Being Eve Summers

Chapter-14

"Hey, Evika." His cheerful voice made my stomach churn with nerves. Everyone was staring at us before I stared right back at the people sitting in the row in front of us. The keynote speaker's loud voice attracted everyone's attention once again, and I found myself whisper-talking to a guy I possibly had a crush on.

"Hey, Noah. How're you here?" I smiled, hoping it would mask the way my jaw dropped when I saw him here.

He smiled as he glanced at his lap. His smile made him look more charming, which I'd thought was impossible. "I promised someone a coffee and chocolate chip muffin."

Coffee? Muffin? Someone? Oh, me?! My heart skipped a beat as I looked at him. The fact that the keynote speaker was now talking, and I ignored her as I stared at this man, didn't register in my mind.

"Your hazelnut latte with two pumps of whipped cream and chocolate chip muffin at your service." His smile was infectious. I didn't know what to say. This was new. To most people, it might not seem much, but for someone who'd grown up all their life being ignored, the fact that he remembered made me so grateful.

I was supposed to keep my mind away from his thoughts, but this man was resilient. "Thank you so much, but you didn't need to do that. I was only joking."

"I wasn't. Now, eat up before the muffin gets soggy." His cheeky grin made my heart swell with a myriad of emotions that I found baffling. I was never good at understanding my emotions and he was invoking the sense of pride, gratefulness and adoration that I'd never felt before.

"Thanks." I returned his smile and picked up the muffin. "By the way, how'd you know I was here?"

"Took a guess. Knew you'd not miss a physics seminar even if you were almost dying." How did he know that?! People understanding me always freaked me out. I was so different and weird that people commented sardonically about my likes and dislikes. Everyone except Mom and Addy. Noah was now on the list, too.

"Smartass much?" I smiled as I looked at him through my peripheral vision while pretending to listen to the speaker. Taking a bite of the muffin, I almost moaned in pleasure before remembering I had an audience.

"This tastes amazing! How'd you manage to get it from Tim's? There's no outlet on campus."

"I went to the city for some shopping and stopped at a Tim's." He scratched his neck, and I almost saw a faint blush on his cheek before he turned his head away.

Intuition told me he was lying. Did he go there just to get this? Shut up those thoughts, Eve! He is just a friend who remembered your likes and dislikes and decided to surprise you.

"This early?"

"Well, I had to go visit the bank before coming here so I left at ten. That is not too early." He smiled. I felt my heart deflate with mild disappointment. He didn't go there just to get this muffin. But he remembered and brought one which is a lot.

"I woke up at ten-thirty so I wouldn't know." I laughed as I spoke. "I'm sorry about today. Slept late, so I was sleeping and missed practice."

"As a vocal coach, I expect you to not repeat that again. As a fellow friend, I get it." He laughed. "I stay up late on most nights."

Curiosity peaked my mind, and I almost asked him why before remembering that I never asked questions. I stayed quiet, letting people talk.

"You can ask me why." Noah peered at me from behind my arm that I was holding the muffin with. He smiled as I kept staring, mouth hung open. Feeling exposed, I concentrated on eating the muffin. Why did he always smile? It was his resting face, and I could not fathom why someone would willingly do that.