Page 47 of Pages of Amber

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He tried to feign it, pulling his lips down into an exaggerated frown that didn’t last long.

Amber snorted. “Yes, you do. That one-sided smile thing where you’re trying not to be amazed by me but utterly failing.” Teasing him was fun. Much more fun and relaxing than trying to one up him with wordplay.

Noah straightened, his hands falling from his chest. He took a step towards her. The smile grew bigger. “This one?”

“Close. That one has less teeth and more pinch right around here.” She booped the left side of his cheek, at the curve of his mouth. The amused gleam in his eyes seemed to intensify into something that made her feel all fluttery like before.

“You’re being quite descriptive about my smile, m’lady. Are you sure you aren’t the one who secretly thinks I’m adorable?”

So now he was using her words against her?

“No.” Amber wrinkled her nose. Her gaze fell on the smile he had now. Different to the other one but more Noah. The other smile showed he was amused, made him look secretive with an edge. This one made him look more boyish. It took the edge off and made him look happy. A subtle zing went through her and she suddenly became aware of how close she and Noah stood. There was barely a bit of space left between them and if she put all their hallway banters together, she was sure this was the closest she had ever been in Noah Rhodes’ space.

Noah seemed to be thinking the same thing. His smile slipped slowly, the amused look in his eyes morphing into a dark and intense stare that burned her and kept her teetered to him, unable to breathe or think. The only thing she could feel was Noah.

It happened so slowly that either of them could have stopped it but didn’t. His head lowered as hers tipped higher. His breath skated over her lips and every nerve in her body was standing on end in aching anticipation. Her lashes tickled her skin as her eyes fell closed and then, almost like she had imagined it, the lightest pressure fell onto her lips.

Their lips met and Amber started to make sense of what was happening.

She was kissing Noah Rhodes.

The boy she loved to hate. The boy she loved to tease. The boy she loved to argue with. The boy whose hands were in her hair, bringing her closer, melding her to him, taking her apart piece by piece. Her hands reached up, shaky and curious to wrap around his neck. She sunk into him. The kiss deepened and all she could think was, she was really kissing Noah.

The realization would probably continue to sink in long after this moment but right then, they were interrupted by the door to the greenhouse swinging open. She and Noah jumped so far apart, they were basically across the room.

“Sorry, that took so long. I had the smoothies in the fridge for a while.” Dottie beamed at them, oblivious to the tension settling in the air. She held a tray set with two tall glasses of smoothie mix and a plate of chips. Noah jumped in before she could set the tray down, swiping it from her hands.

“Actually, Mrs. Dottie. We should probably head to the study. We’ve spent more time in here than we thought and there’s still the assignment to finish. It turns out the distractions in here are too tempting to ignore.”

Her eyes widened. Was he saying–?

“It’s such a beautiful garden, isn’t it? Amber worked so hard on it.” Dottie smiled up at him, the double meaning clearly going over her head. “Please drop the formality, Noah. Let’s head to the study.”

“Sure, Dottie. The smoothies smell heavenly. What’s your recipe?”

Amber watched them leave the room, so engrossed in conversation that they failed to notice she hadn’t moved from her spot. She bent to grab her book bag and paused. Her hand, trembling, reached up to her lips. The memory of that kiss, the splendor of that short moment, the bliss that had coursed through her, it all came flooding back. With a gasp, she opened her eyes.

The afternoon sun now rested on a section of daffodils. Amber stared at the blossoming petals, their vibrant hue as bright as a dawn sky. Their beauty struck her as deeply as the symbol behind them did. She wrestled a nervous swallow at the thought of having to sit in the study for the next few hours. How could anyone expect her to focus when she had been kissed like that?

Amber didn’t know how she was going to survive being alone with Noah now, but it seemed she would soon find out.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

AMBER HAD BARELY SLEPT.

Yet somehow, she didn’t feel it. She was wide awake, her nerves shot like she had been downing copious amounts of caffeine all night. Obviously the pep talk she had given herself before bed the night before hadn’t helped a bit. Amber had barely gotten ready in time to have breakfast, at least not without intensely staring at her lips in the mirror while applying gloss and then getting lost at the sight of her hair as she brushed it. Was it normal to have the memory of the greenhouse replaying in her mind on a constant loop?

It had barely been twenty-four hours and Amber felt like she was running crazy.

She’d even had to go back to her room after being so distracted at breakfast that she had spilled jam onto her uniform shirt and had to change it. The call of her name pulled her out of her head for the nth time that morning. Her mom stood at the dining room doorway in a red pantsuit that contrasted against her pale skin. Her makeup was done up perfectly, her neck adorned with a gorgeous necklace. The only thing that marred her flawless appearance was the frown that tugged down the corner of her lips.

“You’re running late. Should that be happening when your tests are next week?”

Amber picked her bag where it rested on the last step of the staircase. “I’m heading out. I needed to change my shirt.”

“Hmm.” Her mom’s chin tipped higher. “Remember what I said. No trouble at school. I won’t accept anything short of excellence this year.”

“I know, Mom.”

---