Chapter 71 Running into him.

Chapter 71 Running into him.
Laramie:

I made my way down the front steps of the faculty building so fast after my fight with Ethan that I barely even noticed the person in front of me coming up the steps.

As angry, disappointed tears streaked down my cheeks and blurred my vision, I ran straight into the person in front of me, nearly knocking both of us to the ground. Luckily, my unwilling victim was paying more attention than I was and managed to steady himself just as he grabbed onto my elbows, keeping me from falling forward as well.

"Shit. I'm so sorry..." I began but swallowed my words when I was finally able to make out the face in front of me.

It was Noah. In all his boyishly handsome glory.

His eyes sparkled bright as a smile started to form around his beautiful mouth.

"Laramie."

But the smile faded as soon as he realized that I was crying.

He took one glance at the building behind me. His jaw clenched and his shoulders went utterly rigid as his mind worked to put two and two together.

"What happened? Did that bastard put his hands on you again, Laramie?"

Noah's voice was low, but had an icy chill to them that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

"I swear to god, I'm going to kill him with my bare hands."

Noah stepped around me - a look of pure determination in his eyes.

I managed to grab a hold of his arm just in time to stop him.

"Noah, no. It's nothing like that. Please. We just had a fight. That's all."

Noah relaxed slightly as he turned to face me again. I could tell that he was furious but also concerned about me. His features softened slightly as he took a step toward me.

"I hate that he makes you cry, Laramie. You deserve better."

All I could do was give him a tiny, pathetic smile. Maybe he was right. Maybe I did deserve better. Maybe I was a fool for sticking with Ethan after everything that had happened.

But all couples fight. All couples have disagreements. Everybody loses their temper from time to time.

Maybe I was just being too hard on Ethan. Maybe I was just enjoying feeling sorry for myself a little too much. Maybe I was being immature about the whole thing.

"What were you guys fighting about?"

It took me a second to realize what Noah was asking.

"About my fight with Zoey. I told him what happened. He wasn't too happy about it."

Noah nodded his head slowly. "Yeah. I bet."

"I also told him that you know about us. I told him that you figured it out."

Noah exhaled sharply through his nose.

"I bet he wasn't too happy about that either."

"No, he wasn't. He blamed me for all of it. Told me that I never should have been so careless with the truth.

"What a dick."

I felt a little offended over Noah's remark. I felt like I had to at least defend Ethan to him. Noah wasn't there. He didn't hear the entire argument. What Noah was hearing from me was out of context and only my point of view.

"He was angry, Noah. And scared."

"Scared." Noah snorted. "Scared of what exactly?"

"That you might tell your mother about our relationship. That he might lose his job and that his reputation might be ruined."

"But not scared that he might lose you in the process. What a classy guy, Laramie."

I purposefully ignored Noah's remark. I didn't like the way it stung, and I liked even less the fact that in the back of my mind I knew that there was some truth to it."

"I promised him that you wouldn't. I told him that you're my friend and that you would never do anything to hurt me. I told him that I trust you."

Noah didn't answer. He had no snappy comeback. Instead, he just stared at me with a strange look in his eyes.

The silence stretched on between us for a while after that. I began to feel a little uncomfortable for reason that I did not care to explore.

I finally spoke when I just couldn't take it anymore.

"I was right to tell him that. Wasn't I, Noah? You are my friend, and I can trust you. You haven't told anyone, have you?"

Noah looked at me so intently that for a second, I thought he wasn't going to answer.

But then, he stepped toward me, leaving only a breath of space between us. He slowly reached up his hand and tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. He let his hand linger for moment. His eyes drifted over my face slowly before finally settling on my mouth.

My pulse stuttered slightly as a delicious warmth filled me from top to bottom. A careless thought flickered in the back of mind: I never wanted Noah to stop looking at me like that - I never wanted anyone but him to look at me like that again.

When he spoke again, his voice was gruff and weighted with emotion.

"No, Laramie. I haven't told anyone and I'm not going to either."

A wave of relief crashed over me.

"But not because I'm your friend, Laramie. And not because I want to do him any kind of favour."

My mouth suddenly felt very dry. I licked my lips slowly, only to notice that Noah was still staring at them.

"Then why?"

I asked the question with a hint of hesitation in my voice because a part of me already knew what the answer was going to be.

Noah took another step toward me. I had to crane my neck to look at him.

"Because I love you, Laramie. I think I loved you from the first moment that I saw you."

"Noah..." I breathed.

But before I could object, Noah's lips were on mine. It wasn't a passionate kiss - it wasn't demanding or possessive. Instead, his kiss was light as a feather and full of promise.

"I know that you're with Ethan and I know that you think that you love him. But I also know that whatever you have with him isn't real. And I'm willing to wait for you, Laramie. No matter how long it takes."

I opened my mouth to speak, but Noah just gave me one of his dashing smiles and walked away.

I was still stunned beyond silence when something caught my attention. I looked up to see Ethan staring at me through his office window.

He did not look happy at all.