Chapter 34
THIRTY-FOUR
NOAH
Ipull up outside of Gracie’s building and text her to let her know I’m here.
I have no idea why I’m here, since all I know is that she texted me last night saying she needed me to pick her up at eleven and for me to make sure I had the day free.
It’s fair to say that I cancelled my plans with the guys, apologized to Logan about not being able to make it to the game since I had to head home for the day and then evaded their questions as to why.
It’s fair for them to be confused, since I don’t even go home for the holidays usually, so why would I go home on a random Saturday during the school year?
It makes no sense at all, but it was the best I could come up with since I’m not sure if Gracie wants the guys to know that we’re going… wherever the hell were going.
I tried pressing her for more information, but she evaded the question every time, so I decided to just go with it.
What would their reaction be if they knew just how much time I’d been spending with Gracie?
Nothing good, probably, especially Cole.
He’d lose his mind if he knew what I’d been doing, though at this point I know there’s no going back.
Besides, wouldn’t he rather Gracie be with me, a guy he trusts and knows won’t break her heart, than some random asshole who he knows nothing about?
It’s pretty clear which one would be the better choice.
All thoughts of Cole leave my mind as Gracie steps out of her building and bounds over to the car with a wide smile on her face.
“Hey there, little one,” I say as she gets in and closes the door behind her. I side eye her as she puts on her seat belt. “Where are we going?”
She grins and inputs a destination into the navigation system. I don’t recognize it but at this point I’m along for the ride, so I just shrug and start driving. Gracie connects her phone and starts playing music and I listen intently as she starts to sing along.
We haven’t talked about what happened a couple of days ago in her dorm, and I’m not sure if she’s just decided to completely forget all about dry humping me on her sofa or if the conversation will come later.
For now, I’m just happy to go along with whatever she wants and see where the day takes us.
I’m still living in a mild bubble of disbelief that it actually happened and yeah, she may have basically kicked me out of the door right after it, but I’m calling it progress.
Thirty minutes later, we pull up outside of a public ice rink in the next town over and I turn to Gracie with a brow raised.
She shrugs. “We used to skate all the time when we were younger, especially in the winter. I thought it might be fun, is this okay?”
Is it okay that she basically planned a date for us? Fuck yeah, it is.
A slow smile spreads across my face. “More than.”
It’s true that we used to skate a lot when we were younger.
I used to be on the hockey team with Logan during freshman and sophomore year of high school before I eventually decided to move onto something else, but the four of us would always help him practice and some of my best memories are of Gracie skating with us.
“When was the last time you were on the ice?” I ask as we head towards the reception area.
She huffs. “It’s been years since I’ve skated, so let’s hope I still remember how.”
It’s not as busy as I thought it would be for a Saturday during general admission, but there’s still a fair few people on the ice. My skates are laced up before Gracie has even gotten one on, so I kneel in front of her to give her a hand.
“I could have done it,” she grumbles and fuck, she’s cute.
“I know.”
Once they’re done, I stand and hold out my hand to help her up. She takes it and stands with a wobble. Once she seems to have her balance, I go to let her hand go but she squeezes it tightly and pulls on my arm.
“Come on, Noah. I missed this,” she says, and I can’t take my eyes off of her as she pulls me along.
I head onto the ice first and get my bearings before turning back to Gracie, only to find her still standing outside the rink.
“You coming?”
She worries her bottom lip before slowly stepping on and I take her hands in mine before skating backwards a little.
“Good?”
She grins, and it lights up her entire face. “I’m good.”
She lets go of my hands and then she’s off, leaving me to trail after her. She’s unsure at first but quickly gains confidence, and I love seeing her like this—so goddamn free.
After a while, she starts to slow down, and we end up skating around the outside of the rink side by side.
“So, what made you want to come here today?” I ask and she shrugs.
“I’ve been wanting to come for a while, and I woke up this morning and realized I had nothing else to do so I thought, why not?”
I nod slowly. “Why with me and not one of your friends?”’
A mischievous grin spreads across her face. “Well, I made you orgasm, Noah. The least I could do was take you out.”
My mind blanks as the realization that she actually intended for this to be a date sinks in, but she’s gone before I can reply, flying across to the other side of the rink before stepping out and leaving me to stare at her in awe.
Fuck, I love that girl.
“So… are we going to talk about it, or just pretend none of it happened? But if we’re pretending it never happened, then what was today all about?” I blurt out before stuffing a fry into my mouth and wishing the floor would open up and swallow me whole.
All this time, I’ve managed to keep my composure in check, yet one planned date by Gracie has me unraveling.
Fuck my life.
And this is a date.
It has to be.
What other explanation could there be for us going ice skating and then out to her favorite diner? We’ve spent time together and ate together as friends, sure. But we’ve never done anything like this.
At least, never prompted by her.
“Talk about what?” Gracie asks with a raised brow, and I stare, confused.
What is her game?
Is she in denial about what happened, or does she just want me to say the words?
Fine, if that’s what she wants, then that’s what we’ll do.
“About the fact that we got each other off? Or how about the fact that today feels a whole lot like a date?”
She takes a sip of her soda and gazes at me with the glass still pressed to her lips.
It takes agonizingly long for her to say something, but what she does say shocks the shit out of me.
“It was meant to be a date. That is, as long as you want it to be?”
Is this real life?
Maybe I fell while skating and hit my head and I’m now either in a coma or dead.
I blink at her, then blink again, at a loss for words and she must pick up on it, because starts talking again.
“It’s just… we’ve gotten so close lately, and I’m really grateful for everything you’ve been doing for me.
I have no idea how I would have gotten through these last few weeks without you.
” Her hand reaches over the table and grabs on to mine, squeezing.
“I just really love spending time with you, and really want to see if this could be something, you know? Because I really feel like it could be something.”
Dead.
I’m dead.
What the fucking fuck.
Is it possible to Stockholm Syndrome someone without kidnapping them? Is that a thing?
I feel like it’s definitely a thing.
And it’s what’s happening right now.
I thought it would take more time.
I figured she’d struggle to come to terms with everything.
Never in my damn life did I think that this would happen.
She… she actually thinks this is her idea.
Oh, this is fucking brilliant.
“What about Cole?” I ask, since that’s what sensible Noah would ask… I think.
My brain’s kinda on the fritz right now, rendering me unable to think clearly.
She huffs. “What about him? I know he has the whole overprotective big brother thing down pat, but do you really think he would come between us if he knew I was happy? Besides, we don’t even know if we could work, there’s no harm in keeping him in the dark while we give it a try, is there?”
“Well, when you put it like that…” I murmur and take a deep breath, putting on the show of my goddamn life right now. “Okay, yeah. I think maybe we should give it a try.”
I deserve some sort of award for my acting skills, Jesus Christ.
Gracie gives me a sweet smile that has my entire being humming to life before taking a bite of her food, and I grin.
Oh yeah, she’s definitely halfway in love with me.