Page 6 of Echoes of Us

His smile widened. “Thanks,” he said, still breathing heavily. He was clearly out of shape; he hadn’t managed to catch his breath. “I don’t think I can keep up with you,” he said with a self-deprecating laugh.

“You’re not training; it’s understandable. I bet you could if you were,” I told him.

His smile grew. “I like that you’re a little arrogant. I didn’t catch that before,” he said, laughing once more. He grabbed a water bottle and drank. I watched his throat work around it, mesmerized.

Wait.

“Arrogant,” I repeated.

“Yeah, you know you’re good, excellent even. I figured you were shy from the first time we met, but you’re not shy here, are you? You’re not shy when you play,” he pointed out.

I had no idea how to answer that.

He sniggered again. “I don’t bite, you know?” he said, his smile growing.

“What?” I asked, confused.

“You look at me like I’m going to attack you or something,” he said, widening his eyes.

If I could blush, I would probably be doing that right now.

“I don’t think you are. You’re just a little…” I struggled to find the right word.

“What? Annoying?” he asked, chuckling.

Not at all.

“No, intimidating, I guess,” I told him.

“I’m intimidating?Iintimidateyou? Are you serious?” He laughed again, looking so good as he did. He was scrunching his nose.

“Yeah, well, a little,” I babbled, taken aback by his reaction.

“You’re a foot taller than me,” he noted.

“That’s not accurate. You’re like five-eight-ish,” I said.

He chuckled. “That’s not the point. I can’t possibly intimidate you. That makes no sense,” Noah said. He drank again and sat on the bench. His face was still red from exertion, and droplets of sweat glistened on his forehead, catching the light.The sight of him, flushed and slightly out of breath, stirred something in me.

The sweat made his hair stick a little across his forehead. It clung there, darkened by the moisture, and when he pushed it back, it stood up messily. Noah made it look like he did that purposefully, as if he knew how good he looked. He pulled on his shirt sleeve, revealing his muscled shoulder, and I swooned. His skin was smooth, slightly pink from the workout, and I could see the defined lines of his muscles. He probably had a great body, too, if I could see it. His clothes were kind of baggy on him.

I met his eyes and realized he had been watching me. Fuck. His lips, slightly parted as he caught his breath, stretched into a smile that was both teasing and genuine.

“What are you doing on Friday?” he asked.

My heart skipped. “Why?”

“I invited Colin to a party at my house. Come with him,” he said with an attractive tilt of his head.

This was probably the first time someone had asked me to a party, and I wanted to say yes.

“Thanks, but I can’t. I’m going back home for the weekend,” I told him.

He shrugged nonchalantly. “Next time,” he told me and pushed up from the bench. “And next time, we’ll play for the same team. I’ll look forward to those tosses, Atticus.” He gave me one last smile and walked towards Colin.

Immediately, I wanted to call my mom and cancel. I knew I couldn’t, but I would give anything to be going to that party.

CHAPTER

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