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A soft chuckle came from the darkness. “I probably should have warned you about them.”

I turned to find Noah sitting against a tree opposite the storage shed.

“Noah, what are you doing out here?”

He slowly stood and took a sip of the beer he cradled in his hands. “Getting a bit of fresh air.”

“Getting fresh air and listening to a couple of students making out?”

He shrugged again. “I was here first, and it’s not like I can hear them over the noise of the party.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” I thankfully couldn’t hear whatever was happening in the shed either.

I wondered how long Noah had been out here. I hadn’t seen him all night. He appeared tired but not drunk. In fact, there was a clarity to his gaze I hadn’t seen in weeks.

“Are you enjoying the party?” he asked.

“Ah, sure.” It felt awkward talking to him this way, especially now that I was with Wes.

“You look like you’re having fun.”

I slowly nodded, not sure what to say. “I should probably head back.”

He glanced toward the shed. “You’re leaving empty-handed?”

“Oh, right, my water.” I’d completely forgotten it, but I suddenly wasn’t that thirsty. Not if it meant going back into the shed. “I’m sure I’ll survive without it...”

One of the corners of his lips lifted, and he raised a finger, indicating for me to wait. “Give me a sec…” He turned and walked into the shed. “Knock, knock, coming through,” he said loudly as he entered. I heard a girly squeal and some muffled voices, and then a moment later, Noah returned with a bottle of water in his hand.

“You didn’t have to do that,” I said as he passed it to me.

“You’re welcome.”

This whole conversation was too amicable, but I guessed this was our future now—polite conversations and both of us pretending that we hadn’t once meant so much more to each other.

I gave him a tight smile and turned to leave, but Noah reached out and gently touched my elbow. The contact sent sparks across my skin and tugged at my gut. I stopped and turned to him, and he was standing far closer than before. I didn’t want to have a reaction to him, but every cell in my body seemed to come alive at his proximity. Apparently, we could pretend all we wanted that we’d moved on, but my body was always going to betray me when he was near.

“Isobel…” he murmured. His eyes stared deeply into mine, making my heart drum wildly against the confines of my chest.

“Don’t look at me that way.”

“I’m not looking at you any way.”

“You are, and you know it.” I took a quick step away from him. “I’m with someone else now.”

His throat bobbed as he swallowed. “You’re right.” He ran a hand through his hair, and he squeezed his eyes shut. It was almost like he wanted to pretend this wasn’t real. When he opened his eyes again, they were empty of the charged emotions I’d seen moments before. It was almost like looking at a completely different person. I had no idea how he was so good at acting, but it made me wonder if he’d ever used these skills on me before.

“Was there a reason you stopped me?” I asked.

“I just...” He looked away. “I just wanted to say it’s good to see you happy again.”

I got the feeling he’d wanted to say something else, but I wasn’t brave enough to push him for the truth.

“Anyway, I’m sure Wes is wondering where you are,” he said.

His words were clearly meant to bring the conversation to an end, so I nodded. “Have a good night, Noah.”

“You too, Isobel.”