Page 41 of Echoes of Us

I grimaced, groaning in embarrassment.

“Why don’t you like compliments?”

“They make me uncomfortable,” I admitted honestly.

“Well, then you shouldn’t run daily. Then maybe I could be around you and not wonder how hard your body feels.” He leaned down and kissed my neck. “Here.” His hands grabbed my biceps. “Or here.” They moved over my stomach. “Definitely here.” His hand snaked down and grabbed my backside as he licked the shell of my ear.

“Noah,” I exhaled again.

He groaned. He pushed off and fell beside me on the bed.

“I think I need a cold shower.”

I smiled at him. I loved hearing him talk like that. I thought I had been the only one who couldn’t look away. He had been struggling with it all along.

“And I need to get going,” I told him, pushing him to sit on the edge of the bed.

He wrapped his arms around my neck and pressed himself against my back. “Do you have to? Can’t you skip it today?”

“I’m behind on all the other stuff, school stuff. Even if I skipped running, I still need to do that.”

He tightened his grasp on me. “Bring your things over. You can work on them here,” he suggested.

My brows furrowed. I turned to look at him, expecting to find him smiling. Instead, he looked scared, and my chest tightened painfully. There was a crease in between his brows, his eyes were wider, almost pleading. He didn’t want to be alone here.

“Why don’t you come with me to the dorm? You can stay over if you like,” I offered.

“Are you sure you don’t mind?”

“Of course, I don’t mind. I just really need to get those things done. You can get your work out of the way too,” I said, then made a face. I had never seen Noah do anything school-related.

He made the same face back at me. “If I have anything towork on, I haven’t the slightest clue what it is. I could play video games,” Noah suggested.

“Yeah, you could come with me for the jog if you’d like,” I said.

“Maybe some other time,” he replied.

“Get your things, then. Let’s go.”

He smiled and pushed off the bed. He showered, and while I waited, I checked my phone. I had missed five calls from Ezra and Colin and found a new group chat titled “Your Concerned Parents.”

Colin Whitmore

att, where the fuck are you?

answer the phone

we’ve been to your room twice

you haven’t slept there in two days

Ezra Tate

we’re close to calling your actual mom if you don’t answer soon

Those had been sent this morning. I rolled my eyes and sighed.

Me

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