The 34th Floor

The 34th Floor - Chapter 43 - Grace

The 34th Floor

Chapter 43:

Grace

“There you guys are!” Rachel exclaimed, pushing herself off the ground.

“What are you guys doing on the floor?” Cade asked, raising an eyebrows.

I wasn’t truly listening to what Rachel or Cade were conversing about. Instead, my eyes were focused on the fragile, boy leaning against the floor, knees up and hands lying loosely to his side. I pushed Cade’s arm off my shoulder, something I should have done earlier or Rachel might not have appreciated my presence.

“Noah,” I called out, taking a tentative step towards him. “Noah, what’s wrong?”

He didn’t reply, just kept staring at the place in front of me.

“Nothing, Grace. Noah’s fine, right?” Rachel asked, sounding a little unsure herself.

“What happened to him when we were gone?” I stared at the blonde girl in suspicion.

Rachel looked down at her feet, biting her nails. “He got…he got a small thought stuck in his head.”

“Just help him, would you? Before he does something he’ll regret,” she anxiously pushed me towards Noah until I found myself sliding down next to him.

“Noah, could you just look at me,” I pleaded, taking his hand and intertwining it with my own.

He didn’t budge. His hazel eyes kept looking straight ahead, neither blinking nor moving. His lips were in a straight, thin line. The color on his face had melted away.

“Noah, whatever you are thinking about, just don’t. We’re almost out of here, we’re going to go back to our old lives. Would you snap out of it?”

Noah’s body was still, so still that I was afraid if I blew at his stiff figure, he’d crumble into dust. So when I couldn’t get him to speak and my patience was growing thin, I did the one thing that I knew no guy should be able to resist. I crawled over him, my arm on the other side of him, and without a moment of hesitation, I pressed my lips to his.

For a second, I thought only I loved him and that this kiss only meant something to me, but slowly, with every ticking second, Noah’s resolve melted and his lips began to move with mine. I brought my hand up, cupping his cheeks and drawing his face closer to mine. An indescribable sensation surged through me, leaving me profoundly breathless.

“Whoa,” he breathed, as we untangled from each other.

“We should have just given up on this place, got a room, and done this for the past week,” I murmured, pushing my brown locks away from my sweaty face.

Noah glanced in my direction and raised on single eyebrow.

“What?” I asked, shying away from his intensifying gaze. “Don’t tell me you weren’t thinking the same thing.”

“I thought that kiss was supposed to convince me to not give up getting out of this place.”

I flushed, the apples of my cheek red.

“Yeah, next time, a little warning for the two of us, please,” Rachel sweetly joked, her own arms circled around Cade’s.

“Or we’ll have to get you guys back.” A devilish smile crossed Cade’s face as he flickered his gaze towards Rachel.

“Is that an offer?” Rachel drawled.

The two of us, hands intertwined, watched Cade and Rachel in amusement.