Page 47 of It Was Always You

"You do realize that phrase 'sleeping like a baby' is a total lie, right?"

He glanced away from the roadbriefly to give me a confused expression. "What do you mean? Don't babies sleep through everything?"

"Grant didn't." No, my little nephew was a downright terrible sleeper from the time my sister brought him home from the hospital. "Now every time I hear someone say that phrase, I take it to mean that they’re saying they woke up every two hours to eat, and then cried the other half of the night. Babies are not a good example of someone who sleeps soundly at all."

He laughed. "Duly noted." He looked at me and winked. "I promise to never use that phrase so carelessly in the future."

I couldn't help but smile back. Noah didn't always smile, but when he did it was contagious.

"So how is it having Maddie and Grant out of the house now?"

"It's a lot quieter for sure. Grant had so much energy. I miss them a lot, but I'm really happy that she and Jaxon finally worked things out. It's good for Grant to have both parents." My sister and her high school boyfriend had a rocky relationship for years, being too young to be thrust into parenthood and an adult relationship. My dad's attitude toward Jaxon, the guy who had impregnated his teenage daughter, hadn't helped either. But Maddie had been able to stay at home her first year of college and our family had been able to help her out a lot with Grant.She'd gotten her feet under her and now things were really looking good for them.

"I hope things are better for them now that they're on their own. I know from experience that your homelife can affect you in more ways than you like."

I couldn't help but wonder what exactly was going on with him and his family. You didn't just sleep in your car instead of your bedroom for nothing.

But I didn't ask him. If he was willing to talk about it, it seemed like it would be a pretty long conversation and we were almost to the school.

We pulled into the parking lot a minute later. Noah parked and then hurried over to my side of the car to open the door. As I got out, he took my hand and we walked into the school together. I had been scared to death to hold his hand after the game on Tuesday, just two days ago, but now it seemed like the most natural thing in the world. And I kind of wanted it to never stop.

I wasin a happy daze the rest of the morning. Everything seemed to be going so well in my life now. Things at home were good and calm. My grades were pretty good. And for once, I didn't feel like an outcast at school. I had spent the first few months of the year just trying to get Harrison to notice me, but now that I wasfake-dating Noah, I kind of didn't really care if he ever did.

I knew in the back of my mind that this was probably not the smartest way to feel right now since it was fake after all, but I would just let myself live in the contented bliss of not having to work so hard to fit in for a while.

"You and Noah seem to be enjoying having your relationship out in the open now." Raven sidled up to me on my way to the cafeteria for lunch.

I forced a smile and tried to ignore her jealous tone. "Yeah, it's been really nice not having to sneak around anymore."

I almost laughed when I realized exactly how big of a lie those words were. After last night, we'd been sneaking around more than ever.

"I've noticed you've been coming to school with him. And his car always seems to be parked on your street."

I nodded. "Yeah." But he'd been coming to my house a lot before anyway, because of Easton.

"I couldn't help but notice he was at your house really late when I drove by last night." She looked down at my left hand—not so discreetly—and eyed my promise ring. "He's a pretty good kisser, isn't he?"

Why was she looking at me like that? And was she trying to hint that I shouldn't be wearing my ring anymore? My face paled. Did Raven know that he'd slept at my house last night?

I laughed, hoping to dispel my anxiety. "Yeah, he's a good kisser."

She raised her eyebrows. "Those big pouty lips of his aren't just for talking."

I furrowed my brow, wondering if she was trying to say something else. Girls like Raven always had some sort of secret agenda when they talked. Was this a test to find out if I had really kissed Noah? Had she somehow found out that I wasn't really Noah's girlfriend?

"It is interesting though..." she said when I didn't say anything.

"What's interesting?" I knew it was stupid for me to jump on the bait she was giving me, but I couldn't help it.

She lifted her shoulder in the way all the mean girls do in movies—when they're trying to look like they aren't being conniving little witches when that's exactly what they were doing. "I guess I'm used to seeing Noah constantly kissing his girlfriends, and it's hard not to wonder why he's not doing that with you."

I knew I shouldn't have taken her bait.

I looked around anxiously, wishing someone would jump in and save me from this conversation. But of course, everyone was minding their business for the first time as they walked down the hall.

So I did something that I could only blame on desperation.

I looked at Raven with as much confidenceas I could muster. "We haven't been kissing in public because Noah kind of thought you might have a crush on him, and he didn't want to make you feel bad when you saw it."

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