Page 81 of Echoes of Us

“I’ve seen the way you look at me. You can keep up theangelic act all you want. I know you’ve been imagining everything you want to do to me. You wouldn’t be so good at it if you hadn’t,” he said, catching me there. “Plus, my birthday’s in two weeks. You can just gift me your virginity,” he added, barely managing to say it before cracking up.

“You’re the worst.” I bent down to kiss his neck, feeling the rumble of his laugh against my lips.

“You still love me, though,” he said, calming down.

I leaned on my elbow, looking down at his smiling face, and ran my thumb over his cheek. “I do.”

He kissed me again.

“What do you want to do for your birthday?”

“Apart from having sex with you?” he asked.

I poked his ribs, making him laugh again.

“Holly’s throwing me a party on Friday. For my actual birthday, we can just stay in and do this, order food, whatever.”

“A party?” I grimaced.

“Yeah, but it’s a party with me, and it’s my birthday, so I get to climb over you and kiss you with no objections on your part. Plus, I’m allowed to drink legally now, so it’s fitting,” Noah said.

I shrugged.

“It’s a going-out party, too, not on campus.”

“I’ll get carded,” I pointed out.

“Have you seen you? You won’t get carded, and if you do, I’ll bribe the bouncer and get you in,” he assured me.

“Really?”

“Yeah, what’s the point of having a trophy boyfriend if I can’t show him off?”

“Fine, I’ll go,” I conceded.

As if there was any chance I would miss it.

That week with Noah felt like a dream. Each morning, I woke up, went for a run, and returned to him making breakfast in his underwear, music playing softly in the background. He’d kiss me before I left for class, sometimes more passionately than others. Whether I arrived on time or late depended on how much I could resist him. On the days he showed up for training, we walked back home together, his hand in mine. When he didn’t, I came back to the apartment to find him waiting for me. We’d go out for groceries or a walk and eventually end up back at the house, kissing and touching each other until we fell asleep, usually while watching TV. I brought enough things to Noah’s apartment on the weekend to merit a drawer in his closet.

Wrapping myself in him was effortless.

He had become the center of my world, and everything I did revolved around him. I didn’t see Colin or Ezra much outside of training or the gym, but Ezra was nicer to him, which was a relief. Noah told me I could have them over at the apartment if I wanted, but having them there felt weird. I knew they thought we often spent the night together at his place, but they didn’t know it was every night. Plus, I usually played video games with them, and Noah didn’t have a PlayStation, so the TV was in his room. I pointed that out to him, and the next day, when I got to the house, he had bought a TV for the living room, complete with his own PlayStation. After that, we spent the afternoons playing until Noah got bored and climbed over me.

Thursday came, and everything changed. Noah wasn’t in the kitchen when I returned to the apartment after my morning run. I heard him talking in one of the other bedrooms before I showered. I made breakfast and set a plate for him, but when he finally wandered out, he barely glanced at me before retreating back to his room. Concerned, I followed him and found him rummaging through his clothes.

“Are you okay?”

He glanced at me and nodded, but he wasn’t smiling.

“Did something happen?” I tried again.

He grabbed a shirt and jeans and strode to the bathroom, closing the door behind him. I stood at the doorway, confused. I had never seen Noah like this. He was clearly in a bad mood. The only time I had seen him close to this was after the call with his mom before he disappeared for a week.

I started getting worried. He took his time in the bathroom, and I couldn’t bring myself to leave for class. So I sat on the bed and waited for him to come out. When he did, he looked surprised to see me.

“What are you still doing here?” He was still too serious.

“I wanted to check if you were okay.”

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