Page 44 of It Was Always You

He'll be sleeping less than five feet away from me.

I would not think about that.

I plugged my phone into my charging cord on my nightstand, made sure my alarm was set for six-thirty, and then fluffed my pillow. Once I'd finished my nightly routine, I glanced over at Noah one more time before turning off my lamp. He looked comfortable enough. "Remember, no sneaking out and climbing in my bed."

He laughed. "I was only joking about sharing your bed. You really don't need to worry about me. That's, like, the last thing I'd do tonight."

I bristled at his response, my muscles going taut. "Why? Is it because I'm not mainstream?"

"No. I— Well, first of all, you've said it yourself,we're only fake dating. And second of all, I still want Easton to be my friend. And third, I've seen your dad's gun cabinet and would rather not be on the other side of the barrel of his shotgun."

My muscles relaxed. "Okay, those are good reasons."

He yawned. "I know you have this whole Noah-only-likes-mainstream-girls notion in your head, but don't lock me into that category. I might surprise you."

My heart raced when I thought about what his words could mean. Should I be reading into them? Should I be reading into everything that had happened tonight?

He put his hands behind his head, and I couldn't help but think that his arms looked really nice that way.

Yeah, I definitely shouldn't be reading into what he'd said.

I quickly took off my glasses then flipped off my lamp before I could find anything else to admire about him. I couldn't admire him if I couldn't see him.

"Good night, Noah," I said.

"Good night, Lexi. Thanks again for letting me in tonight. I really appreciate it."

14

NOAH

My alarm went offand I immediately silenced it. Just five more minutes.

I turned on my side and fluffed up my pillow, releasing a long, contented sigh. Then I opened my eyes, realizing where I was. I hadn't woken up this warm all week. I took in my surroundings as the memory of last night came to mind. I was sleeping in Lexi's closet.

Fully alert now, I rolled over to my other side, so I could see out her closet door. Had my alarm awakened Lexi? Did I alert her dad to my presence?

Lexi was still asleep on her bed, one arm hanging off the side, her hair a huge mess over her eyes.

I stifled a laugh. She was dead to the world. And if she hadn't woken with my alarm when she was only a few feet away, then hopefully, her dad hadn't heard it either.

I turned the alarm and ringer sound down on my phone just in case it decided to try and alert everyone to my presence again.

I still had over an hour and a half until school started, but what was I supposed to do now? Should I risk sneaking out of Lexi's house and possibly getting caught by her dad and the now early-bird Easton? Or should I stay hidden until they all left, and then bum another shower in her bathroom?

I tried to relax my breathing and perked up my ears for any sounds in the house. I was pretty sure the Army had turned Lexi's dad into an early riser. Which meant he was probably already up and at 'em.

Sure enough, a moment later, I was able to pick out the sound of pots and pans clanking in the kitchen.

I glanced at Lexi again. She was still sleeping.

I looked over to her window, wondering if I could get it open now that I was inside and had better leverage. If I were to leave now, I could still get to school in time and just shower in the locker room. I didn't want to risk getting caught in Lexi's room and have her get into trouble because of me. She'd already done so much to help me out.

I pushed the warm blankets off me then stood.

My head immediately crashed against the rod in her closet. I swore and rubbed at the sore spot.Stupid giant-people problems.

"Who's there?" Lexi said, her voice full of alarm. Panicked, she scrambled and reached for something on her nightstand.

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