Scott’s no-longer-apologetic smile morphed into a grin. “That was pretty smooth, man. I almost didn’t realize the card was in your hand when we shook. I felt like James Bond or something.”
My jaw dropped further, and I looked at my date in betrayal.
Noah sighed. He gave his new partner-in-crime a pointed look while studiously avoiding my gaze. “It usually works better if you don’t admit to it afterwards.”
Scott simply waved us off, and I could only continue to stare open-mouthed as Noah ushered me along the sidewalk. With a huff, I wondered if I could try to slip some money into his pocket without him noticing.
“You’re making it exceedingly difficult for me to make up for chewing on your pen, Noah.” I couldn’t resist pursing my lips at his stubbornness. It rivaled my own, which I’d spent years cultivating.
One side of his lips tilted up in a secret smile. “Maybe it’s because I want you to stick around.”
Well, that did interesting things to my stomach.
I cleared my throat, feeling some of the wind leave my sails. “Maybe I already have a reason to stick around.”
Apparently, he noticed my half surrender, because he took full advantage a moment later as his hand rested on my lower back to lead me through the throng of people.
“I apologize for taking more drastic measures,” Noah said, “but I can’t in good conscience have you pay during a date I asked you on. Blame it on my Southern upbringing if you need to.”
I sighed, but it really wasn’t worth arguing over. I’d just have to get craftier in my attempts to pay, too.
“So, what’s in the box?” I asked as casually as I could manage, which wasn’t very casual at all.
“A surprise.”
“A surprise that needs refrigeration?” I asked as we walked through a larger group of students. “Plus a food container. Seems like it might be something perishable.”
I risked taking my eyes off the crowded sidewalk to glance up at Noah in time to see his lips twitch. “Are you sure your surname isn’t Holmes? With that level of deduction…”
I blinked. He was teasing me.
“I’m just saying, it’s probably dangerous for the surprise to go so long outside of the safety of a refrigerator.”
A particularly drunk fan bumped into my shoulder, and I pulled on Noah’s sleeve to drag him off the crowded sidewalk until we were under the safety of a lonesome tree. Belatedly, I realized it was the same tree he’d brought me coffee underneath earlier in the semester.
“I’m just looking out for the integrity of the surprise,” I said.
His head shook in what one might have called disbelief, and his grip visibly tightened on the container. “You don’t even know if the surprise is for you yet.”
I took a sip of my espresso, nearly burning my tongue as I curled a finger. “Fork it over, Noah.”
He opened the container without another word. I blinked as my nostrils flared. An intricate web of caramel topped a slice of something so scrumptious looking that my mouth watered.
“Cheesecake?” I asked hopefully, unable to look away from it.
“Caramel Macchiato Cheesecake,” Noah said. He once again proved the lengths of his own willpower by sitting through an entire basketball game while knowing this beauty was waiting in a refrigerator the entire time.
Did the guy have no weaknesses?
I licked my lips and warned myself it was way too early for declarations of love or proposals, but cheesecake had an odd effect of making me feel decidedly romantic. I was tempted to start serenading Noah Kincaid in the middle of the crowded quad.
Then Noah nodded toward the fork lying innocently next to the dessert, so I picked it up and zoned in on the masterpiece between us.
“I hope you don’t mind,” Noah said, managing to sound both apologetic and amused at the same time while I carefully stabbed off a piece of the decadent fluffiness, “but I only have one fork. It shouldn’t be a problem, since we’re both diseaseless.”
“Very funny,” I muttered distractedly. The bite of caramel macchiato heaven touched my tongue, and I barely held back a moan. Noah would have to pry this fork out of my cold, dead hands if he planned on taking it from me.
But that didn’t mean I couldn’t share.
