The people I care about.
“People you care about, like… friends? Will you tell me about them?” I asked, trying not to sound too eager.
“What about them?” Noah’s chopsticks froze in the air, and he sounded decidedly defensive.
“Noah, I know literally nothing about your friends. Or family. Or whoever it is you usually hang out with.” I shrugged. “Anything. Tell meanythingabout them?”
His gaze dropped to the takeout container, and he slowly took another bite as he weighed my question. I tried to sit still, hoping I didn’t start fidgeting in anticipation.
He wasn’t biting, though.
“How many are there?” I asked.Dawnhad finished on the speakers, and the silence between songs hung in the air.
“Five,” Noah answered, throwing me a bone as a Chopin piece started up.
“Five.” I whistled, since I’d expected maybe one or two. Before, I might’ve assumed Noah was antisocial to a degree. Turns out he had more close friends than I’d ever had in my life. “That’s a solid number. And you’re all close? I can’t imagine keeping up with five people’s lives, but maybe that’s because I’m an only child.”
Noah laughed, and some of the tension dropped from his shoulders as he set his container down. “It’s easier than you’d expect. They’re all so different, and we’ve been through a lot together.”
The smile on his face was an odd one I hadn’t seen yet. One that held stories and emotions and memories of a world I’d never been a part of. It was almost suffocating to see.
I wanted to smile like that.
I nudged his foot with my own. “Like what?”
“I don’t want to get into my past right now, but simply put… I didn’t have the best childhood. I don’t speak to my parents anymore.” Noah’s voice was as quiet as my own. “I have a sister, but we don’t talk either. My friends were in similar situations, and that fused us together from the beginning. It’s why we’ve stuck together since.”
I swallowed around a lump in my throat, wanting something like that so badly it made my stomach ache. “I’m glad you found them.”
Noah sat still for a moment. His eyes refused to leave mine as he studied me for five full heartbeats. “I’m glad I foundyou.”
Well, shoot.
“Julian is one of my friends,” Noah continued, as if he hadn’t just said something so sweet it gave me cavities.Julian. I filed the name away, determined to remember his friend. “You remind me of him, actually. He makes it his mission to exasperate me to no end.”
“Hey!” I scowled and gave his ankle a harder nudge.
He laughed again, but this time his smile was only for me. “I’m sorry, that sounded worse than I meant it to. You both keep me on my toes.”
I rolled my eyes and nibbled on my spring roll as I considered Noah. “I’d love to meet him, then.”
Noah’s smile slowly faded until I second-guessed if it had ever been there in the first place. “I’m sure he’d love to meet you, too.”
It was odd, but from the way he said it… it almost sounded like that was abadthing.
“How’d you find yourself out in California?” Noah asked, and I took the hint that all talk about his mysterious friends had now passed. I was just happy to have gotten a taste. “You said you’re originally from Kansas?”
“I came out here for the Arts program. For Slade specifically.” And to get as far away as I physically could from my parents, but that was a bit more than I planned on sharing tonight.
“He’s a talented musician.”
“He is. What about you?” I asked. “You’re more Southern gentleman than surfer dude. Where are you from?”
“Texas. My friends and I moved here several years ago.”
I itched to ask more. Who were his other four friends? Had they moved together for school? But I felt I’d already asked my allowance of friend questions.
“I’ve got another one for you,” Noah said as he leaned back on his hands. He paused a long moment, cocking his head to the side and studying me. “Why’d you pretend Blaise was our server last night?”
