Two Weeks to Fall in Love

28. Two Weeks to Meet the Friends

Noah led me through the groups of people, hand firmly clasped in his. My heart hammered as the realization that we were alone together finally dawned on me. Well, alone in a huge crowd, at least.

"What's your drink?" he asked as we came to a stop in the kitchen.

"Beer?" I asked cautiously, looking around the kitchen and mentioning the first thing that came into view. Only, I didn't like beer so the fact that I asked for it seemed especially dumb. "Or, uh, a coke?"

"A beer or a coke?" Noah asked, one eyebrow raised playfully.

"A coke. If you have any." I cleared my throat and brushed a strand of hair behind my ear. Way to go, Sky.

"Yeah, sure, one coke coming up." Noah grinned at me before shuffling through the fridge. I should have told him any kind of juice would be fine. Or water. I drank water too. Water was good.

What if they didn't have coke? Or maybe they needed it for mixing some alcohol. My mind spun in circles until a red cup with dark fizzy liquid popped up in front of me.

"You okay?" he asked, tilting his head, amusement clear on his face.

"Oh, yeah, sorry, I just zoned out for a minute."

"Uh, I'm sorry about this... well, this. I swear it was supposed to be just a small party but apparently word got out and one person invited another and, yeah." Noah scratched his nape, eyes critically assessing all the tipsy people around him.

"I mean don't parties always kind of escalate like that?" I joked, bumping his shoulder with mine.

He just laughed and shook his head. "Honestly? Not really. At least not like this. Kinda feels like my sister just sent some mass invite over social–"

Suddenly he just froze mid-sentence, letting out a groan as he ran his hand down his face. "Shit, that's probably exactly what she did. Wouldn't be the first time she hid her Insta story from me."

His face creased, the concern so obvious I lost all sense of humor. The fact that he seemed so mature, to the point where he felt fictional, kind of made sense. After all, his sister seemed to be the wild child so maybe he had to keep the peace. Figuring out Noah Archer felt a lot like trying to assemble a rubrics cube. You think you know what you're doing, and it all makes sense but then something happens and your colors just don't seem to fit...

Among all of that, one big question surfaced. Where were his parents right now to make all of this okay?

"You gonna take this?" Noah grinned and looked down to the red cup in his hand. 

"Oh, uh, yes, thanks." I grabbed the cup and took a sip, finally feeling myself relax at least a bit.

Noah smiled at me and offered his hand again. "Wanna go chill outside a bit?"

It was as if he read my mind. I grinned back at him and took his hand, taking the initiative to lead this time. He chuckled behind me, probably amused by the fact that I was leading him through his own house, but I had spotted the wide-open balcony and the lit-up pool as soon as we passed by the living room. Honestly, it was kind of hard to miss.

This time, with my red cup in hand, feeling almost like I belonged, I actually studied the people we passed. Groups assembled. People talking about particular topics, then there was that group that played the newest FIFA game on the big screen in the living room, a group that was huddled on the biggest sofa close to an open window smoking. And while at first glance, it felt like cliques had formed, it only took a few seconds to notice how some people still mingled. Went from the window couch to the FIFA screen. Or left the FIFA screen to join the bar side talks.