Noah made it out of the building before I caught up, and I tried to ignore the way I was panting for breath as he appeared unaffected by a whopping three staircases.
The late morning sun bathed the campus in warmth, making the quad look like we were heading into summer vacation instead of just starting a fall semester.
“Noah, wait!” I wheezed as I squeezed past a couple upperclassmen to reach him. I matched his stride, waiting to speak until I caught my breath. “I’m so sorry! Really. Can I at least get you a cup of coffee or something to make up for it?”
Noah’s lean legs stopped midstep, and I looked up as a flare of suspicion broke his Alcatraz-level exterior. “Was this your plan? Vandalize my property so you could spend more time with me?”
I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk as well, before getting jostled to the side when the boy behind me didn’t get the memo. But my disbelieving eyes were drawn to Noah, and I began to understand why a genuine smile threw him off so much earlier. “Wow. There’s no way someone can be that cocky.”
“Being perceptive isn’t the same as being cocky,” Noah said, and he didn’t even spare a glance to the side as the grumbling flow of students parted around us.
“Listen. I accidentally chewed on your pen a bit. I admit it’s not the best habit, but it’s not like I filled your sock drawer with sardines or hacked your phone.” I enunciated each word to make sure he didn’t misinterpret them and think I was proposing. I shrugged before letting my arms fall against my sides. “It was an honest mistake, and I just want to make it up to you.”
“By asking me out?” Noah asked with no small amount of disdain. If I hadn’t known what my hair looked like that morning, I would’ve taken offense.
“I’m talking about buying you coffee from a cart as an apology until I can replace your pen, then going our separate ways,” I said just as slowly. “It’s not a date, and before you get any ideas—no, it’s not a marriage proposal either.”
He shot me a dry look at that one.
“I don’t see how coffee is an acceptable form of apology,” Noah said, starting down the sidewalk again. I rushed after him—God knows why.
“Because coffee can make anything better.” I pushed to keep up with his freakishly long legs. “Besides, it’s not the coffee itself; it’s the gesture. I owe you for ruining your pen—at least until I can replace it. What do you say?”
My traitorous hand reached out of its own accord, resting on his upper arm like I would do for any friend whose attention I wanted. Why was this a bad idea?
For one, Noah wasn’t my friend. So, the move surprised him as much as it did me, and he jerked to the side as if I’d taken a swing at him.
Secondly, I’d never been the most coordinated person. I fumbled to catch my footing as my body automatically counted on Noah’s arm providing a steady hold for my hand.
Lastly, there’s no limit to how many times one can be embarrassed in a day, so I really should’ve seen it coming.
I found myself careening toward the pavement. My hands smacked against the sidewalk to take the brunt of the fall as my backpack dug into my skull.
I groaned, blinking at the concrete below me. My palms tingled from the impact, too numb to move. I let the rest of my weight from my makeshift push-up fall against the ground in defeat. “Crap.”
My thighs met the ground, and I realized with growing dread that there was no skirt separating them from the warm pavement. I heard a few muffled snickers and snorts. My hands scrambled to yank down the fabric over my butt as I remained belly down on the walkway.
Double crap.
If I’d known a modest amount of my peers would see my Hello Kitty underwear today, laundrydefinitelywould’ve been on the top of my list of priorities this past weekend.
A familiar pale, polished palm appeared in front of my red-tinted vision. I dusted the small pieces of gravel and dirt off my hands before accepting Noah’s help. He pulled me up in a graceful move reminiscent of dancing.
“Hello Kitty?” Noah asked quietly as he let go, and I could’ve sworn I caught a glimpse of amusement in his eyes. Something about the way those words rolled off his tongue had my cheeks flaming. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. It’s laundry day,” I said past a dry throat, feeling defensive as a wave of fire rose up my neck until it reached my hairline. My hands made quick work of smoothing down my skirt before brushing bits of dirt off my knees. “I don’t normally wear such juvenile underwear. Honestly.”
The students milling around us had already moved on from watching the girl who’d eaten pavement, and I only caught a few lingering looks from boys who were probably hoping for a second show. The towering oak trees bordering the quad were a nice distraction to avoid looking at Noah. I prayed my candid mouth would remain tightly shut until he said something first.
My mortification grew the longer the silence stretched.
“I take my coffee black,” Noah finally said, and my gaze shot to his at the abrupt change of subject. I squinted back at him, trying to determine if he was having a stroke. “No cream, no sugar. And it’s not a date.”
Oh.
Oh!
“I knew I’d break you!” I grinned and hoped my cheeks weren’t as pink as I knew they were. “I just didn’t know it would require flashing you.”
