Page 25 of Fall From Grace
I’m always picturing a future with her, I hope one day she starts to do the same.
Just a little longer… I’m slowly getting older.
N.P.
“What’s with you and Noah?” Sara asked Friday morning at the table before Tiffany or Noah had arrived by their buses. I always rode to school with Mom.
“What do you mean?” I pulled my hair back into a ponytail.
“He’s always with us now, and so is Mark and Dustin.” She slurped her orange juice through the straw. “Are you two dating?”
“No…” I thought about it. “Noah and I are…just us.”
“Huh?” Her eyebrows shot up.
“I don’t know how to explain it.”
“Explain what?” Tiffany said, sliding in next to Sara as she scooted over. “Hey.”
“Hey,” Sara replied. “Just trying to get Gracie here to spill the dirt on her and Noah.”
“Don’t call me Gracie,” I grumbled.
“Really, though,” Tiffany sighed. “You guys act like you’re together.”
I smiled and shrugged my shoulders and they both started squealing. “I knew it!” Sara slammed her palm against the table and said.
“What about you, Sara?” I squinted my eyes at her.
“What about me?”
Tiffany laughed, “Don’t even pretend, we see you crushing on Dustin.” Sara threw a napkin at her and we all laughed.
“Like you don’t think he’s hot either,” Sara protested.
“Oh yes, me like the way he looks a lot,” Tiffany sang the words out. “Besides, Noah’s never been up for grabs because of a certain someone...” They both turned toward me.
“Y’all are lively this morning, aren’t ya?” Dustin crept up on us without us noticing him. He did a little chin tip to tell me to scoot over and I did. “Waiting on the boyfriend?” he asked and I blushed.
Sara and Tiffany started their oh’s and ah’s again. “Is that what Noah’s saying?” Tiffany asked quickly
Dustin shook his head. “No, but it’s not hard to tell with us hanging out with you losers.” Sara threw the same napkin she had thrown at Tiffany at Dustin. He picked it up and threw it at me. I knocked it away and smiled when I saw Noah stepping through the door. His eyes were on our table before I even found him. He smiled back and Dustin got up and let him in as I scooted to back of the booth so all three of us could fit.
“Hey,” he said with a smile aimed at me.
Noah came over all week for a few minutes despite my dad’s unexpectedly outburst Monday night that I had told him about, other than that though, Dad hadn’t said anything to Noah.
I was used to spending hours with him every day and now I was only getting minutes with him before he’d go back home.
“You guys are totally dating,” Tiffany mentioned.
“How about it, Grace?” Noah smirked. “Are you my girl?”
I rolled my eyes and they widened when I felt him move his hand over mine underneath the table. I flipped mine over and our fingers entwined. I smiled but otherwise said nothing.
_____
I found myself staring at Noah in class all the time. He also caught me staring, but I didn’t care. All I could think about was how I wanted to kiss and touch him. The closer it got time to go home, the more depressed I felt. I wouldn’t see him much this weekend if I didn’t let him visit my room again at night. I was feeling more comfortable again now that Dad was back to himself… Or maybe Noah was right and he was satisfied that he hadn’t been coming over much the past two weeks.