He looks at me blankly. “Really? You couldn’t have saved that line for when Tully starts doubting herself? If you’re going to start throwing shit like that at me, at least make it sound a little more butch.”
I hold back a grin. “Butch how?”
“Like…I don’t know. Refer to me as a fucking Harley Davidson, not another dude’s sunshine. That makes me sound weak, like a pansy-ass bitch.”
“But you are a pansy-ass bitch. You’re my pansy-ass bitch.”
Noah’s eyes sparkle with mirth. “Call me a pansy-ass bitch one more time and see what happens.”
I lean back in and gently press my lips to his. “You don’t want to play this game with me, Noah Cage,” I warn him. “You know I won’t give up until I’ve won over and over again.”
“You know, all those times you think you’ve won? That’s only happened because I allowed it to.”
I shake my head, not believing him for a second. I mean, I’m a fucking firecracker. I’m top of the game. No one can beat me. “That’s bullshit.”
A grin rips across his face and I see the sparkles dancing across his eyes, inviting me in. “Oh, but it’s true. There’s nothing better in this world than seeing that smile you give me when you think you’ve finally beat me at something, so I make sure that I see it every fucking day.”
“Wait…” I pull back and really study him and realize that while there’s mischief in his eyes, he’s also being as real as he gets. “What? What do you mean you let me win?”
“You know that little bet that ended up with me getting this damn piercing?” he questions, raising his hips so I feel him beneath me.
“How could I forget?”
“I fucked up every little thing on purpose and every fucking time, without fail, you blew me away with that victory smile of yours. Best fucking day of my life if you ask me. You thought you won that day, but you couldn’t have been more wrong.”
“Who’s the one sounding like a corny loser now?” I laugh. “And what’s the deal here? I thought I was the one coming here to cheer you up, not the other way around.”
Noah shrugs his shoulder. “What can I say? I’m a selfish bastard and I think I’m going into withdrawals. I haven’t seen that smile all day and it’s killing me.”
“You’re as cheesy as they come.”
“Damn straight, baby,” he murmurs, pressing his lips to mine. “What do you say we steal Aria from school and take her somewhere special?”
My brows dip down. “Sounds great, but you’re forgetting one thing.”
“And what’s that?”
“She’s in school and my dad will kill us for taking her out of it.”
Noah watches me with a smug, knowing expression. “Really, Spitfire? You think your dad will have the shits with you for taking your sister out of school early and spending quality time with her the day your brother left for God knows how long?”
“Good point,” I tell him. “But I’m not going unless Tully comes along as well. She needs a little bit of that sunshine of yours too.”
“Alright,” Noah tells me, helping me up before getting to his feet. He looks back at Lily’s grave with a fondness settling over his features. He smiles down at her. “Until next time, little sister.”
And with that, he takes my hand and we walk away.
Chapter 17
I look down my reflection in the full length mirror hanging in my closet. My golden hair is pinned back and falls over my shoulder in waves. My makeup is done to perfection and these damn heels. I mean, my God. They’re hot as hell but I’m not sure I’m going to be able to walk in them though.
It’s the dress that gets me. A black, spaghetti strap, silk gown flows down my body, hugging it in all the right places. The hem of the dress flirts with the hardwood floorboards of my bedroom while the back of the dress dips so low my ass is risking being exposed. It’s hot, like no one in this world has the right to look so damn hot.
My bad girl, don’t give a shit attitude is telling me that I should be shrugging off this excitement, but I just don’t give a crap. I’m fucking ecstatic. Tonight is going to be incredible. It’s my senior prom.
At the beginning of senior year, I was dreading this night. Hell if I was asked, I would have sworn that there was no way I was going, but with the way my world has been flipped upside down over the past nine months, I’m absolutely thrilled for this night.
I reach for the earrings dad had bought me as a ‘holy shit, you made it this far’ gift and slide them into place. With the necklace Noah had given me earlier today that sits down low on my chest, I’ve somehow come to the realization that I must be the luckiest girl on the planet.