Page 63 of It Was Always You

But after today and everything that had happened—the kiss, me telling her about my family, getting caught by her dad, her taking care of me again—it really didn't seem like it was fake anymore. If it was, I should be going to Easton for all of this stuff. He was the one I was really supposedto be friends with.

But maybe that was just it. Maybe Lexi had moved up higher in level of importance in my life.

And if that was true, I needed to find a way to let her know that this wasn't pretend to me anymore. This was real. And I wanted it to be real for her, too.

I just hoped I wouldn't scare her off while I tried to figure this out.

21

LEXI

While Noah ate his sandwich,I went to hide in my bathroom with the excuse of brushing my teeth, uncomfortable with how he had looked at me after I'd made the comment about us being fake. Today had been crazy. My dad didn't want me anywhere near Noah. But I just couldn't do what my dad wanted me to do anymore. I was sixteen years old. I had things that I wanted in my life. And right now...I wanted Noah. Deep down I had always wanted Noah.

Even though it was impossible to think he might want me back.

But that kiss... Oh. That kiss and the way he'd confided in me and no one else was making me think that crazy things like that might be possible.

The memory of our kiss under the bleachers swirledover me as I gripped the sink, trying to calm down my racing heart. We kept saying this thing between us was just for Raven, or Harrison's benefit, but I barely even cared what Harrison thought of me anymore.

I brushed my teeth in fast circles as I tried to figure this whole thing out. If by some miracle Noah did like me, was it even possible for us to have a future? Easton had been okay with us pretending to be together, but I doubted he'd be okay with it being real. He'd said so himself that he knew what Noah was like with girls, and that he'd beat him up if he touched me for real.

And I already knew for sure that my dad wouldn't be okay with it.

But was it so crazy to think that none of that mattered? That if Noah did share my feelings, we could beat the odds stacked against us?

There was a quiet knock on the bathroom door. I stilled my toothbrushing. "Yes?" It came out sounding all garbled.

"Is it okay if I brush my teeth?" Noah asked from the other side of the door.

I quickly rinsed my mouth and said, "Yeah, sure." Then I let him in.

He stepped inside, shutting the door behind him. He must have noticed the alarm on my face because he said, "I'm just shutting it in case your dad or Easton come into your room while we're in here."

My eyes went wide, but I nodded. "That's a good idea." I was tempted to lock it too but didn't, since that was probably taking things too far.

He squeezed past me, his frame towering over mine, and went to the sink. He turned on the water.

I leaned against the wall behind him, looking at his reflection in the mirror. I hadn't noticed when he'd first gotten here since my room was only lit by the lamp in the corner, but his eyes were tinged with red around the rims.

Had Noah been crying?

On the phone, he had sounded like he might be trying to cover up a wobbling voice. It hurt my heart to think about it.

His hair was messier than usual. He sported a few-days-old scruff on his face. I touched my chin, vaguely remembering how it had chaffed against my skin earlier as we'd kissed. I'd been so caught up in the sensations of everything else that the roughness of it hadn't bothered me. In fact, I wouldn't mind feeling it again.

Would it be wrong to tell him I needed more practice?

I forced my gaze away from his face, not wanting him to think I was staring. I took in his broad shoulders instead. He was so much taller than me, I was practically a dwarf next to him. But that was part of the pull I had for him. It made me feel petite, like a girl instead of the tomboy I felt like most of the time—though it was alsoprobably part of the reason why he'd always treated me like I was such a kid.

His arms were really nice, too. Toned, and still tanned from football season. And I found myself wanting to find a reason to be wrapped up in them again.

I shook my head. What was coming over me? Daydreaming about Noah when he wasn't around was one thing, but daydreaming about him when he was looking right back at me through the mirror was another thing entirely.

So I decided to talk about something that would make my ogling less obvious. "Do you know why your card was declined?"

He spit in the sink and shrugged. "I called my dad, and turns out, he transferred all my money out."

"What? Why would he do that?" Because there was about no chance he was having money problems. Noah's dad was loaded.

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