Page 36 of Echoes of Us

But I just registered the part where he said he wanted me. He made my stomach flip. The way his lips parted slightly when he spoke, the vulnerability in his voice—it was all too much and not enough.

“You want me?” I asked.

He smiled, a small, almost shy curve of his lips. “You’re missing the point here. I don’t know how to do slow, Atty, and I don’t want to do slow with you,” he insisted.

“I’m good at slow.”

He gave an amused huff. “I know. That’s why I’m telling you, you have to put on the brakes,” Noah said.

I could do that. I could do that for him. I’d do anything for him.

“Okay, I get it. I’ll do that,” I said.

He smiled, leaning up to kiss me again. “Let’s go back to my bed.”

I bit my lip. “Is this a test?” I asked.

He threw his head back, laughing. He pushed me back, and I sat on the couch again.

“No, it’s not. Let’s watch TV, cuddle, and make out. Like we’re teenagers,” he said, holding his hand out to me. That sounded like a fantastic plan to me.

“Weareteenagers,” I pointed out, grabbing his hand and walking after him.

“You’re a teenager. I’m twenty,” he said.

I blinked. “Seriously?” I asked. How did I not know this?

“Yeah, I flunked out a year in high school and haven’t been responsible about college. I’m turning twenty-one in January,” he said, climbing on the bed.

“I was sure you were nineteen.”

He smiled while shaking his head at me. I got in after him, and he curled on my side instantly, getting under my arm and pulling it over him. He kissed my neck and then my jaw. Even when he was tired, he was restless.

“Nope. When’s your birthday?”

“In October,” I said.

He stopped before kissing me and hovered over me. “You’re kidding.”

“No, I’d just had my birthday when we met. I graduated early,” I said.

He looked like he was doing the math. His eyes raced from side to side, and his lips parted. “I’m almost three years older than you? That can’t be right,” he said, shaking his head. “You don’t look that young,” he said absently.

I chuckled. “You don’t look that old.”

He narrowed his eyes, half-smiling, looking a little offended. “Funny. How does it feel to date an older man? You’ve turned into quite a rebel after the goody-two-shoes act.”

I bit my lip. Dating? Is that what we were doing? It sounded nice. I grabbed his neck and pulled him back to my lips.

“How do they not card you?” he asked.

I smiled again before I kissed him. I loved his lips. “Noah, just stop talking,” I told him, and he nodded, practically grinning against my lips.

We stayed curled up in his bed for the rest of the afternoon, alternating between making out and talking. I got him to eat again and then went back to bed. He fell asleep curled up next to me while I stroked his hair. I had never felt this close to anybody before. I wasn’t sure how to lead the pace here, because I was pretty sure I would fall in love with him. I wasn’t sure how much I could slow him down if I did.

WhenI did.

CHAPTER

---