Page 92 of Before We Fell

Beautifully. Perfectly.

Damn. I was getting hard again. “Your brother,” I stated.

It was more of a caveman growl. I didn’t hide how I adjusted myself in my boxers.

Her cheeks pinked. “Travis would have taken something important. The television. The computer. Hell, he would have taken my entire jewelry box, or my fire safe. He wouldn’t take a drawing. That wouldn’t give him money.”

“Your mom said he was looking for you.”

“Yeah, but I’ll deal with that if it happens. He’ll show, beg for money, for anything. I’ll call the cops or an Uber and he’ll go.”

“I don’t like this.”

“It’s the life I’ve lived for as long as I can remember, Noah.” She skirted around the kitchen counter island until she was in front of me, hands sliding and pressing my neck. “Travis is a complete pain in the ass, but he won’t hurt me. Not physically. He might scare me, but as soon as I get the cops on the phone, he vanishes. It’s not my first rodeo. I can’t believe he would have broken in last night only to take a drawing. It doesn’t make any sense.”

“Do you want me to come with you today?”

“I think you should spend it with Riley. Talk to her.” She stressed the last part, kissed my jaw. “Get her to talk about your job, or what her mom said. That freaked her out last night.”

“I know.” I knew that. I did. But what could I do about it and what in the hell did it have to do with anything now anyway?

“I’ll call you later, after I go though, okay?”

“Fine.” I kissed her, sliding my tongue into her mouth as she parted her lips. She tasted like coffee and sunshine. Love and sweetness. Everything I wanted. “Have a good day.”

“You too.” She stepped out of my hold, and I reached for her, smacking her backside as she danced away from me. “See you tonight?”

“I better.”

She shook her head and headed out the back door. I kept my eye on her until she reached the narrow path and disappeared into the brush.

Twenty-Nine

Lauren

“Spill,spill, spill, little miss I’ll never date a student’s parent.”

Tinley and I were at our Saturday morning coffee date. Two days after trick-or-treating. Yesterday at work had been miserable. I swear. They needed to change the laws. Trick-or-treating on a Friday. Or add a school holiday. Teaching twenty-two third graders mere hours after they crashed from a late night and eight pounds of candy was insane.

Every year I forgot to schedule a movie, play day and yesterday had been no different.

What had been different, was the response I received at the school when I showed up for work.

Noah and I hadn’t hidden our affection for each other as we walked the streets the other night. He’d held my hand. Or placed his hand on my lower back. We’d jogged after Riley. Laughed ourselves silly.

It was apparently a coming out to Carlton regarding our relationship and the goofy-eyed looks I’d gotten from many of the teachers the day before cemented it. We were being talked about. A lot.

But it wasn’t like I could blame them. Three cop cars showing up at my door and Brooke’s best friend, Kelly, being married to one of the cops who responded would do that. Everyone in town knew.

The news of it filtering down to Tinley wasn’t surprising. She overheard more gossip than the stylists at the salons in town did. She was constantly amazed at how her customers could roam the aisles of her market, phone in hand, talking like they had complete privacy.

It was originally how she learned that some mean-girl Jenni had left town last fall after some verbal beat down she took from Gavin, the last remaining person in Carlton who had wanted anything to do with her. She’d been Tinley’s nemesis her entire life, and for the first time since I knew Tinley, I’d been shocked at her finding bliss in someone else’s misfortune.

Still, the text Tinley sent me this morning confirming our coffee date didn’t leave any room open for me backing out—not that I would.

Girl. You’ve been holding out on me. Hope your yoga is relaxing because you have explaining to do!

It’d included a full length of exclamation points afterward, so many I heard her shouting in my head from her apartment across town. I’d also felt worse because for weeks now, I could have told her. I could have let her in on my feelings for Noah that first time he interrupted us, in these very chairs.

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