Page 16 of Two Weeks to Fall in Love

Two Weeks to Sing the Songs

It felt like I was losing control. No, that wasn’t it .

It felt like I was never actually in control in the first place, and that was an unexpectedly terrifying notion.

As I lay in bed after our stargazing date, I tried to figure out where I’d made some fatal mistake.

This wasn’t how things were supposed to go, especially since I still hadn’t found a single flaw or uncovered even one troubling secret.

Worse still, when I thought about how warm his hand was as he held mine, my throat closed up. When I remembered how beautiful his eyes were with the stars reflecting in them, my heart quickened.

Those were not the reactions I was hoping to have toward Noah Archer after two days.

Two days.

How did it already feel like it had been two weeks?

I simultaneously slapped both sides of my face with my hands, hoping to break the Noah-induced haze.

The memory of Lily’s tears cut through me like a knife, the rude awakening I needed. There was no way I could forgive any boy who made her look at me with a sad smile that hid heartbreak.

That was exactly what I needed right now. I needed to remind myself why I was doing this.

Grabbing my phone, I shot Lily a message asking whether she was still awake and if she had a few minutes to talk. A few seconds later, she was calling me.

“How was your date with Noah?” she asked instantly, her voice way too bubbly for such a late hour.

“Hi to you, too, Lily,” I muttered, rolling my eyes at her curiosity.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, so . . . the date?” she repeated, turning down a BTS song that was playing in the background.

Sitting up, I crossed and uncrossed my legs as the bed squeaked under my restlessness.

“Sky?”

“Yeah, I’m here,” I said, fingers clenching around the phone. “It was okay. We went on a picnic, saw some stars, drank some apple juice.”

Lily was quiet for a second before she burst out laughing. “Skyler, what’s with your reaction? That sounds like a dream date. Like the kind you see in romance movies, not real life.”

“Exactly! That’s exactly what I was thinking,” I exclaimed. “It does sound like a date from some movie, which is why I was thinking, maybe he’s just copying stuff from a movie, you know? Maybe that’s his big thing, he picks a rom-com and then he reenacts it with whatever girl he’s dating.”

The silence on the other side made it clear Lily didn’t share my enthusiasm about this new revelation.

“Sky, that sounds crazy, come on.”

“It’s not that crazy! I mean what seventeen-year-old guy would do something like this?” I said, pressing my lips together in a pout.

“Noah Archer, that’s who.” Lily clicked her tongue impatiently. “Are you seriously complaining about the fact that Noah is too mature for his age?”

“Yes! No. I don’t know, maybe?” What was I complaining about, actually? I narrowed my eyes, before adding, “He made you cry.”

“Okay . . .” I could basically hear the frown that was on her face. “So do those sentimental Christmas commercials with old people, but I don’t see you sending them hate mail.”

Fair point .

Lily was the most sentimental of the three of us. But that didn’t make her tears any easier to bear.

“Sky.” Lily interrupted my brooding. “Don’t tell me that’s the reason you’re dating Noah now? Some misguided revenge quest for me?”

“Well, it’s not the only reason,” I admitted, and Lily groaned loudly. “I also just wanted to understand what makes Noah so damn special that everyone wants to be with him.” Even if that meant making him fall for me and breaking his heart for a change.

I could tell Lily was about to go into one of her monologue modes, so I quickly changed the subject.

“By the way, how’s it going with that guy you started liking?”

Seconds ticked away while Lily debated whether she should continue chewing me out about Noah or gush about her newest infatuation.

“Okay, so, he was actually assigned as my lab partner, like, how lucky is that?” She squealed, letting out a dreamy sigh.

I exhaled in relief at my successful diversion.

Lily didn’t share my negative opinion of Noah, but just hearing her voice helped me feel better about what I was doing.

She might not have seen anything wrong in what he’d done, but I wasn’t blinded by his charming personality, infectious smile, and honestly, really good hair that looked softer than . . .

No, Sky! Bad!

I had to actively stop myself from going down that road. There was no way I would let him charm me into obedience or distract me from my mission.

Once my call with Lily ended, I crawled back into bed, hoping sleep would find me soon. Before it did, however, my phone pinged with a new message.

Jerkface .

For a moment, I debated whether I should just ignore it, but naturally, my curiosity got the better of me and I flipped open the screen.

Jerkface : I had a lot of fun tonight. sweet dreams

Throwing my phone onto my bedside table as if it had burned me, I pulled the covers over my head and groaned.

Even as my heart thumped uncomfortably in my chest, I refused to admit that his mind magic might have spellbound me. After all, there was no way I could like him.

*

“Well, this one has two parts.” Noah thrummed his fingers against the steering wheel as he prepared to ask another of his love questions.

“When was the last time you sang to yourself and to someone else? And I believe it’s my turn to answer first.” He glanced at me with a smile, and it was like staring directly into the sun, blinding .

“Last time I sang to myself was about fifteen minutes ago when I was on my way to pick you up,” he said cheerfully, and I narrowed my eyes at him. “What, don’t believe me?”

“Oh, I do.” Nothing could really surprise me anymore when it came to him. “How about the second part of the question?”

His brows furrowed and he rubbed a finger along his lips. A movement my eyes followed with more attention than I was comfortable with.

“The last time I sang to someone else . . .”

He was probably going to say the name of one of his recent ex-girlfriends . There was no doubt in my mind serenading was listed in his little romance book of charm . It was perfectly understandable. What I didn’t understand was why that thought made my heart clench so painfully.

Surprisingly, I was only half right. When the car filled with the deep, melodic sound of his singing voice, I realized Noah had decided to serenade his current girlfriend.

His voice sounded so soothing it felt like every negative emotion faded from my body as soon as it appeared. In fact, I couldn’t keep my eyes off him, or the way his lips curved as he sang. It was so entrancing that I didn’t even realize the song had stopped until I saw him smirking at me.

“Right now is the last time I sang to someone,” he said, the corner of his mouth tugging up in that annoyingly charming way. His gaze lingered just a second longer before he focused back on the road.

I tore my eyes away from him, feeling my cheeks burn with an uncomfortable intensity, and cleared my throat. “That was cheating.”

He laughed, raising one eyebrow as he glanced at me. “Was it? Or was it clever ?”

Rolling my eyes, I let out a huff , my eyes focused on the scenery passing outside the window.

“Your turn.”

I groaned, thinking over the question.

“Last time I sang to myself was while I was getting ready this morning.” It was almost a ritual, mainly because I found it incredibly hard to wake my brain up.

A splash of cold water on my face and signing to some music as I got dressed helped speed things along. “Last time I sang to someone else was—”

And then I halted. Not because I was embarrassed by the answer, but because I didn’t have one. When was the last time I sang to someone else? Or even in front of someone else?

“I don’t remember,” I muttered, my forehead creasing in confusion.

I felt Noah’s gaze on me but didn’t turn to meet it. For a moment I wished I had just lied, made up something.

“Do you know this song?” Noah asked, out of the blue.

“Um, yes?” I said cautiously, not liking where this was going.

He turned the volume up a little bit, and then turned to grin at me. “Well?”

“Well, what?”

“Sing!”

I let out a chuckle at his joke, but when he stared at me expectantly I instantly frowned.

“Seriously?”

“Come on, you know you want to,” he said, humming to the melody.

“I really don’t.”

Noah chuckled and then instead of arguing, he started singing.

This time, as he sang, he exaggerated the words, grimacing and making funny faces every time he looked at me.

I felt my lips tug upward. “Oh god, stop!”

But he just sang louder, made more funny faces, and purposefully missed a few notes. I couldn’t help but laugh at how ridiculous he looked and sounded.

Before I even realized it, I heard my own voice join his.

*

The rest of the morning had been peaceful.

Well, as peaceful as things could be when you were Noah Archer’s girlfriend of the week.

All the stares I was getting made me feel like a new exhibit in the zoo of humanity.

I managed to find some comfort in the fact that this would only last for another eleven days.

Noah stuck to my side like glue for most of the day, which I was slowly getting used to.

Surprisingly, sitting with Noah at lunch was starting to feel normal.

“Can I join you?”

The voice was familiar—the words and reason for them being said, less so.

I looked up to see Jake smiling down at me while I gaped at him in shock. This had never happened before. Not even when we were in the debate club together when I had a crush on him and actually hoped we’d eat lunch together.

Before I could reply, Melissa slid her bag off the seat and smiled, her voice warm and inviting. “Of course you can join us! I haven’t seen you around much this year, Jake. How’ve you been?”

There was a moment of hesitation as Jake looked between Melissa and me, but in the end, he put on a fake smile and reluctantly plopped down next to her.

“I’ve been good, busy with . . .”

I zoned him out completely, scanning the cafeteria for the person I was actually expecting to see at our table.

It only took a moment before our eyes met. He stopped in his tracks, a few feet away from us, and from the look on his face, Noah Archer was not happy.

When he started walking again, I quickly turned back to the two people casually talking across from me, awaiting the awkwardness that was about to kick off.

“Uh, Mel, I don’t actually feel that hung—” I started, feeling a bead of sweat form on my forehead.

Before I could actually get another word out, I felt his presence. Then came the sound of a tray dropping onto the table. Noah sat down next to me, a little too close for comfort, but his eyes were focused on someone else.

Jake stared back at him, brows drawn together and expression darkening. A second later, his face cleared, and his lips quirked in feigned amusement.

“Glad you could join us , Noah.”

Well, that was a loaded comment.

Melissa, having read the tense atmosphere, leaned back in her seat, her eyes flickering from one guy to the other. The way her mouth twitched made it clear that she wished she had some popcorn.

I saw Noah’s hands tighten into fists, his breath coming out through clenched teeth.

“Of course, I always have lunch with my girlfriend .”

“Oh? That must be fun. After all, you’ve had so many of them this year,” Jake replied, a dark smile on his lips.

Noah’s eye twitched, and I cleared my throat, entirely uncomfortable with what was happening.

“So, uh, nice weather we’re having?” Great job, Sky .

Noah turned to look at me, and I could see his eyes light up before he turned back to Jake.

“Sure is, darling . Perfect weather for a date, right?” he said, and then put one arm around me, pulling me into his body. The determination in his voice was sharper than a blade.

Melissa’s lips formed a little O shape. Jake’s eyes flashed dangerously.

I tried ignoring the way my heart sped up and focused my eyes intently on a ketchup stain marring the table.

The uncomfortably competitive feeling drifting from each of the boys was making me squirm. Melissa cleared her throat, and I looked up to see her nod in Noah’s direction.

Crap. I’d forgotten he’d mentioned another date. My gaze finally, slowly, rose to meet his, and I saw an expectant look on his face. I swallowed hard and bit down on my lip.

“Uh, it is great weather, but I already made plans with Melissa,” I insisted, still chewing on my bottom lip.

“Plans? What plans? I don’t—” Melissa, the idiot , seemed perplexed before I less-than-casually kicked her shin with my foot, my eyes widening in panic. “Ouch, wha— ohhh , yeah, that’s right, we have that thing we were planning, with, uh, Lily! The, uh, online movie night thing.”

“Yup, uh-huh, that’s right.” I exhaled loudly and looked back at Noah to see whether I was somehow magically in the clear despite Melissa’s awful attempt at lying.

The amused twinkle in his eye made me realize he didn’t believe a single word of that excuse.

“Movie night, huh, sounds fun,” he said, leaning closer to me. He reached out his hand and gently rubbed his thumb against my upper lip. The shock of the intimate gesture made me instantly flinch. “You had a bit of ketchup there.”

Yet again, I felt frozen by his unexpected action, and the way his smile and eyes seemed to say so much more than words could. But before I could decipher the message hidden in their depths, someone cleared their throat. Loudly. Angrily.

I had completely forgotten Jake existed. Yikes . It was starting to become annoying, the way Noah managed to affect me despite my intense reluctance. Was I really so weak-willed as to be dazzled by a pair of pretty eyes?

With an angry click of my tongue I pulled away from Noah and flew to my feet, almost knocking the food tray to the floor before managing to catch it. “Right, yes, well, I need to get going now.”

My eyes quickly darted over everyone at the table. Jake seemed pissed, eyes narrowed as he stared at Noah, who, on the other hand, was casually leaning in his chair, arms stuffed in the pockets of his blue hoodie.

“Sure, babe. Text you later.”

I threw a glare at him, hoping that look would tell him exactly how I felt about his recent overuse of pet names. Then I purposefully focused on Jake and flashed him a wide, enthusiastic grin. “Bye, Jake, see you later.”

Jake instantly perked up, his lips pulling up as he nodded. “Sure thing, Sky, see ya.”

A barely audible rumble left Noah as I turned around and walked away, knuckles whitening as I gripped the tray.