Page 20 of All of Him
The light caught his cheek, and I could see the color difference with the concealer. Not thinking, I reached my thumb out and touched his face.
“What are you—”
“Relax.” I laughed, smoothing out the edges. “You should get a color match if you insist on covering that. It’s the wrong color.”
Noah raised his eyebrows and didn’t move a muscle as I gently turned his chin to see his cheek in the sunlight.
“Better.”
“That was awkward,” he mumbled.
“I told you that I’m awkward. You should know this. So, why do you cover it?”
“None of your goddamn business,” he snapped, rubbing where I’d just fixed the makeup.
“Jesus,” I huffed, grabbing my purse from the floor. “I know I’m being an ass, but I figured I’d already asked you riskier questions than,Why do you cover that scar that probably no one cares about?”
“What if I cover it soIdon’t see it?” he said through gritted teeth, clearly pissed at me. “You can’t just go around and poke into my personal life and assume things about me.”
“I feel like we get nowhere,” I said quietly. “You’re cool with talking about your drug-addicted parents, but when I bring up a scar on your cheek, you lose it?” I knew I was pushing him, but I still had that unrequited desire to know more about Noah. I couldn’t explain it, and it was something that had never struck me before—intrigue about someone to a level that made me push them.
He looked out the window briefly, shaking his head, then turned back to me, his eyes softening.
“You kind of hit the nail on the head earlier.” Noah gave in, sinking into his seat a little. It was like he’d caught himself being a dick even though he had every right to be like that with how I had been interrogating him. He rested his elbow on the windowsill and propped his head up, looking out the window again.
“So, whatever is on your face reminds you of something you did?”
Noah shrugged, and I felt my heart sink. He was right; I knew nothing. I didn’t know what he was capable of. And I certainly didn’t have the right to ask. For all I knew, he’d hurt someone and fled Ireland.
“You can trust me,” he said, looking back at me and letting his eyes run over my face. “That look is one of fear, and I hate it. I’m not going to hurt you.”
I studied his face in return, looking for any reason to not believe him, but all I saw were those eyes—those beautiful, sad eyes.
“Come inside,” I said quietly.
Noah tilted his head, confused with my reaction.
“Will youpleasecome inside?”
12
Noah
I DIDN’T KNOW WHAThad possessed me to go into Amanda Bette’s apartment, but it was probably the same flawed instinct that had told me to let her in on some of my life secrets. I rubbed my cheek again, which felt smoother than usual from her correction, as I followed her up the concrete stairs.
Once we walked into her apartment, the smell of olive oil permeated the air. There was a girl at the stove, cooking, completely immersed in what she was doing. She looked exactly like Amanda, only with a partially buzzed head and much more makeup. Dark liner surrounded her friendly eyes as she walked over to greet me.
“Hi!” she said excitedly, shaking my hand. “I’m Teel. I didn’t know we were having someone for dinner.”
Amanda’s jaw dropped, and she seemed annoyed.
“Um, Teel, I didn’t know you werehome! I needed a ride from the bar because I’d gotten stood up, and I had to hitch a ride with this dude.” She jerked her thumb at me, but I could tell she was kidding about being stuck with me.
I tried not to laugh as her sister shook her head. It was obviously typical Amanda behavior.
“Didn’t expect me home, huh?” Teel asked, wiggling her eyebrows at me. “What wereyou twoplanning on doing?”
I raised my eyebrows and made a move to leave, feeling awkward.
