Are you mine?

Chapter 32,

"Well, that wasn't at all what I had in mind for tonight." Noah says shutting the door to his bedroom.

"I'm sorry," I say, rubbing his shoulders as he sits down on the edge of his bed.

"You're sorry? I'm the one who should be," he sighs, running his long fingers through his hair. "I shouldn't have made you stay." he apologises with his head buried in his hands.

"Hey, look at me," I say, standing in front of him "I'm glad you did. I loved meeting your grandma, she's super sweet and made me feel like part of your family. You should be really thankful you have her, she loves you a lot. And don't tell your siblings, but if you ask me I'd say you're her favourite." I whisper in his ear, getting him to laugh.

He grabs the back of my thighs, playfully pulling me closer and I sit on top of him, straddling his lap. "Seriously, don't worry about it," I say pushing his hair back as he looks up at me, "This stuff happens, families fight, it's normal. It's going to take a lot more than that to scare me away from you." he smiles and gives me a little kiss before resting his forehead against my chest and letting out a breath.

"It's just, this is what it's like most of the time. The snarky comments, the digs, the insults. They never stop." he looks back up and puts a hand to my cheek. "I come with a lot of baggage Mads, and I fear that if you get involved with my family you'll see everything I'm trying to keep you away from. I'll always carry the weight of my past on my back, and I'm okay with that. But what I'm not okay with is making you feel like you have to carry it with me."

"Hey, have you seen these guns?" I say flexing my biceps, "I can lift that weight no problem" I attempt to make him laugh.

"I'm serious," he says with the softest voice and I cup his face.

"Me too," I assure him. "You don't have to 'protect' me from anything. Whatever it is you're keeping from me, I can handle it. You said you wanted me to let you in, and I did, but this is a two way street, and if this is going to work, you're going to have to do the same thing for me." I say, stroking his cheek with my thumb.

"I know, you're right. And I will, I'm working on it," he says, "But for tonight, I think that the show my mom and my sister gave you was enough of a look into my world. I'm sorry you had to see that." He looks down at his feet, seemingly embarrassed. My hands travel up his shoulders and to the back of his neck, as my fingers get tangled in his soft curls and I bring him in for a soft kiss.

"You need to stop apologizing," I pull away with a smile on my face, which he returns.

"Can I ask you a question?" I ask, changing the subject and trying to direct our conversation to the topic that's been swimming in my mind for the last few days. I'm anxious to talk about this with him, but I can't keep postponing it anymore.

"Anything," he replies as he pushes my hair behind my shoulder, his fingers wrapping lightly around my neck and his thumb brushing the outline of my jaw.

"What are we going to do about the senior trip?" I ask.

"What about it?"

"Well, we both know there's all this hype around it, and that people want to let loose and be free during the trip, so I just wanted to know your thoughts on it. I don't want to tie you down, I feel like you might regret it later."

"I think it's a little bit late for that, don't you?" he asks.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, what's there for me to think about? Aren't we dating?" he asks casually.

I stiffen and for a second and I turn to him with eyes wide open. "What?" is all I manage to say as I stare at him.

He laughs at my concerned expression, "I didn't think it would come as such a shock to you. I just introduced you to my family, I don't just do that with every random girl I meet."