Bittersweet // Complete

18.

Chapter 18

I. Was. Floating.

Noah Sterling, the last person I could have seen myself with, had his hand on my thigh as we drove to his place, kissing me at every stoplight and carrying me on his shoulders all the way to the elevators. An old lady accompanied us in the elevator, smiling fondly at us, "Young love is so beautiful, you two look very cute together."

Bless old people.

I blushed, hiding my face in Noah's chest, as he kissed my head before answering, "Thank you, Jeanine."

"Always such a respectful little boy, Nunu. I'll see you on Friday for the potluck?"

I stifled a laugh. Nunu? That was a story I was dying to hear.

"Sure thing, I'll bring the wine." Noah responded, an easygoing smile on his face. Jeanine got off at the thirteenth floor, and Noah waited just long enough for the doors to close, before leaning in and kissing me again. No longer urgent and demanding, Noah was soft, and kissing him was like walking barefoot on clouds, like the insides of my body were slowly turning to jelly. His shirt was bunched up in my fists, and he used that to his advantage, pulling me out of the elevators as soon as the doors opened, never letting go of me for a second. Pressed against the doors of his house, I finally came up for air as he fumbled for his keys and unlocked the apartment.

What on earth was it about Noah's bed, making me fall asleep within a few seconds of laying there in his arms? My sleep was disturbed, and I woke up multiple times, finding Noah staring at me most of the time. My mind was hazy, but I was pretty sure he wasn't wearing a shirt. At least that much I could figure through half shut eyes. When I finally woke up, Noah was asleep next to me, an arm resting on me.

I checked my phone from the nightstand. Oh, it hadn't been that long, it was only 11.

I turned on my side carefully, getting comfortable to watch Noah sleep.

"You shouldn't perv on people while they're sleeping," Noah's eyes were still firmly shut, but there was a sly smile on his face as he was waking up from his slumber. His voice was rusty, and I wished I could record it and save it somewhere with me forever.

"I'm not perving," I shut my eyes again, snuggling into the pillow.

"Good, 'cause if you would have stared any longer, you would have fallen in love with me." he exhaled sharply, rolling over so he was half on top of me. It started with a lazy kiss on the exposed skin on my neck, before he was leaving more urgent, harder kisses under my jaw, reaching under my shirt to feel me up. I gasped in pleasure as he kissed a particularly sensitive area over my collarbone. A mischievous glint in his eye, Noah went back to attacking me with kisses there, sucking on the skin, biting it, and then licking it to soothe it.

That was sure to leave a mark, but I wasn't complaining.

I had never been too fond of hickeys, they just looked like an eye sore. Having Noah mark and scar me, however felt different. It was like he was branding me as his, and I loved every second of it.

Fuck. Noah was good at what he was going, and I was all but writhing under him, desperately waiting to feel his lips on mine. He didn't keep me waiting for long. Our lips crashed with a certain urgency, as if all of this morning hadn't been quite enough. What was bad breath anyway? I didn't care, and with his tongue in my mouth, fingers inching under my shirt, it didn't seem likely that Noah cared either. Or maybe he did and this was the last time I would be kissing him.

"Hop now," he pulled away from our kiss all too soon, tapping my calves, "We've got things to do."

I stared at him, confused, watching him pull his shirt on. Admittedly, I was sad to see him put it on, but I would never say that to his face. He already had an inflated ego, I wasn't going to add fuel to that. It would only bring me embarrassment anyway.