“I know. I don’t even know why I’m talking about this right now.” She rested her head on his shoulder. “Sorry.” She covered her face with her hands. “Ignore me.”
“Never. I’d never ignore you.”
“Guys, I’m heading out. We’re going to be late,” Derek said.
“You want me to drop you off at home?” Noah asked.
“You have your car here? We walked.”
“I didn’t know how you’d feel being at this party, so I drove here, parked up, and came and walked to you.”
“That is really sweet.”
He chuckled. “Don’t be reading too much into it.”
She rolled her eyes.
“You ready to go to high school?”
She glanced down at her clothes and shrugged. “Why not? I don’t want to go home. I’ll deal with them later.”
“I’ll even drop you home if you’d like.”
“You are being a bit of a rebel today, aren’t you?”
He winked at her.
They left the room. The house looked completely spotless, but Noah didn’t expect anything less. It’s why Derek’s parents always allowed him to throw a party. Not only did he clean up afterward, but they were always broken up by a reasonable time.
“Wow, I didn’t expect that.”
“Derek is the king of clean.”
Noah opened the front door for her, and as he did, he nodded at Derek, who was already pulling out of the driveway. He got a thumbs up, and then his focus went back to Skye as they stood out together.
Wrapping his arm across her shoulders, he walked her toward his car. Opening the door, he waited for her to climb in.
“You’re the perfect gentleman.”
He’d had the best night’s sleep since their escape. He felt fucking wired and ready for anything.
Without Skye, he was a mess. He’d been denying his need for her for far too long. No matter what their parents said, they needed each other.
Pulling out of Derek’s drive, he glanced across the road and saw Denison watching them.
The cop gave him the creeps.
“What do you think that of the Denison guy?” he asked, driving forward, passing the cop, and heading toward the school.
“I don’t know. My parents adore him, but he kind of gives me the creeps.”
“Thank you. Me too.”
“I know.”
Silence fell between them, and for the first time ever, it was a little awkward.
“I would never hurt you,” he said.