Page 172 of After All This Time

We were never really close because Noah and I couldn’t stand to be around each other.

For some reason, I’ve always known he’s a good guy. He is a good guy. Noah’s lucky to have Grayson and Xander in his life. He needs them.

“Okay, I lost Noah. I can’t lose you too. Who the hell is this person, Gray?” Xander asks.

Grayson rolls his eyes. “You’re so fucking dramatic.”

Xander sticks his middle fingers up, waving them in Grayson’s face.

They walk towards the truck with me following them.

The guys get into the truck, slamming the doors shut and buckling their seat belts.

I walk around the driver’s side, and knock on the window.

Grayson rolls down the window.

I look at both of them. “I’m going to do everything in my power to protect him, you know.”

“I know you will.” Grayson pauses. “Give me your phone, so I can put my number in it. Xander’s too so you don’t have to contact us through Noah’s phone.”

Giving Grayson my phone, he inputs his and Xander’s numbers into my phone and hands it back to me. “Now, you can contact us yourself. Whenever you need us, we’ll be there.”

“Thank you,” I say.

Xander peers his head at me. “I just want to say Noah’s lucky to have someone like you in his life. He’s not the only one who’d save you from a murderer. I know you’d save him if he was in the same situation. I mean you’ve hated the guy for years, but you came anyway because you knew he’d need someone to console and take care of him. It’s admirable. Don’t you ever let anybody tell you you’re less than because Dani…you’re pretty fucking awesome.”

Closing my eyes, I absorb everything Xander just said to me.

God, this guy is pure sunshine.

I smile, placing the palm of my hand over my heart to show him his words meant the world to me without verbally saying anything.

I wave goodbye to the guys as they drive off, walking back over to Noah who is sitting in the driver’s seat. “I’m driving,” he says, oozing confidence.

“Over my dead body.” I look around the car, coming to the realization I haven’t eaten any fries yet.

Stupid thought to have right now, but I’m still hungry.

“Wait a minute, did you eat all the fries?”

“How dare you accuse me of such a thing?” He looks deep into my eyes, smirking at me.

God, that fucking smirk is going to be my cause of death.

He reaches over to the passenger seat, opens the styrofoam box, and shows one to me. “You mean these fries?”

I plant my ass in his lap while he continues to tease me with the fry, pulling it farther away from me. “Give it to me.”

“We really need to teach you a thing or two about manners, Solomon.” His tone is playful, but I’m not in the mood to play this game.

Rolling my eyes and wiggling my nose out of anger, I look everywhere else, but at him.

“Open your mouth,” he commands. He inserts the fry into my mouth, allowing me to bite off half of it as he shoves the other half down his throat. “Sharing is caring.”

“You’re such an asshole.”

“Yeah, but I’m your asshole.”

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