didn’t want to creep her out.
“Yes. What do you do for fun? What’s your favorite color? What’s it like to survive being hit by a car?”
She had no filter. It was refreshing to the point of unnerving. Normal, normal,bam—a question that made me want to double back to figure out where it came from.
“I enjoy programming in my off-time,” I said. “Sometimes I feel like I communicate with computers better than I do with human beings. My favorite color is blue.”
Her lips curved as she tugged at her hair and I smiled before going on.
“And I don’t remember the accident or anything before waking up in the hospital, so I can only say it feels like waking up in someone else’s life.” I didn’t know if Dexter’s favorite color was blue. But blue was all I saw since meeting her that afternoon. A color that was supposed to be reminiscent of sadness, feeding me great joy.
“That’s got to be interesting.” Her eyes continued to twinkle under the Christmas lights as she sipped her soda through the straw. “Are you afraid of walking across the street?”
“No.” I laughed. “Tell me what I was like before. Did we ever speak to each other?” I didn’t think Dexter would associate himself with someone like her. All that freedom and color in his seemingly adult life? No. She had Dexter pegged correctly. Only now she thought of him as me.
She looked up at the ceiling, as if in thought. “You were this guy who noticed everything and nothing. Your head was in the clouds most days, but you were—are—so smart. You were the prince to my peasant. Before today, you never even looked at me, something I dreamed would change.” She smiled to herself, playing with her straw before looking at me again, her lips no longer spread.
I wanted her smile to be aimed at me, to shine under the radiance of it.
“I think that was what made you such a big deal,” she said. “No one mattered, not even Becca. You were content to be alone, never needing the complement of a beautiful companion.”
I wanted to belong to her. And I wanted her towantme to belong to her. “Are you actually happy to be here, Noa?” I asked in a teasing tone, hoping to hear ayes. And God knew I wanted to get the subject off Becca or any other woman for that matter.
“I don’t know yet. Ask me again in a few years.”
We were interrupted by the waitress setting down our food. Noa dug in almost immediately, groaning with appreciation.
“Good?” I asked, watching her, not even touching my own plate.
“Like heaven,” she said, placing her napkin against her mouth so I wasn’t faced with a mouthful of food. She chewed and swallowed and then spoke again. “Sorry. This is my favorite place.” She narrowed her eyes. “You didn’t know that, did you?”
