Is this destiny?

Chloe woke up and glanced around. It took her a moment to remember where she was, and unfortunately, she remembered how she fell asleep on the previous night in Noah's arms while sobbing. She buried her face in a pillow and groaned.

The good thing was that Noah was not in the room, so that gave her some time to compose herself before coming out. Part of her hoped that Noah was not in the apartment, so she doesn't need to deal with the embarrassment. 

Chloe pushed herself out of the bed and her sight fell on the boxes and bags that were next to the entrance to the closet. She was happy to see clothes for her, and there were some toiletries as well.

After doing her morning routine, Chloe stepped out and found Noah in the living area, working on his laptop.

Normally, Noah would work from the study, but he didn't want to miss Chloe coming out, so he opted to stay in the room from where he has a good view of the guestroom where Chloe was sleeping.

Noah finished going through the information that Nala sent on the previous day, after their meeting related to the Council, and Noah was glad that he does not have any pending items in the next few days. He guessed that it must be Sarah's doing, to give him free time so that he can focus on Chloe. It is the weekend, after all.

At the same time, Noah was aware that Sarah has her hands full with her pregnancy and the Council and that is why he didn't want to ask her for help related to Chloe and handling the Long family, unless it's absolutely necessary.

"Good morning. You look busy.", Chloe said, and he smiled when he heard her voice.

Noah was aware that Chloe was approaching him, and he was glad that she greeted him first. Considering that her day ended (with her crying in his arms), Noah was not sure what to expect, but this was definitely good.

He turned to face her and observed that the light blue t-shirt and white shorts fit her well and she looked fresh. Her hair was lifted into a ponytail and Noah reminded himself not to stare at her long legs, or at the curves of her body which swelled at her hips and breasts because he didn't want to give her an impression of a lecherous guy.

Noah told himself to be cool. Last night he kind-of confessed his feelings, and even though Chloe didn't jump into his arms enthusiastically, she didn't reject him either, and last night she was comfortable enough to sleep in his arms, so… he still has a chance.

"This is nothing important.", he responded while keeping the laptop on the long coffee table in front of him. "Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes. Thank you. Did you… sleep… well?", she returned the question reluctantly.

"Never better.", he lied. Actually, the sleep itself was fine, but the duration was not sufficient.

Last night, Noah was holding Chloe for a long time. She was beautiful in his arms and he was fighting against his urges to kiss her, and he did his best to stay awake because he was enjoying her softness and her scent was intoxicating. Eventually, he fell asleep and despite his need to rest more, his bio-clock woke him up at 5 AM, as usually.

"Thank you for the clothes and everything."

"You are welcome. Don't worry about it. What do you want for breakfast?", Noah asked.

"Anything, really. A cup of coffee would be nice."

"Cream and sugar?"

Chloe smiled. "Yes."

Noah stood up. "Give me a minute to see what's in the fridge to go with that coffee."

Chloe understood that he was planning to prepare breakfast. "Oh, let me…"

"You are a guest.", Noah reminded her, indicating that he will do it.

"But I'm not a freeloader…", Chloe protested.

They ended up preparing breakfast together, by diving tasks.

"Do you have plans for today?", Chloe asked Noah before taking a bite of the buttered toast with jam.

"We are going to the flea market.", Noah reminded Chloe. They talked about it the previous day.

"There is no need for that. Not anymore.", Chloe said while trying not to show how much she is saddened that she needs to move away. "Feel free to do whatever you would normally do. I can keep busy. I have a lot of research to do, anyway."

"Chloe…", Noah called while trying to suppress his irritation. Why is she avoiding him? "I said that I want to spend this weekend with you. I will not pressure you to go to the flea market if you are not interested but don't act like you are a burden. Can we agree on that?"

Chloe nodded in agreement. It's not that she thought she is a burden, but since she will be moving out, there was no point in going shopping for things to spruce up her apartment, and there was no need for her to get to know the neighborhood either. Her time will be best utilized if she does research on the job market, because where she goes next will depend on the probability of finding a job. Ideally, she would find a job first, but that could take weeks and she can't stay here for so long.

Her research will be done from the computer, so she will not go out, and she wanted to let him know that there was no need for him to be stuck here with her.

Thinking about shopping and getting around the neighborhood, Chloe remembered… "Is there a way for me to contact Mark?"

"Mark, who?", Noah asked dryly, even though he knew the answer.

Chloe was not sure how to explain who Mark is. She assumed that Noah should know him. "I don't know his last name. Mark is my neighbor. He works at the Chaos nightclub. He offered to accompany me for shopping and since I'm not going, I should let him know."

"Hmm…", Noah hummed while sourness stirred within him. Why does she want to call Mark? Does she care about him? "How considerate of you."

"It's the right thing to do."

"Do you always do the right thing?"

"I try to…", Chloe responded with confusion obvious in her expression. Why does Noah seem to be angry? Is he not approving of Mark going shopping with Chloe? Is Mark a bad guy? Or was Noah upset because she wanted to contact Mark? Chloe didn't consider the possibility that Noah was jealous, and she assumed that Noah does not want her to contact people and accidentally alert Longs of her whereabouts, so she decided to explain. "I would text him, but you said that my phone should be off. Maybe I should go a few blocks away from here, and then text him…"

"It's fine. I will let him know.", Noah interrupted Chloe. Noah didn't want to tell Chloe that Mark is busy with intensive training over the weekend and there is no way that Mark will have time to check on Chloe. 

"Thank you."

Noah saw that Chloe's mood fell and he cursed himself internally. Why can't he keep his temper in check?

"So… What do you want to do today?", Noah asked.

"I need to figure out where I will go next. I was thinking to start from online job boards and to see where people with my skills are needed."

"What else?"

Chloe didn't understand. "Should there be something else?"

"Do you plan to spend the whole day in front of the computer?"

"That is the only thing I need to do.", Chloe responded.

"You can't do only that. You said that you will spend the weekend with me, and I hope that you will accompany me."  Noah saw that Chloe's anxiety was rising, and he guessed the reason behind it. "Don't worry, the Longs won't find us."

Chloe visibly relaxed. "Where are we going?"

"You said that I can do things what I usually would do. I want you to join me. I think you will like it."

"Can you be more specific?"

Noah smiled mysteriously and shook his head. "You will see."

Chloe didn't mind waiting to find out, but... "Is this outfit fine?"

Noah swallowed hard as his eyes roamed over Chloe's body. "It's fine but... maybe swap those shorts for jeans..." He didn't mind her wearing shorts, but he didn't want other guys to see her legs exposed. In his mind, she was his and she was very alluring, and the last thing he wanted was to have some competition for Chloe's attention.

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