NOAH

Ch. 34

Chapter 34

Noah's fingers tap against the steering wheel as his foot presses down on the accelerator, his car jerking a bit as it tries to pick up speed. He looks down at the speedometer, his brows furrowing before he looks back towards the road. I raise my brows, glancing at him as he mutters something incoherent.

"Is something wrong?"

"I think so."

Blue Valley Park's signature jungle gym grows larger as we drive closer towards it. My eyes snap from the structure to the speedometers stick falling from fifty-five to zero, a thump coming from the engine. Noah swears, maneuvering his car to stop not far from the park's parking lot.

"Damn it."

He rushes out, slamming the door before making his way to the front of the vehicle. I watch as he takes in a deep breath before popping the hood. We've driven this car so many times and it's never once failed us. Yet, when we need to make sure Noah's brother is safe, it forgets how to work, leaving us stalled on the side of the road. Life is funny that way, the jokes only hurtful instead of humorous.

He opens his door, jumping back into the drivers seat as he goes to twist the key in the ignition. At first, it sounds like the car will start up, but it just stops mid way through and repeats the same repetitive stall over and over again. Noah falls backwards into his seat, his sweater rolled to his forearms as they rest over his eyes.

"What is it?"

"Battery's dead." He lifts back up. "I have a charger in my trunk, but we can't charge it in the middle of the street."

"Do you want me to call a tow truck?"

He chuckles, shaking his head. "No, I need you to steer."

"What?"

"I'm going to put the car in neutral and while I push, you steer it into a parking space."

"How the hell are you going to push this entire car by yourself? Let me call someone. Noah?" I call as his eyes linger on my gauze wrapped hand. "Are you OK?"

His brows crease as he inspects my palm. "What happened?"

"It's fine, I fell." A car blows it horn as it speeds around us. "We have to get out of the middle of this road."

"Sorry, I was just worried." He drops my hand, his eyes cast downward as he chews his bottom lip between his teeth. "Get in the driver's seat."

"I'm fine." I climb over the console as he hops from the car, dropping to his knees beside me.

"OK, foot on the break."

My foot presses against the brake as he reaches over me and puts the car in neutral before shutting my door, making his way to the back. He holds up two thumbs before slapping the trunk and I slide my foot off the brake. The car begins to crawl towards the park, picking up speed as Noah pushes against it.

I do my best to steer the vehicle into the parking space, the steering wheel heavy as if it was glued in place. Noah throws me words of encouragement, though I'm not sure how he's even breathing with the task of pushing an entire vehicle with another human inside it.

"We're almost there! You got this!"

I imagine those words are more for him than me seeing as he needs it the most and I grip the wheel with both hands, swinging us into a space with all my upper arm strength. Noah taps the trunk as I put the car in park, leaning against it for a few seconds before making his way to the front.

"I'm never doing that again."

I chuckle, shaking my head. "I don't know how you did it just then."

He presses a button underneath my seat, the trunk popping open. "I need to keep my brother safe."

I nod as he pulls a red box, with two clips hanging from the sides, out of the trunk. He pops the hood again, his hands visible from the small gap between the hood and window shield as he gets to work. I step from the car, my eyes gazing around the park as I shut the door.

I walk the trail into the park, my hand grazing the trees as I place the other against my collarbone. I can just about taste the skittles that we shared that night in the park, feel the frozen drizzle of water from the sprinklers as we chased each other through the trees. I slide my fingers to my lips as I can feel the heat from Noah's brush against mine that time they nearly met.

I gaze back towards the car, my fingers still on my lips as he leans over the engine. Noah has never once hurt me the entire time I've known him. He's never let me down or treated me like anything other than how I should be treated. He wasn't the one who crushed my heart on my mother's doorstep, she was. No one tore him from me, but me. I let my fears chase him away. I let my fear chase away the only real love I've ever felt.

I drop my hand as I speed over to him, tapping him on the shoulder. "Noah?"

He spins around, holding up the charger. "Finished."

"Noah, I'm sorry."

He lowers the device, his eyes lowering as well. "Rai-"

"No, let me say this." I step to him. "I'm so sorry for everything I put you through."

"No, I'm sorry." He shakes his head, placing the charger on the hood of his car before stepping closer to me. "I'm sorry for saying you were the reason I got hit when we both know that's not true. You didn't deserve that and something like that could never be your fault. I'm so sorry, Raine."

"Noah, you have nothing to be sorry for. I shouldn't have lashed out at you. And I shouldn't have taken my anger out on you when you only tried to help."

Noah pulls me into his arms, moving side to side as he squeezes me to his chest. "I missed you."

Our eyes lock as we pull back, arms still wrapped around one another. Flames sway in the depths of my stomach as my hands slide up his waist to his cheeks. He stares into my eyes, his gaze flickering to my lips as I pull his head towards mine. My eyes flutter shut as I press my lips onto his, his own melding gently onto mine.

I peel my eyes open as his lips leave mine, our breathing heavy as we hold onto each other. His eyes drop to my lips, his tongue moistening his before he crashes them onto mine. Tingles stir deep within me as his tongue slides against my own, his taste syrupy, addicting as if he's my personal piece of candy. His hands slide over my behind, squeezing just underneath as he hoists me onto the hood of his car.

My lips lift into a smile as we pull back, our foreheads resting against each other. "Are we OK?"

"We're more than OK."

A/N:

I love these two so much. They are so cute.

Happy reading!