"Yes?"
"I- I um- well, you- I-"
"Listen, kid, the campers' cabins are on the other side." He points behind him. "Now, move, yeah?"
"That isn't it!"
"Then what is it?" He still has that same bored tone.
Finally, the words I've been meaning to say spi...
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It surprised me to hear about Noah's childhood. I never imagined that he grew up in any other way than... normal, I guess. But in a way, we'd gone through similar thing: losing one parent and basically never knowing the other. Mostly having to take care of ourselves.
In no way am I glad he went through what he did, but what I am glad about is that I've found someone who understands me, and what I've been through, in a way that no one else ever has. And the funny thing is that I wasn't even looking.
He's here though, sitting next to me, throwing his head back and making me wonder if I can actually handle just being friends after tonight.
Whatever he thinks about tonight, however he feels about me—this is counting as my first date, and so far, I don't want to change a single thing about it.
"And the whole time, we were stuck there. Couldn't even open the doors." I tell Noah, recalling the time I had to drive Mason to the doctor and we got snowed in.
He laughs, sweeping a strand of hair that falls in my face away.
This isn't supposed to feel like a date, but God. It so does and it's like I'm having a date with him behind his back.
I watch his lips as they part and move. Nothing comes out of them other than: kiss me! Kiss me!
I can't! I can't!
Holding back a groan is hard, but I manage... barely.
Noah starts leaning in. I wonder if I've been thinking so hard that it reached him. But then he tilts his head a little and only gazes into my eyes. Does he want me to close the gap or—?
By the time I've started leaning in, he says, "Summer? Did you hear me?"
So the only thing I can do to play this off is bunt his forehead with mine. He chuckled and as I try to pull back, he cups my jaw on both sides and bunts me back.
If it were any other day, I think I might have just collapsed on the floor and flopped around like a fish out of water, but this is different.
He might be borderline flirting, but it's harmless, right? From the outside looking in, it must look like nothing more but friends hanging out and being a normal kind of friend-touchy.
I smile at him and shake my head. "I spaced out, sorry."
He shrugs like it's no big deal, but being ignored or spaced-out on has to be one of the worst things you can do to someone. It isn't always anyone's fault, but that doesn't help the guilt even a little bit.
"I asked how you guys got out."
"Oh, uh... we had to wait until morning. No cell service or anything, so when the snow was softer in the morning, we drove back home."
He looks away from me, jaw suddenly tight and I have the urge to reach up and massage that tension away with my thumb.
