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I notice Noah staring at me as I strut to the car. I look hot, and I’d wanted to. I’d spent close to two hours making sure I’d look perfect for him. My long hair is lightly curled so it tumbles over my shoulders. I’m wearing a strapless red chiffon dress that hugs my curves and sits just above the knee.
Opening the door, I slide into the seat and flash him a grin.
“I’m excited. I haven’t been out like this in months.”
“Really?” He looks surprised. “Then your boyfriend is a fuckwit. If I were him, I’d be parading you everywhere.” I cock my eyebrow and he flushes. “I didn’t mean—”
“You’re saying I scrub up okay?” I tease.
“You know you do,” he shoots back, his eyes narrowing. He glances down at his pressed shirt and tight-fitting jeans. “I feel underdressed next to you.”
“You look nice. Sexy, even.” My smile widens as color spreads across his cheeks.
“We better go,” he mumbles.
The drive to Lamten is a good forty-five minutes, but we fill the time easily by getting to know each other better.
“You don’t have a lot of friends,” he comments. He doesn’t say it in a nasty way, but it hits a nerve. He’s figured out in a few weeks something that Dillon still doesn’t know after a year.
I had the only friend I needed until you took her away.
I shrug. “I guess it’s from moving my entire life. I’m so used to being uprooted that it’s easier not to get attached to people, if that makes sense.”
“Makes plenty of sense,” he replies. One hand grips the steering wheel and the other rests casually in his lap. “You get on well with your family?”
My throat tightens as I think about Karly. I nod, forcing myself to smile.
“We’re just like most families, I guess. I love my parents, but they can be a little overbearing at times. I get on really well with my brother. He’s a marine, so I don’t get to see him all that often. He emails when he can, though. What about you? Any brothers or sisters?” I ask brightly, keen to get the spotlight off me.
My relationship with my parents can be broken into two eras. Pre-Karly and post-Karly. Before she died I had a great relationship with them. Mom especially. We had that kind of bond where I could tell her anything, and I usually did. We’d sit up half the night talking about boys, school…everything.
After Karly’s death, I changed. I became very withdrawn, even more than I usually was, and my parents didn’t know how to deal with that. The more I focused on her death, the more strained things became. Her death affected the whole family. Mom and Dad stopped talking to my aunt and uncle, family gatherings became a thing I avoided. Anything that reminded me of how happy I once was made me angry and bitter.
“Only child.” He grins, interrupting my thoughts. He takes the next turn off the main road, toward the theater. “My folks are very…” He pauses for a moment. “Vocal about what they want from me, and I’m expected to follow that. I come from a pretty wealthy upbringing with a lot of rules and not so much love. You can imagine how disappointing my becoming a teacher was for them.”
“Really?” I say. I’m surprised, because he doesn’t exude the rich-kid vibe. “They had bigger and better things in mind?”
“Exactly.” He turns to me briefly, his blue eyes twinkling. “Dad is a surgeon and Mom is a lawyer. Teaching isn’t a grand enough profession for them. I might as well have told them I was dropping out of school to become a porn star. But I was determined to do something I loved and not go through life wondering.”
“That’s a great attitude to have,” I murmur. I turn and glance out the window, watching the trees fly past us. I admire the strength standing up to his parents like that must have taken.
Pulling into a spot just outside the theater, I reach for my door handle and feel Noah’s hand on mine. “Wait just a second. It’s only fitting, if you’re all dressed up like this, to allow me to treat you how a lady this beautiful should be treated.” My stomach flutters and I shouldn’t be feeling the things I’m feeling. In all my life, even when I’d gone to prom, my date never had bothered to be a gentleman, and now here I am, with a man that I loathe, being excited about a simple gesture.
“Okay,” I whisper through the lump in my throat. Noah exits the car, walks around the front, opens my door, and extends his hand. I take it, a spark shooting straight into my core when we touch, and he helps me out of the car. Smoothing down the fabric of my dress, I glance at him, then at the ground, finally settling on the theater.
There is a large crowd waiting outside the doors. I glance at my watch and see we’re about half an hour early.
Noah sees my smile and laughs.
“I guess it’s better than being a half-hour late, right?” He nods toward a little restaurant opposite the theater. “Feel like a coffee? We can wait for the crowd to dissipate a little bit.”
“Good idea.” I grin. I reach for his hand, entwining his fingers in mine. His body tenses and I’m sure I feel him jump. “Sorry,” I grimace. “Habit.” If he can take me by surprise, I can do the same. I like it better this way. I’ve never been a fan of even playing fields. I’m more of an in-control kind of girl.
“Dillon actually holds your hand? I’m impressed.” He chuckles.
“More of a case of me holding his.” Total bullshit. I think the last time we held hands was at the beginning of our relationship—back when he was still trying to get in my pants. Now I couldn’t care less if he touched me at all. This was just another opportunity to mess with Noah that I wasn’t willing to pass up.
We walk into the diner and choose a booth toward the back. Considering the sheer number of people here for this play, the place is surprisingly empty. We sit opposite each other as the waitress strolls over with a bored look on her face.
