Chapter Thirteen: 2/2 

Noah:

I was feeling frustrated.

At all of this, at everything. At her.

“You believe that?” she asked.

The tips of my fingers ached.

“Yes,” I said, “It’s silly.”

I didn’t want to say I did, because most people think this whole thing is absurd. What is so wrong with thinking there is one person out there for you?

She shook her head.

“That I am your soul mate?”

I felt like I knew how she would react once I said it, but I didn’t care.

“What is so wrong with that?”

“Nothing,” she said.

What?

I felt guilty.

“Do you believe in soul mates?” I asked her.

“I don’t know,” she said, “But I want to.”

I guess it made sense. I was raised with this belief.

“And you just know it?” she asked, “Even without having to speak to me?”

“I don’t understand how it works,” I admitted, “But I know it does.”

“Is that your way of telling me I’m pretty?” she asked playfully.

If I didn’t know any better, I would say my heart fluttered.

“You shouldn’t need anyone to tell you that you’re beautiful,” I stated.

I could see the flush of her cheeks.

It could just be me, but her scent is getting stronger.

“I’ll tell you, though,” I said, “The second I walked in and laid eyes on you, I thought you looked stunning.”

The red in her cheeks increased.

I felt it when she grinned at me.

“Then, it’s only fair that I tell you what I thought when I first saw you walk in.”

My heart pounded at her words.

“One,” she said, “You look phenomenal in that shirt.”

I silently thanked Eileen.

“Two,” she said.

“There’s a two?” I asked playfully.

“Two,” she said louder, “You are like, ridiculously hot.”

That made me pause.

“What?” I asked.

“Don’t act so surprised,” she said, “You are.”

So, this whole thing wasn’t one-sided, after all.

I felt myself smiling like an idiot.

Pain went through my jaw, and it was hard to enjoy our conversation with this much of a distraction.

I had to close my eyes so that I could concentrate on blocking out the pain

My jaw ached, and it felt like needles were pricking my arms and legs.

“Noah,” she said in a whisper.

My body shook. Just being close to her was painful. It was difficult to explain how, but the pain from her close proximity was mixed with pleasure.

“Shay,” I said back to her, just as quiet.

She let out a small sound.

My eyes opened quickly to see her covering her mouth to stifle a laugh.

“What’s so funny?” I asked, feeling the pain in my extremities start to fade.

Her hand dropped quickly to reveal a dazzling smile.

“It’s nothing,” she said, meeting my gaze, “You were just making a cute face.”

I felt myself frown, “Cute?”

She nodded at me with her face dead serious.

I had to glance away from her. I didn’t mind that she called me cute, but I felt a strange sensation in my stomach.

She let out a laugh, and the feeling only got worse.

Why did the expression ‘having butterflies’ come to mind?

Shay:

He sat across from me with his eyes closed. It looks like he is pain.

His lower lip quivered.

“Noah,” I said, wanting to run my thumb over his shaking lip.

His brows furrowed, and more than anything, I wanted to reach over this small table between us and embrace him.

“Shay,” he whispered.

Damn, this boy made me nervous.

The only thing my brain would let me do was have a very inappropriate response.

My hand came up quickly with the hope of being able to cover my mouth, to muffle my laugh.

His eyes opened quickly to meet mine.

He looked startled by the sound.

“What’s so funny?” he asked with a small smile on his face.

I dropped my hand to grin at him.

“It’s nothing,” I said, keeping eye contact, “You were just making a cute face.”

He frowned a little, “Cute?”

I nodded seriously.

He looked away, and I swear I could see the color increase in his cheeks.

I nervously let out another laugh.

This is not what I was expecting.

He is beautiful, and from his reaction, genuine.

It felt like I just completely lost my shit after he brought up me being his soul mate.

How nuts is that?

He didn’t even know me.

A small part of me didn’t care. I felt something between us from the beginning.

Maybe that’s what this was.

“We might want to call it a day,” Baird said.

I looked over at him, “Why?”

“It is four-thirty,” he said, “Noah needs to get ready for work soon.”

So, it is possible for him to have a regular job?

“Do not ask him,” Baird said, “Or else he will have to quit.”

I nodded slowly.

“You’re nineteen,” Noah said, “You wouldn’t be allowed in anyway.”

Baird shot him a warning look.

“She didn’t ask,” he said.

“Can we hug?” I asked a little awkwardly.

“I advise against it,” Baird said.

“I would like to hug,” Noah said.

He pushed his chair back as he got to his feet.

My heart sped up as he moved around the table.

“Noah,” Baird warned.

“You can use the numbers,” Noah said.

I scooted my chair back a little, so I could stand up too.

Noah stood there with his arms bent at his elbows, open and waiting for me.

My stomach dipped as I turned and walked right into his arms.

His arms wrapped around me, and I didn’t hesitate to wrap my arms all the way around him.

He is warm and firm.

He smelled fantastic.

Noah let go, and he took a step back.

“Is everything alright?” I asked.

He nodded.

Baird stood up and waited by the door for me.

“When do we get to meet again?” I asked.

“That has yet to be determined,” Baird stated.

“What does that mean?” I asked.

“It means he needs to look over the data and report how our meeting went, before he can schedule another one,” Noah said.

“Oh,” I said, “Okay.”

I was worried there for a minute.

“I will let you know when the next meeting will be,” Baird said, “I will ask you both, and then we will go from there.”

I nodded.

Baird opened the door, cutting my time with Noah short.

I turned to look at Noah, and I couldn’t help but smile at him.

“Until next time then,” he said with a half-smile.

“Yeah,” I said, “See you then.”

He didn’t move, he waited for me to go first.

I followed Baird out of the room.

The second I heard the door shut behind me, I already felt like something was missing.