Chapter 4

Trey usually was not so forward with women, but this one was seriously messing with his mind and for a moment he was afraid he had voiced his thoughts aloud. He had been thinking about the young lady from the almost hit and run, but now he was getting the very up close and personal viewing of the back of her.

The view was quite fantastic with her smooth and toned brown legs that ended at a nicely rounded and tight as hell ass.

Oh, yeah that had been a favorite position, but now it had just moved to the top of the list Trey thought as he stood behind her.

Noelle climbed down and lo and behold who was standing right there but Mr. Near Miss himself.

“Oh. Um. Hello.” Noelle said as she felt her face flush and was happy he wouldn’t be able to tell because of her complexion.

“What did you say?” she asked as she turned to face him. This was the second time she was caught in an embarrassing position and she was tired of it. They both knew that she had heard him and that she was trying to save face, a girl could only take so much.

“I asked if you’d like some assistance. You’ve got a lot of plant materials and they might be a little heavy for you. Your husband really should have come with you if you were going to buy this much.” he said politely.

His friendliness seemed to rub her the wrong way however. “I’m not married and I don’t need help thank you.” she replied haughtily and walked around him to begin loading her purchases into the trunk.

She didn’t see the unholy grin that lit his face at that bit of important information and he pressed the remote control button to open the trunk on his vehicle. Trey had never seen the purpose of pursuing someone who had a prior commitment, especially if they seemed happy. Good to know it was all clear.

Her head jerked up when she saw him go to the big Audi Q7 next to her and begin loading his purchases and she heard his trunk close before she could get the bigger plants into the back of her car. Noelle heard him start up the engine of his car and turned to stare in amazement when she heard O-Shen’s “Beautiful Island Princess”.

She would never have figured him for a reggae lover much less someone like the Papua, New Guinean star. He looked over at her as she struggled to lift one of the two foot tall pomegranate plants and seemed to make up his mind about something before he got out of the luxury SUV. He walked towards her as she hefted the pot into the back and he easily lifted the other pot onto the lift gate. 

He did the same with all of the others and would have walked back to his car, but she stopped him.

“Thank you for your help.” She said quietly and he gave her a two finger salute off of his brow.

“Look, I am sorry for the way I just responded to your offer of help. Will you please forgive me?” Noelle asked humbling herself. Trey was completely taken by surprise at the sincerity of her apology; it was rare that someone would admit to a wrong doing.

“I accept your apology, Thank you.” Trey said as he turned to go, but quickly turn back when she said.

“Can I buying you a drink?” she further asked after deliberating for a moment. It was not every day that she would ask a complete stranger out and was wondering if that had been the right decision.

Noelle had decided to take a chance and live a little and see what would happen. She of all people knew how swiftly life could change and she wanted to have an active role in hers. She decided to be bold and not worry about possible rejection.

He didn’t miss the uncertain expression on her face which wasn’t really necessary; he was actually surprised that she had made the offer knowing that she had just apologized to him but pleased.

“I know a small Italian bistro in Adams Morgan that makes a nice Scotch on the Rocks.” she told him when he only stared down at her. She had thought for a moment back in the nursery that he seemed interested and to find his car parked next to hers, not to mention it being the same make and type had seemed like fate was really looking out.

“Do they also make the best pizza this side of Italy?” he asked finally speaking and saw her smile.

“You know Tyro’s Pizza Margarita?” she asked and he nodded smiling back. “Every time I go there I have the same thing and every time it’s delicious.” he told her and she agreed.

“You look like you’ll have your hands full unloading this. Do you need any help offloading this stuff when you get home?” he asked and this time she laughed.

“My neighbor’s sons are waiting at my house to help.” she said tucking her hair behind her ear. She had helped the boys by tutoring them in Calculus and Environmental Science this past school year and in turn they had promised to help with any yard work that she had. He stuck out his hand and she looked up at him before she took it. The electricity that was flowing between them was compounded when they touched.

“My name is Trenton by the way. It’s nice to meet you.” he said in a deep voice looking down at her small, brown hand as awareness shot through them both. “Hi, my name is Noelle.” She replied huskily and saw his thick eyebrows shoot up.

“Yes, I was born two days before Christmas.” Noelle said and he could tell she had gotten that question a lot.

That wasn’t what he had thought though. It had not escaped him that her name was the same as the young woman who had delivered the bag from I.N. Jewelers last evening. What would be the odds that this could be the young woman? Trey was pretty sure that if she was the same woman that had been in his apartment then she would be mortified.

“Yes, I would like that very much. Thank you.” he said quickly, before she changed her mind.

He didn’t want to let go of her hand but he couldn’t very well continue to hold her hostage like this, still he felt compelled to keep her by his side. A car driving by blew its horn and they broke apart and he watched her stick her hands in her back pocket almost guiltily.

“What time would you like to meet?” he asked as she bit her bottom lip. Trey thought that it was unusual for a beautiful woman like this Noelle not to have plans for a Saturday night.

“How does 6:30 sound?” Noelle asked looking at him from beneath her lashes.

“That’s fine. I can give you my number in case something comes up.” Trey replied holding out his hand for her phone.

Noelle walked to her car seat and rummaging in her bag pulled out her cell, trying her hardest to be a lady and not stick her bum out at him. She found it quickly and gave it to him. She watched Trey’s long fingers fly as he put in his name and cell number wondering what his hands would feel like on her skin.

He looked up for a second and she admired his long lashes and blue eyes before he went back to his task, he was giving the phone back a moment later.

“I’ll take this trolley back for you and I’ll see you later?” he said and with a sexy grin he pulled the cart out of the way.

“Bye Trenton, see you later.” Noelle replied with a wave of her hand as she climbed into her truck.

Trenton was still standing there looking at her as she pulled out of the parking lot.

~~~~~*~~~~~~*~~~~~~*~~~~~~~

”Well that was interesting” Noelle thought. “One minute I am about to curse out this man and the next, we are going on a date. Life sure can be funny, can’t it?”

she mused. Her girls would be dying with laughter if they could see her now. They were always saying that she was too quick to shut down a guy.

“They won’t say that now.” Noelle said as she turned onto Wisconsin Avenue. “I know Mommy would have thought that was funny too.” She said with a laugh.

Her parents Nathan and Helen Hendricks had loved all things outdoors and adventurous and that love had been responsible for their untimely deaths at Canyon Falls Mines. They were collectors of raw uncut gems and wanted the first hand experience of seeing where some of the gems that they bought came from. They both had excellent jobs working for the Defense Department and as the Vice-President of the school board respectively and could well afford the time and money for the trip. So they had gone for a week long stay and on the day before their return the fatal accident had happened.

Noelle had received a hefty settlement from the wrongful death suit her godmother and attorney Christine Taylor had filed and won on her behalf. Unfortunately money could never take the place of her mother’s clothing advice as they went shopping or her father’s arms hugging her good- morning before she left the house.

It was the little things that she missed and it had not helped to find out that the one person she had counted on not to let her down had totally failed to be there for her.

She had been dating Antron before her parents’ death and had taken it for granted that he understood that she didn’t want to be intimate with him she had just wanted to date.

It turned out that he had some other girl in his phone on speed dial listed as Wifey. He had the nerve to blame her for his not being able to keep his pants zipped.

His cold hearted behavior at being told “NO” and his anger as he had called her a teasing bitch, had just spoken volume to the things her mother had already said about him. Helen would always say that line to Noelle as she was growing up and more so after she met Antron.

It was a quote from Thomas Macaulay that she had learned in school and taken to heart. Her mother had perceived that Antron was not all that he made himself out to be. On more than one occasion her mom had told her, “You can easily judge the character of a person by the way they treat people who can do nothing for them.”

Antron appeared to be a sneaky minded man to her, willing to say anything to appear as a friend. He had always looked for opportunities to insinuate himself into her life by attending parties with Noelle on campus and about town.

There were occasions when he had spoken ill of her and her friends in the presence of some of her acquaintances and word had eventually gotten back to her. Noelle had kicked him to the curb with a quickness when she discovered his infidelity and lies.

Her parents would not know that their assessment of him had been so on point. Noelle never realized how crushing it could be to have someone treat you like you matter then stop and treat you like something on the bottom of their shoe.

She had worked hard at forgiving him and facing the hostile feeling that she had harbored inside so that she could move on and not deny herself the love from her friends

~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~

Trey stared after her Audi as it exited the lot, and turned away only when it was out of sight. He wondered if Noelle would meet him. He hoped that she would. He liked when a woman was willing to pursue what she wanted with confidence and class. Trey got his cell phone out and dialed I.N. Jewelers to find out about the other mysterious Noelle from last night.

“Hello, I.N. Jeweler's, this is Nicole speaking. How may I help you?” a polite voice asked.

“Hello, my name is Trenton Powell. I’m calling about a delivery that was made to my home yesterday May I speak to the manager please.” he replied, preferring to keep the reason for the call to himself.

“You are speaking to one of the owners Mr. Powell. This is Nicole.” she replied, wondering if there was a problem. Nicole recognized his name from all of the sales receipt that had crossed her desk over the years; she had even met him a few times and knew of his parents. She tried to keep her voice calm but she didn’t like the sound of this for some reason.

“I would be happy to answer any questions you might have. Was there a problem with the piece?” Nicole asked as she pulled the receipts from the previous days’ purchases.

“No, no the necklace was beautiful. The reason I was calling was about the young woman who delivered the jewelry. I believe her name is Noelle?” he said quickly not wanting to alarm her.

Trey was trying to put the woman’s voice with a face and last name. It was right on the tip of his tongue, he knew it had to be something Irish or Scottish but he was having a hard time producing it.

Nicole had found the receipt, but paused when he mentioned Noelle. Eric had left a note stating that Noelle had made the delivery after Trenton Powell had come in but had been unable to take his purchase with him.

“I’m so sorry for any inconvenience. Did Noelle not get the item to you in a timely manner?” Nicole asked frowning deeply.

“No everything was fine I just wanted to speak with her. Would it be possible to get her last name? I would like to send her something because she made quite an impression and I wanted her to know that.” he replied not exactly lying.

“We don’t normally give out the names of our employees.” Nicole told him, wondering what her young friend had done to get this man’s attention.

“I’m not asking you this to make you uncomfortable or put you on the spot. I’ve been a regular customer for years and you may know my family. I just wanted to get in touch with her.” he told the woman smoothly.

“ Yes, Mr. Powell, I am aware of who you and because of that fact I will give you her last name and if she's listed in the phone book you can get in touch with her." Nicole said knowing full well the other woman was unlisted.

“That’s fine, thank you very much.” Trey replied trying not to sound too eager.

“Noelle Hendricks is a friend of mine Mr. Powell. I've known her since she was a little girl. She and my niece have been best friends since grade school and I think of her like another niece." she finally answered a warning in her voice.

Trey was busy pumping his fist in the air, elation at having some of his suspicion confirmed. He wanted to do the chicken dance, he was so happy. He was beginning to feel like this could really be fated.

“Mrs. Sullivan please rest assured, I don’t mean Noelle any harm I would just like to speak to her.” he said as he remembered her last name.

“Thank you very much, I appreciate this lot.” Trey said as he hung up.

~~~~~*~~~~~~*~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~

Nicole quickly called Noelle on her cell phone to let her know that a customer was trying to get personal information on her and only got her voicemail so she left a message.

 “Noelle, this is Nicole, I was trying to get in contact with you. The client you delivered to last night is trying to reach you. I gave him your last name but unless he's got ties with the FBI, I don't think he'll make much progress. Give me a call when you get this message. Bye, love you.” Nicole said ending the call.

Nicole sensed that there was more going on in that brief conversation than Trenton Powell trying to get a phone number. Hopefully Noelle would answer that question soon.

PERFECTION!!! Ggrrrr