17. Early Start
Chapter 17
Early Start
S unlight dances off little specks of dust in the air as my eyes blink open. I’m cocooned in Noah’s arms, his fingers splayed possessively across my chest and belly. His front pressed against my back provides that steady hum of electricity that I’ve come to crave.
His nose drags slowly along the back of my neck—achingly slowly—alighting every single nerve. They seem to converge in my core, an ache building in my lower half that grows with every second.
“I could get used to waking up to you.”
Shit. His just-woke-up voice is way too sexy for me to handle.
I really hope he doesn’t expect me to respond, because words—what are they?
Instead, I roll my hips, pressing back into his body. Hopefully that encourages less words and more touching.
His hands grip tighter, almost bruising, pulling me impossibly closer.
“And here I was trying to be sweet.”
Sweet. HA! He knows what he’s doing and it ain’t sweet. Right now he is the farthest damn thing from it.
My alarm chimes, pulling me out of the haze of want. Why in the hell did I set an alarm?
Laura. I promised Laura I’d meet her for breakfast. I can’t blow her off.
“As—” Gulp. He’s perfectly lined up with my ass, a slow grind that has me struggling to breathe. “As much as I’d love to continue this, I have to meet my sister Laura.”
“When?” he all but growls in my ear.
Where has dominant Noah been? Because I can absolutely get on board with this.
I clear the sleep from my throat. “Nine.”
I turn in his arms to find his eyes darting around the room, presumably looking for a clock or some indication of what time it is. It allows me a few seconds to absorb Morning Noah. The tousled brown locks are at prime messiness. Despite holding me all night, his hair tells a story of tossing and turning. His bushy eyebrows seem even larger—taking over his eyes, which are narrowed to block out as much sunlight as possible. Even so, his brown eyes sparkle in a way I’ve been unable to capture in the millions of times I’ve tried drawing them.
Right. I almost forgot that I’ve been drawing his eyes for months before meeting him, like a complete creeper. I hope those drawings are very deep in a drawer somewhere.
Noah finds his phone and tosses it toward the end of the bed. “Fuck, it’s after eight.”
I giggle at his annoyance.
He grins at me. “How did you sleep?”
“Perfectly. And yourself?” My hands crawl up his chest and up around his shoulders. If it were up to me, I’d stay right here forever.
“Better than I have in a long time.”
“I really should be getting ready. Laura will kill me if I’m late.” I make no move to get out of bed. My brain and my body are not on the same page.
“Probably,” he agrees, nosing my neck. “And then you have class, right?”
Damn. I forgot about classes today.
“Yep. What about you?”
“I’m going to focus on writing today. And then hopefully take my girl out to dinner so we can spend some more time together. If you’d like?”
More Noah time? I’m nodding before he finishes the question.
“Good. Let’s get out of bed, then. Don’t want you getting killed before I see you again.”
One adorable kiss later, I’m on the sidewalk waiting for Laura. I’m wrapped up in a midnight-blue sweater and my favorite jeans. They’re basically threadbare at this point, but there’s no replicating how perfectly lived-in they are.
I can just barely smell Noah on my skin, and I want more. Maybe I’ll steal a hoodie or something. Anything to keep a small piece of him with me when I can’t see him.
“Hey!” Laura calls. I turn as she walks toward me. She’s wearing a sage-green long-sleeved crop top and tight, high-waisted jeans. It’s showing off her abs and perfect boobs.
“Hi!” Despite my jealousy at just how perfect she is, I missed the crap out of her. I pull her into a hug, the scent of her newest favorite perfume filling my nose. She changes scents just as often as she changes clothes and I’ve lost the will to try and keep track.
Despite the closeness, her shoulders are stiff. She doesn’t fully surrender to the hug.
She pulls back; her eyes trail me from head to toe. “Did you spend the night with Noah?”
Bloodhound. A freakin’ magical bloodhound.
“He slept over,” I admit. There’s no point in lying, she’ll sniff it out. “But nothing happened.”
“I believe you. Let’s go. You can tell me about it when we sit down.” She reaches for my hand, and we link fingers to walk to the restaurant.
Early Start Diner is right across the street from Grandma’s shop and it’s our favorite breakfast place. It’s an open room, a counter with bar stools separating the dining area from the kitchen. It’s surprisingly rustic—like we’re sitting in a country house kitchen waiting for our entire family to eat breakfast together.
We’re seated at a table by the window, looking out at the village gazebo and Grandma’s shop. The sunlight streams in, lighting up the wooden table and reflecting off the glass cups.
“So he slept over and you didn’t fuck him? Whose decision was that?” Laura asks when the waitress leaves with our orders.
I’m so unused to being the one in the hot seat. Laura is usually the one with the boyfriend, and I’m asking the questions. “I’m pretty sure you didn’t invite me to lunch to talk about my lack of sex.”
“Excuse me for trying to bond first.” Something is happening in that head of hers and I still don’t know if she’s ready to share.
“I’m sorry,” I say. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing!” She snaps, refusing to meet my gaze. She picks at her nails instead.
I lift a brow at her, giving her the I don’t believe you face.
She exhales. “Things have been different since you left. I just wanted to spend some time with you.”
I’ve been so focused on me and figuring out my shit that I’ve left Laura in the dust.
I’ve always prioritized her, and while I need to get a better balance on that, I can’t abandon her in the process.
Having a life is hard.
“I know, and I’m sorry for that. I want to spend time with you, too.” I reach my hand out, but she doesn’t take it.
“So, uh.” She takes a sip of orange juice. “Why didn’t you fuck him?”
“Laura!”
“What?!”
At least she’s acting more like herself. That doesn’t mean I want to talk about sex with her though. “Did you check out Salem? The witchy app store?”
“Duh.” She gives a skeptical squint in that I-know-what-you’re-trying-to-do-and-I’ll-allow-it-for-now way. “There’s two dating apps I found. Meow and Lock & Key. Meow seems to be more hook-up based, while Lock & Key is more serious.”
I would bet the whole ten dollars in my bank account that she’s only on Meow.
She flips her blonde hair over her shoulder. “I’m on Meow, of course.”
Knew it.
“Any viable candidates?” I ask.
Before she can answer, a beautiful blueberry lemon muffin, scrambled eggs, and a bowl of fruit are placed in front of me by the server. I am in heaven. The waitress also places a fruit bowl and cinnamon sugar oatmeal in front of Laura.
“Turns out that, magical or not, dating is a mess. Lots of fuckboys, but considering I’m not looking for a husband I don’t really care.”
I nod, stuffing egg in my mouth.
“Hazel?” Her voice is doing that scared thing that I really hate.
“Yeah?”
Her eyes flicker between mine—looking for what, I don’t know. She doesn’t seem to find it as she just shakes her head.
“Never mind,” she whispers and goes back to her oatmeal.
I wish things weren’t so weird between us.
I’m determined to figure out why. I will fix this.