Page 65 of Here With Me

“You never gave me that tour. Maybe we could do that soon?” He winks.

As I drink my water, my eyes stay glued on him over the rim. Noah’s dropping obvious hints that she’s not interested, but he’s clueless to them.

“Not sure that’s a good idea. I’m not interested in datin’ right now.” Noah’s blunt response has me wanting to give her a high five, but that’d be awkward, so instead, I lower my gaze to my plate and hide my smirk.

“Oh, I just meant as friends, Noah. I better get back to my table, but if ya change your mind, you’ve got my number.” He squeezes her shoulder again, and as soon as he walks away, Noah releases an audible breath.

When I glance at Jase, he’s watching me with pinched brows as if he’s confused about my reaction.

“Is that one of the guys you tried to date after me?”

“Jase,” I say in a strict tone I’d use on him when he was a child. He’s either lost his mind or his goddamn manners.

“She knows I’m kiddin’.” He lifts one shoulder, but his smug expression and tone tell me otherwise.

“If y’all must know, yes, we went on a couple dates. But the sparks just weren’t there, so I broke it off,” Noah says.

“Sparks?” Jase chuckles. “You’re gonna be single forever if that’s what you’re waitin’ for, babe.”

The server has impeccable timing and interrupts to bring our food. Her cheerful tone is a contrast to the uncomfortable conversation we’re having.

“May I get y’all anythin’ else right away?” she asks once she’s placed our plates in front of us.

A stun gun with a side of Novocaine.

“This is perfect, thank you,” Noah tells her.

It’s hard keeping my eyes off her. She’s handling this awkward dinner better than I would’ve. The temptation to put Jase in his place has been hard to resist at times, but Noah’s quick responses have kept me from doing so.

“Thank you.” I smile at the server before she leaves.

“Wait, excuse me.” Jase holds up his finger to grab her attention. “I asked for extra mushrooms, and there’s only like seven here. That’s hardlyextra.” His loud, harsh tone almost has me speaking up to remind him of how to treat people, but Noah’s red cheeks halt me. She’s already embarrassed by his behavior, so I don’t want to add fuel to the fire.

Noah pops a piece of shrimp in her mouth, most likely to keep herself from screaming, and I do the same with a hush puppy. We share a secret look that has us both grinning.

The server apologizes and offers to bring him more right away. Things stay quiet while we eat, and the only noise comes from me cracking the crab legs.

“So how long after we broke up did you date Dylan?” Jase asks, and I shift my eyes to glance at Noah, who’s focusing on her food like it’s the most interesting thing ever.

Meanwhile, I could stare at her all night because she’s by far the most beautiful woman I’ve laid my eyes on. The only problem is that I think Jase is starting to notice how I’m looking at her.

“Noah?” Jase prompts.

“I dunno...like a year, I guess? What’s it matter?”

“Just curious how long it took to get over our relationship.”

Her head jerks toward him with a piece of shrimp in her hand, and I’m low-key worried she’ll chuck it at his head.

“Do we have to do this now? In front of your dad?”

“Since when did you get shy?”

“I’m not, but I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to discuss my datin’ life with you.”

I clear my throat to grab his attention away from Noah. “Speakin’ of, are you datin’ anyone, Jase?”

“I’ve gone on dates. Most haven’t been my type or ready to settle down.”