“How did the date go?”
I looked up from my breakfast bowl as Lily lowered herself into the seat at my side. I was the first of my friends to arrive at breakfast, and the rest of the table was empty. It was Monday morning, so I knew I’d be lucky if my usual group joined me at all. Cress had a meeting with her dance coach this morning, and Wes would be at training. Anna usually ran in just before the bell rang, and Sawyer didn’t always join us, so I was somewhat glad for Lily’s presence.
“It was pretty amazing. Noah flew me down to see my mom.”
“What?” she gasped. “Wow, that’s so romantic.”
It was very romantic, but I don’t think Noah had even been trying for that. He was just concerned I missed home and wanted to make me happy, which made it all the more amazing. We’d hung out all of Sunday too, spending the day lazing at the lake down by the old boat shed. We both must have been exhausted from the day before because we hadn’t talked that much. There was something so comforting about just being near Noah though.
“So, are you guys official, or are you just seeing where things go?” she asked.
“Well, he told me not to kiss him unless I wanted a relationship with him.”
“And…”
My cheeks flushed. “He’s a really good kisser.”
Lily gave a small squeal. “This is so exciting.”
“I thought you weren’t a huge Noah fan?”
Lily’s gaze fell to the table, her forehead puckered. “I don’t really know him,” she said before lifting her eyes to me. “But I see the way he looks at you in class. If a guy looked at me that way, I’d melt into a puddle of mush.”
“A puddle of mush?” Lily sure had a unique way with words. “What even is that?”
“That is the dream.” She gave me a wistful smile. “All girls want a guy who can turn their bones to jelly with one look.”
“Has a guy ever turned you to jelly?”
“Not unless they’re in one of my romance books. The boys at school just don’t compare.”
“They might if you give them a chance,” I suggested. I would have agreed with her when I first arrived at Weybridge, but now I thought Noah was better than any guy in a book could be.
“You’re really into him, aren’t you?” she said, studying me closely.
“Yeah, I kind of am.” It was weird to admit it out loud, but I couldn’t deny my feelings for Noah anymore. Things were moving so fast between us. We’d only been on one proper date, after all. But I felt like we’d shared things that bonded us closely. He was beginning to drop his defenses around me, and I was starting to see the guy he truly was when he wasn’t trying to protect his heart and live up to the expectations of those around him.
“Mind if I sit here?”
I started grinning when I saw Noah standing behind me. His hair was still damp from his morning shower, and there was a wide smile on his face as he peered down at me. He wasn’t wearing his school tie today, and his shirtsleeves were rolled up to reveal his strong forearms. I really had a thing for his forearms—it was weird.
“I thought you always sat at your table…” I said, playing with him.
He bent down and rested his arms on the back of my chair, leaning in close so his breath tickled my cheek. “Are trying to get rid of me, Crash?”
“No, I just feel like it would do you good to realize you can’t always get what you want.”
He chuckled under his breath. “I think I’m going to sit with you anyway.”
“I kind of figured you would.”
He moved to take the seat next to me, and as I turned, I saw Lily’s eyes fixed on us. Her mouth was hanging open slightly, and she looked like a rabbit trapped in headlights.
“I need to get going.” She quickly rose from her seat.
“Lily, you don’t have to leave.”
She shook her head and gave me a brief smile. “I’m meeting a teacher before class, but I’ll see you later, Isobel.” She darted from the table before I could object.
“You scared away my friend.” I turned an accusing gaze on Noah.
“I didn’t mean to. I just wanted to sit with you.” He looked slightly guilty, but he couldn’t really be blamed. It wasn’t like he’d growled at Lily or made her feel unwelcome.
“I’m glad you did,” I said. “Aren’t you hungry though?” I nodded at the empty space on the table in front of him.
“I ate in my room earlier,” he explained. “I’m always starving after my workouts and often don’t make it to breakfast, so I have a secret stash.”
“So, why are you in the dining hall?”
“There’s a certain girl I wanted to see.”
“Oh, really? Where is she?” I glanced around the room pretending to look for someone, and Noah laughed before he took hold of my hand and squeezed it. “You know I’m talking about you.”
I smiled as I focused on him. “I mean, I hoped so.”
He lifted a hand and lightly stroked my cheek. “No need to hope. It will always be you.”
This guy always knew the right things to say, and I melted a little in response. Perhaps Lily was right about the way Noah looked at me. My bones were feeling kind of mushy as his green eyes locked on to mine.
“We’re sitting with the newbie now, are we?” Luther slumped into the chair Lily had vacated, and Kaden took the one on his other side. “Well, isn’t this fun?”
Noah lowered his hand from my face, and I rolled my eyes as I turned to the two boys. Fun wasn’t the word I would have used to describe Luther’s arrival.
“Oh God.” Anna said, as she also appeared at the end of the table. “The one time I show up to breakfast on time. Please tell me this isn’t going to be a regular thing.” She scrunched up her nose in Luther’s direction.
“This is going to be fun.” Luther’s grin only grew in response. “What do you think, boys? Meals at the newbie’s table from now on?”
“I’m not so sure,” I quickly replied.
“Seconded,” Anna agreed before glancing in Noah’s direction. “No offense, Noah. We like that you’re dating Isobel, and you’re always welcome. I’m just not a big fan of this whole package deal…” Her eyes darted in Luther’s direction once more.
“Are you talking about me?” Luther asked. “I’m cut.”
He didn’t look offended in the slightest. If anything, given his smile, I think Anna had just made his day.
“We’re just visiting this morning,” Noah said.
“Yeah, Anna, so no need to get your panties in a twist,” Luther added.
“Please don’t talk about my panties.”
“Why? Aren’t you wearing any?” Luther fired back.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” She was practically purring at him.
“Sorry, maybe this was a bad idea,” Noah whispered to me as Luther and Anna continued their banter.
“I mean, it’s terrible but also kind of entertaining to watch.”
He chuckled under his breath. “Those two could have their own reality series. Just stick them in a room together and start the cameras rolling.”
“That would be great TV,” I agreed. “I do feel bad for Kaden though; he’s kind of stuck between the two of them.”
Kaden was resolutely staring at the food on his plate, pretending he couldn’t hear anything at all. It was quite an impressive feat.
“Perhaps next time you could come sit at our table instead,” Noah suggested.
“No one other than you three sit there though.”
His eyes crinkled at the corners. “I think we can make an exception for you.”
“You think?”
I didn’t hear his response because Anna’s voice was louder. “God, Luther, do you kiss your mother with that mouth?”
Noah and I shared a look before we burst out laughing. He leaned back in his chair as if he was trying to make himself comfortable. “I guess we should just sit back and enjoy the rest of this morning’s show.”
“I guess we should,” I agreed with a laugh.
Despite the fact Anna and Luther were on a mission in life to drive each other crazy, breakfast was actually kind of fun with Noah and his friends sitting with us. Wes and Sawyer joined, and even Cress managed to make an appearance before the morning bell rang. It was the lightest I’d ever seen Noah at school. He was cracking smiles and laughing despite the fact the dining hall was full with other students. For once, he didn’t seem to be hiding within himself, and I loved every minute of it.
As we were leaving the dining hall, I realized I’d left my laptop back in my room. I told Cress to head to our first class without me, and I hurried back to the dorm to grab it. It made me late for English, and by the time I returned to the main school building, the corridors were empty. I rushed up the staircase that led to the top level and was almost to class when Veronica stepped into my path. She’d appeared out of nowhere, and I tried to walk past her, but she moved so she continued to block me.
I folded my arms over my chest as I looked her in the eyes. “What do you want from me now, Veronica?”
She let out a derisive snort. “You and Noah won’t last.”
“Uh, okay. Thanks for the heads-up.” I tried to get by her again, but apparently, she wasn’t done with me as she firmly stood her ground.
“He’s not actually serious about you. You know that, right? You’re just some fling to him. He’ll soon grow bored with you and discard you like the trash you are.”
I had to swallow down my anger before I responded. “I didn’t realize you cared.”
“Oh, I don’t. You just need to know that Noah and I belong together and we’ll be together. You’re just a passing distraction.”
My jaw clenched as I stared at her. “Look, Veronica, I don’t know what’s happened with you and Noah in the past, but it’s clear you like him. And I know it must hurt seeing him with someone else, but you can’t get angry with me because it didn’t work out with you guys. Standing there trying to make me feel bad isn’t helping anyone.”
Her eyes briefly widened, but she quickly controlled the reaction, and a smug smile touched her lips. “Oh, Isobel, I’m hardly angry with you. If anything, I feel sorry for you. I mean, Noah’s so embarrassed by you that he’s taking me to the White Ball this weekend.”
I had prepared myself for Veronica to come at me with another hurtful insult, but her comment stole the breath from my lungs. “What are you talking about?”
“Noah and I are going together,” she repeated.
She must have had her wires crossed because Noah had asked me to go with him to the ball just two days ago. I knew Veronica and Noah traditionally went together, so maybe she was confused?
“I think you need to talk to Noah because he’s asked me to go with him,” I said as gently as I could.
“I think you’re the one who needs to talk to him.” Veronica sounded so certain. “Just last night, he was saying how much he can’t wait to go with me.”
I didn’t want to believe her, but a hint of doubt started to creep into my mind. Why would she lie? All I’d need to do to find out if she was making it up was have one conversation with Noah.
“Look, don’t take it personally,” she continued. “That’s just the way the world is. Guys like Noah don’t take girls like you seriously.” She turned on her heel and stalked away before I could respond.
I stared after her in a state of shock. I wanted to give Noah the benefit of the doubt. I really did. But it was so easy to believe Veronica when the things she said made sense. I’d known from the start that I was far better suited to serving Noah’s coffee than being his date to a formal ball.
I walked to class slowly, as though I was in a trance, and sat at the desk next to Cress without saying a word.
“Is everything okay?” she whispered. The teacher had just entered the room, and the class was starting to grow quiet as he began scribbling on the board.
I gave her a tight smile and nodded. “Everything’s fine,” I whispered.
Veronica was seated right in front of me, and she must have heard my reply because she shot a knowing smile over her shoulder at me.
Cress glanced between the two of us, and a small crease appeared at her brow as she focused on me. “Are you sure?”
“Yep. It’s nothing I can’t handle.”
At least, I hoped it was nothing. Noah and I had always seemed like an impossible match to me, and as much as I liked him, it was easy to make me question if he really felt the same way.
I wanted to trust Noah. And I wanted to believe he hadn’t changed his mind about me. That he hadn’t decided I wasn’t good enough to take to the school ball. But one run in with Veronica and I was suddenly questioning everything about us. As much as I hated to admit it, Veronica had gotten under my skin, and after a couple of days of bliss, I was already worried things were about to come crashing down around me.
