Page 43 of Return To You

Dad hums and agrees, “He did.” I wipe my cheeks, my eyes going to the photo of me and Noah from that night, smiling in each other’s arms. Dad states, “He ran scared. He was a nearly nineteen-year-old boy, and had realized just how much you meant to him. Seeing that picture showed him how much pain you could cause, and it scared the living shit outta him. He never believed it, Rose. I spoke to his friends yesterday after I called him; he made himself believe you’d do that to him to help ease the guilt he felt for leaving. As soon as he got on the bus, he knew he messed up but decided then and there that he didn’t deserve you. By the time Gina had seen you, he was so deep into believing the photo, he didn’t think to question how she’d know what a four-month bump would look like.”

I sniffle. “That’s no excuse, Dad.”

He agrees, “It’s not, and you get to punish him however you like, just like how you get to decide whether you want a relationship with me, your brother, and Vanessa. You were the one who was hurt, and I’m not going to take those feelings from you, but all I ask, my Little Rose, is that you hear Noah out, and remember your love you held for each other. Remember that Diego deserves to know his father, and that he should most definitely have a party.”

I laugh a watery laugh. “Smooth, Dad….”

He chuckles. “I thought so, but I mean every word, Rose. You and Noah, as much as I hated it, I knew you two were meant tobe, and I still believe you are. I just don’t want you to give up and regret it. As for Diego’s party, I’ll make sure your brother won’t be there, please, sweetheart….”

I sigh, his words ringing with truth, and I rasp, “I’ll think about it….”

He thanked me before asking several questions about Diego and how he was doing before again begging me to think about the party.

I promise I will, then hang up, knowing I have three assignments to complete and a load of laundry to do.

Just as I stand to grab my bag from the kitchen counter, a knock sounds at the door, and I silently groan, knowing it could be Mrs. Cannon, back early.

I look down and ensure Noah’s black button-down shirt covers me enough. I nod to myself and unlock the door, opening it without looking in the peephole, which I think I really should have….

Instead of meeting Mrs. Cannon’s kind eyes, my eyes lock on a hard chest, and I look up and swallow hard.

Noah grips the door frame, looking over my body. My eyes again go to his forearm tattoo and his ring finger, before clearing my throat and looking down.

I know my dad asked for me to give him a chance to explain but I…crap….

He owns too much of me for me to do that. I hurt too much….

Just as I think it, Noah mumbles, “Fuck it,” and I look up just as he grabs my face with his hands, and presses his lips against mine, his lip ring cool against my mouth.

I freeze up for a moment, gasping in shock, giving him the opportunity to shove his tongue into my mouth, tangling it with mine. I feel his tongue bar, and I moan like the little hussy I am, and begin to melt before, suddenly, his lips are gone, and I open my eyes.

Noah groans, grabbing his hair, and whispers, “Fuck, fuck, fuck….”

Tears begin to well up, my pain taking over, and I snap, “Seriously, you’re freaking out over kissing me whenyou’rethe one who left!”

He looks my way, and the torment in his eyes is a kick in the gut.

fourteen

Noah

“Noah,”Rose gasps, and I smile against her neck and nip her skin with my teeth.

“Yes, Petal?” I ask with a rasp as I move my hands to her hips and lift her, causing her to squeak.

I place her on the desk, suddenly very happy it’s just us in the music room, and that I locked the door. I pull back a little, smirking, my hands gently gliding up her thighs, pushing her skirt up.

She grins. “We’re in school, Noah….”

I hum and gently move my nose against hers as my fingers toy with the lining of her panties, moving them to the side before my fingers find her entrance, and I chuckle. “And yet you’re wet, Petal….”

She gasps and then moans, gripping my hair as I push one finger inside her.

I expect her to pull me away when her grip on my hair tightens, but, instead, she pulls my head back, then presses her lips against mine, and I moan, tangling my tongue with hers.

Without care, I remove my finger and grip her soaked panties, and pull on them. She lifts a little without breaking the kiss, giving me the chance to pull her panties off, and with a little bit of trouble, I remove them from her legs as our kiss heats up.

Her hands move from my hair and go to my jeans, unbuttoning them while I grab a condom, all while my lips stay fused with hers, not willing to break the kiss.

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