Total pages in book: 215
Estimated words: 199344 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 997(@200wpm)___ 797(@250wpm)___ 664(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 199344 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 997(@200wpm)___ 797(@250wpm)___ 664(@300wpm)
The reality is, high-school girls are mean, and when it comes to Noah Ryan, they’re absolutely brutal. I don’t want to be caught doing anything with him, not even having a simple conversation, until I know it’s endgame. Well, I already know he’s endgame for me. It’s been that way since before I can remember, but there’s still a lot we need to work through until we can get there. Not to mention, he’s trying really freaking hard to break down my walls. It’s like something clicked into place for him, and he’s somehow managed to let go of some of his pain.
He’s coming home to me. He’s so damn close. I just have to be patient a little while longer.
Then there’s the issue of Tarni. With every passing day, her ridiculous crush on Noah gets worse. Not that I pay much attention to it. These past couple of weeks, I’ve practically been a ghost sitting next to her. Our friends don’t even try to include me in conversations anymore, and I sure as hell don’t force it. To be completely honest, I don’t even think they’ve noticed the wedge between us, and it breaks my heart. Tarni has been one of my closest friends for so long, but lately, she’s felt like a stranger.
Pulling my Range Rover into the driveway, I barely get the engine shut off before Hazel flies out the door and slams it closed behind her. I roll my eyes at her performance before grabbing my bag and following her inside, only I get all of two steps through the door when an excited gasp fills the air.
My gaze swings around to the living room to find Mom and Aunt Maya lounging on the couch, each with a glass of wine in their hands and their sharp, knowing gazes locked on me. Mom looks like she’s about to start crying, while Aunt Maya beams at me and springs to her feet. “Oh, my little warrior,” she says, clearly a few glasses deep as she strides across the living room. She reaches me in no time and throws her arms around me, pinning me to her chest and squeezing me tight. “I always knew this time would come.”
What in the fresh hell is she talking about?
She holds me for a second too long before gripping my upper arms and pushing me back, tears of happiness in her eyes. She looks at me like her whole world finally makes sense. Then it hits me.
Noah.
That big asshole.
He said something.
“Okay,” I say slowly, inching away from Maya. If I stay for dinner, my whole night is going to look like this. Only at some point, they’re going to pry for details, and I really have no idea what to tell them. For some reason, I think mentioning the whole unbelievably hot make-out session up against the wall of my walk-in closet isn’t exactly an appropriate dinner conversation, especially in front of Hazel and my dad. “So, um . . . There’s a party tonight, and I was kinda hoping that—”
“Fine,” Mom says with a heavy sigh. “Just don’t do anything stupid. And no drinking. Oh, and certainly no walking home in the middle of the night by yourself.”
“I wasn’t by myself,” I argue. “Noah walked me home.”
“Oh? He did? That’s so sweet. What a gentleman,” Aunt Maya says with hearts in her eyes as she turns back to my mom. “See, I knew under all that grunting assholery that he’s really a romantic at heart.”
I scoff, debating whether I should burst her bubble and tell her there was absolutely nothing romantic about it, but then I decide that I’ll leave that one for Noah to deal with. After all, that’s the least he deserves after allowing me to walk into this without so much as a warning.
Leaving Mom and Aunt Maya to their swooning, I turn on my heel and make my way upstairs, pulling my phone out as I go and pressing a few buttons.
Tarni’s voice comes through barely a second later. “Hey, what’s up?”
“Are you guys going to that party at—” I pause, realizing I actually have no idea where tonight’s party is.
“Well duh, we’re going,” she says. “Liam cornered Abby outside her car after the game and begged her to come. Apparently, he misses her after like . . . four weeks of dead silence, and he mentioned that Noah was actually going to show up to this one. So like, you can guarantee that every girl in East View is going to be there tonight.”
“Oh, okay,” I say, trying to not let her hear the edge in my tone as I push into my room and immediately scan through my clothes. “Are you leaving soon? Do you think you could swing by and get me? I’m gonna go.”