Are you mine?

Chapter 21

I'm worried sick. Tyler hasn't been picking up my calls or responding to any of the thousands of messages I left him. He didn't show up at school today, so I went over to his house to check in on him, because either he's going to some extreme lengths to avoid me, or something is actually wrong with him. He didn't answer the door, his mom did, and she said the reason for his absence was that he wasn't feeling well. She might buy that, but I don't. He's hiding, I know that for sure.

So he kissed me, big deal. It was a heat of the moment thing, and I get it. We just need to talk about it so we can work it out and move on, everything will go back to the way it was. Nothing has to change.

As I sit on the couch in my living room, staring at my phone hoping a notification from Tyler pops up, I look at the time and panic starts setting in. It's quarter to five, and I completely forgot about Noah.

He's coming here. And I look like this.

My hair is tangled, I haven't showered and I'm still wearing my school clothes. If I want to look presentable, I'll have to pull some magic tricks, real fast.

I run up the stairs and speed into my bathroom, taking what is probably the quickest shower of my life. I get out, brushing and drying my hair as fast as I can, and I go to my room to browse for a decent outfit. With not much time left, I settle for something basic, a white top under a light pink sweater, and denim shorts. A few minutes left on the clock, I apply some light concealer under my eyes and a coat of mascara on my lashes so that it looks like I at least got some sleep last night. Right as I'm finishing off with a spray of perfume, I hear the doorbell ring. Perfect timing.

I race down the stairs and reach for the doorknob with my heart in my throat. Straightening my back, I push my hair behind my shoulders and put my best smile on as I swing the door open. I find Noah resting one arm against the door frame, looking down at me with a seductive smirk.

"Why do you always pose like you're trying to be Danny in Grease?"

"Good afternoon to you too," he laughs, "Are you going to invite me in, or are we just going to stand here staring at each other? I'm good with either option" he flashes me a smile.

"Come in, Zuko." I say mocking him and dragging him into the house by his wrist. Once inside takes a look around the house.

"Nice place," he says.

"It's nothing compared to the Reed Mansion, but it's got walls and a roof, so it's enough for me."

"Don't be modest, this house is beautiful. Very homey."

I'm about to reply but I get distracted when I see there's something dangling from his hand.

"What's in the bag?" I ask.

"Show me where the kitchen is and I'll tell you." He winks.

I'm confused, but I do as he says, leading us down the hall to the kitchen. He sets the bag on the counter and I sit at the island behind him as he pulls out items from his mystery bag.

"What's all this?" I ask as he moves aside to give me a better view of what he brought.

"We're baking together," he smiles like a little kid "I thought it might be cute."

In front of me are the basic ingredients for any cake, flour, sugar, eggs, milk, Noah also brought a jar filled with rainbow sprinkles and a tub of pink frosting. "You're cute," I say jumping off my seat and I swear I can see a hint of blush on his cheeks. I pat myself on the back for that one. "Where do we start?" I ask with a smile.

"Okay, first we have to measure out the ingredients, and then get two big bowls, one for the dry mix and one for the wet mix..."

I already know how to bake a cake, I've done it a million times and I don't really need him to break it down for me. But I let him go on because I find the fact that he so obviously looked into how it's done, and that he's so invested in explaining it to me, totally adorable.

"You got that Mads?" he asks.

"What? Yeah, sure. I got it." I assure him nodding my head, having no idea what he just said.

"Cool, so you start with the wet ingredients and I'll take care of the dry." he divides our assignments.

"Okay, I'll preheat the oven first." I say, going over to turn it on, and then we get to work on our separate mixes.

Noah is 110% invested in making this the perfect cake, measuring everything with total precision, sifting the ingredients and following the instructions to a tee. As I whisk the wet ingredients together, he carefully incorporates the dry mix to make the batter.

"You want to do the honors?" he says, shaking a little bottle full of rainbow sprinkles.

"It would be my pleasure," I say smiling as he hands me the jar, and I proceed to drop all of its contents into the batter. What can I say? I love sprinkles. After that, we transfer the mix into a baking pan and I put it in the oven.

"It's frosting time!" Noah exclaims, making me chuckle at his goofiness.

I spoon the pink, sugary glaze out of its container, and bring it to my mouth for an unnecessary taste test. "You've got something on your face" Noah points.

"Where?" I ask, embarrassed.

"Right...there," he says putting a dollop of frosting on my nose with his finger.

I get closer and look up at him through my lashes. I wipe the frosting off my nose with my finger and wrap my lips around it to lick it off.

"Two can play at that game" I say, and just as I notice Noah's eyes darkening with lust I throw a handful of flour at him, turning his black shirt white. He stays still and quiet, and I immediately back away, realizing I may have gone a little bit too far.

"You're dead." He says launching after me, and a mix between a shriek and a laugh escapes my mouth as I start running away from him. Noah chases me around the kitchen and I try swerving to escape him, but he's way too fast and catches me in his arms with ease, throwing me over his shoulder. I'm laughing and screaming at the same time, kicking my legs as he carries me to the counter like I weigh nothing at all.

I see him grab a fistful of flour, and I can already tell what his intentions are. "No no no! Noah, please don't do it! I'm sorry" I beg, but it's no use. He mercilessly throws the flour on top of my head and tangles his hands in my hair to spread it around even more.

I kick and I shriek until he lets me go and sits me down on the counter, settling himself between my legs.

I'm slowly reaching out my hand for the bag of flour, planning my counterattack, when he grabs my wrist, stopping me from getting my revenge. "No more, we're even. Fair is fair. Truce?" he says, extending his hand.

"Fine" I roll my eyes, and reluctantly shake it. "You make it really hard for me to stay mad at you when you're looking at me like that, you know? I pout.

"Good", he says in a low, seductive tone, and uses our intertwined hands to pull me in for a kiss. I wrap my legs around his waist, pulling him closer, and I rest my extended arms on his shoulders.

Everytime we kiss, I feel a wave of relief washing over me; my body finally letting go of the tension that's been building up for god knows how long. It's the calm after the storm, not even two minutes ago we were running around, chasing each other like little children, and now we are just lost in a world of our own, completely at ease.

Our lips dance together and he runs his hands from my thighs, up my waist, and all the way to the back of my neck. I tangle my own in his soft locks, and then I trail downwards to trace the outline of his ear with my fingertips. Our bubble bursts when the oven timer dings, indicating that our cake is ready.

We laugh out loud at how our moment was interrupted, but we stay where we are, wanting to make it last a little longer. With our foreheads pressed together and looking into each other's eyes, Noah flashes me an innocent and genuine smile. His minty breath, fanning my face and I wonder,

How did we end up here?