I waited until that night to confront Noah about the ball. I’d been wavering back and forth all day about whether I should say anything. I didn’t want to come off as one of those suspicious girlfriends who freaked out over nothing. But I also just wanted to hear the truth from Noah’s lips.
It was late by the time I finally worked up the nerve to visit him. I’d never been in the boys’ dormitory before, and I had no idea where to begin looking for his room. Thankfully, I ran into Wes as I entered the building.
He smiled as he caught sight of me. “It’s very close to curfew for a visit to the boys’ dorms, isn’t it?”
“This place has a curfew?” I joked. I knew about the rule, but it seemed like the kids here did what they wanted most of the time.
“You wouldn’t think it.” Wes laughed and scratched the side of his face. “I just meant I’m surprised to see you here so late.”
“Oh, yeah, I was looking for Noah.”
“Ah, the boyfriend.” He wiggled his eyebrows at me.
“Stop.”
“Hey, I didn’t say there was anything wrong with that.” Amusement played in his eyes.
“No, but you’re making fun of me. I swear it’s like you actually want to lose your title as the nice twin.”
“Sometimes I like to spice things up.”
I shook my head and smiled. “So, do you know which room is Noah’s?”
“Yeah, I actually sleep just down the hall from him, so I’ll show you the way.”
I followed Wes from the foyer and up a set of stairs to the third floor. Our building was noticeably different. While we had plush white carpets and crisp white walls, their dormitory was trimmed with rich woods and deep blue colors.
“I missed our study session tonight,” Wes said as we walked.
“Yeah, I still can’t believe Miss Constance gave us the weekend off. I thought we were going to be drowning in economics homework all year.”
Wes leaned in close and lowered his voice as he replied. “My guess is that she had a big night on Thursday night and hadn’t planned our lesson for Friday.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Did you see the size of her coffee cup Friday morning? It had hangover written all over it.”
“Ha! You think? Maybe she was just being nice.”
“I doubt it. She’ll probably give us double the work to make up for it this week.”
That was a terrifying prospect. “So, what did you get up to over the weekend?” I asked.
“Not a whole lot. Sawyer decided he wanted to cash in our bet on Saturday night and kicked me out of our room. I ended up sleeping on one of the common room couches.”
“Really?”
“Yep. One thing is for sure about Sawyer; he takes our bets incredibly seriously.”
“And here I was thinking the one thing I could be certain about with Sawyer was that he’s a terrible influence when it comes to drinking.”
“Well, there’s that too,” Wes agreed. He slowed and gestured toward one of the doors that lined the hallway. “Here we are.”
“Thanks, Wes.”
“No problem at all. Normally, I’d expect Noah to kill any guy who led a girl to his room, but I’m hoping he’ll make an exception for you.”
“Well, if he doesn’t, your secret is safe with me.”
Wes pointed a finger at me. “I’ll hold you to that.”
He turned and left me standing by Noah’s door, so I took a deep breath in and knocked.
“Come in,” Noah called out.
I slowly cracked the door open, and stepped inside. His room was much like the corridor with deep navy walls and dark wooden accents. There was only one large bed, so it seemed Noah didn’t have to share. He wasn’t currently in his bedroom, and as I turned to search the rest of the room for him, he stepped out of the connected bathroom.
My throat went dry when I saw he was only wearing a towel. His chest was bare with a smattering of water droplets clinging to his skin. I’d seen Noah topless before, but there was something so intimate about seeing him in nothing but a towel. Surprise lit his eyes when he saw me, and I realized I was staring.
“Shit.” I quickly spun to face the wall.
Noah let out a deep laugh. “I’m getting a sense of déjà vu here.”
“You said to come in!”
“Yep, this definitely feels like it’s happened before.” He was still laughing, but my cheeks were hot with embarrassment. It didn’t help that I’d been totally checking him out. “Give me a sec, and I’ll change.”
I heard his light padded footsteps as he walked over to one of his drawers, and I swallowed deeply as I heard his towel drop to the ground. It was a miracle I managed to keep my breath slow and steady because my heart was racing.
“Okay, I’m decent.”
I relaxed slightly when I saw he’d put on a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt. He ran his towel through his hair as he watched me, looking far too sexy and decidedly not decent.
“So, do you normally let people into your room when you’re half naked?” I asked.
“I could ask the same of you, Crash…”
I winced at the memory, making him chuckle.
“No one normally bothers me in here,” he explained. “If someone’s knocking, they usually need something important.”
“So, you thought it was an emergency?”
“Or one of the guys.” He lifted one shoulder. “I’m much happier it’s you though.”
Heat filled my cheeks again, and I turned from him. Noah had a way of getting to me without saying much at all. I started to inspect his room as I waited for my flaming cheeks to settle. There wasn’t all that much in here. Just a bed, some drawers, and a desk. A guitar was settled against the far wall and a pile of novels were stacked on his bedside table. I had to withhold the urge to walk over and inspect the pile. What would a guy like Noah read outside of assigned books for class?
“So, do all the guys have their own room? Or are you just lucky?” I asked as I slowly studied the surroundings.
“One of the perks that comes with having the surname Hastings, I guess. There are a few others who don’t have to share, but most of those guys are prefects who pulled some strings.”
“Uh-huh.” I was still struggling to look directly at Noah. Now that I’d gotten over the initial shock of seeing him half naked, my mind returned to the reason I had come. I swallowed down my nerves as I faced him once more.
“I had a run-in with Veronica today.”
His easy expression became tense as he looked at me.
“She’s not very happy about us dating, which I understand,” I continued. “It’s obvious she likes you. But then she told me you were taking her to the White Ball. Is that true?” I hated how pathetic I sounded. I really wasn’t this girl. I did want Noah to be honest with me though.
He didn’t answer right away, and after a few seconds, I could only assume the worst. “It is true?”
“No.” Noah finally found his words. “Well, not exactly.” His whole demeanor had stiffened, and he looked upset. “I haven’t asked her to the ball, and I certainly haven’t agreed to go with her. We go to this thing every year together, so she’s probably just assumed that nothing has changed. I’ll have to have a talk with her.”
His explanation should have put my mind at ease, but I still felt apprehensive. “Noah, she told me that you spoke with her last night and told her you can’t wait to go with her…”
“She what?” He took a quick step backward. “I didn’t say anything like that to her. I didn’t even see her yesterday.”
“Then why would she think that?”
Noah paced toward the window. He leaned on the frame and looked out at the darkened lake and the forest beyond. His eyes were narrowed, and his forehead was firmly creased. When he faced me again, he let out a heavy sigh.
“I spoke with my grandfather last night,” he said. “I told him I’d invited you, and he wasn’t happy. He may have decided to take matters into his own hands and told Veronica how much I was looking forward to it. It sounds like something he would do.”
“But you didn’t invite her?”
“Hell no. I can’t imagine spending the night with anyone but you.”
My heart swelled in response, but my mind was still whirring. “I still don’t understand. Why would your grandfather go behind your back like that?”
“He probably hoped it would force my hand and I wouldn’t have a choice but to go with her.”
I couldn’t believe his grandfather would be so manipulative, but Noah didn’t seem all that surprised. “Why does he care so much?” I asked.
He drew in a deep, almost reluctant breath. “My grandfather is in the middle of a major business deal with Veronica’s parents. He seems to think the whole thing will fall to pieces if I don’t take her to the ball.”
“Surely, he’s exaggerating?”
“I wish he was. But a lot of his deals hinge on personal relationships rather than figures or words on paper,” he said with a grimace. “And our families have been pushing us together for as long as I can remember. He thinks it would be too humiliating for Veronica if I pull out now and her parents will blame him.”
He returned to pacing back and forth between the window and me, and I could feel every ounce of his frustration in his powerful strides. “I just wish he didn’t have to involve me,” he said. “It makes me feel like I’m letting our whole family down. Like the fate of the Hastings empire rests solely on my shoulders.”
I didn’t say anything as I tried to wrap my mind around it all. I couldn’t pretend to understand why this was so important to his grandfather. But one thing I was sure about was that I hated seeing how much pressure Noah was under and how it pained him to let his grandfather down.
“Maybe you should just take her…” I suggested.
“What? No—”
“Noah. It’s just a stupid dance, and I can see how hard it’s going to be for you if you don’t do this.” Noah’s grandfather was the one family member he had left, and it was clear how being put in this position was tearing Noah apart. If I could make it easier on him, why wouldn’t I?
“It will be harder for me not having you by my side.” He rubbed a hand down the side of his face, like he wasn’t sure what to do. I knew if I asked him to take me to the dance that he would, no question, and that was enough for me.
“Just take Veronica. It’s not like you have to marry her.”
Noah blanched.
“You won’t have to marry her, right?”
“No, of course not.” He blew out a breath. “I guess all I’d have to do is arrive with her and make small talk with her parents for a while. I’d be yours for the rest of the night.”
“So why is this even a problem?”
“Because I don’t want to spend one second of the ball without you, and I never want to let you down.”
I tried to roll my eyes at him, but my heart distracted me with a small flip because I knew how much he meant it.
“And after what Veronica did to you with those posters…” he continued. “Well, she’s the last person I want to be seen with.”
“It’s okay, Noah, just go with her.” I didn’t particularly like insisting, especially because it was Veronica, but it felt like a small sacrifice if it would make Noah’s life easier.
“Are you sure?
“I’m sure.”
“Isobel Grace.” He stepped toward me so he was just inches away. “You. Are. Amazing. I’m sorry this isn’t going to be the ideal second date.”
“Well, no, it’s not,” I agreed. “I guess I’ll just have to make you promise you’ll be spending most of the night with me.”
A small, uncertain smile crept onto Noah’s lips and he leaned toward me so his forehead rested against mine. “I promise most of my night, all of my smiles, and every single dance will be with you, Isobel.”
“You don’t smile in public so that shouldn’t be hard.”
He chuckled. “I can’t seem to help it when I’m with you.”
His attention dropped to my lips, and that one simple movement sent a charge of energy into the air and tingles racing across my skin. I think he felt it too because he slowly reached up and cupped my neck in his hands, and his thumb trailed wickedly across the soft skin of my jaw. I shivered as the light tickling sensation moved down my neck and across my shoulders.
His mouth was only inches from mine. He wasn’t kissing me yet, and every breath his lips hovered close to me felt like a form of torment. In one sudden movement, his lips captured mine. His kisses were hot and intense. My hands dug into his shirt, grasping him tightly as he worked at destroying any doubt that plagued my mind about us.
The girls at school wanted Noah for many things—his looks, his wealth, his status, and even his prowess on the soccer field. What they didn’t realize was that his kisses outstripped every one of those reasons. Noah might have been great at soccer, but he was a damn pro at kissing.
When our lips finally parted, I felt dizzy, and it was only after I’d caught my breath that I realized my phone was buzzing.
“You going to get that?” he asked with a confident smile. It was like he knew he’d completely blown my mind with his kisses.
I quickly checked my phone and saw my father was calling. He’d tried to get ahold of me several times over the last week, but he always called at the most inconvenient times. There was no time less convenient than right now, so I quickly put my phone away.
“It’s just my father. I’ll call him back later,” I said, wrapping my arms around Noah’s neck. “I’m kind of busy right now.”
“Oh really? I guess that means you want to kiss me again.”
“That wouldn’t be completely terrible.”
“Wouldn’t be completely terrible? You could give a guy a complex with talk like that,” he said. “Maybe I need to practice my kissing.”
“Hmm. I think you might have to. But it could take a while.”
“Well”—he grinned—“I guess we better get started.”
