The Boy who Broke the Rules

7

Usually, after I left the shed, I would go to my clearing... but he could be there.

As much as I wanted to see him, I couldn't face him after what happened in English. That was so embarrassing. And then what happened at lunch, too...

I decided to just head home and was fishing my keys in my bag when my shoe got caught around a vine.  

"Son of a—!" I screamed, losing my balance. I flattened my hands on the ground before I face-planted on the rough pavement, but my keys jumped out from my hand in the process, and I yelled in despair as I watch them fall in the manhole.

"Crap! Crap! Crap!"

"Hey, you okay?"

Oh no. Why does this keep happening to me?

I stayed where I was, debating whether to pretend I fainted so he could just leave me alone, or jump up and run away.

How many times could the hottest guy in the planet watch you humiliate yourself?

 But my keys...

I lifted my head a little and saw his beat up Nikes and long legs first. Without warning, he planted his palms on the pavement in front of me, lowering his body to the ground so that his face appeared in my vision—really, really close so that I could almost feel and smell his breath—, and I stopped breathing because... because, crapfreakcrap, he was beautiful. 

His bottom lip was split open and his jaw was a little swollen. There was a tiny jagged scar near his right eyebrow and a small scattering of pale freckles on his nose.

That only made him hotter.

What was wrong with me? Was I beginning to have a fetish?

A Noah fetish.

Good Lord.

Without saying a word, he grabbed the sides of the grill and lifted it without breaking a sweat.

I sat up, mesmerized. He had removed his jacket and was now only wearing his white t-shirt. His brow furrowed, lips pursed, muscles in his arms rippling as he carried the heavy weight and placed it carefully on the ground. His nose wrinkled as he reached inside the manhole.

"Here." He dangled the keys in front of me.

I opened my palm and he dropped them there without touching me.  Without waiting for me to thank him, he spun around and walked away.

Say something, ee-jut! Don't let him go.

 "I have a band-aid!" I exclaimed.

I mentally facepalmed.

He stopped midstride, then turned around. Placing his hands in his pockets, he stared at me.

"Do you... do you want it?" I added, as if I needed to put my foot deeper in my mouth.

Go dig yourself a hole, Parker. And stay there.

A small amused smile played on his lips and –swear to God—I felt my heart sigh.

Crap, what's going to happen when he gave me a full-on smile? Maybe I'd be a puddle of teenage hormone goo on the floor.

He tilted his head to the side, a challenging glint in his eyes. "Aren't you afraid of me?"

"Of course not," but I said it too fast.

And now he grinned.

Oh Lord, I need some help over here!

It was an I'm-going-to-eat-you-for-lunch grin. It started with his eyes, a challenging gleam appearing. It took a second for his lips to follow, but when they did, I was ready to have his babies.

"You like to play with fire, Legs?"

Legs?

His eyes, so blue under the moonlight, raked ever so quickly from the top of my head down to my exposed legs, and lingered there for just a tiny second. I would have missed that sweep if I wasn't paying attention. I was wearing a skirt today that ended mid-thigh. I mean, come on, it's hot outside!

And then his eyes lifted back up to mine.

I shivered.

I would love to say that I was one of those witty girls who always had a kick-ass comeback to the hot guy's sexy innuendos, but, sadly, I wasn't. My brain seemed to turn to mush every freaking time, and all I could say was: 

"Um..."

He smirked, and then to my surprise, he started walking toward me. Suddenly feeling nervous, I clutched my purse against my chest. He must have sensed it when a frown marred his brow and he stopped.

He just stood there, a few feet away from me, holding my gaze captive. And then he whispered,

"You should stay away from me."

And with that, he turned and walked away.

***

A/N: From 0-10, 10 being the hottest, how would you rate Noah and Parker's hot o meter? Vote and best comment gets the next chapter dedicated to them :) Love, Isabelle