Page 52 of It Was Always You

I bit my lip. "Well, I'll just go?—"

"Hey, Noah." She touched my arm and I froze.

"What?" I held my breath because I had literally no idea what she was going to say next.

"I wasn't trying to turn you down. I just don’t want you to get offended if I fall asleep during the boring parts. I used to do that all the time with Juliette and her chick flicks."

I narrowed my eyes. "So you don't absolutely hate the idea of spending more time with me?"

The smile she gave me calmed my nerves enough to let me take a small breath. "Of course not."

She removed her hand from my arm, and I was able to convince my feet to walk down the hall again.

"Okay, so I'll come find you after school?" I asked when we stopped in front of her classroom.

She nodded. "Yeah."

I watched her walk in, and even though a movie with Lexi should seem like a small thing, I kind of felt like I'd just won something.

Jake Haley,one of my football buddies, stopped me in the hall after English.

"I couldn't help but overhear you talking to Easton's sister in the hall. But is it true that you're watchingPride and Prejudiceafter school?"

"Yeah." Hopefully, he hadn't noticed the way she'd almost rejected me too. That wouldn't be good for my plan to make everyone think we were dating.

"Mind if I join you? I could use a refresher, but my mom is weird and thinks that's cheating."

"It's only cheating if you don't read the book."

"I've read most of it." He bounced his backpack higher on his shoulder. "Are you the English test police or something?"

"Of course not." I was the one who was watching the movie as a refresher, wasn't I?

"So can I come?"

"I'll have to ask Lexi first. I'll text you when I find out."

Jake clapped me on the shoulder. "Thanks, man."

Then he disappeared down the hall.

I rounded the corner to the sophomore hall a minute later. Lexi smiled tentatively when she noticed me.

"Hi," I said breathily when I reached her. She looked so vibrant right then. Had something changed since lunch? Or was she just happy to be done with school for the day?

"Hey," she said.

Her books were in her backpack this time, so her hands were free. Free for me to just take in my own.

"Ready to go?" I asked, chickening out from touching her.

"Sure."

I turned back the way I'd come from, and we started walking toward the school's exit. I asked her, "Is it okay if Jake Haley comes over to watch the movie with us?"

"Jake Haley? Why?"

"I guess he heard us talking about it."

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