Page 85 of The Secret Of Us

“One minute!” a voice shouts in the distance.

“Do you want to find the girls?” Noah asks, and I shake my head.

I just wanthim.

Everyone starts counting down from thirty. I step closer to Noah, my shoes in between his until our bodies are close together. Noah keeps his eyes fixed on mine as the numbers get lower.

There’s a hum of anticipation in the air, our gazes heavy as we track each other’s features. His tongue peeks out to run across his bottom lip and my eyes catch it immediately. He dips his head closer to mine, one hand coming up to cradle my cheek, the other under my jaw. His lips brush against my cheek.

I turn my head away from him, the countdown still going.

“You don’t want your first kiss to be like this,” I admit to him, leaving out the part where I think he deserves so much better.

“What if I do want it?” When I look at him again, his face is sincere. “Is that okay?”

I nod, whisper a quiet‘yes’, and then his lips are on mine.

It’s unlike any other kiss I’ve had. Sparks light me up from the inside to match the fireworks exploding above us. Noah tenderly holds my face between his hands, angling my jaw up so he can deepen the kiss. It feels like he’s the only thing keeping me grounded right now, because I feel weightless, like every sense in my body has ascended to a higher plane. I want to kiss him for the rest of my life.

He pulls away but stays close enough to press his forehead to mine. His hands still cradle my face as his thumbs run across my cheeks.

“Happy New Year,” he whispers so quietly I can barely hear him over the noise that suddenly comes flooding back in. It all disappeared as soon as he kissed me.

“Happy New Year,” I repeat.

When I look at him again, I finally see the smile I’ve been waiting for, and it makes my heart burst. Noah’s entire face lights up, pure happiness displayed on it like I’ve never seen before. The dimple on his left cheek stands out, his mouth pulled wide as he beams down at me. I want him to smile at me like this forever.

28

NOAH

I never thoughtabout what my first kiss would be like, but I think that’s just because I hadn’t met Izzy yet.

I didn’t really understand when people talked about getting butterflies in their stomach, but as soon as her lips touch mine, I can feel a whole swarm of them. Every single thought escapes my mind, and all I can focus on isher.

The way her face feels in my hands, her cold cheeks pressed against my warm hands. The softness of her lips and the taste of cherry lip balm will have me never looking at the fruit without thinking about her. When her forehead presses against mine, I feel like she can hear all my thoughts, the words I haven’t said but so desperately want to.

“Happy New Year!” Amelia’s voice breaks through the bubble we’re in, and Izzy puts the tiniest space between us so she can look at her friend.

It was just a kiss, but my heart feels like it’s about to beat out of my chest with how fast it’s racing. I don’t take in anything either of them are saying, only focusing back in when Izzy squeezes my hand.

“I’ll be right back, okay?” she says, and I nod.

She lets go of my hand, giving me a bright smile before she walks off with Amelia.

I don’t know how long I stay standing there, unmoving. My mind is still entirely consumed by the fact that we finally kissed. It’s been building up for weeks now, but the reality is so much better than anything I ever imagined. I press my fingers against my lips, feeling completely transformed just by the simple act of hers against mine. I want to do it again and again, test out whether it feels like that every single time.

The vibration in my pocket brings me back into the real world.

Ravi

Happy new year!

I don’t know what possesses me, but I call him. He doesn’t answer right away, but he mentioned going to a party, too.

“Noah! Happy New Year!” Ravi says again, the muffled sound of music and people slipping through the speaker.

“I just kissed a girl,” I blurt out.

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