He reads my body. He knows when I need him by my side and he knows when I need to stand on my own two feet. That couldn’t possibly be a trait that all men possess. If it were, I have a feeling the world would be a happier place.
Jackson pulls up at Noah’s place and I realize that easy conversation we had fallen into was completely deserted by my girly daydreaming about Noah…again. How is that possible?
I get myself out of his car and walk around to the back door to help get Tully out. God, this is going to be hard. I hope she’s not too hard to wake up. The last time this happened, we nearly crashed into the mailbox when she dropped all her weight on me. It wasn’t pretty.
“No,” Jackson says, pushing out of the driver’s door and coming around the back. “Don’t wake her. I’ll take her in.”
“Thanks,” I say, grateful. “Waking Tully isn’t exactly a pretty thing.”
He looks down at her and takes in the drool on his jacket. “Yeah, I can imagine.”
Jackson grabs her ankles and pulls her along until she’s at the edge of the seat, making her hair and arms splay out across the backseat. He ducks down and scoops her into his arms before pulling her out of the car.
I duck in once they’re out of the way and feel around the floor of the car until I find her phone, shoes, and purse. Once I’m sure I have everything, I lead Jackson up the pathway towards the front door.
It opens before I have a chance to do it myself and I look up at Rivers who watches Jackson and Tully with a deep scowl before he steps forward and holds out his arms, demanding, not asking, Jackson to hand over the precious goods.
Not wanting to ruffle any feathers, Jackson happily hands her over and bows out. He says a quick goodnight and before I know it, I’m hurrying down the hallway, passing Rivers in order to open Tully’s bedroom door before he reaches it.
I rush in, pull down her blankets, and toss her things on the floor beside her bed before leaving the rest up to Rivers. I’m sure come morning when Tully realizes Rivers was the one to put her to bed, she’ll probably have a few words to say about it, but I also have a feeling that Rivers would kick my ass if I suggested he leave right now.
On my way to Noah’s room, I stop by the bathroom to pee and wash off my makeup before deciding to search the cupboard for a spare toothbrush. I probably smell like a bar after the night I’ve had and I doubt that’s really going to be the biggest turn on, though, I doubt Noah would ever say no. He never says no. No matter what.
As I push my way into Noah’s room, I find him sitting up in bed, his arm behind his head and his phone in hand. The light is off but the lamp post out front of their home is enough for me to see the perfect ridges of his abs.
His eyes turn on mine with a fondness that has me walking towards him. “I didn’t think you’d be coming here tonight.”
I shrug my shoulders. “Dad’s home with Aria and Tully needed someone to stay with her, besides, why the hell wouldn’t I want to come here and spend the night in your bed?”
A grin stretches across his lips as he pulls me down onto his bed. “And don’t you fucking forget it,” he tells me, dropping his lips to mine. “Where the hell were you guys?” he questions out of curiosity. “I haven’t heard from either of you since school.”
“Sorry,” I murmur against his lips. “It took me forever to get Tully to finally quit complaining about Rivers and then Kaylah invited us to go to Jackson’s football game at BHU.”
“Jackson, huh?” he says, pulling back with a strange darkness in his eyes. “Tell me, why does his name keep coming up?”
I bring my hand up and trace my fingers over his perfect lips. “You’re not jealous, are you?” I tease. “Just wait until you find out that we went to a party with him, got a little too drunk, and then let him drive us home, but that was before we let him take advantage of us in the backseat.”
Noah’s eyes narrow on me and he certainly doesn’t look impressed. It doesn’t take a genius to work out that he’s waiting for an explanation, but I make him sweat it. “How was your night?” I question, feigning innocence.
“Henley,” he snaps, hating the thoughts that are undoubtedly clouding his mind.
“Fine,” I laugh. “Trust me, it was all coincidental. I called Kaylah and told her about the scholarship and said we needed a girls’ night, but she was already going to the game and said that it would be fun if we go and that it would give me a chance to see the college, so, we went,” I explain. “Oh, and the game was awesome by the way. Jackson’s team killed it.”