“Who is that?” Claire asked from close by, and I saw Noah’s ears prick up at the question.
“I don’t know, but he’s fucking hot,” one of her friends answered. Now he smirked. Ugh.
“What’s he doing talking to her?” This voice I recognised instantly. It was Sally. Noah must’ve seen something in my expression because his face hardened as he looked over my head. I knew it the second his gaze zeroed in on her. “Ah, I see the little bitch now. Spitting image of her father. Come on. Take my hand. Let’s make her jealous.”
Wait? Noah knew Sally’s dad? I stared at him, dumbfounded, while Aoife gave a hoot of approval. “I think I like him.”
Noah shot her a grin. My heart raced, and I just knew Sally was behind me, standing by the school gates and watching this scene play out very, very closely.
“Go with him,” Aoife urged. “I want to see Sally and Claire’s faces when you two drive off on that motorbike. It’s going to be epic.”
Noah held my gaze, and there was something about his challenging stare and Aoife’s encouragement that made me bold. In that moment, all I wanted was to give Sally something to feel jealous about. For once, I wanted to feel like I’d won. And being picked up from school by a hot twenty-something-year-old guy on a motorbike would definitely do the trick.
Without thinking, I placed my hand in Noah’s. His palm was unexpectedly warm, his grin enigmatic.
“See you tomorrow!” Aoife called as he led me over to his bike.
Noah handed me the helmet, his green eyes piercing. “Is she watching?” he asked. I nodded, nervously taking the helmet from him. “Good. Now put this on and climb on behind me.”
I did as instructed, glancing in Sally’s direction one last time and seeing furious jealousy all over her face. Satisfaction filled my stomach. I didn’t like succumbing to revenge-like urges, but lately, more and more, I wanted my enemies to suffer.
“Hold onto me,” Noah said as the engine roared to life. I thought for a moment about how close our bodies were, but then the bike started to move, and I panicked, wrapping my arms tight around his torso for fear I might fall off. I’d never been on a motorbike before, and I was just slightly terrified.
We sailed away from the school and onto the main road leading out of town. I would’ve wondered where he was taking me, if I wasn’t so distracted by how close he was. His stomach felt hard, his back solid against my chest. Once we were on the open road, he increased his speed and my skirt flew up. I squealed in shock.
“Relax,” Noah said over the noise of the engine. “We’re almost there.”
Almost where? My socks went up to the knee, but the rest of my legs were completely exposed. Noah’s attention flicked down momentarily, and butterflies swarmed my stomach at the thought of his eyes on me. He focused back on the road, and I closed my eyes, feeling the breeze whipping past my face. For a brief, blissful second, adrenaline rushed through my system, and I was … strangely happy.
I opened my eyes when Noah slowed to a stop. We were a few miles outside of town, at a secluded spot on the coast. The familiar sea air hit my lungs as I hastily climbed off the bike.
“What is this place?” I asked, peering about. There wasn’t another person in sight, and I started to worry if being alone with Noah like this was a wise idea. I still knew next to nothing about him.
His eyes wandered over me as he approached. “You should wear your hair like this more often.”
He reached out to finger a strand, and I fought a flush, backing away a step. Noah frowned at my retreat, but he didn’t question it. I’d left my hair down today, and I suspected it was a mess after wearing the helmet. Why was he acting so nice? He’d gone out of his way to collect me from school just to make Sally jealous? It seemed like a lot of effort for a girl he barely knew.
“Come on. I want to show you something,” he said, taking my hand and leading me down a narrow walkway. We reached a clearing close to the cliff’s edge. Wind made the long grass ripple like waves, and it tickled my legs.
I felt guilty about how much I enjoyed holding Noah’s hand. I had no reason to feel that way, but guilt tended to creep into any emotional cracks it could find in me. I had to remind myself that being attracted to someone wasn’t a bad thing. Nobody was going to judge me for noticing the sexy, angular line of Noah’s jaw, or the way his T-shirt clung to his trim waist, how his leather jacket draped across his broad shoulders. Living a good life didn’t mean denying myself physical attraction.