Page 49 of One Little Kiss
I stare at her with wide eyes. She suddenly sounds much older and wiser than I give her credit for, and her question leaves me uncomfortable. “I want us to go back to how we were.”
She stares at me like she knows I’m lying.
And part of me knows I am. It’s like by admitting how I feel aloud I’ve just opened a can of worms and I don’t know how to put them back.
But the worms need to go back in.
“Okay, then,” Leah says. And if she’s a little disappointed in me she doesn’t say it, but I see it in her eyes. “If that’s what you want, then maybe you need to focus on being a good friend. What does she need from you…as a friend?”
I don’t know how long I sit there turning over her words but when the bell rings, I make no move to leave my seat, and Leah pauses beside me to pat my shoulder. “You’ll figure it out, Elijah. I promise.”
I nod as she leaves.
I’m not sure if Leah means I’ll figure out my feelings or if I’ll figure out how to navigate this new awkwardness between us or…
Or if she means I’ll figure out how to be a good friend.
The first two I still feel clueless on, but the last one…
I think of her expression when Noelle admitted she’d failed her driver’s test. I think of the defensiveness and the defeat.
It makes my heart hurt on her behalf because I know her parents well enough to know that they likely didn’t make her feel any better. Knowing her dad he’d probably just set her up with a credit for a car service and called it good.
I shove my chair back too loudly as I hurry out into the crowded hallway. I pass Ryan who regards me with a frown. “Dude, aren’t you heading to chem with me and Mara?”
I nod, half turning to call back to him as I move in the wrong direction. “Tell the teacher I’ll be there in a minute, okay? I just have to see Mr. Carlson real quick.”
“Mr. Carlson…” Ryan’s frown deepens. “The driver’s ed teacher?”
But I’m already halfway down the hallway. My heart pounds as I half run to his classroom.
I might not know much right now, but in this one little way…
I know exactly what Noelle needs from her friend.
THIRTEEN
Noelle
It’sSaturday night and Elijah will be here any minute.
I started getting ready hours ago, so theoretically, I should be ready by now.
And yet, I’m still debating shoes.
I hold up two pairs in front of my phone, which is propped up on my dresser. “Red or black?”
Addie’s eyes widen in surprise. She’s lying on her bed, resting on her elbows, and she’s sporting her usual attire of a loose T-shirt and a full, floor-length skirt. “You’re asking me for fashion advice?”
I drop the shoes to level my friend with a look. “Celia and Mara are off having a romantic pre-dance dinner, and when I asked my mom’s advice on which lipstick I should wear, I was subjected to a lecture on how my legs are my best asset so I should show them off more.”
Addie sits up with a gasp. “Is it possible to show more leg without showing…you know…everything?”
I crack up because Addie is so adorably prudish sometimes. “Yes,” I say. “This is actually the more conservative of the two dresses I was debating for tonight.”
And that debate had waged for the better part of an hour, which is why I’m somehow running late despite prepping for this stupid dance all day long.
Her eyes widen as she shakes her head. “Well, you look amazing. I mean, you always look amazing, but that dark red with your hair and skin…” She sighs. “You look like a supermodel, Noelle.”
