Page 132 of Best Served Cold

“What did he say?”

“He wondered what had happened to you. Until he said it that way, I just assumed you were acting out because you wanted to. I figured it had to do with Aaron, and when I heard he was here and you’d confronted him…I don’t know. I had a bad feeling and wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Is that…” Chanel peered into the distance as we came up to the back of the house. “Holy shit.” She slapped her hand over her mouth.

Noah and River were standing together near the firepit, chatting, and holding hands.

A laugh bubbled out of me. Leave it to River to start fucking with people before the gossip finished circulating.

Everyone in our immediate vicinity seemed to be caught in a feedback loop as they swung their gazes between Chanel and me, and River and Noah.

“Watch this,” I said to Chanel, my voice low.

Not bothering to look around, I strode up to where River and Noah stood.

River’s smirk was a mirror of my own, and Noah’s playful grin sent more of those flutters through my chest. Without breaking my stride, I walked right up to them and kissed Noah on the lips. And not a quick kiss either.

“Thanks for keeping him warm,” I said to River, fully aware of our audience.

“Anytime, bro.” He made a big show of letting go of Noah’s hand and passing it to me. He glanced at the prying eyes around us. “What? Sharing is caring.”

Noah spluttered with laughter, but I kept a straight face and nodded solemnly.

River’s gaze flicked to Chanel. I nodded when he gave me a questioning look.

He strode over to where she was standing and offered her his arm. “Ready to go, darlin’?”

She took it with a soft giggle. “Ready.”

“Ready, darlin’?” Noah asked me, his eyes glittering with amusement.

“Ready.” I batted my eyelashes at him.

He folded his lips into a tight line, holding back his grin.

Together, the four of us headed into the house, leaving our stunned audience gawking.

I hated gossip and avoided drama like the plague, but it sure as shit was fun to fuck with people.

19

NOAH

Zzzzz. Zzzzz. Zzzzz.

The buzzing of my alarm clock knocked me out of my stupor.

I rolled my head toward my bedside table.

Mustering up some energy, I turned off my alarm and put my phone on my chest.

My body felt like it was made of lead, my head like it had been stuffed with cotton.

I was numb, and at the same time, everything hurt.

I didn’t give a shit about anything, but everything was too much.

Closing my eyes, I rolled onto my side and hugged my pillow.

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