Noah's New Plan - 2. Chapter 2

The crack of thunder startled Noah awake. Hearing the rain pounding against the house, he sat up in bed. Looking at the clock, he decided to get up and get the day started. His alarm was about to go off anyway.

Noah once again regretted not dealing with the parking space situation. That was the disadvantage of his downtown condo. The trade-off for the perfect location with a fabulous view of the downtown skyline was the limited parking. Since Derek always used the underground parking space, Noah took the second spot in the detached parking lot. Which meant he had to go outside to get to his car.

When Derek left, some vulture with an obnoxious Range Rover SUV swooped in and claimed the parking spot. Noah kept putting off dealing with it and now that it was raining cats and dogs, he would suffer.

By the time Noah was ready to go, the storm hadn't let up. With messenger bag over his shoulder and umbrella firmly in hand, Noah made a mad dash out of the building's back door across the parking lot.

When he got to his car, he was greeted with a surprise. The rear driver's side tire of his black Prius was completely flat.

"Damn."

His first instinct was to call Derek and have him take care of it, but obviously he couldn't do that anymore. Noah needed to be independent. Starting over meant he couldn't rely on Derek anymore.

Fishing out his wallet, he dug out his insurance card.

* * * *

Dealing with a surly tow-truck driver and waiting for him to put on the spare was not how Noah wanted to spend his morning. Luckily, they took care of things fairly quickly and Noah was able to get to work before the library opened.

Having a break in his workload, Noah pulled out his yellow notepad so that he could start working on his plan. He liked making lists. It helped to keep things neat and in order, and Noah needed that, especially after his chaotic morning.

Unfortunately, he was drawing a blank. Standing behind the library's front counter, he tapped his pen against his bottom lip. He supposed he could put "take care of flat tires" on there, but that wasn't really what he was going after.

"What you doing, Noah?"

Leslie came around the counter to stand next to her boss. The petite redhead, fresh out of college, was cute and perky. Her bubbly personality was what drew Noah into hiring her. Leaning on the countertop on her elbows, she stared down at the blank page on Noah's notepad.

"I'm working on my plan."

"Right. The plan. Here, let me fix that for you."

Leslie took Noahs' pen and wrote down 1. GET LAID.

"Get laid?" Noah read as he shot Leslie a dry look. "That's your solution?"

"For you it is. You need to move on. I hate to see you pining away for some guy who doesn't deserve you."

"I'm not pining for Derek. I'm moving on."

Leslie gave Noah a sympathetic look that was meant to be comforting. "Wasn't it just a couple weeks ago when I found you crying in the reference section?"

Damn, that hurt. "Ouch."

"I'm not trying to hurt you or embarrass you. I really want you to move on, to get over Derek. He didn't deserve you. Not the way he treated you."

Noah squirmed. The conversation was veering off into really uncomfortable territory. Noah had had a moment of weakness and confided in Leslie after she found him crying. None of what he told her was a surprise. She clearly did not have a very high opinion of Derek. Apparently everyone saw it except for Noah. That was just one of the reasons that Noah needed to be alone right now. He needed to get his crap together.

"I'm not looking for a relationship. That's the last thing I need right now."

"Who said anything about a relationship? We are talking about hot monkey sex. Get some, then send him on his way."

Nicholas walked past, pushing an empty book cart. The young twenty-something man reminded Noah of when he was younger. He was a young little thing, with a head of blond hair and a sweet, angelic look to him. Until he opened his mouth that was. Sweet little Nicholas was no angel. There were days Noah really wanted to strangle the kid. "What are you guys talking about?"

"We're talking about how Noah needs to get laid."

Noah gasped at Leslie's openness. "Leslie." He glanced around the library, making sure no one could hear their conversation. Luckily, the place was nearly empty.

Nicholas let out a exaggerated breath. "Oh thank God. Ever since he broke up with that douchebag, he's been moping around like an old spinster."

Leslie agreed. "I know right. I had to talk him out of getting a cat last week."

"Girl, you know it just starts with one, and then it's Extreme Animal Hoarders up in that piece."

Noah interrupted. "Please don't talk about me like I'm not here. Don't you got returns to finish?"

"Nope, all done. It's kinda slow today, 'cause of the storm." Nicholas parked the empty cart against the wall and joined the other two behind the counter. "I know this guy. A friend of mine hooked up with him"

Noah shook his head. "No. No way. You are not fixing me up on some blind date."

"Okay, then what about that guy." Nicholas tipped his head, motioning towards the door. "He looks cocky. If you know what I mean." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Leslie perked up. "Oh yes, that is exactly what he needs."