Page 50 of It Was Always You

"Right here?" I squeaked.

"Follow me." He took my handand led me down the stairs to the gym. The bleachers were already rolled out for the assembly that we'd be having later this afternoon.

He pulled me under the bleachers.

"Just watch your step," he said, as we went farther under. I watched his shoulders as I followed behind him. And then he suddenly stopped, and I bumped right into his back.

"Sorry!" I jumped back.

"Don't be." He turned and leaned one shoulder against the brick wall. I decided to follow suit and pressed my back against the wall. I needed it for stability anyway, since my legs were so wobbly.

We just stood there staring at each other, his towering frame hovering inches from mine.

When he didn't do anything, I spoke with a shaky voice, "We should probably hurry so we still have time for lunch."

He nodded. "Okay."

"Okay." I sighed, hoping he'd just go for it.

He stepped in front of me, placing one hand on the wall near my head to brace himself as he leaned closer. I suddenly had an understanding of how powerful "leaning" really was. Maddie's favorite movie,While You Were Sleeping,totally nailed it. Noah was a giant compared to me, but I loved how it felt to feel so petite next to him. He was powerful and strong. He'd make an awesome protector if I ever needed one.

He ducked his head closer. "You sure you want to do this?" He was giving me one last chance to back out.

My heart was beating out of control, and I was pretty sure I was on the verge of melting as I returned his hot stare.

"Yes," I whispered. I wanted this. I wanted him to kiss me. And it definitely wasn't because I cared about keeping up a fake relationship anymore.

He ran a thumb over my cheek. "You know Easton will kill me if he finds out about this."

I swallowed. He probably would. "We can break up if you don't want to do this."

"Do you think that's best?"

"Do you?"

He shook his head and spoke in a husky voice, "I don't want to think right now." And then Noah closed the distance between our lips.

I gasped, caught off guard. But his hand cupped my neck, steadying me and pulling me closer as he coaxed my lips to move slowly with his. I had no idea what I was doing. I'd never done this before. But for some reason, my inexperience didn't seem to be an issue as Noah gently brushed his lips across mine once…twice. Then again and again.

He kissed me gently, like he actually cared and wanted to make my first kiss a good experience. I'd always assumed he was more of the go-for-the-gold, kiss-without-abandon kind of guy. But instead of attacking me with his lips and making me feel way out of my element, just trying to catch up, he kissed me as if I was fragile and he didn't want to break me. It made me feel unbelievably special. Noah knew what he was doing, and the slowness of the kiss made my stomach twist and shake with pleasure I'd never felt before.

I could barely draw in a decent breath as his warm lips caused crackles of electricity that sparked mine to life in a brand-new way. I'd had my lips for sixteen years, but until this moment I had no idea how many nerve endings they had or how sensitive to his touch they could be. And I never wanted this practice kiss to stop. It felt much too good to be so close to Noah with his lips capturing mine between his.

Feeling a little braver, I let my hands trace their way up his arms to rest behind his neck. He was so tall that he was almost bent in half to kiss me. I raised myself up on my toes to help him out, and he reacted by pulling me closer and wrapping his arms around me.

"You sure you've never kissed before?" he asked, breaking the lock his soft lips had on mine.

"Pretty sure this is my first time." I sighed, trying to catch my breath, but it was coming in short little bursts. "Do you think everyone will buy this then?" I asked. I really hoped so, though I wouldn't mind practicing for a few minutes more.

"Pretty sure you're a natural." His breathing was more uneven than usual. Could he possibly have enjoyed that kiss as much as I did?

"T-that's a relief."

He rubbed his hands along my back, making it really hard for me to think. "So do you feel that was enough practice before we make our kissing debut?"

The thought of kissing in public scared the crap out of me. But maybe with Noah taking the lead, it wouldn't be so bad.

His eyes dipped down to where I was nervously biting my bottom lip. Then his gaze met mine. "Maybe just a few more minutes?"

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