Page 52 of Before We Fell

Naked.

I hitched my purse over my shoulder and tugged my ponytail out from beneath the strap, spotting Tinley. She was curled up in one of the soft leather chairs, already sipping her latte while scrolling through her phone. She must have sensed my presence or been keeping an eye out for me because she lifted her head as I moved toward the counter.

“Hey, you!” I called out loud enough so she could hear me, quiet enough I didn’t annoy anyone else. Not that it mattered. A scan of the small coffee shop showed almost all the customers were at a table alone, laptop or book opened, earbuds planted firmly in their ears.

I ordered my vanilla bean latte and paid, moved toward the end of the counter to wait for it to be ready. Once I had it in hand, blowing gently on the foam across the top, I maneuvered my way through the tight spaces between the chairs and tables, and finally plopped down on the leather chair next to Tinley.

“How’s it going?” I asked, blowing on my mug again. Grind It Up knew how to make a delicious drink, but they were darn hot.

Tinley shrugged and cringed, looking into her own drink mug. “Gavin’s dad is in the hospital.”

There were few people in town who didn’t know of Gavin Jefferson or his father, Samuel. From what I’d learned since I didn’t know either that well, only seeing Gavin in passing at a bar or restaurant in town, there were even fewer people in town who liked them.

Tinley was one of them. And I didn’t know if she liked them so much as she had a soft spot for Gavin. From what she told me, he was a complete asshole. But she’d known him her whole life and somehow, saw something that no one else did. His dad, on the other hand, based on stories I’d heard from Brooke and Tinley was the jerkiest of jerks in the worst way possible.

“Is he going to be okay?” I asked.

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t even know what’s wrong. I just know an ambulance was at their place late last night and Mom heard this morning that Mr. Jefferson is still in the hospital.”

“Have you called Gavin?”

She slid her gaze in my direction and her lips pulled into a thin line. “Um. No.”

Right. Because Gavin wouldn’t answer her call anyway.

“Well, that sucks. I’m sorry.”

“Whatever,” she murmured and took a sip of her coffee. “How’s your day?”

I hesitated too long, and she caught it. Turning to me, she tucked one of her feet under her lap and leaned forward. “What happened? Another date with Shawn?”

Of course I’d told her about my date. Of course I had absolutely not told her about Noah showing up after that date or that I watched Riley. And obviously, him showing up last night wasn’t mentioned in our texts this morning when we confirmed meeting up.

And how did I even begin to tell her everything that had happened? Noah said he’d give me the day, but that day was going to be half over soon. The only thing I’d decided was that I really, really, liked it when he kissed me.

“I don’t think that’s going to work out,” I admitted, avoiding all mention of Noah.

“What? Why?” Tinley’s eyes widened as she spoke, and then her head lifted, looking at something behind me.

The scent of sawdust drifted into the air and thank goodness the mugs there were shatterproof to my grip.

“That’s too bad,” Noah said and my shoulders bunched at the sound of his voice, the rough timbre and hum of it. At my back, his hand was on my chair. His fingertip skirted across the back of my neck and goose bumps erupted.

I jumped in my chair and Tinley shot me a wide-eyed look.

“Noah,” I said, glaring at him over my shoulder. “What are you doing here?”

He took a sip from a drink in a to-go cup, grinning at me the entire time. “Had to drop Riley off at her grandma’s. Stopped by to get a drink on my way home.” His head lifted in Tinley’s direction. “Hey. Noah Wilkes.”

Tinley’s eyes were still saucer-sized. “Tinley. Hey.”

I scowled at her. She’d gone from being mopey over Gavin’s dad to wide-eyed and awed in a split-second.

Not that I could blame her. I did the same thing every time I saw Noah. The man is so pretty it took a second to gather your wits.

“Okay, well…I’ll see you around, then.” I shot him a look that told him to go away.

He took it in stride and lifted his to-go cup in the air. “See you soon, Lauren. Nice to meet you, Tinley.”

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