Page 37 of Fall From Grace
Dear Lord, you did right with him.
I don’t remember that happy trail being there last time...
He climbed in after putting on a white t-shirt and yanking out the pads in his pants. I looked ahead quickly and wiped my forehead. Shew, this was a little intense being around him again. “What did my mom say to you when you called?” I asked again.
He started the engine. “She said for me to let you go for now, and if a few years passed and I still couldn’t forget you, then she’d let us hang out again.”
“And you listened to her?”
He backed out of the driveway. “Of course, I did. Parents hold all the control when we’re young, so I did the only thing I could do and followed her words. Itriedto live without picturing you in it some way but you were everywhere. At the tables I ate, I pictured you there. In the way someone said my name, your voice would haunt me. When I laid my head down to sleep every night, you were there waiting for me behind my eyelids.”
Noah had experienced the same things I did. “So, I called her back last year and she promised me that we’d cross paths again.”
“And you just believed her?”
He pulled out onto the highway. “I did, I trusted her… Although, I was getting a little restless, I might have drove by your house one too many times after getting my license in hopes that I’d see you by chance. I didn’t expect her to make me wait an entire year. I also told Dustin to tell you where I was and I even gave him my number to give you. Now I know why you never called.”
“I’ve only been dating him a few weeks so I don’t understand why he didn’t tell me sooner.” I sighed.
“Ah, I would have done the same in his shoes… Besides, I don’t care that you’re dating anyone, I’m just glad to have you back in my life.”
Wait, whoa, hold up.
That was not the words I wanted to hear from him. Dustin knew what would happen if I saw Noah again and tried to prevent it because he knew I’d break it off with him, which I planned to do. Now I couldn’t admit that to Noah without him thinking I expected us to go back to where we left off. I mean, Idid.But maybe Noah’s feelings for me had changed?
My hopes all but crashed and died.
Did he have a girlfriend? “Are you seeing anyone?” I looked at the road as I asked in hopes that it sounded casual.
“No.”
“But you’ve dated?” I leaned over, not so subtly.
“No,” he said again. I couldn’t help but look surprised so he added, “Not that I haven’t done things other than dating…” He flashed his teeth at me.
I was a goner. He clearly had no interest in me whatsoever now or he wouldn’t have admitted to sleeping with other girls so easily.
And to think, I hadn’t messed around with anyone besides letting Dustin have a bit of boob action.
“What about you?” he asked. He was looking ahead as he asked.
“What?” I played dumb.
“Got rid of the cherry yet?” I wanted to cover my face but I didn’t. Why did he have to word it like that?
“Well,” I started, “Dustin has umm, touched my boobs, and,” I stopped when I saw the goofy grin on his face and swore. “No, I’m a virgin,” I huffed, looking out the window so I didn’t have to see his face, but I saw it anyway in the shadow of the window… My breath caught and my throat tightened when I saw the smile he was giving me while I wasn’t looking… And how his gaze swept over my body intimately before he turned his attention back to the road and gripped the steering wheel tighter.
“You sound disappointed that you are still one,” he said.
“I’m not having this conversation with you tonight,” I told him.
“But we’ll continue it soon?”
“Why?” I turned and asked.
He lifted his shoulders. “You’re the one that said ‘tonight’ like you meant we’d get to another night.” I blushed. Why had I said it that way?
“I can’t believe that you’ve managed to out pretty yourself… Can’t you just, I don’t know, hide some of it?”