We both stood quietly in the lobby while the air conditioning made goose bumps pop up along my arms. Water dripped from our clothes as I wiped at the droplets trailing down from my hairline, and a shiver racked my body.
“It’s really pouring out there. You probably shouldn’t chance driving anytime soon.” I nodded back toward the hallway that led to my dorm while desperately trying to rub the warmth back into my arms. “Do you want to hang out here?”
Noah hesitated for a beat, and it was long enough for me to second-guess how much he thought I was offering.
“All right.” He motioned for me to lead the way as he picked up both pairs of our shoes.
I started down the hall to my dorm before slowing to match Noah’s pace. We passed a few girls coming and going from their rooms and exchanged quick hellos.
Noah wasn’t talking, and while he was a quiet guy in general, this felt different. Purposefully quiet.
Uncomfortably quiet.
By the time we reached my door, I couldn’t take his silence anymore.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to seduce you or anything,” I said, trying to put him at ease while I unlocked the door. “Your penis is safe with me.”
Wait.What?
Noah’s eyebrows rose in equal surprise as I winced. I busied myself with leaning a wet shoulder against the door before nudging it open, all while wondering what I’d done so wrong in life that I was cursed with no filter.
“That’s… good to know,” Noah said, and an extra beat passed before he followed me inside.
Rain battered against the window in torrents, matching the increasing beat of my heart.
I couldn’t stop glancing at my bed.
Noah walked the rest of the way in and looked around the room. His eyes immediately went to my side, taking in the pink comforter, Foo Fighters posters, sheet music pinned along the wall, and my treasured pile of Keds next to the bed. I tried not to feel too pleased that he knew which side was mine without asking, but the sheet music may have given it away.
Or maybe it was the pink wooden letters hanging above my bed that spelledEmma.
A stuffed elephant pulled my attention from the mountain of pillows on my bed, and I blanched. Mr. Elephant’s googly eyes stared back at me, and my feet inched closer to the bed.
There was no way an older guy could find out I slept with a stuffed animal.
I cleared my throat, pivoting on my heel and finding the stray thread on my comforter incredibly interesting. “So, this is my room. And Teresa’s, too.”
“So it is,” Noah’s amused voice said from behind me. “It’s nice.”
“It’s a tiny, cramped dorm room that was made for ants instead of people and probably has mildew growing in places we can’t see—but it gets the job done.” I sent him a tight smile, and my brain decided now was a good time to start overthinking that I’d invited him to hang out in my dorm for the foreseeable future. A dorm with beds in it.
Crouching as water dripped around me, I dug my storage bin out from under the bed and pulled out a couple bath towels before offering one to Noah. He accepted it with another heart-stopping smile. I started wringing out my hair and wiping my arms and legs. The chill gradually eased, but nothing beat the feel of peeling off my soggy socks.
“I like what you’ve done with the place.” Noah’s eyes trailed back over the sheet music and my bookcase as he dried off with a pink towel. I grabbed at Mr. Elephant behind me while he was distracted and stuffed the plushie beneath a pillow before Noah’s gaze returned to me. “It’s very you.”
“Thanks.” I wondered if his room had as many knickknacks lying about. I used my toe to subtly nudge a stray dirty sock underneath the bed.
“What’s this?” Noah stepped toward my bookcase and pointed at a binder. A picture of myself with bright pink-and-green braces beamed back at us from the binding.
I cringed, definitely regretting inviting a boy into my room. “Figures you’d go straight for that. It’s an old photo album. My mother made me bring it, but I don’t— Hey, wait! Don’t open it!”
I sprung toward him as he pulled it from the shelf and flipped open the cover. Noah quickly relinquished the album to me.
“Sorry.” He held up empty palms as his lips twitched. “I didn’t mean to overstep.”
I cleared my throat and hugged the binder to my chest while shaking my head. Clumps of damp hair clung to my neck. “No, you’re fine. It’s just that it’s, like,reallypersonal. Pictures that should never see the light of day and all that jazz, you know? Not something I think you’re ready to see, unless you plan on chancing the rain so you can run for the hills. I’m sure you have a similar album.”
Noah tilted his head, and his lips formed a thin line. “I don’t have any photos from my childhood. My parents weren’t fans of pictures.”
