Page 22 of It Was Always You

"So where wouldyou like totalk?" Noah stood close to me as I loaded the last of the dishes in the dishwasher after dinner. And I didn't know how he did it, but he managed to make the word "talk" sound like we were going to be doing something against the law.

I looked around to make sure my dad wasn't watching.I absolutely could not have him thinking anything was going on between us. He'd skin me alive...after he was finished with Noah, of course.

Dinner had already been stressful enough with Noah there. Yes, he'd eaten with us a million times before, but now that we had this secret between us, I felt like if I even looked across the table to him that my dad would know what was going on.

I added the detergent packet to the dishwasher. "We can talk downstairs if you want."

As I pushed the buttons to start the load, he leaned in closer and spoke into my hair. "I'll be waiting for?—"

He stopped mid-sentence. I moved my focus from the dishwasher buttons to see what had startled him. My dad had just walked into the room.

He'd gotten his dark hair trimmed today, so he was back to looking like he had when he was a drill sergeant.

I didn't think he'd seen how close Noah had been standing to me, but that didn't keep my heart from letting me know it was still in there.

"H-hi Dad." I swallowed the thickness in my throat and hoped I didn't have sweat beading on my brow.

"Where's Easton?" Dad asked.

"He went downstairs to do his homework since he was busy working this afternoon."

My dad's blue eyes drifted to Noah, as if trying to figure out why he was still here.

"A-and, Noah and I have a school project that we were just about to work on."

"You two have a class together?" Dad's eyebrows furrowed.

I looked at Noah, hoping he could help me out because my mind was clearly not working at the moment. Of course we didn't have any classes together. He was two grades above me.

Noah stepped forward. "No, but she's helping me with this English project I'm doing."

My dad nodded, his shoulders relaxing. "Lexi's always been a reader."

Then, as if that settled everything, he continued through the kitchen and into the living room.

I rushed Noah down the stairs as soon as the coast was clear, knowing my heart couldn't handle any more scares like that today. I was sure to develop an ulcer or something if my world didn't calm down quick.

We sat on the brown sectional, and I pulled up the notepad app on my phone.

"So what English project am I supposedly helping you with?" I asked.

He pressed the button on the side to recline in the seat. "Pride and Prejudice."

I coughed. "You do realize that I know next to nothing aboutPride and Prejudiceor anything by Jane Austen, right?"

"I thought all girls loved that book." He looked at me like I was a strange anomaly in the world of girls.

"No, that's Ashlyn. I haven't even watched the movie version."

A sheepish grin spread over his lips. "Dang it. I was actually kind of hoping that as mygirlfriendyou might be able to help me figure out that book. Or at least watch the movie with me sometime. The test is next week."

"Well, okay. I guess we can both suffer through that movie together sometime." I held up my phone. "Which brings us to our next item of business."

"You make it sound so formal."

"What would you rather I call it?"

He thought for a moment before saying, "Our second date."

---