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Chapter Fourteen

I didn't see Noah around the next day. Or the day after that.

I wish I knew his timetable, I thought to myself, before quickly chastising my inner stalker for being such a desperate shit.

I only had one lecture on Thursday, thankfully. As I boarded the bus and found a window seat on the top deck, my eyes were drawn instinctively down to the row of houses below. Taking the steps two at a time, I saw a familiar head of messy blonde hair leaving a pretty white brick cottage with Wisteria around the door. Turning around to grin widely, I watched Noah raise a hand in acknowledgment at the black-haired woman in a silky robe closing the door behind him.

As though the driver could telepathically sense my urge to get out of there quickly, the bus slowly began to pull away. Shielding my face behind my hand, I took one more sneaky glance downwards just in time to see Noah throwing his hands up in the air and cursing at the driver for not waiting.

Had he seen me get on board? Was he rushing to catch up with me? Had he been staying the night at his secret friend's house again?

My mind was swimming with questions but I did my best to try and ignore them as the bus trundled along the forty-minute journey to uni. Whatever his big secret was, whatever he chose to do with his life, it wasn't my place to care.

He's just too much, I thought to myself. He warned you he's a bad person and he clearly wasn't lying about something for once, so enough now, Abi. Enough.

I couldn't concentrate on anything the guest music tech lecturer was saying for the entire two hours we were sat there. All I could think of was whether Noah was somewhere in the auditorium. It was a mixed discipline class, so maybe he was. Or maybe he'd decided to just head back into whoever's home it was I saw him leaving and fill his afternoon with a different activity.

As I packed my stuff away into my red leather satchel I kept my eyes firmly fixed on the floor and prayed I would get lost in the swarm of student. If Noah was there somewhere, I'd rather he didn't see me.

Instead, it was me that saw him first. Lounging on the large couches in the reception area with his three bandmates. His eyes darted over to meet mine as I walked quickly past, no emotion whatsoever registering on his face.

Avoiding his stare, I headed straight out to the street and didn't look back all the way to the bus stop. It wouldn't have made a difference anyway. After waiting five minutes for my bus home to arrive, it was clear he hadn't run after me.

By the time I got back to the flat, Charlotte was loading the dishwasher and Kris was sprawled across the sofa flicking through the channels. He was dressed in royal blue silk pyjamas - yes, silk - and I couldn't help smiling at his admirable disregard for what anyone else might think of his fashion tastes.

"Making yourself at home, as usual?" I teased.

"Thinking of moving in, actually," he called back at me, grinning. "Couple of beautiful women to look after me, the cleaning done while I watch TV, all the bath products in the world to choose from, why the hell not?"

Yelling out from the kitchen over the clatter of dishes, Charlotte joined in."Yeah he's taking your rooms Abs. You're good on the sofa from now on, right?"

Normally I would have carried on the joke, but I didn't feel like it today. Instead, I dropped my satchel and my favourite faux fur jacket onto the floor of the hallway, walked over to the living room, raised one of Kris's silk-covered arms and curled up under it without saying a word.

"Abi bear, what's the matter?" he asked softly, raising my face towards him with his perfectly manicured fingers.

"Men are dicks," I replied bluntly.