Page 26 of Catching My Dreams

“You’re a real weirdo,” Chris chuckled. “But thanks for having us over.”

“Yeah. Thanks, Ella,” Asher added.

“It was so much fun.” Riley stepped out of her boyfriend’s arms and wrapped Ella in a tight hug.

The brunette looked a bit startled, but she returned the hug after a second’s hesitation. “Thanks for organizing it.”

“See you on campus tomorrow?” Riley asked once she’d pulled away.

“Yep.”

Asher took the spot in front of Ella next, ruffling her hair before pulling her against his chest. Despite the fact that Asher’s girlfriend, who Asher was very much in love with, was standing right there, Noah’s jaw clenched tighter.

Archie whined and began attacking his chin with even more zeal, but it didn’t make Noah smile like it usually would have. He lowered Archie so the Yorkie could no longer reach his chin, trying to appease his need for attention by stroking his side.

He thought petting dogs made people happier by releasing oxytocin or some shit, but it clearly wasn’t working because Noah felt more murderous than happy.

Asher whispered something to Ella, who smiled a bit uncertainly but nodded. Noah wondered what his friend had said to her. Was it words of affection? Was it some inside joke that he’d never get? It shouldn’t have mattered. Noah knew he shouldn’t have cared. But he hated seeing them together like that.

Ella and the friend she’d decided was good enough for her. They’d always been so comfortable around each other. Hell, Asher had often gone to her house at all hours of the night when she’d had bad dreamwalking experiences. Maybe he still did.

They were so close, and Noah was always on the outside looking in at them with their affectionate hugs and shared smiles. He hated it, and sometimes he hated Asher for it, and he hated himself for hating his friend.

It was so messed up.

Noah said lukewarm goodbyes to his friends and his stepsister, feeling like a grumpy piece of shit but unable to muster up any genuine smiles for them.

And then it was just him and Ella as the others drove away in Asher’s car.

“Oh,” Ella said, sounding almost surprised when she turned to him and saw Archie in his arms. She averted her gaze, choosing to fix those dark eyes on her neighbor’s house instead of him. “Thanks for making sure he didn’t run off.”

Noah managed a grunt.

“I’ll help you get your games.”

She walked past him, her eyes still avoiding him, and Noah followed her back into the house.

He put Archie down after closing the door behind him, and the Yorkie bounded toward the kitchen, probably to get some water from the bowl Noah had nearly tripped over when he’d gone to get a soda earlier.

Noah went to the dining room and found Ella piling up the empty pizza boxes they’d left on the table. Her back was to him, and she’d taken her hair out of her bun so that the thick locks hung down to her waist. He couldn’t remember a time when her hair wasn’t so long that he would be able to wrap it around his fist at least three times.

“You and Asher looked awfully cozy together.” Noah wanted to swallow the words back down as soon as they’d left him. He was as good at hiding his jealousy as a tiger was at hiding its stripes. Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic.

But Ella didn’t grin smugly at him or laugh in his face when she spun to face him. No, she narrowed her eyes at him like she wanted to send laser beams into his skull. “Asher is my best friend, in case you’ve forgotten.”

Noah shrugged. “Do you think Riley likes seeing you hugging her boyfriend like that?”

“Excuse me?” The question was more of a hiss than anything.

Noah stepped closer, his hands pressing down on the table on either side of her. His chest touched hers, and he would only have had to lower his head a few inches for their lips to meet. Her now-wide brown eyes were no longer avoiding looking at him, and Noah resolutely held her gaze.

He had no idea what he was doing, but he couldn’t stop now. “Do you like Asher?”

Her nostrils flared. “Of course I do. He’s my friend.”

“Not what I meant, Montgomery. Do you want him?”

To her credit, she looked disgusted at the mere suggestion. “No,” she gritted out. “I don’t want Asher.”

---