Page 80 of Remember Us This Way

“Come on, let me get your ass to school.”

I laugh and he drags me out of the house, knowing just how I feel about being late for things, and today, I really outdid myself. We get into his car, and before I know it, we’re pulling into the student parking lot of East View High. There are students everywhere, telling me that the lunch break has already started, and as Noah insists that I wait so he can open the door for me, I find myself gazing at him, my heart pounding in a way it never has before.

He’s so undeniably amazing. Every inch of him is chiseled from stone and sculpted to perfection, and for God knows what reason, he’s decided to love me.

He opens the door, holding out his hand for me to take, and as I lay mine into his, a jolt of electricity fires through me, only this is supercharged, and I quickly realize what this is. I’m ready to take our relationship to the next level, ready to open myself to him and truly be together.

I’m ready for sex.

The mere knowledge of that revelation has butterflies soaring through my stomach again, and as Noah leads me away from the car, I find myself blurting it out. “Noah,” I say, his gaze coming to mine. “I’m ready.”

His brows furrow, and a flash of confusion flickers in his dark eyes. “For what?” he asks. “Lunch?”

“No,” I groan, realizing I’m going to have to spell it out for him. Why now though? Every other time I have anything to say, he seems to pluck the words right out of my head. But he chooses this time not to be able to read my thoughts. “I’m ready . . . for it.”

“It?” he questions, confused before a flash of understanding dawns on him and his eyes widen. “Oooh, it.”

I nod, not really sure what I’m supposed to say now. Sex isn’t really something we’ve ever discussed. Things certainly get heated between us, but he’s never gone to make a move further than anything I haven’t already initiated, and I love that about him. Because up until now, we’ve been so clearly on the same page that sex hasn’t needed to be discussed. But this is uncharted waters for me, and I’m going to need him to take the lead.

“Shit, Zo. Way to catch a man off guard,” he says as we stop in the middle of the student parking lot, neither of us willing to have this conversation in front of anyone else. He steps right into me, his fingers lifting my chin. “Are you sure? Because my mom—”

I blink, trying to keep the smirk off my face but failing miserably. “Let me get this straight,” I say, cutting him off. “I tell you that I’m ready to get naked with you, and the first thing you think about is your mom? Wow! I was expecting a lot of things to come from this, but certainly not that.”

Noah gives me a blank stare. “Are you done?”

I smile innocently then let out a heavy breath and nod. “Yes,” I say. “It’s out of my system. Go on. What were you going to say?”

“That my mom has already had this conversation with me.”

“Eh?”

“Yeah, trust me, it was even more uncomfortable than it sounds,” he tells me. “But what she was saying is that she wanted me to really make sure that you were ready and not just wanting something that you think you should have because everyone else is doing it or because you think it would make me happy.”

My heart swells in my chest, and I push up to kiss him again. “Thank you for caring that much about me,” I tell him. “But you know that I’m not the type of girl to do something because of peer pressure or because everyone else is doing something. As for what I think would make you happy. I’d be a fool to assume that you didn’t want to, but I would also be a fool if I thought that you would ever sleep with me without being certain that I was ready. You’ve always had my best interests at heart, and you’ve always protected me from everything, even when it was myself I needed protecting from.”

“So, you’re sure?”

I nod, a shy smile gracing my lips. “I’m ready, Noah. I want to be with you.”

He leans in and kisses me as his hand falls to my waist, slowly curling around my back and pulling me in against him. “You don’t mean right now, do you?”

“Yes, right now,” I tell him without skipping a beat. “I want to strip down and get with you right here in the middle of the student parking lot.” He gives me a firm stare, clearly not appreciating my teasing, and I try to smother my smile before getting serious. “No,” I finally say. “I don’t mean right now, or that it has to be today. Just when it feels right.”

“I can work with that,” he says before his gaze lingers on mine, those dark eyes filled with curiosity. “I don’t want to screw this up, Zo. It’ll be your first time, and I want it to be just the way you’ve always imagined.”

“I don’t really know how I imagined it,” I tell him. “I don’t want anything special or some big grand, scheduled event because that’s going to make me feel awkward and pressured, and the last thing I want is to be awkward about it. I just . . . I don’t know. I want it to be spontaneous and in the moment.”

His gaze softens, and he drops his forehead against mine, his fingers tightening on my waist. “Anything for you, Zozo.”

My hand rests against his chest, feeling the steady thumping of his heart, a beat that isn’t wild or anxious, but sure and confident. “I trust you with everything I am,” I tell him. “You’ll take care of me, and just because it’s you and me, it’s going to be even more perfect than I could have ever imagined.”

His lips come down on mine, kissing me softly. “I love you, Zo,” he tells me, his tone unwavering. “But now that you’ve told me that, there’s no way I want to share you with the rest of the school. Let me take you out. We’ll spend your birthday just you and me.”

My gaze shifts up toward the school, and the second I take in the overcrowded hallways and immature boys screwing around to impress one another, I glance back at Noah. “Nothing would make me happier,” I tell him. “Let’s get out of here.”

Hazel screeches beside me at the dinner table, her eyes widening in pain as she reaches down and grips her leg. “Owwww,” she groans, glaring at Noah. “What the hell was that for?”

“Ahhhh, shit, sorry,” he says, trying to muffle his laugh but failing. “I was aiming for Zoey and didn’t expect to find your shin. What the hell is it doing over here anyway? Did your legs grow ten inches overnight?”

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