finds Noah's confused hazel one for a split second before I mumble in the direction of the floor. “I—I mean Sam’s my brother.”
Noah finally rises cautiously to his feet and I recognize once again just how tall he is. Strangely, though, in this setting, with Sam by my side and Kyle and Kaleb nearby, Noah's immense size doesn’t fill me with terror, not even with my usual wariness. Here, it’s just nice to see another friendly face, even one I’ve just whipped soundly in a race. He moves closer and slowly extends his hand to Sam. “It’s very nice to meet you, Sam,” he says.
“It’s nice to put a face to the name,” Sam concedes as he shakes Noah's hand firmly.
Noah flashes me a cheeky grin. “You’ve been talking about me?”
I don’t know what comes over me besides the heat of a blush, but I roll my eyes and say, “I might have mentioned that you keep bugging me on my breaks.”
Noah laughs delightedly, while Sam simply stares at me in shock, surprised, I suppose, that I would talk to a relative stranger that way. “I’ll take any win I can get,” Noah says and I know he’s talking about more than the race.
“Listen,” Sam says, “Avery and I were about to go get another hotdog. Would you like to join us?”
I turn surprised eyes to my brother, who merely smiles down at me like it’s the most natural request in the world, and maybe it is—in someone else’s world, but not mine.
Noah seems to sense my mood again. “I’d love to, but that was my last race. I really need to get going. Maybe a rain check?”
“Absolutely,” Sam says, extending his hand again. “It was very interesting meeting you, Noah. I look forward to seeing you again.”
Noah grasps Sam’s hand. “Likewise, Sam. Take good care of our friend here. See ya, champ.” He lightly tousles my slightly damp hair, the very first time he’s ever touched me. My scalp tingles where his big hand touched it and I gasp, not in fear, but in complete surprise. With a quick nod in my direction, Noah turns on his heel and departs. I can’t stop watching him walk away. It’s like the sway of that perfect butt has me hypnotized.
“Earth to Avery.”
“Huh?” I tear my gaze away from Noah's behind just as he rounds a corner out of sight and focus again on Sam, or try to. My mind keeps replaying Noah's retreat in vivid color.
“ That is the guy you were all worried about a while ago?”
I frown, trying to follow the question. My scalp still tingles from Noah's touch, so I run my hand through my long, dark hair to fix that. “Oh. Yeah.”
Sam looks down at me, a mysterious tilt to one side of his mouth. “Interesting.” He nods in the direction of the food court. “Why don’t you go get us some food and I’ll meet you there in a bit. I want to have a quick word with Kaleb.”
A few minutes later Sam straddles the stool across the table from me. I push his hotdog and fries at him without looking up. “I don’t think you have to worry about Noah. I think he’s one of the good guys.”
Startled out of my thought of Noah, I gape at him. “You can tell that from five seconds of conversation?”
Sam laughs. “I’m a cop. It’s what I do. Actually, I asked Kaleb about him. It seems they’ve known each other since they were little kids. They grew up across the street from each other. Kaleb considers him one of his best friends.”
“Oh.” I’m not sure what to make of this new information, but it surprises me that Noah knows the K’s. It shouldn’t; for all its population, this really is a small town. I roll my eyes again, desperate to change the topic of conversation. I never intended for Sam and Noah to meet. Now that they have, I want to erase him from Sam’s mind as quickly and completely as possible. “So after we eat, do you want to try winning a race in the arcade?”
“Geez. You’re relentless today!” Sam shakes his head in mock disgust but takes a big bite of his hotdog and I relax a little,
Noah finally rises cautiously to his feet and I recognize once again just how tall he is. Strangely, though, in this setting, with Sam by my side and Kyle and Kaleb nearby, Noah's immense size doesn’t fill me with terror, not even with my usual wariness. Here, it’s just nice to see another friendly face, even one I’ve just whipped soundly in a race. He moves closer and slowly extends his hand to Sam. “It’s very nice to meet you, Sam,” he says.
“It’s nice to put a face to the name,” Sam concedes as he shakes Noah's hand firmly.
Noah flashes me a cheeky grin. “You’ve been talking about me?”
I don’t know what comes over me besides the heat of a blush, but I roll my eyes and say, “I might have mentioned that you keep bugging me on my breaks.”
Noah laughs delightedly, while Sam simply stares at me in shock, surprised, I suppose, that I would talk to a relative stranger that way. “I’ll take any win I can get,” Noah says and I know he’s talking about more than the race.
“Listen,” Sam says, “Avery and I were about to go get another hotdog. Would you like to join us?”
I turn surprised eyes to my brother, who merely smiles down at me like it’s the most natural request in the world, and maybe it is—in someone else’s world, but not mine.
Noah seems to sense my mood again. “I’d love to, but that was my last race. I really need to get going. Maybe a rain check?”
“Absolutely,” Sam says, extending his hand again. “It was very interesting meeting you, Noah. I look forward to seeing you again.”
Noah grasps Sam’s hand. “Likewise, Sam. Take good care of our friend here. See ya, champ.” He lightly tousles my slightly damp hair, the very first time he’s ever touched me. My scalp tingles where his big hand touched it and I gasp, not in fear, but in complete surprise. With a quick nod in my direction, Noah turns on his heel and departs. I can’t stop watching him walk away. It’s like the sway of that perfect butt has me hypnotized.
“Earth to Avery.”
“Huh?” I tear my gaze away from Noah's behind just as he rounds a corner out of sight and focus again on Sam, or try to. My mind keeps replaying Noah's retreat in vivid color.
“ That is the guy you were all worried about a while ago?”
I frown, trying to follow the question. My scalp still tingles from Noah's touch, so I run my hand through my long, dark hair to fix that. “Oh. Yeah.”
Sam looks down at me, a mysterious tilt to one side of his mouth. “Interesting.” He nods in the direction of the food court. “Why don’t you go get us some food and I’ll meet you there in a bit. I want to have a quick word with Kaleb.”
A few minutes later Sam straddles the stool across the table from me. I push his hotdog and fries at him without looking up. “I don’t think you have to worry about Noah. I think he’s one of the good guys.”
Startled out of my thought of Noah, I gape at him. “You can tell that from five seconds of conversation?”
Sam laughs. “I’m a cop. It’s what I do. Actually, I asked Kaleb about him. It seems they’ve known each other since they were little kids. They grew up across the street from each other. Kaleb considers him one of his best friends.”
“Oh.” I’m not sure what to make of this new information, but it surprises me that Noah knows the K’s. It shouldn’t; for all its population, this really is a small town. I roll my eyes again, desperate to change the topic of conversation. I never intended for Sam and Noah to meet. Now that they have, I want to erase him from Sam’s mind as quickly and completely as possible. “So after we eat, do you want to try winning a race in the arcade?”
“Geez. You’re relentless today!” Sam shakes his head in mock disgust but takes a big bite of his hotdog and I relax a little,
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