Page 49 of Pages of Amber

“Sure,” she dragged out skeptically. “I guess I didn’t just witness you eye-balling Noah, and you both didn’t share some secret joke about it. Tell me the truth.”

What was the truth at this point? Amber couldn’t wrap her head around it. What could she say to Evelyn when she had no answers herself?

“Do you like Noah?”

Amber stumbled over nothing, quickly righting herself. It was the tiniest slip up but Evelyn caught it immediately. Her eyes widened in time with her smile. For the second time in only a few minutes, another set of eyes settled on them, drawn in by Evelyn’s loud squeal. She didn’t seem to realize the attention but for Amber, despite thinking she had grown immune to the scrutiny and stares from the students over the years, she found herself wishing she could blend in with the lockers or turn invisible.

“You do like him!” Evelyn cheered, her voice high. “I knew it! What happened this weekend? Tell. Me. I want to know everything.”

“Shh, try toning it down a bit, Eve.” Amber pulled on her arm.

Evelyn ignored her, a sharp gasp escaping her. “Something did happen! Time to spill the beans, Amber. I’m dying over here and you don’t want me dead, do you? I thought you liked me. Aren’t we friends? Friends tell each other things, you know.”

Amber shook her head, her laughter shaking her shoulders. Evelyn kept puppy dog eyes on her, her lips pulled into a pout.

“They weren’t kidding about your guilt trip magic, were they?”

“If it’s working, then no. Don’t change the subject. Are you going to tell me or not?”

Amber turned away. “I wouldn’t even know what to tell you. I have no idea what’s going on, either. Noah and I may have stopped arguing but that doesn’t mean anything. It doesn’t mean I like him.” A wry laugh left her. “What does it even mean to like someone that way?”

Evelyn stilled, her brows furrowing. “What? Why would you ask that?”

Amber flushed at the question. “Because I don’t know how to tell when a person likes you and I’ve never been on a date?”

She had never even been kissed. Until yesterday, that is.

“How? Why not?” Evelyn’s dark ponytail whipped against her cheek. She’d gotten her green highlights removed last week. Amber sort of missed the look on her. “I refuse to believe that. You’re the most popular girl at our school. Someone had to have asked you out at least once.”

Amber lifted her shoulders in a shrug, feeling sheepish. Between putting ballet first and constantly leaving school for competitions, juggling school work and keeping up with her mom’s expectations for her, she hadn’t exactly had much time for dates. She’d hardly had time for her friends.

“Huh,” Evelyn grunted. She cleared the confusion on her face to answer Amber. “I can tell you what I know. I haven’t been on a ton of dates either so I’m not an expert.”

Evelyn crossed her arms at the elbows as they turned into a quieter corridor. Only a few students walked by, none of them paying her and Evelyn any attention. “I guess when you know you like someone, it could start slow or it could hit you fast,” Evelyn said. “You feel your heart race when he’s around. You feel nervous too, like your palms get all sweaty and you just feel itchy for no reason. But then you also feel excited, like you’re happy to be sharing that space or that moment with him and you want to stay in it. Together.”

She paused and wrinkled her nose. “It’s a crazy mix of emotions when you put it like that. You’d feel nice and happy when you think about that person. All fuzzy inside and the butterflies. Oh, you’d definitely feel the butterflies. I like to think there’s a feeling of warmth that naturally envelopes you when you’re around that person. You know?”

A smile quirked at Evelyn’s lips. Amber hadn’t noticed they had come to a stop, their arms unlinked. Her heart sped at Evelyn’s words, her mind pulling up Noah’s face and her heart… her heart was ticking off things on the checklist like it was a simple grocery list. Evelyn tilted her head and looked at Amber, her olive eyes bright.

“Do you feel that way when you’re around Noah?”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

NOAH WAS SURE OF one thing.

There was only one word that described him when it came to Amber Coleman.

Goner. He was an absolute goner and that had never been more true now that he had kissed Amber and tortured himself with the memory of it all weekend as he counted down the hours, the minutes, the seconds before he could see her again.

The short time he had to collect himself after Dottie had showed him the study hadn’t nearly been enough. The following hour had him buzzing in his seat, itching to pull Amber back to him so he could sink his hands in her soft hair and drown in her flowery scent.

Flowers. He had always wondered why their alluring scent seemed to flourish around her. He didn’t have to wonder anymore.

Her garden had been beautiful and a large part of Noah felt honored that she had shown him that side of her. She’d listened to his troubles, had understood and accepted his struggles without belittling it. Better still, she had shared a sliver of her childhood, giving him another piece to fit into the puzzle of hers he was desperate to complete.

Mrs. Wilson pairing him and Amber had been a blessing in disguise. A second chance. A slate to rewrite his mistakes. There was no doubt that it had been his fault for starting out the conflict between him and Amber, when in truth, it had been the last thing he meant to do. His thoughtless actions had made a lasting impression and for years, he had been relegated to a villain. An enemy, an outsider looking in, yearning for the same warmth she bestowed on everyone else.

A bully, Sean’s words came to him.

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