* * *
My arms were ready to fall off by the time I crawled into bed that evening. Classes were a blur—Noah slipped out a mere ten minutes into History of Opera and never returned—and my muscles ached from carrying croissants. It was a miracle I’d been able to keep walking.
Teresa was out with friends, while I was in bed before the early bird dinner special at Denny’s was over.
Cuddling Mr. Elephant close, I was right on the edge of dozing when my phone vibrated between the sheets. I groaned and prayed to every higher power I could think of that it wasn’t Teresa saying she’d forgotten her keys or ID and was locked outside the building.
Then I backtracked, also praying it wasn’t my mother texting about another recital. Or my practice schedule. Or reminding me not to evenlookat a boy.
I grumbled, fumbling for the phone before squinting as my eyes adjusted to the harsh glare.
Unknown Number: Wanna know a secret?
I blinked and brushed a loose strand of hair off my forehead as I gazed blankly at the text. My lips dipped into a frown as I typed back.
Emma: Who is this?
I’d barely sent the message when my phone was vibrating again, and a text appeared underneath mine.
Unknown Number: I haven’t been totally honest with you.
I shared a look with Mr. Elephant and tried to remember who I’d given my number to lately, but it hurt to even think. I hesitated, chewing on my lip as I tested the weight of the phone in my hand. But they didn’t even wait for a response as another text popped up.
Unknown Number: I didn’t get the houses mixed up that night you were catering. I stopped by because I saw you at the van.
My heart stuttered in surprise, and my bare legs shifted against the sheets as I scrambled to sit up. Finn? But how did he…? I’d never given him my number.
My skin heated, but I managed to save his number in my phone while trying to decipher what this warm feeling meant. And once again, I was too slow to respond before my phone vibrated again with a new text from him.
Finn: I just knew I had to meet the girl who looked at a cupcake like it was the Eighth Wonder of the World. Hope I didn’t scare you off.
… Crap.
CHAPTER11
A Song
Needless to say,I never responded to Finn’s text. And to be honest with myself, I wasn’t surehowto respond. So, I made the logical decision to simply avoid it completely, and the next day I renamed his contact info in my phone to something that reminded me of his true motives: Cupcake Thief.
Noah and I spent an hour after Music Theory in the music room working on our duet project. His work ethic was downright inspiring. If it were up to my procrastinating butt, we wouldn’t have met until a week or two before the performance.
But I had a fresh cup of coffee, courtesy of Scott’s cart, and I was more than happy to spend time with the guy I’d been crushing on.
Even if I was indebted to him.
We spent the hour researching Maurice Ravel and comparing his techniques to what we’d learned in Slade’s class so far. Being in the same room as Noah was distracting, but I quickly got lost down an internet rabbit hole reading the history between Debussy and Ravel.
Juicy stuff.
I was just getting to the good part when Noah flipped his binder closed.
“We should call it for today,” he said before checking his phone and starting to pack up his things. “I have plans I need to get to.”
“Oh. With your girlfriend?” I asked, the words slipping out of my mouth before I could catch them. I blinked in shock at myself, wondering what had possessed me to ask that. I took a sip from my cup to hide my mortification. Maybe Finn was rubbing off on me.
Noah’s lips twitched into what looked like a reluctant smile. “I don’t remember mentioning a girlfriend.”
“Really?” I hummed and lowered the cup. I was going for nonchalance, but failed horribly if the growing smile on his face was anything to go by. My fingers picked at a loose corner on the coffee sleeve. “Interesting. Does that mean you don’t have one?”
