For this one day, the rumor was going to spread far and wide, and I was going to get rid of it in one swift blow. Well, Tracey and Alicia were going to fix it. I was going to be busy.
That night, when I went back to my room, I found Noah outside, pacing a tight circle in front of my door. I smiled, but tried to school my expression so I wouldn’t give the game away early.
“Noah?” I called.
He froze, then slowly turned to me. His expression was tight, but when he saw the frown on my face, he looked even more agitated.
“What are you doing here?” I asked slowly.
His expression was stiff for a moment, before he tried to smile. “I wanted to talk to you about something.”
I hummed and turned away from him, pretending to search in my bag for my keys.
“About what?” I asked, sounding disinterested.
“Just something important… have you heard any rumors around the school?”
I hummed again, pulling my keys out.
“Have I?” I murmured. “There was one thing, if that’s what you mean. A new rumor about Sext Me…”
The door unlocked, and I walked inside. Noah followed quickly behind me, as if afraid I would close the door on him.
“I swear it’s not me,” he blurted out. “I heard about it this morning and I tried to get rid of it, but it’s not my account and I don’t know whose it is! Sara, I swear, I haven’t started it up again, okay?”
I let him stew a little, keeping my back to him as I set my bag on the desk then went to the fridge and pulled out some drinks for us. Then, I moved to set them on the bed, before finally turning to Noah.
He looked at me with such an earnest and anxious expression that I couldn’t help softening.
“You don’t have to look so worried,” I said, walking over to him.
He immediately relaxed in relief. “You trust me?”
I cracked a smile. “Well, it’s me this time, so it would be totally unfair of me to let you take the blame for it, right?”
His face dissolved into shock, and the look was so funny that I couldn’t help giggling.
“I’m not doing it, either,” I said, amused. “You’re the only one for me, Noah.”
Stopping in front of him, I circled my arms around his neck and kissed him. He was frozen for another couple seconds, but in the next moment, he relaxed and kissed me back, filling me with warmth.Epilogue
NoahAll the drama surrounding the Sext Me line died down. Sara refused to tell me how she did it, but it meant we didn’t have to worry about people staring and murmuring about us as we moved around campus together.
The rest of my final year in college was uneventful. There was only one more surprise, and it came from Dad.
When I was worried about getting funds from part-time jobs to keep me up, after he’d paid all my tuition, he sent me money and told me not to worry about working, just hurry up and graduate, then find a proper job.
I’d wondered where all the money came from, and he answered when I ask, despite what I thought. His business venture took off. Like, really took off. While he didn’t become a millionaire overnight, he was definitely nouveau riche.
It was the day of graduation, after I’d already gone up and received my degree, I saw him. I stood with Sara, who’d also invited her mom. I wasn’t sure how to react, and immediately, turned to look at Sara and Tina, but neither of them seemed angry. Dad gave a wry smile as he stepped away a few feet from us.
“Hey, son,” he said casually.
I scowled. “That’s all you have to say? After disappearing for most of the damn year? Would it have killed you to call a few times?”
“You never called, either,” he said defensively.
I rolled my eyes and walked over to pull him into a bear hug. I still wasn’t okay with what he did, but he paid it back, and he was still my dad. He was awkward as he patted my back, but I didn’t expect any less or more from him. When we broke it off, Sara and Tina had come closer. Sara seemed a little irritated, but Tina looked very cool.
“Greg,” she said calmly.
Dad shifted his eyes away before looking back at her, even more awkward than he was with me.
“I… came because I know I owe you an apology. Both to Noah and Tina. What I did was out of line. I didn’t let myself worry about it because I knew I could get it back quickly, but everything could have just as easily gone south. And I… should have taken your feelings more into consideration. I’d like to ask for forgiveness, but I don’t think I deserve it.”