Page 105 of The Addict

“What?”

“Bye, Noah!”

I stayed on the line for another second so that I could hear the sound of his laughter.

“Do you want a ride home?” he asked.

Don’t act foolishly, my mind chided me.

“Uh, no. I’ll just take an Uber or something.” The call disconnected.

I heard his voice approaching from behind me.

“At least let me wait with you until it gets here,” He suggested, stepping to wait at my side.

In a casual motion, he put his hands in his pockets. Even though I really wanted him to leave, he seemed to want to be there. For that brief moment, the prospect of getting to know Noah Hansen better didn’t seem all that horrible. I couldn’t deter him, and now he had my number.

Suddenly, the name Silas was hazy in my memory. Even though I wasn’t sure if I trusted Noah fully, a part of me longed to know about his past. Was he raised here? What was his favorite activity as a kid? I had so many unresolved questions, and I was not sure how to ask them.

He’s too much work, something inside told me. He had a gun, remember?

He’s dangerous.

He couldn’t just be labeled as a hazardous product. Since I didn’t really know him, why should I decide what kind of person he was? There was something deeper to him, and I felt it.

“The night you saved me,” I started, and he turned to face me, his eyes lighting up. “Why did you have a gun with you?”

That frivolous expression left his face, and he looked away quickly.

“You don’t have to tell me!” I remarked hastily, suddenly seeing how out of line I was. None of this was my business at all. I too often inserted myself in a way that crossed boundaries, at least, that’s what my dad always told me. Basically, it was a fancy way of saying that I had no filter when it came to sensitive issues.

“No, it’s okay to ask,” he assured. “I had it for protection, and well, I sort of freaked out. My brother—I thought he was someone else. He, uh… scared me.”

I nodded. The answer didn’t dig very far into the real reason, I knew, but it was a start. At least he gave me something at all.

“Okay, I guess you can wait with me here.”

His lips curved up into a smile.

I exhaled, trying my best to quiet the butterflies in my stomach.

NOAH

“So, explain to me again. What happened to Delane?”

“She needed to go home.” I tried to pacify the fuming Chelsea as we exited the theater into the night.

“Who cares? I had a good time with you baby!” Alex cheered, linking his hand with mine.

I cracked a smile, inwardly exhausted from Alex’s chirpy demeanor. The only thing I cared about was that I had finally gotten to speak to Delane, obtaining her number, and hopefully some trust.

“Well, hel-lo.” A random guy sitting on the curb to the right of us, waved and winked. He seemed to be eyeing me with a familiar lust.

Alex immediately went on the offensive. “Back off, buddy. This one’s mine.”

The guy smirked and stood, brushing off his pants. “Oh no, I wasn’t eyeing him,” he explained to the all too protective Alex. “I was talking to YOU.”

Alex stood there bewildered. “Wha– me?”