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She gasped. “You did all of this?”
I nodded. “I wanted to have you all to myself,” I grinned.
I guided her down onto one of the blankets before piling another over her legs, nestling beside her and pulling the food out of the basket.
Noelle inhaled deeply. “This all smells amazing, oh my god. And I’ve been dying to come here, it’s been forever.” She piled some food onto the plate that I gave her, and I poured some wine into one of the cups I’d brought.
“Glad to be of service,” I said, waving my chopsticks in the air before pointing at her food. “Now eat, so I can stop worrying about you starving in that tiny dorm apartment of yours.”
“Hey!” she protested. “It’s not that small.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Noelle. I’ve been inside. Your bedroom barely has room for your bed, or did you think I didn’t notice when I carried you upstairs and placed you in it?”
She flushed red. “Oh god, can we please never bring that night up again? I’m beyond mortified, and I can’t believe you saw my apartment like that.”
It might not have been the cleanest apartment I had ever seen, but it certainly hadn’t been the messiest, either. And who was I to hold that against her? I leaned over to brush her hair back behind her ear to keep it out of her food. “I’m not sure I’ll ever forget it,” I said, trying to hide my grin as I thought about that night. About how perfectly Noelle fit inside my arms. About her mumbling into my chest how warm I was. About how hard it had been to leave her on her bed and walk away, and not stay there all night making sure she was okay.
“Well, you should.” Noelle frowned. “Because I did.”
I leaned in closer, my lips next to her ear, and I spoke slowly against her skin. “I don’t want to forget how you feel in my arms, Noelle.”
And even though she continued to flush—creeping up her neck this time, her whole face already red, I could see this tiny expression in her eyes as she remembered me carrying her back into her house that night. That she didn’t want to forget how it felt in my arms either. And maybe we were tiptoeing the line between friends and something more, whatever this thing was between us, but I didn’t care.
She looked back down at her food as she continued to eat, and I took a bite of the dumplings. “Oh, these are good,” I confirmed, taking another bite.
Noelle’s nose crinkled as she laughed at me, eating another bite of noodles, and I waited until we had both finished the majority of our food before we continued our conversation. For some reason, I didn’t want it to end, never seemed to want to stop talking to her, but primarily, I wanted her to eat.
“What?” she asked, a forkful of food paused in the air.
I shook my head, running a hand through the strands of my blonde hair. “Nothing,” I chuckled. “I just love how much you love food.”
She turned red all over again. “Ah. Yes. I believe you called it ‘cute’ at the zoo.”
“It is. But you’re always cute, Noelle.” I grinned a little sheepishly. Why did I sound like I was talking to my eighth-grade crush?
“Well…” She tilted her head, looking at me as if she wanted to confess something too but didn’t know how to say it. “You’re not so bad yourself,” she mumbled, finally taking her bite and chewing.
I smirked. “Oh?”
“Don’t get all cocky on me now,” she frowned, pointing her fork in the air at me. “Guys are not attractive when they turn into arrogant assholes.”
I held my hands up. “Don’t be an arrogant asshole. Got it.”
“Good.” My favorite smile of Noelle’s spread across her face—a warm one, that made her brown eyes light up. “Because I like you just the way you are. Me too, Noelle. Me too.
“So. Tell me about your friends,” I said, long after we had finished our food, as we both sat, nestled together, one blanket spread over both of our laps.
“Gabbi, Angelina, and Charlotte?” She asked. “The ones you met?”
I nodded. “How’d you meet?”
“In my freshman year of college. Charlotte and I were roommates, and then Daniel made sure we met Gabbi and Angelina—they lived in the room directly across the hall from us. We were fast friends, and once we stuck together… You know what they say about bonding for life? I feel like that’s us. They’re like my family at this point.” She was rambling now, but I didn’t care to stop her. “The sisters I always wished I had.”
Daniel? Why was this the first time I was hearing about him? I needed to find out who he was—and why was I jealous of some guy I didn’t even know? Honestly, what was wrong with me that I was thinking about her like some sort of weird possessive guy anyways?
“So, who’s Daniel?” I couldn’t help myself from asking.
She frowned. “Oh, he’s my best friend Charlotte’s—well, they’re not dating, but I guess he’s her best friend too?” Noelle shrugged. “She has both of us, you know. He’s Angelina’s older brother. He met Charlotte on move-in day and the rest… well, as they say.” She rolled her shoulders. “That’s history. I’m fairly sure he’s never had a girlfriend since he met her. But they’re both too stubborn to see the other person right in front of them.”
