Broken Promises

22 | noah

"You just couldn't stay away, could you?" I tease as I notice Blake approaching me, arms crossed over her chest as she enters the repair garage. I also notice Drew—a co-worker of mine—blatantly checking Blake out as she walks past, a realization that makes me more uncomfortable than it should.

"Please." Blake rolls her eyes, though she's smiling. "I only just became your official friend. Don't make me regret it."

"Are you saying you don't already regret it?" I question, only half-kidding.

Blake grins as she playfully shoves my shoulder, a single touch from her sending a rush of longing through my chest.

"Not yet," she murmurs. "So don't make me, okay?"

"I'll try my very hardest," I taunt. "Did you come to visit me because you missed me so much?"

Blake rolls her eyes once again. "You're impossible."

"Nothing's impossible, remember?"

"I changed my mind," Blake retorts, smirking at me. "You definitely are."

"Sweetheart," I say as I shake my head, biting back a grin, "I am going to make you regret saying that."

Blake backs away from me, brown eyes gleaming with a playful lip. She bites down on her lip, practically begging me to push her back against the wall behind her and press my mouth to her own.

"Like I regret befriending you?" Blake teases, her voice breaking through my thoughts.

"That's it." I step toward her, noticing how easy it is to be myself around her. Around Blake, I'm almost happy. And I don't mind the feeling. "You're in for it."

I lunge for her, which has Blake squealing and rushing away from me. It doesn't take long to corner her, as she's too tiny to outrun me even if she tried. I wrap my arms around her in seconds, trapping her between my body and the door of an SUV parked beside us.

I'm suddenly all too aware of everything about her. The way her chest heaves as she tries to catch her breath. How she looks up at me through her long, dark eyelashes, eyes shining bright enough to light up a night's sky. The way she pulls her bottom lip between her teeth as our gazes meet, which only leads me to notice how close we are, how easy it would be for my lips to meet hers. How badly I want my lips on hers. How it's suddenly so hard to control myself. How this girl is driving me out of my mind.

How much I like having her drive me out of my mind.

"What are you looking at?" Blake asks after a moment, eyes on mine.

In response, I mutter, "You."

"You know you're supposed to be working, right?"

The sound of my father's voice has me flinching, rushing to tear away from Blake. My dad gazes between the two of us suspiciously, wearing a knowing smile.

"Right," I say under my breath, trying to think of an excuse. "I was just—"

"Helping me," Blake cuts in, cheeks flushed as she glances at my father. "Um, hi, Mr. Reed. I'm just here to pick up my car."

"I see," Dad says, expression amused. "Well then, I'll go ahead and pull it around for you. Noah, you better get back to work. I don't pay you for nothing."

"Yes, sir," I grumble, keeping my eyes downcast. I don't look up until Dad has walked off to get Blake's car, unsure of why my father catching me with her has me so embarrassed.

"You know, Noah," Blake says as she pushes herself off of the car door she'd been leaning against, "your father really isn't a bad guy, just the same as you aren't. You should think about that sometimes."

With that, Blake turns her back to me, wandering toward the parking lot. I can't help watching her go, wondering how it's possible for someone to be so observant; how it's possible for one girl to make me want to be better than I am now, when nothing else has ever made me feel such a way.

As I'm lost in thought, Drew approaches me. He pats my shoulder like we're old friends as he whistles under his breath. "You tapping that Rhodes chick now, Reed? Score."

Just hearing Drew say those words sends a rage flowing through my veins like I've never felt before. It's not just what he's suggesting that riles me up, but the way he calls Blake "that Rhodes chick". He makes it sound like she's some sort of object.

I turn to Drew with a casual smile, as if I'm about to respond.

Then I punch him in the face.

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a/n: why is my life so shitty rn wtf.