She placed the palm of her hand on my chest as she stared at me.
My throat started to close. A weight crushed my body until I felt like I was going to break. No. She looked at me with such adoration it made me feel physically sick.
“What’s up?” she asked, her voice so low I barely heard her.
Gulping, I replied, “Nothing.”
“There is. All of a sudden you tensed up and you’re looking at me like… Well, I don’t know what like.”
“Nothing is wrong, I just really love you, Scarlett.”
It was her turn to get emotional. “I just really love you, too.”
I kissed her. “Right.”
Biting her lip, she did a surveillance of our surroundings. “I want to be with you, Noah. Today.”
My body went rigid. I wasn’t supposed to do that. Would it be so wrong to give us that? After what we would both have to sacrifice very soon, was it wrong to want something perfect first?
“Tonight,” I repeated and kissed her. She pulled back smiling and tucked herself into my side.
She loved me, trusted me, and I was about to throw her to the lions.
Scarlett
I FELT A RUSH of adrenaline as we got off the bus at the port. It was a long, four and a half hour drive, and now we had a three and a half hours ferry ride, but I didn’t care because we were free until tomorrow morning.
Imogen was covering for me if my mum called her. Noah said he’d asked Chris to do the same for him. Neither of them knew where we were, we’d just told them we were spending time together and they had to cover.
Im was too busy telling me all about how I was going to lose my virginity to bother with any other details anyway. Little did she know that I’d lost it on Wednesday. It was perfect, Noah was perfect, and I felt even closer to him than I did before.
Mum didn’t take long before she’d agreed to let me stay at Imogen’s for the night, but they never did. I was pretty sure they’d be glad to have me out of the house. Dad had said the space would do us good and he was right. We needed to not be under each other’s feet for a day and then maybe when I went home tomorrow we could talk and sort everything out. I was ready for things to be normal with them now.
We’d get the ferry back at two in the morning and be home by eleven when I could claim to have come from Im’s. It was going to be a long two days, but I needed to get away for a while and spending time with Noah – alone time – was a bonus.
Noah had our passports – I’d snuck mine out of the drawer last night – and led us through the port. It was obvious he’d done this quite a few times before; he knew exactly where to go. It didn’t take long and we were soon sitting in the café. After a long drive, I needed a coffee. Noah had green tea. I had no idea how he coped without caffeine.
“You okay?” I asked.
He stared at his mug and nodded. “I’m fine, just tired.”
“Me, too. Are you excited to see your aunt again?” It wasn’t that long ago he was there but this time he was bringing his girlfriend home, it was a lot different.
Smiling, he nodded and sipped his tea. “I am. You excited to meet her?”
“Excited and nervous. You’re sure she won’t call your parents?”
“Everyone will love you. I promise. And no, she won’t. I’ll get told to never go behind their back again, but she will be fine.”
“Wait, everyone? Wow, how many people am I meeting?”
“Just a few cousins and my aunt’s boyfriend. They are all nice, so you’ll be fine. She can’t wait to see you.”
“You told her much about me?”
“Maybe.”
“Like what?”
“Like how amazing you are and how much I love you.”
Yeah, that’d do. I grinned and was pretty sure I blushed as well. Noah was so sweet. Some of the lads at school would never say things like that to their girlfriends in front of people. Noah said it no matter who was around.
We got off the ferry and were officially in Ireland. If my parents found out, they were going to freak and probably ground me until I was thirty. “We’ll definitely be home in time, right?”
He nodded, not meeting my eye. The closer we got to Ireland the more distant he’d become. He’d usually hold my hand, but he’d dropped that an hour into the ferry ride.
“You okay?” I asked.
“Let’s get a taxi,” he said, taking my hand and ignoring my question.
Frowning, I followed. Something wasn’t right. He was never off with me, and I was worried he was having second thoughts about me meeting his aunt. Maybe it was a too big a step for him, and he hadn’t realised until now?
“Noah, have you changed your mind? If you’re not sure about this, we can do it another time. I don’t mind.”
Shaking his head, he opened the back door of a black taxi. “Get in, babe.”