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He looked so curious, but I knew he wouldn’t push me for an answer if I didn’t want to give one. He was the least likely of my friends to think I was a loser though. “Okay, I’ll tell you, but no laughing and no making fun of me.”

“I promise.”

I let out a breath. “Okay, well, I googled things to do in New York, and everything looked incredible, but I saw there’s this gorgeous library in the city, and I’ve started to develop a bit of a thing for beautiful libraries…”

“You must be talking about the New York Public Library,” Wes said with a glint in his eye.

“Is it sad that of all the things I want to see in New York a library is the top of my list?”

“It’s not even close to sad. It’s cute,” he said.

I rolled my eyes again. “I said you couldn’t make fun of me.”

“I’m not, I swear. I mean, I am a little surprised. Most people want to go to the top of the Empire State Building or see the Statue of Liberty…”

“I do want to see those things. It’s just, the library looks kind of magical.”

“Like I said, it’s cute,” he replied.

I shook my head and turned to look at the others. They were chatting excitedly and didn’t seem the least bit interested in listening to what Wes and I had been discussing. Sawyer was in the middle of an animated argument with Anna about where we should party on Saturday night. There was a buzz in the air, and I was looking forward to the weekend more than ever. This trip was exactly what I needed, and hopefully by the time I returned, I’d have both the space and answers I needed to finally put Noah behind me.

* * *

The one thingI hadn’t really considered about going to New York was that Noah was also going to be on the English trip. He might not be staying for the weekend, but he was going to be there for the rest of it. It was just my luck too that we both sat in an aisle seat on the bus, and he somehow ended up sitting diagonally in front of me. I was going to have to look at him the whole way to New York.

He was sitting next to Kaden, who had his head buried in a book. Noah remained focused on his phone and thankfully didn’t seem interested in looking my way. A part of me hoped he hadn’t realized I was sitting so close, but I knew he must have spotted me when he got on the bus. Besides, if he was anything like me, he had a radar that went off whenever I was near. I knew my senses certainly alerted me to his presence whenever he was around.

“Sawyer knows a guy who can get us into this new nightclub on Saturday night,” Anna said. She was sitting next to me while Cress was hanging over the seat in front of us to listen in. “It’s supposed to be amazing.”

I swore Noah’s head tilted in our direction, like he was trying to overhear our conversation.

“Can we get into a club?” I asked. “We’re not even close to twenty-one.”

Anna shrugged. “Sawyer seems confident. So, what do you guys think?”

Cress had a big grin on her face as she nodded. “You know me. Any excuse to go dancing.”

I had to withhold a shudder at the thought. If they wanted to entice me into a club, then telling me it would involve dancing was not the right approach. Anna seemed to realize this and quickly continued.

“Sawyer says there’s a great VIP section too. We can just chill on couches, listen to music, and flirt with cute boys.”

A loud cough spluttered from farther up the aisle, and I glanced up to see Noah clearing his throat. He was still facing the front of the bus, but he was definitely listening in.

“That sounds great,” I replied, shooting a glare at the side of his head—not that he noticed. “Count me in.” I said it more for Noah’s benefit than my own. I didn’t really want to go to a club, but if Noah thought I was taking steps to move on, then hopefully he would too.

New York was several hours away by bus, but the trip went relatively quickly. Anna and Cress chatted constantly, so it was easy to lose myself in conversation with them. I never quite managed to forget Noah was sitting so close to me. He was like a mosquito bite, a dull itch on my skin that wouldn’t go away no matter how much I tried to ignore it.

As we drew closer to the city, Anna swapped seats with me so I could stare out the window. I’d never visited a big city before, and I knew I was really exposing my small-town upbringing as I gaped and gasped at the bustling streets and towering skyscrapers that flashed past.

“You’re so funny.” Anna chuckled, when I started bouncing up and down on my seat. I’d just spotted the Empire State Building for the first time.

“I can’t help it. I’m excited!”

The girls laughed. “We know,” they said in unison.

“I don’t think we’ve got much choice but to ditch some of the shopping for sightseeing,” Cress added. “Seeing you experience New York for the first time is like watching a small kid open presents at Christmas. It’s adorable.”

I scowled in her direction. “I’m not like a small kid.”