She scoffed. “Every time I speak to that woman, I feel like a teenager again.”
“Well, if it helps, you could still pass for a teenager.”
Jess smiled and bumped my arm. I was glad to be someone who could bring her out of a bad mood.
She groaned. “Sorry, Noah. Being here stirs up a lot of shit in my life.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked.
She wrung her hands together. “I don’t want to burden you.”
“It’s not a burden. I want to get to know you. The real you. No matter if it’s good or bad.”
Without answering me, she leaned over and took her shoes off. I looked out at the sand and waves ahead of us.
The sand was soft under my bare feet. Since there weren’t any other people on the beach, we left our shoes by the entrance. I wasn’t sure if we were breaking any rules by being out there so late, but I didn’t question it. I wanted Jess to confide in me.
We had walked a little while before I said, “So, you were saying?”
“I didn’t say anything yet.”
I chuckled.
She sighed. “My mom was an alcoholic until I was seventeen.”
“Oh.”
“The woman you met today is nine years sober. I took care of her for most of my life. Then she took a terrible spill down a set of stairs, and it somehow knocked some sense into her. After she took care of herself and became sober, then she decided she wanted to be a mom. She probably feels sorry for the way she treated me all those years but too little too late in my opinion.”
“Did she hurt you at all?” I asked.
“Not physically, but I took a pretty big beating mentally. Developing thick skin was my only defense.”
“I’m sorry, Jess.”
“Don’t be. It helped get me through high school. Even though you think Aussies are kind, most kids that age are assholes.”
Jess dealt with shit from home and at school. I wished I could have been there for her, even though I was close to a decade older than her.
“Anyway,” she said, taking my hand. Hers was cool in mine. “I’m a firm believer that life turns out well for those who wait.”
She turned to face me, and I took her other hand, holding them between us.
I wanted to take away all that heartache and pain, at least for a little while. I leaned close, kissing her as the sun dipped low in the sky and the waves crashed against our feet.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Jess
I woke up wrapped in Noah’s arms. I scooted closer to him, snuggling against his bare chest. He stirred but didn’t open his eyes, giving me a moment to watch him sleep.
Even after one day, I started to feel like a different person. The old me, minus all the crap M
om had given me. Reconnecting with the place of my youth was invigorating, though I was happy to have moved on to my life with Noah and Gina. It was as if good karma had finally found me and created the perfect life for us.
Noah inhaled sharply, and his eyes fluttered open. I propped myself on my arm to check the clock on his side of the bed. I groaned. “It’s already six-thirty. Gina’s going to get up soon.”
“She’s still jet lagged, I’m sure,” he said, stretching his arms over his head.