And Then We Fell Apart (18+)

chapter 27

He shakes his head. There's a smugness on his face that intrigues me. "No. Did you?"

"No."

"Why not?"

I can't answer that right now.

My back touches the wall. I think it's holding me upright as I hurl playful taunts in his direction. "I just didn't. Why didn't you?"

He doesn't answer right away. He makes me wait as he watches me, studies me from across the countertop that serves as a barrier between us. Eyes start at mine before trailing down the couple of inches to my lips, taking them in until they make their move back to my eyes again.

It's confident. It makes my knees lock.

He raises his eyebrows. "Care to take a guess?"

I cross my arms over my stomach as I feel entirely vulnerable with him looking at me this way. It's not a familiar feeling, but still I crave it.

My lips part to respond but I'm interrupted when Noah comes back to the kitchen.

"I think we're gonna play Uno while we wait for the rain to pass."

But the rain doesn't pass. And I don't get any less angsty.

My skin is undeniably hot to the touch as I watch my best friend in a light that I'm unfamiliar with, replaying his demanding words all while professing his most intimate thoughts to me— showing me like he's desperate for me to understand. Every move he makes serves as a subtle jab to my side because I'm forced to remember that as real as he is before me, I've seen the realest and most raw side of him just yesterday that I can't unsee.

And even worse, I'm forced to sit beside him as we play the card game on the floor. There's less than a foot between us in our small circle and to be fair, I'm sitting just as close to Noah. Only I don't feel such a magnetic force between Noah and I.

Not like I do with Sam.

Speaking of, he's just hit me with a draw four.

"Blue," he smugly chooses the next color. I realize it's not only a draw four, but also a wild card.

Through slightly gaped lips, I stare back at him. "Sam, what the hell?"

He shrugs. "Sorry. There's no loyalty in Uno. You know that."

"Fuck you," I scowl at him.

It's mean to be a joke. It comes off as a joke, and I'm fairly certain it's accepted as one until our eyes connect.

Dark eyes make him look like he wants to say something. Badly. Something that he shouldn't say, something that's been on the tip of his tongue for the last twenty-four hours.

It's like he's telling me, Gladly, selfish to relive yesterday just like I am.

The gentle curve of his lips sends searing heat between my legs that feels impossible to ignore.

Noah wins the first round of Uno and because of that, we all agree to his plan to go to the beach despite the rain. He's sure to note that it's not down pouring, it's only drizzling. So for that reason, we should enjoy the summer day while we can until the thunderstorms strike later that evening.

Beneath a light gray sky thick with bellowing clouds in the distance, we play chicken and Bennett shows us his handstand and Noah tries to one-up him by showcasing his cartwheeling abilities on the shore. I take it one step further and share the back-handspring I learned from watching Bring It On far too many times.