CHAPTER FIFTEEN
AMBER HAD BARELY SLEPT.
Yet somehow, she didn’t feel it. She was wide awake, her nerves shot like she had been downing copious amounts of caffeine all night. Obviously the pep talk she had given herself before bed the night before hadn’t helped a bit. Amber had barely gotten ready in time to have breakfast, at least not without intensely staring at her lips in the mirror while applying gloss and then getting lost at the sight of her hair as she brushed it. Was it normal to have the memory of the greenhouse replaying in her mind on a constant loop?
It had barely been twenty-four hours and Amber felt like she was running crazy.
She’d even had to go back to her room after being so distracted at breakfast that she had spilled jam onto her uniform shirt and had to change it. The call of her name pulled her out of her head for the nth time that morning. Her mom stood at the dining room doorway in a red pantsuit that contrasted against her pale skin. Her makeup was done up perfectly, her neck adorned with a gorgeous necklace. The only thing that marred her flawless appearance was the frown that tugged down the corner of her lips.
“You’re running late. Should that be happening when your tests are next week?”
Amber picked her bag where it rested on the last step of the staircase. “I’m heading out. I needed to change my shirt.”
“Hmm.” Her mom’s chin tipped higher. “Remember what I said. No trouble at school. I won’t accept anything short of excellence this year.”
“I know, Mom.”
Her brows lifted, arms slowly crossing over her chest. “And ballet practice? Did you correct the mistakes I mentioned? You should be ready. After all, it’s not your first time performing this dance.”
“Practice is going well. The steps were easy to correct and I’m not having any trouble with it.” At the silence that followed, she smiled. “Can I go? I’m already late for school.”
Amber missed the narrowing of her mother’s gaze as she turned and headed for the front door. Mallory’s eyes followed her out into the morning light and stayed for several seconds after the door had closed behind her. Then slowly, her hands unfolded and she walked away.
Amber stepped out of her History class, her footsteps soundless amidst those of other students milling around the corridor. She waved to a group of cheerleaders who giggled and waved back. As she turned a corner, a boy and girl hurried up to her. Amber briefly recognized them from the Press club crew. They each held a flyer and asked her which caption she thought was better. Amber smiled and answered patiently then asked if they wanted to get the President’s opinion on it too.
Their answer shouldn’t have surprised her. Noah had quickly become well-known among the students and was always busy carrying out his duties and meeting with people. Apparently, they had already asked Noah and after giving his answer, he had suggested they run their questions by her since she had better knowledge on catchy captions.
A light blush coated her cheeks. Her mind once again, helpfully , reminded her of their little exchange the day before. She quickly waved the students goodbye and hurried off to her locker. It was almost lunch time and Amber needed to organize her papers and get ready to submit them to Mrs. Wilson. The teacher had reminded her last week that her time was running out. The midterms were right around the corner.
She dumped the notes she held into her locker as Evelyn appeared behind her in the locker mirror. Amber turned to tease her but the cheerful words died on the tip of her tongue. What was she about to say again? She had no idea because she couldn’t pull her eyes away from him. He stood there, staring back at her, looking more handsome than she had ever seen him. Maybe she needed to wipe her eyes. He had always been Noah, the annoying boy she squabbled with in the halls and liked to beat in their verbal sparring. So what had changed?
Oh right. A sly smirk curled onto his lips and for the life of her, Amber was helpless to do anything but trace it. Her brain upended in her head, her stomach went crazy doing backflips and somersaults. She had kissed those lips just yesterday. The reminder was not needed at that moment, not while she was blatantly staring at his lips.
“Do my good looks render you speechless, m’lady?”
She jerked, her eyes flying up to his. There was no way he hadn’t known where she was staring.
“Of course not,” she sputtered. “What good looks? I wouldn’t kiss you even if you were the last attractive person on earth.”
Oh. My. God. What did she just say? Amber cringed, wishing the aforementioned earth would drag her down to its depths and hide her there forever. It was either that or time needed to reverse itself. She didn’t exactly have the Superman capabilities to try the second option.
Noah seemed to be enjoying her mortification a little too much. He looked like he would burst out laughing at any moment. His dark eyes gleamed, his amusement clear. “You sure about that?”
Amber glared but she was too embarrassed for it to carry any full weight. Evelyn’s head swiveled as she peered at the two of them with a dumbfounded expression. Amber regretted her word vomit even more.
“What’s happening here? I know back and forth banter is kind of your thing but flirting is weird for you guys.”
If Amber turned any redder, she would probably explode. “Flirting? Why would Noah and I flirt with each other? It’s not like we like each other. I mean, we barely tolerate one another.”
She needed to shut up. Right now. Unfortunately, the command center had lost its connection to her mouth. Noah’s snicker dragged Amber’s eyes back to him.
“Really, m’lady? If that’s the case, I wouldn’t mind us ‘tolerating’ each other some more.”
Her jaw dropped and the jerk took the cue to laugh his heart out. Ugh! Amber clutched her books, slammed her locker and stormed away. His laughter echoed behind her, the eyes it had drawn following her as she walked away. Did that mean he had won that round? Could that even count as a round? They hadn’t even argued in weeks, not since striking a truce. Amber hated to admit that he had been right. Did they even tolerate each other anymore?
Since being paired, they had set aside their barbs and weapons and found a way to work together. They still teased each other, but they focused on putting the work into this deal, and walked side by side down the halls like normal people. She had met his mom for crying out loud. Evelyn and Emmett had accepted and befriended her, it felt like they had known each other for years. Yesterday they had opened up to each other. She had told him things about herself, spoken to him about her father when she had only ever mentioned him to Beverly before. Amber was also certain Noah didn’t go around telling everyone that he didn’t have a great father-son relationship with his dad.
That meant they weren’t enemies slash foes slash adversaries anymore.
They weren’t even frenemies.
Amber didn’t tolerate him. She liked his presence. Calm, steady, consistent. She enjoyed knowing he would always be there when she turned around. Well, when he wasn’t being a sarcastic jerk. But that didn’t mean she actually liked Noah. It didn’t have to mean anything. That kiss hadn’t meant anything either. Right?
Unbidden, her fingertips found her lips. If she closed her eyes for the slightest second, she could feel it. The gentle pressure of his lips, his hands tangled in her hair, his body pressed against hers. Everything resided in bright colors in her brain like a kaleidoscope on repeat.
“What was that back there?”
She jumped, her hand falling to her chest as Evelyn came up to her side. Her friend looked bewildered, her gaze heavy on Amber. “What? That? Oh, that was nothing.”
“Nothing? Seriously, Amber. It used to be arguments then over the past few weeks, it was teasing and now you guys are flirting? I mean, if this is some enemies to lovers thing…”
“We were never enemies.” Amber blinked in surprise as the words left her vehemently.
“Whatever it was. You could barely be in the same room with each other without glaring. All I’m saying is, I’d definitely be in support of whatever’s happening but some heads up would be nice.”
“No, there’s none of that.”
“Sure,” she dragged out skeptically. “I guess I didn’t just witness you eye-balling Noah, and you both didn’t share some secret joke about it. Tell me the truth.”
What was the truth at this point? Amber couldn’t wrap her head around it. What could she say to Evelyn when she had no answers herself?
“Do you like Noah?”
Amber stumbled over nothing, quickly righting herself. It was the tiniest slip up but Evelyn caught it immediately. Her eyes widened in time with her smile. For the second time in only a few minutes, another set of eyes settled on them, drawn in by Evelyn’s loud squeal. She didn’t seem to realize the attention but for Amber, despite thinking she had grown immune to the scrutiny and stares from the students over the years, she found herself wishing she could blend in with the lockers or turn invisible.
“You do like him!” Evelyn cheered, her voice high. “I knew it! What happened this weekend? Tell. Me. I want to know everything.”
“Shh, try toning it down a bit, Eve.” Amber pulled on her arm.
Evelyn ignored her, a sharp gasp escaping her. “Something did happen! Time to spill the beans, Amber. I’m dying over here and you don’t want me dead, do you? I thought you liked me. Aren’t we friends? Friends tell each other things, you know.”
Amber shook her head, her laughter shaking her shoulders. Evelyn kept puppy dog eyes on her, her lips pulled into a pout.
“They weren’t kidding about your guilt trip magic, were they?”
“If it’s working, then no. Don’t change the subject. Are you going to tell me or not?”
Amber turned away. “I wouldn’t even know what to tell you. I have no idea what’s going on, either. Noah and I may have stopped arguing but that doesn’t mean anything. It doesn’t mean I like him.” A wry laugh left her. “What does it even mean to like someone that way?”
Evelyn stilled, her brows furrowing. “What? Why would you ask that?”
Amber flushed at the question. “Because I don’t know how to tell when a person likes you and I’ve never been on a date?”
She had never even been kissed. Until yesterday, that is.
“How? Why not?” Evelyn’s dark ponytail whipped against her cheek. She’d gotten her green highlights removed last week. Amber sort of missed the look on her. “I refuse to believe that. You’re the most popular girl at our school. Someone had to have asked you out at least once.”
Amber lifted her shoulders in a shrug, feeling sheepish. Between putting ballet first and constantly leaving school for competitions, juggling school work and keeping up with her mom’s expectations for her, she hadn’t exactly had much time for dates. She’d hardly had time for her friends.
“Huh,” Evelyn grunted. She cleared the confusion on her face to answer Amber. “I can tell you what I know. I haven’t been on a ton of dates either so I’m not an expert.”
Evelyn crossed her arms at the elbows as they turned into a quieter corridor. Only a few students walked by, none of them paying her and Evelyn any attention. “I guess when you know you like someone, it could start slow or it could hit you fast,” Evelyn said. “You feel your heart race when he’s around. You feel nervous too, like your palms get all sweaty and you just feel itchy for no reason. But then you also feel excited, like you’re happy to be sharing that space or that moment with him and you want to stay in it. Together.”
She paused and wrinkled her nose. “It’s a crazy mix of emotions when you put it like that. You’d feel nice and happy when you think about that person. All fuzzy inside and the butterflies. Oh, you’d definitely feel the butterflies. I like to think there’s a feeling of warmth that naturally envelopes you when you’re around that person. You know?”
A smile quirked at Evelyn’s lips. Amber hadn’t noticed they had come to a stop, their arms unlinked. Her heart sped at Evelyn’s words, her mind pulling up Noah’s face and her heart… her heart was ticking off things on the checklist like it was a simple grocery list. Evelyn tilted her head and looked at Amber, her olive eyes bright.
“Do you feel that way when you’re around Noah?”