Page 76 of All of Him
I leaned toward him and rested my forehead on his shoulder, just to convey how happy I was. I felt him kiss the top of my head, which was more physical than I’d expected him to be. Feeling bold, I tried to pull him into a hug, but he shrugged me off.
“Sorry,” he said. “I just…fuck.”
I looked up to see a familiar face approaching us. It was one of the guys from the photos I’d seen that night on his porch, and I knew Noah wasn’t too keen on meeting up with his past.
“Oh Christ!” the guy said, pulling Noah into a hug, his beer splashing onto the floor as he rocked him back and forth. “Noah Murphy!” The guy pulled back and looked Noah up and down, then patted his shoulder. “You look great, mate.”
“You look good too, Ron.” Noah acted as if he was happy to see the guy, but I could tell that he was nervous by the way he rubbed his thumb against his palm.
“What are you doing here?” Ron asked. “I thought you went and left for good.”
Noah shrugged and took a sip of his beer before answering, but Ron seemed patient.
“The kid. I have to meet him.”
Ron’s face fell, and he reached a hand out to Noah’s shoulder.
“Fuck,” he said, seeming to care a lot about Noah despite what Noah had said about his old friends. “I still can’t believe that rubbish. No one has spoken to Morgan since she told us about Garrett. We’re all too angry with her.”
“I figured I should at least meet him,” Noah explained. “She only told me a couple of months ago, and I got here as soon as I could. I’ll meet him tomorrow.”
Ron shook his head sympathetically, then noticed me standing there, seemingly for the first time.
“Shite!” he cursed, pointing at me. “I didn’t mean to be rude to your lady! I’m Ron.”
I held out my hand and smiled.
“Amanda,” I said back, “Noah’sfriend. I’m here as his emotional support animal.”
Ron laughed and punched Noah’s shoulder playfully. Noah just smirked and shook his head, thankfully okay with the joke.
“She’s a stunner,” Ron said to Noah.
“Oh”—Noah laughed—“very aware. Can you believe she thinksI’ma stunner too?”
The two of the guys laughed together, and I felt like I was seeing a totally different person in front of me. It wasn’t a bad thing; it just made me sad that Noah was barely a shell of himself, even after so much time. The way he joked with Ron was so lighthearted, nothing like the angsty, sleep-deprived boy I’d found in HR. Witnessing the interaction made me realize that he still had a long way to go.
Once Ron and Noah said their good-byes, I downed my beer and set the glass on the ledge along the wall. Noah did the same, then reached his arm around me.
Pulling me into a hug, he whispered into my ear, “thank you for coming with me, Amanda Bette.”
I allowed myself to melt into his arms, dipping my ear to his chest, where his coat hung open, and I listened to his rushing heart. I wrapped my arms tightly around his middle, even pressing my hips lightly into his. He let a breath that swished past my hair, then let his lips hit the top of my head again.
I allowed the slower music to fill my soul, but I still fought every urge to tilt my head up and kiss Noah. I’d hoped Teel wasn’t right about something going wrong on the trip, and that moment reassured me that everything would be okay. I just had to control myself.
Noah let his arms slide away from my back, but he didn’t let go completely. His hands slipped into the front of my open coat and found my hips, partially bare from my shirt riding up. Goose bumps formed from his touch, and he breathed heavily into my hair again.
I let my hands slide upward, resting them on Noah’s shoulders. I didn’t want to move my face, for fear I’d do something awkward. Still, I let my thumbs graze his collarbone and felt a scar I’d never noticed. I tilted my head up just enough to kiss it, then caressed his neck with my palm.
Noah pulled my hips closer to his, letting his hands slide a little lower. The way his fingers grazed the top of my backside made me shiver and my lips wander higher. They found his neck and kissed it lightly, just as he had done to me on his back porch. Tilting my head up just a bit more, I parted my lips and gently ran them over his. Neither of us made a move to fully kiss, but the resistance was not easy—at least, not for me.
Noah twitched, a warm burst of breath hitting my mouth. I took in a shaky breath, then felt something firm against my abdomen.
With that, he pushed me slightly away but spoke into my ear, one hand tightly gripping my side as if he didn’t want to let go.
“We need to go. And we need to immediately go to sleep when we get back to the hotel. Okay?”
I looked up at him, my eyes glazed over from the interaction. His look was one of terror—terror that we’d make a mistake if the moment continued.
