Page 7 of Sweet Ruin

Noah didn’t acknowledge me as I sat down. Some guy who was wearing an overwhelming amount of aftershave had taken his regular spot. I spent most of class trying to breathe through my mouth to avoid the smell. Still, I preferred it to the constant tingles I used to get across the back of my neck whenever I felt Noah watching me in class.

I didn’t feel them now. Not once. There were no longing gazes. No lasting looks. It was like I didn’t exist to him anymore.

After class was over, Lily pulled me aside.

“So, Noah’s not sitting behind you anymore…”

“Seems so,” I agreed. “But, it’s for the best. We’re both moving on. It’s easier if we keep our distance.”

She frowned slightly. “Yeah, I guess.”

“What?” She seemed like she was holding something back.

“It’s nothing; this just feels so final, you know.”

“Him moving seats?”

She shook her head. “Well, no, not just that. He’s with Veronica now, and you’re with Wes.”

“That’s a good thing.”

“I know,” she quickly rushed to say. “But the way Noah used to look at you… It was the kind of thing you’d only read about in fairy tales.”

“He didn’t look at me like that,” I muttered.

“He did. He looked at you like you where the very thing his universe revolved around. It was kind of epic.”

“Well, we must have been an epic tragedy rather than an epic fairy tale because we were never going to work.”

“I guess so,” Lily said, somewhat reluctantly. “It just seems weird that he could turn that off so quickly.” She paused and shook her head. “But it’s great you have Wes now. He’s such a nice guy. I don’t think he’ll mess you around like Noah did.”

“Yeah, I don’t think he will either.” I agreed. How could he? Unless he too went to war with my family. I’d seen his father talking happily with mine at the carnival though, so I liked to believe we were good on that front.

“Are you studying in the library tonight?” Lily asked.

I was there almost every Monday night with Wes but not tonight. “Actually, Wes invited me to study in his room so we could get takeout.”

“Sounds romantic,” Lily said with a suggestive smile.

“It’s just studying.”

She tilted her head at me, looking thoroughly unconvinced. “Uh-huh.”

My cheeks flushed. “It is.”

“Okay, well, I’m off to meet Amber. Have funstudyingwith Wes.” She winked at me before taking off in the other direction.

“I will,” I called after her, a flurry of anticipation prickling my skin.

Maybe she had a point, and tonight would be a little romantic. Wes and I hadn’t had a chance to go on a proper date yet, so maybe this would be our first. There’d been so much to distract us since we’d first got together. Not to mention Sawyer’s constant interruptions. We might not have been calling tonight a date, but there would be food and we would finally be alone—it certainly sounded like a date.

Besides, if it was just studying, why was I so excited about it?

CHAPTERTHREE

Iknocked lightly on Wes’s door, and it opened almost immediately. He looked relieved to see me standing there.

“Thank God,” he said. “Sawyer’s had girls banging on this door all afternoon.”

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