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“And since break?” I asked.
“There’s been no one,” he whispered against my lips. “I met you soon after and I could never think of touching anyone else. ”
I loved him and we were together. I entwined my fingers in his hair and pulled his head back to mine, but the second his hand touched the waist of my jeans, my heart shook and my hands snapped out to stop him. “Please. Wait. Noah …” Oh, God, I was actually going to say it. “I’m a virgin. ”
Now Noah froze. “But you were with Luke. ”
A faint smile grew on my lips. I was typically the tongue-tied one and found it amusing to see him confused for once. “That’s why we broke up. I wasn’t ready. ”
He shifted his body off of mine and tucked me close against his warmth. I laid my head on his chest and listened to the comforting sound of his beating heart. Noah ran his hand through my hair. “I’m glad you told me. This needs to be right for you and I’ll wait, for as long as you need. ”
NOAH
Almost all the cars were gone when I returned home. I’d dropped Echo off at midnight then driven around for a couple of hours, attempting to process everything that had happened between us. Seeing her expose herself to me, trust me when I deserved no one’s trust, it was … life-altering.
Rico slept on the couch with his body tangled with some chick’s. Odds were she’d regret that in the morning. In the basement, light flickered from the television with the sound muted. I grabbed the remote to turn it off when Isaiah stopped me. “I’m still watching it, man. ”
“My bad. ” I smiled, catching myself using one of Echo’s phrases. The smile fell when I noticed the bare back of a girl passed out in Isaiah’s arms. I immediately turned to head back up the stairs. “Sorry, bro. I didn’t know you had company. ” Wouldn’t be the first time he forgot to lock the basement door.
“Stay. It’s Beth. ”
That answer only made me want to run. I’d gone this long without seeing her naked and had no intention of starting now. “I’m good. ”
“Wait and we’ll have a beer. ” Isaiah mumbled something to Beth and she gave a groggy reply.
In the kitchen, I opened the fridge and grabbed two beers. Isaiah emerged from the basement clad only in jeans. I handed him a beer and twisted off the cap of mine. “I told Echo she was mine. ”
“I made out with Beth. ”
The two of us leaned against the counter and drank our beers. “You and Beth a couple?”
“Hell if I know. You know how she is. I’ll be lucky if she doesn’t bolt to her mom’s for a month when she wakes up and realizes what we did. Worst case, she makes out with the next loser guy to prove she doesn’t need anyone. Fuck, Noah, I screwed this up. ”
I let him have the silence to collect himself. Finally, he pulled at his lower hoop earring and spoke. “It happened. I’ll deal with it. Even if I have to ignore it happened. It’s just … we were both wasted and she smelled so damn good. ” Isaiah didn’t need to explain. I knew all about girls that smelled good. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought Echo lived in a bakery.
“So you gotta girl then?” asked Isaiah.
“Yeah. ” I was officially attached. We stood in silence again, both of us taking the occasional drink from our beer.
“I meant to say something to you guys earlier. I’m having problems finding one of the parts I need to fix her car. I’m going to have to buy it from a parts store. ”
My knowledge of cars was limited, but even I knew this couldn’t be good. “How much?”
“One hundred. ”
Dammit. Echo depended upon our tutoring sessions for money and so far she’d given Isaiah everything she had. I knew her father had the money, but he refused to help. “Don’t tell her. Buy what you need and I’ll cover the cost. ”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. ” Echo wanted that car running and I wanted to see that siren smile. Several large sheets of paper with Echo’s name on the bottom caught my eye. How did she draw so fast? She’d drawn a picture of Isaiah and Beth laughing with one another. The last one stopped my heart. I saw my mother’s eyes.
Isaiah came up behind me. “She’s a fucking artist, man. That drawing is the spitting image of you. ”
“YOU DIDN’T HONESTLY THINK you could leave school without me knowing?” Mrs. Collins closed her office door and shrugged on her coat.
I had considered walking out the side door near my locker, but Echo’s pot comment convinced me to think ahead—something that no longer came easily to me. If I wanted to make a good impression, I’d better start following some rules, or at least give the impression I did. “I have a note from Shirley and Dale to let me out of school. This is totally legit. ”
She rolled her eyes and dug her car keys out of her massive purse. “When are you going to accept that I’m on your side? I’ll drive and have you back in time for last period. ”
