“Like this?” I asked, moving the gear stick like he said. Why was my voice so breathy?
His eyes wandered down, and I’d never been more aware of my bare legs under my calf length skirt. “Yes, like that. Gently touch your right foot to the accelerator.” I did. “Good girl. This is the tricky part. You need to gently lift your foot off the clutch until you feel the bite.”
I frowned. “What’s the bite?”
“A little vibration. Tell me when you feel it.” I frowned, chewing on my lip as I concentrated. I wasn’t entirely sure I understood what he was telling me to do, but then I felt the vibration. “I can feel it,” I said.
Noah took my hand, bringing it to the handbrake between us and releasing it. My heart did a somersault at the feel of his hand over mine. “Now gently release the clutch as you press a little harder on the accelerator.” I tried to ignore the tingles I felt as the car started to move. Excitement coursed through me.
“I can’t believe I’m driving,” I said with an amazed laugh.
Noah chuckled. “Watch out, Lewis Hamilton. Estella Shannon’s coming at you at a speed of ten miles per hour.”
I glowered while a smile tried to break its way through. “Shut up. This is my first time.”
“You’re doing great,” he encouraged fondly, and a warmth filled my chest.
He spent the next hour teaching me how to shift the gears. I cut out a bunch of times and felt like giving up, but I forced myself to power through. Noah taught me how to control the steering wheel by completing figure eights around the car park.
“You hungry?” he asked when we finally switched seats, and he got back into the driver’s side.
“Starving.”
He drove us to the town’s only pizza restaurant. Since it was a Friday night, the place was hopping with families and groups of teenagers. Noah seemed to know one of the waiters, who led us to a table for two by the window.
“So, how’s school been lately?” he asked as we perused our menus.
“School’s good. I only have a few weeks left until summer.”
“Then you’ll be free as a bird, eh?”
“Yep. Pretty much.”
Noah put his menu down, resting both elbows on the table and his chin on his hands as he eyed me. “What will you do?”
Nerves flooded me at his question. I’d been planning this for such a long time, it almost felt surreal to be nearing the finish line. “First,” I said. “I need to secure the money Dad left me, then I’ll spend the summer travelling around Europe before enrolling in college in September.”
Noah grinned. “Europe, eh?”
A burst of excitement coursed through me. I couldn’t wait to travel. “I want to see all the famous sights. The Colosseum, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, La Sagrada Familia. There are so many beautiful churches, more than I’ll be able to visit, I’m sure.”
“Promise me you’ll visit more than just churches,” Noah said.
“I mentioned the Colosseum, didn’t I?”
His lips twitched. “You did.” A silence fell, and I messed with the saltshaker. “It sounds like a fun trip,” Noah went on. “Maybe I’ll come look you up.”
His words made my stomach tumble. The very idea of being in a faraway country with Noah was thrilling. “I’m sure you’ll be far too busy with your job at the mayor’s office,” I said, trying to play it cool.
He tilted his head, amused expression in place. “Been missing me, have you?”
“No,” I scoffed unconvincingly, which only functioned to communicate that I had missed him. I’d missed him and his bizarre ways something fierce. He moved his ankle against mine under the table, and sparks of awareness shot through me.
“We’ll make the driving lessons a weekly thing then,” he said, teasing. “Just so you don’t miss me too much.”
“I don’t mi—” My words were cut short when the waiter appeared to take our orders. We decided to share a large pepperoni pizza. Noah’s astute gaze wandered around the restaurant, and I watched him watching everyone else. He saw a lot with those eyes. When they flared sharply, I twisted my head to see what he was looking at. Principal Hawkins and his wife had just entered and were waiting to be seated.
“I’ll be right back,” Noah said with barely a glance my way as he headed for Hawkins. I turned fully in my seat, pricking my ears to listen.
“Hello,” Hawkins greeted him warily, a frown shaping his lips while his wife tucked some hair behind her ear at the sight of Noah. She looked both nervous and wary like her husband, but also kind of … excited? There was a girlish flush to her cheeks, a flirtatious flutter of her eyelashes.
“Hey,” Noah said, his head turned to the wife. “Theresa.”
“Noah,” she breathed. “It’s been a long time.”