Page 58 of Aria

CHAPTERSIXTEEN

CHELSIE

What the hell was that?

My hand gripped the champagne flute as I chugged it down, tearing my eyes away from Noah.

Why was he looking at me like that? And why was there a sudden swarm of butterflies in the pit of my stomach? No one had ever looked at me like that before… not even Devon.

“I gotta take a piss,” Noah said, breaking into the conversation.

“Me, too… actually,” I blurted. I did not have to take a piss, but I was suddenly very interested in finding out why Noah needed to. Noticing Devon’s curious frown as I rose from the chair, I placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “Be right back.”

I caught up to Noah just as he was pulling his cigarettes out of his pocket. “Noah, wait.” My feet slowed until I matched his pace.

He plucked out a cigarette and popped it between his lips. “What is it, Combs?”

“That’s what I want to know. What was that all about?”

“What?”

I blew a few careless strands of hair out of my face with a huff. “Can you stop walking and talk to me?”

Noah stalled in resignation, eyeing me over the rolled paper and nicotine. “What do you want?”

When he finally made eye contact, I saw it again.

Thatlook.

“That,” I said pointedly, jabbing a manicured finger in his face. “That thing you’re doing with your eyes. At me.”

He shook his head with a dry chuckle. “I’ve got something better,” he scoffed. “What’s with the radio silence for the past three weeks? Shit, Chelsie, I gave you mygun. If Devon didn’t talk about you all the time, I probably would have thought you were dead.”

I stiffened in defense, my hands planting on my hips. “I mean, you basically told me I was nothing more than blood on your hands, remember? Honestly, I didn’t think you cared.”

That was only part of it, of course.

The other part was that I’d been spending far more time with Noah than I had with my own boyfriend, and I’d enjoyed our time together… a lot.

More than I should have.

But Noah’s ego didn’t need to hear that.

“Didn’t care?” Noah asked in disbelief. He tossed his cigarette to the ground and snuffed it out with the toe of his shoe. “Are you insane? You know I didn’t mean it like that. I think it’s pretty obvious that I care.”

As much as I wanted to shoot back a spiteful retort, it wouldn’t be deserved. The truth was, Ididknow Noah cared. I had dodged his calls and texts for weeks. I’d avoided him at practices.

I had pushed away my trusted friend.

A breath escaped me that sounded a lot like apologetic defeat. “You’re right,” I conceded. “I’m sorry.”

“I guess that’s something.” Noah stuffed his hands into his pockets.

Swallowing down a lump in my throat, I let the champagne finish the talking. “I’ve missed you, Noah. You’re kind of my best friend.” He blinked through a slight frown but didn’t respond.Had I said too much? Was it weird?“Listen… we were spending a lot of time together. It wasn’t fair to Devon. I was just trying to… distance myself. You know?”

Noah scratched the back of his neck, causing his t-shirt to inch upward, revealing the hemline of his boxers. I refocused my gaze while I awaited his reply.

Was he ever going to reply?

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