Page 54 of Echoes of Us

“Out on the terrace,” I told him.

He kissed me again. I thought he would move away, but he held on to the side of my face and deepened the kiss.

I gently pushed him back. “Hey, what is it?”

“Nothing. I’m allowed to kiss you in public now, right?” he asked, his forehead lining.

“Yeah, just go slower.”

His face softened. He kissed me again, keeping it light this time.

“Like that?” he asked against my lips.

“Like that,” I told him, and he smiled.

“Ugh, isn’t Noah the worst when he’s in a relationship?” Holly asked Colin.

“He is,” Colin agreed.

Noah turned to give them an amused look. I caught a glimpse of Ezra’s wary face.

“Why am I the worst?” Noah asked with a laugh. “It’s not my fault. Every day is like the twenty-first of September.”

Holly rolled her eyes at him with an exaggerated sigh, while I blinked, puzzled.

“We met in October,” I said.

They all found that hilarious apparently.

“What?”

“Atty, you’re so cute.” Noah kissed my cheek softly, his lips warm and gentle.

“It’s a song, Att,” Colin explained, shaking his head with a smile.

“‘September,’” Noah said, but I was still lost. “Come on, Atty. ‘Ba-de-ya.’” He pitched his voice high and started singing, moving his shoulders to the beat.

I couldn’t stop smiling at his antics. I shook my head again, amused. “Sorry.”

He let out a playful, frustrated sound. “Christ, Atty, you’relucky you’re so hot,” he said, pretending to be disappointed in me.

I made a face at him. He cracked up and kissed me again, his lips lingering a little longer this time.

“You’re doing it again,” Holly complained. “It’s like you’re shoving your happiness down everyone’s throats.”

Colin gave a nod in agreement.

“He’s shoving something,” one of Noah’s friends said, and the rest cracked up.

I frowned, feeling a twinge of annoyance.

“Hey, watch it,” Noah snapped at him, his playfulness disappearing instantly. His hand reached back to my hair, possessive. “Fucking asshole,” he muttered under his breath, frowning and shaking his head.

“It’s fine,” I told him.

He kissed my cheek again, the tension easing. Holly had already moved on to another topic of conversation. Noah leaned back on the armrest so I could see them again and stroked the hair on the back of my head, a soothing gesture. He started talking to Colin, and they drifted to things about high school like they usually did. I tried talking to Ezra, but the way Noah was sitting over me didn’t let me do it comfortably. Noah would occasionally lean back, kiss my cheek or lips, and then return to talking to Colin and Holly. Ezra got up to say hi to friends he saw walking by, and I noticed him giving us occasional side glances.

Noah lit a joint and offered it to Colin and Holly. They both accepted it, and then Noah handed it to me.

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