Page 83 of The Secret Of Us

His reply comes instantly.

Noah

Me too

Three dots pop up as he types something else, but then they disappear. I wait for them to start up again, but when they don’t, I lock my phone and try to pretend that I’m perfectly fine with the fact that I’ll be seeing him in under two hours.

I spend the next half an hour sitting on the floor in front of Violet as she does my hair. She finishes off the two braids she’s done by positioning them like a crown and fastening them with a butterfly clip.

“There,” she says, patting the top of my head. “Turn around, let me see you.”

I shuffle around so I’m facing her, and she lets out an exaggerated gasp.

“You’re so pretty! Isaac!” she yells his name, and he comes rushing into the living room from their bedroom.

“What happened?” He asks, looking around to see what fire needs putting out.

“Our little girl is all grown up.” Violet looks like she’s about to start crying, as Isaac comes to stand next to her. He puts his hand on her shoulder and looks like he’s about to do the same too.

I roll my eyes at both of them.

“You’re ridiculous. I’m leaving.”

I stand up, hitting the top of my thigh to wake up my leg that’s fallen asleep from sitting on the floor for so long. I stretch my ankle to loosen it up. It’s mostly healed, but every now and then it plays up and there’s a dull pain that lasts for a few seconds.

I leave the world’s most dramatic couple on the sofa as I go to my room to make sure I’ve got everything I need. Noah’s hoodie hangs from the back of my door, and I pull it over my dress, making sure not to touch my hair too much. I should have given him the hoodie back weeks ago, but I’ve held on to it. There’s still the faint smell of his perfume on it.

“Make sure you text us when you get there,” Isaac says as I come out of my room. He walks with me to the front door. “If it gets too much and you want to come home early, call us and we’ll be right there.”

“It’s just a party, Isaac. Only a few of the sports teams are going to be there.”

* * *

“Was the whole school invited?”I murmur to myself as I step off the train, along with about forty other people I vaguely recognise.

I assumed it would just be a couple dozen people, mainly from our year, but it seems like news spread over the break and half the school has turned up.

I follow the crowd until I get outside the station, and before I can even take my phone out of my pocket to text Noah, he’s in front of me.

“Izzy.”

I don’t say anything as I step closer to him, throwing my arms around his waist and hugging him like it’s been years since we last saw each other. His arms fold across my shoulders, and I feel his lips press against the top of my head, sending butterflies through my stomach as he loosens his hold on me. I still keep my arms around him though, looking up at him with my chin pointing into his chest, but he doesn’t seem to mind. He stares down at me, hazel eyes roaming over my face, and he takes me in like it’s the first time he’s really seeing me.

“You’re really pretty.” His eyes don’t leave mine when he says it.

I feel the blush on my cheeks instantly and hope the streetlights are dim enough to hide it.

“Not too bad yourself,” I tell him, trying to lighten the tension that seems to be hanging like a weight between us on a delicate thread. He’s wearing a dark sweater and denim jeans, a perfectly normal outfit, but he looks unfairly handsome.

“Is this my hoodie?” He drops a hand to fiddle with the hem of it, his fingertips grazing against my exposed thigh, making me shiver. I didn’t realise how short this dress was until now.

“Yeah, sorry. I should have given it back to you sooner.”

“You can keep it. I told you it looks better on you.” There’s a huskiness to his voice as his fingers play with the loose threads at the hem. My legs suddenly feel like jelly, and the only thing keeping me up is the fact that I’m still holding on to him tightly.

“Get a move on, lovebirds,” Amelia yells from behind me, and I’m suddenly aware of the fact that there are so many people around us. Once I saw Noah, it was like everyone else stopped existing.

I drop my arms, taking a small step away from Noah, and he does the same. But he takes my hand in his immediately, and we join the girls as they climb into the taxi they’ve called.

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