Page 23 of One Little Kiss
I chuckle as we reach the car. “Ben’s meeting you there, right?”
She nods. “And Noelle already texted to make sure we know where the rest of your friends are sitting. You’ll have a whole cheering section just for you.”
I dip my head as I start the car, but I’m guessing she sees my grin. “Thanks, Leah.”
“You have a lot of people who care about you, you know.”
I nod, but I don’t say anything. Leah’s so freakin’ genuine and open. Not even a hint of irony or cynicism in her bones. I’m used to it, but that doesn’t mean I ever know what to say in response.
My mood is a whole lot lighter as I drive us to the school, and I know it has a lot to do with the fact that Noelle texted Leah. I mean, Noelle had said she’d be there, but her silence to that last text was kinda nagging at me.
But she’ll be there with the rest of our friends. And while Leah’s exaggerating about them being my own personal cheer section—they’ll definitely be cheering for Ryan and the team in general—I still feel a swell of gratitude.
Before Leah moved in, my friends were all I had. And I think Leah’s getting it. Just how much they all mean to me.
And why it sucks so hard that everything is changing.
But not today.
Not tonight.
And so I head into the locker room, all smiles, drinking in that crackle of excitement that always comes before a game.
“Eli!” Ryan booms my name, and he’s grinning like we’ve already won.
“You ready, man?” I ask.
“Pfft.” He gives me a look of disbelief. “Have I ever not been ready?”
I crack up, because I know as well as anyone how full of it he can be. “How does Mara put up with you, man?” I tease.
His head falls back with a laugh. “You know, I ask her that all the time.”
I shake my head as I chuckle, moving down the locker room to greet the other guys.
Ryan and Mara are like two peas in a pod. They couldn’t stand each other for years, and it baffled all of us, quite frankly. They were so alike in so many ways.
It always struck me as odd that they were enemies and not best friends.
But then when we watched them get together, it was obvious that they could never just be friends. There was way too much chemistry there.
For some reason, this has me thinking about Noelle again. And…not in a good way.
My mind keeps calling up that crazy near-kiss moment in the parking lot and all the weirdness after. And then it’s like a full-blown montage breaks loose in my brain. Like some part of my memory was just waiting for me to think about Noelle so it could unleash memory after memory and image after image.
Noelle in that skimpy dress, lying in my bed.
Her long legs peeking out from under my old, too-big T-shirt.
That smile when she was playing it coy, the one where I could see that dimple.
I scrub a hand over my eyes.
“Dude, you nervous?” This comes from Mason, the wide receiver whose dad is terrifyingly involved in his football career.
“Me? Why would I be nervous?” I stand up and clap a hand on his arm. “You’re the one under the gun, man.”
He groans. “Don’t remind me.”
