Mom’s jaw drops open, her hands below her chin. Her excitement is palpable.
“Did you meet this guy already?” River asks. “Because I can probably do some background check stuff based on what he put on his profile. If we can’t, the coders can. Right, Noah?”
I take a step forward, getting between River and Noah. “I already met him. I’m already dating him. I already care about him . . . a lot.”
Noah puts a supportive hand on my shoulder, and I lay mine over his. It’s intimate, and the meaning is totally obvious.
All sound stops.
Arielle looks smug since she already knows and is here for moral support and the show. Mom and Natalie both look shocked in a good way, but River . . .
River stands from the couch, slamming his wine glass to the table. “What the fuck?” Noah and I stand resolute, a united front prepared for this. I think.
Well, we have a plan, at least.
For River to be fine. Or shocked. Or angry. Or, in my rainbows-and-sunshine hopes and dreams, for him to be super happy for us. Noah had laughed at that one, saying he hoped I was right, but knew I was gonna be wrong.
It seems Noah was correct because River growls at Noah, “Outside. Now.” Noah gives me a reassuring nod, but I step between them.
“Do not disturb my neighbors with your testosterone-fueled phallometrics!”
River and Noah both turn to me with wide eyes, their argument forgotten for a thin moment while they try to translate my words. I guess they’re too amped up for four syllables at a time.
Arielle helps them out, stage-whispering, “She means dick measuring contest. But she’s too polite to say that in front of Rachel.”
“How about we talk somewhere more private, then?” Noah tells River, the picture of calm, cool, and collected as he gestures down the hall to my bedroom.
They close the door behind them, and the four of us look at each other for a hot second before speed-tiptoeing down the hall to press our ears to the door. It might not be polite, but none of us are judging the others because we all want to know how this conversation is going to go.
“They’re not going to kill each other, are they?” I ask softly.
“Nah,” Arielle assures me. “It’s an evolutionary thing. Men need to grunt and beat their chests from time to time. Now, the real question is, are they going to whip ’em out? Because if so, I would love to be a fly on the wall in there.”
“Arielle! That’s your brother!” Natalie hisses.
“Mom, I’ve seen Noah’s dick. All too recently, in fact.” Arielle fakes a big, disgusted shudder moving through her body as she looks at me from under raised brows. The mothers catch on quickly.
“You knew about this?” Natalie asks.
“Of course I did. Why does everyone forget that Arielle knows best, Arielle knows all, Arielle is always right? It’s like canon. Just accept it.” She waves her hand like a queen talking to her peasants, which might warrant further challenge, but the guys start talking loudly and we tune in to that instead, forgetting Arielle’s potentially overinflated ego. Especially since, to be honest, she’s mostly right.
“What the fuck, Noah?” River demands again.
“We didn’t mean for this to happen, Riv. But it did and I’m not sorry. I’m damn glad, actually.” Noah lets out a sigh, and I hear the springs on my bed creak quietly and assume he’s sitting on the edge of the bed.
“Motherfucker, look at you all comfy in my fucking sister’s bed. You think that’s okay? I noticed you went right to the cabinet for glasses, but I thought . . . hmm, well, maybe Riley told him where to get them. And you head right to the bedroom like you’ve been here before. But obviously . . . you have. I can’t believe you, Noah. I trusted you, and you go and fuck my sister?”
River is ranting, his footsteps loud as he paces back and forth across my bedroom. My hopes of the neighbors not hearing all my business are dashed because I know they’re hearing this. The walls aren’t that thick.
I put my hand on the doorknob to go inside, but my mom stops me. “Let them do this, honey. This is a big deal to their friendship, and in a way, a big deal to yours and Noah’s too. Know what I mean?”
I do, but I don’t. I want to rush in there and tell them to stop this nonsense. River doesn’t get to decide who I date, and Noah doesn’t have to prove himself to my brother. But with all three women’s eyes on me telling me that Mom’s right, I take the glass of wine Natalie is forcing into my hand and down it in one swallow.
“There’s my tough girl,” Mom says.
And then we’re listening again. We’ve missed something, but Noah seems to be telling River how it all went down.
“ . . .only meant to do a system check, but the percentage was so high. Ninety-six percent! And the message made me smile. Me, River . . . I smiled. And so we started talking. All day, every day, and I was . . . happy. I don’t walk around all fluttery and light, smiles and shit. But talking to her, I did. So we agreed to meet. And Riley showed up.”
“And that should’ve been the end of it right there,” River snaps.
“I admit we were upset and confused. We’d both used fake names and didn’t know. But I couldn’t let her go, not after getting to know her. It worked, man. The AI worked. I would’ve never, in a million years, thought Riley Sunshine was my match. Would’ve laughed at the very idea. You know me . . . does that seem like the other half of my workaholic shitshow?” River must shake his head or something because Noah says, “Exactly. Of course not. But she is. I’m not fucking your sister.”
River growls, and there’s a loud rustling followed by a few grunts. I’m worried their argument is getting physical. “I care about her, man. I fucking care about her. She makes me happy, and I make her happy. Don’t you see?”
Noah doesn’t sound happy right now. He sounds miserable, like a connection he’s counted on for so long is disintegrating right in his hands. But that can’t happen. I refuse to believe River is that much of an asshole. He won’t let Noah’s and my being together ruin their friendship. Right?
“Did you fuck with the code?” River demands. “Ninety-six percent? Really?” he adds with a disbelieving scoff.
“The AI? Of course not. I couldn’t even if I wanted to, which I didn’t. I wasn’t looking for this. But Riley is . . . undeniable. You’ve met your sister, right? Who spends five minutes with her and doesn’t think that the world is a better place and magic is possible?”
“But you didn’t tell me. Neither of you did. Why?”
“Because she scares the shit out of me, Riv!” Noah explodes, his voice honest even through the wood door. “She scares the shit out of me because after talking for a week, I needed her to get through the day. After seeing her, holding her, getting to know her, I can’t imagine life without her.” My bed springs squeak again as Noah sits down heavily. “I can’t explain it any better than that, man. She’s all sunshine and I’m a grumpy asshole, but she’s making me better. A better person . . . me! And I see her, beyond the ‘happy all the time’ front she puts on. I see how she worries for her followers who are struggling. I watch her make all these plans to get everyone else to smile, and I understand how she gives and gives and gives. And I just want to be the man who takes care of her. Not because she needs it but because she deserves it.”