Page 22 of Splintered Hearts

“Annnd I’m going to introduce you.”

“What—”

Hunter hops down, pleased with himself and ignoring my protest. Bri says something that makes Noah laugh. The sound is light and rich, and a wide, pretty smile spreads across his face. Leaning into him, Hunter says something in his ear. Noah looks up, and our eyes collide for the third time tonight. My heart can’t take much more of this.

Fuck, he’s coming over.

Hopping down, I look at my clothes. Shit, I shouldn’t have worn these sweats. They’re worn in some places, and so old I’m not sure what decade they were bought in. Nineteen something, most likely. They’re my comfort pants. I hate wearing pants.

When I’m alone, I wear boxers with sweaters or shirts. There’s no reason to dress up, and absolutely no reason to wear pants in my own damn home because unlike the rest of my body, my legs were pretty much spared a lot of the damage. Wearing these pants tonight is a tiny consolation prize for having to be around so many people.

All these years, and I still can’t handle simple shit. It isn’t fair. At what point will I be able to go out and not think about every horrible thing that has happened to me? Or every horrible thing that could happen.

Not tonight.

So I wore the sweats because fuck it. No one’s here for me.

So in my head, I’m startled a bit when Noah appears in front of me. “Jamie.” Hunter smiles up at me. “This is Noah.”

Up close, he’s even more devastating to look at, with his eyescrinkled at the corners and a smile on his face. He smiles with his whole fucking body. Here, in front of me, I notice the dimples in his cheeks, the freckles that scatter his nose, and ears that are a bit too big but look fucking cute. Noah’s tongue darts out, wetting his bottom lip which is already shiny with lip gloss.

Lip gloss? Fuck. The pink shine pops against his lips, and fuck do I want to taste it.

“This is Noah, Mark’s best friend.”

“Hi.” His voice is soft, his eyes like a lush forest. Deep and bright. Kind. His features are sharp and confident. Pretty and handsome rolled into one. His lips quirk in a smile, and... shit. He was talking, wasn’t he?

“Jamie.” Reaching out my hand, his melts into mine.

Soft hands.

“Nice to meet you.” Mischief dances in those green eyes.

“Same.”

“Noah is staying with us for a bit.” No shit. I know that. But maybe there are some things I know about Noah’s situation I’m not supposed to.

“Just for a bit,” Noah corrects. “I don’t have anywhere else right now. It won’t be for long.” Something flashes over Hunter’s face. “It also depends on how loud these two get.” Noah leans in, cupping his hand and whispering, “Mark’s a screamer.”

A laugh bubbles out of me from god knows where. “You’ll be looking to move out soon, then.” Noah laughs back, and it’s like a balm for my chest.

“And with that, I’m leaving you two dickheads alone.” Hunter claps me on the back. “Fuck you both.” Hunter shoots me a look that says, “Don’t fuck this up,”then leaves. As if that even matters. There’s nothing to fuck up. There is zero possibility he’s interested.

Am I even interested? And interested in what?

The silence stretches between us, making me feel itchy, butinstead of wanting to run away, I want to try. “How long have you lived here?” It takes me a moment to realize Noah has filled the silence for me.

“Like uh, five years, uh—” Fuck, take a breath. “Five years.”

“Wow. Hunter’s been here that long?”

Only becauseshenever got to, and Hunter was forced to. “How long have you been friends with Mark?” It’s crazy to think we’ve never met, but why would we? Mark hates me, and I don’t like having people over. While his name has come up a few times, I’ve never seen a picture.

“Since college. Before he and Hunter met we were, ya know ... that type of friends. Not my finest moment. We became good friends through it, though. I mean, not... I mean despite...” Noah bites his bottom lip and my eyes snap to the gesture like a magnet. “Sorry. I’m nervous.”

With those three words, he eases my mind.

Noah’s nervous. “Me too.”

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