Page 15 of I Shouldn't Feel This Way

Allyson leaped at the opportunity. “We’d love t—”

“You should spend time with your daughter,” Jade cut in. “But thanks.”

He smiled at me, and I was still having difficulty finding the words to say yes, so Jade gently nudged me forward. “She’s all yours, Mr. Hunter! We’ll see you back in history class, Aria.”

“Nice meeting you girls,” Noah said.

He opened my passenger door as I waved goodbye to my friends, then he got in next to me. The car engine came back to life, and we had pulled onto the street when my cellphone vibrated. It was a text from Ally:

Um wth!? You didn’t tell us your dad is a hottie! He’s an absolute DILF!

My face flushed in heat. I didn’t bother to text her back because I was embarrassed and worried that he saw the text message when he glanced over at me.

“Everything okay?”

“Mm hm.” I buckled my seat belt and folded my hands in my lap. The car smelled brand new.

“I’m sorry for dropping by unannounced.”

“It’s all right. I don’t mind, really.”

Of course I didn’t mind, I was totally stoked! He looked as sexy as the day I’d met him.

“Technically, your mom doesn’t know …” Noah sounded a little uneasy, and it took me long enough to clue in. God, I was such a ditz sometimes.

“Oh, don’t worry about her—I won’t say anything,” I reassured him.

“Thanks, princess.” He switched gears and turned down a major intersection.

I was determined to stare out the window throughout the entire car ride because it was much too tempting to gaze at him. He was so perfect and so sexy (if not more so) from the side. I hadn’t seen him in any casual attire yet. Noah was wearing a scarf, trench coat, tailored trousers, and smart leather shoes, all in black. I was clad in a pair of baby blue skinny jeans, a white shirt, and a purple cardigan underneath my black leather jacket. I was also sporting some black wedge ankle boots. Jade had said that I looked hot when she saw me in the morning. I wore my hair down that day, and I had alotof hair. It took me forever to manage and maintain it. Chopping it off was out of the question, so I made sure to wake up an hour earlier in the morning to shower, blow dry, and straighten my locks.

I glanced at the stereo and read the name of the song that was scrolling by the screen:Mr. FijiWiji - Submerged (feat. CoMa).The track was a mix between ambient and chillstep. The lyrics were simple but spoke to me.

Why is this happening?I questioned. My reality felt so bittersweet.

My stepdad had never surprised me and taken me out for lunch. Noah barely even knew me and he was already showing a genuine interest in who I was. Was he somebody that I could grow to trust? Did I already trust him? My heart and mind didn’t seem to be in conflict anymore, which was odd because for as long as I could remember, I had believed I hated him. But sitting in that car next to him, all I could feel was happiness … and then confusion and shame. I was attracted to him. It was wrong.

But maybe it’ll go away. It has to,I told myself.

****

Noah took me to a nice little Italian bistro that wasn’t too far away. We shared a stone-baked veggie pizza, and had great conversation. He had a wicked sense of humor.

“I love your laugh, Aria, especially your smile.”

“Well, then I guess that means you need to work extra hard to keep me laughingandsmiling.”

Am I flirting with him? Seriously?I was surprised at myself.

“It doesn’t seem too hard of a task,” he said. His eyes were seductive as hell.

I watched him reach for the slim crystal vase that sat in the middle of our table. He took out the single white rose and snapped part of the stem off before he carefully tucked the flower behind my ear. I couldn’t help but giggle.

“See, what did I say? Piece of cake.” His voice, his dimpled smile, his eyes—everything about him was so heartbreakingly beautiful. Noah was devastatingly handsome and charming to a fault. He probably knew this, since he had a bit of a cocky attitude about him. But it was so sexy.

“What time do you need to be back at school?”

I glanced at my phone. “I still have an hour to kill.”

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