The Thing About Three

chapter seventeen | dallas or noah

AFTER THE FIREMEN said it was alright for us to go back inside and resume our work, I spent the rest of my shift thrumming with excitement behind my desk, greeting what few customers we had with a genuine bright smile and chipper personality that I usually faked when dealing with people.

Because Noah and I were going on a date.

I was all too eager to leave when my shift was over, so quick to grab my things that I almost forgot to tell Dallas I was leaving like I always did.

I popped my head into his office when I remembered, smiling when he locked eyes with me, but my smile faltered when I saw the strain on his face, the redness to his eyes.

He looked stressed.

I stepped into his office, my smile dropping. "Are you okay, Dal?"

He gave me a forced smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired of dealing with paperwork and stuff." He sighed, his eyes roaming over me, catching on my jacket and purse. "You leaving?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I was just coming to tell you bye, but if you need to talk about anything, you know you can always talk to me."

His eyes went back to mine, and he leaned forward to shut off his computer before standing up from his desk. "I'm thinking about blasting music and taking a long drive to clear my head. Wanna come? We can pick up something to eat if you're hungry." He seemed hopeful, with a small smile on his lips.

"Um, I . . ." I hesitated, because I wasn't sure what to say. I felt torn down the middle, because I wanted to accept his proposal just as much as I wanted to go on my date with Noah.

Dallas noticed my hesitation, his smile dropping. "Hey, you don't have to if you don't want to," he rushed to say. "Really, it's okay."

I didn't have the heart in me to deny him. And I mean I literally didn't have the heart in me, because I'd given that to him a long time ago. So, I smiled and said yes, all while preparing an excuse in the back of my head to feed to Noah.

"Great," he grinned. "Let me get some things squared away and then I'll meet you at my car, yeah?"

I nodded and left as he turned to mess with the papers on his desk, my heart beating in my throat as I went out to the parking lot, spotting Noah walking to his car.

"Hey," he said when he saw me. "I was thinking we can go in my car. I got some new CDs I've been wanting to listen to, but I'll let you take first pick."

I felt awful when his smile lessened, eyebrows pinching in concern when he noticed my expression. "Uh, is everything alright?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, it's just that, um, something just came up," I explained, having a hard time maintaining eye contact with him. "Can we go for burgers another night? Maybe tomorrow or something?"

Noah's smile revived and he nodded his head. "Yeah, that sounds good," he told me. "But you owe me for rescheduling."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "I don't owe you crap."

"You owe me a kiss," Noah smirked, leaning forward. "I'll take that payment now, if you'd like."

I pushed him back by his chest, playfully rolling my eyes. "Not happening, Caraway—"

"Hey, Claire!" Bill called out from across the lot as he headed for his truck. "Dallas said you can go ahead and start up his car so that it'd be warm if you'd like."

I fought to suppress a displeased groan when I felt Noah's eyes on my face, but smiled at Bill despite it. "Uh, thanks, Bill. Have a good night."