Page 20 of Two Weeks to Fall in Love

Two Weeks to Remember the Moment

“You’ll hurt yourself if you keep that up,” he said, and a second or two later removed his hand. “In case I need to point it out again, I’m not actually taking you somewhere remote to murder you, and yes , I am aware you have the Find My Friends app.”

After looking at him for a few more seconds, I just motioned my hand to the dirt and passing trees around us.

Noah chuckled and shrugged. “Never said I wasn’t taking you somewhere remote.”

“You know, we could do something simple like, I don’t know, go to the movies, get some fast food, stuff like that,” I muttered, trying to figure out where he was taking me, but nothing we passed by seemed familiar.

“Where’s the fun in that?” he said, and I heard the gentle hum of laughter in his voice.

“I’m getting the feeling that you have a thing against an ordinary existence.” I narrowed my eyes, trying to see his expression.

His fingers tightened briefly around the steering wheel before he eased his grip.

“Life’s too short for ordinary.” His voice still sounded upbeat, even though I thought I saw a flicker of pain flash across his face.

“I mean, ninety years doesn’t seem so little to me,” I said, and watched his hands clench against the wheel.

“Not everyone has that kind of time,” he countered, running a hand through his silky hair.

His tone became sober and withdrawn, and I instantly regretted bringing up the subject.

In my defense, I didn’t really think it was a topic that would cause that kind of reaction.

One part of me, the part growing smaller each day, insisted I’d finally struck a nerve and should keep digging.

The other part of me, the part that didn’t like the pained expression on his face, shot that idea down without even entertaining it.

“Here we are,” he said, turning onto a dirt road and breaking me out of my downward spiral.

I stared ahead, my eyes wide as I recognized what we were driving toward.

A variety of exotic, luscious trees and plants, like a magical oasis, rose up behind a fence in front of us, their leaves catching the soft glow of the streetlights. I couldn’t remember the last time I visited a botanical garden.

Noah lowered his window as we approached the gate and nodded with a bright smile on his face.

“How’s it going, Carl?”

I bent down to see who he was talking to. An older-looking man in a beige uniform gave him an easygoing nod and shrugged.

“Same ol’, same ol’, kiddo,” he said, before focusing on something in front of him. A second later the gate in front of us let out a loud creaking noise and slowly opened. “Y’all have fun now but be out by ten, ya hear?

“Sure thing, Carl. Thanks.”

Noah drove through the gate and into a small parking area, and stopped the car before turning to face me.

My mouth was still gaping, eyes fixed on the jungle we’d just driven into.

“Surprised?” Noah said, a chuckle in his voice. I was pretty sure my usual hazel eyes had been replaced by question marks as I turned to face him.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” He stepped out of the car, and I struggled to unlock my seat belt as I tried to push down my shock.

This was too much for me. This wasn’t how dating normally went.

It just couldn’t be. I opened the car door and nearly stumbled out.

Balancing myself again, I straightened up and stared at him, grimacing.

Noah stared back, raising one eyebrow in confusion. “What? Don’t like it?”

My mind froze as I tried to express my jumbled thoughts.

“Why do you always have to be so . . . extra?” And that, ladies and gentlemen, was the first thing I said once I found my voice.

Noah grinned, pressing his lips together to probably keep from laughing at me. “Is that supposed to be an insult or a compliment?”

I was going to definitively say it was 100 percent an insult, but then my eyes focused beyond him and on the gorgeous scenery.

Flowers bloomed in colors so vivid they almost didn’t seem real—deep purples, fiery oranges, and soft pinks.

The air was thick with the scent of jasmine and gardenias mixed with the salty ocean breeze rolling in from beyond the trees.

And the trees! Gosh, the trees. Palms in all different shapes and twisting oaks stretched high above us.

Some had delicate vines wrapped around them, tiny blossoms glowing faintly under hidden lights.

Somewhere water trickled softly, blending with the distant crash of waves.

The flowers and plants in colors I’d only ever seen on the internet or read about in books.

Trees that were so tall and unique it was hard to keep your gaze focused on just one.

It was beautiful. Impossibly so. I guess it made sense that this impossible boy brought me here.

“I don’t know.” I let out a huff , kicking a small rock with my foot in frustration.

“Compliment it is.” He chuckled and walked up to stand in front of me, holding out his hand.

As soon as I placed my hand in his, he entwined our fingers and confidently tugged me down a path.

“I’m guessing you’ve been here before?” I asked.

A dumb question considering his conviction as we walked and the fact he was on a first-name basis with the man I assumed was the security guard.

“What gave it away?” He smirked.

“Smart-ass,” I muttered under my breath, rolling my eyes.

He surprised me by commenting, “You know it.”

I looked at him and instantly clocked how relaxed he looked. More at ease than I’d ever seen him, in this gorgeous garden he inexplicably knew like the back of his hand.

When he caught me staring at him, his eyes softened and he smiled. My traitorous heart jumped erratically in my chest, heat rushing from the tips of my toes to the top of my head.

“You ready for a question?”

“Mm-hm,” I mumbled, and cleared my throat, coughing awkwardly.

“Hm, okay, if you had the option of always looking young or of always having an alert mind, which would you pick?” he asked, and then raised his empty hand into the air. “I’ll go first since you went last time.”

Nodding at him, I extended my hand to touch a velvety-looking bush we were walking by. It did not disappoint, the softness giving me a small jolt of joy.

Noah seemed to be in thought for a few seconds, rubbing his hand along his jaw, which made it hard to keep my focus from realizing how sharp and attractive his jawline was.

“I would choose looking young. I mean have you seen me? Who wouldn’t wanna keep all this.”

All the attraction I felt suddenly became void as I stared at him in shock. He looked back at me, face stoic. I knew this guy was flawed. He was superficial. Just as I felt an incoming victory grin come onto my lips, Noah burst into laughter.

“I’m kidding. I’d choose an alert mind. Your face was priceless, though.”

Suddenly it felt like my whole body was engulfed by fire. This freaking guy . “You know what, from now on, I hope all the chocolate chips in your cookies turn out to be raisins.” I pulled my hand out of his and gave him a withering look.

“Whoa, hey, no need to get cruel, Skyler,” he said through laughter, raising his hands in defense.

Giving an indignant snort, I angrily stomped away from him. Noah’s echoed laughter got closer as his footsteps followed after me.

I increased my pace. He increased his. Soon my brisk walk turned into a run with Noah chasing after me. The fact that I was making him sweat brought a smile to my face. The fact that I was making myself sweat as well was less than great.

About fifteen seconds after our little run started, Noah’s arms wrapped around my waist from behind and pulled me to a halt. Right against his very hard and clearly well-sculpted chest.

His rapid inhale and exhale brushed against the side of my head and sent pleasant shivers down my spine. My own breath was equally fast. Because of the run, of course, and not the boy behind me.

“ Phew , you’re fast,” he said, and I felt him shake his head. The hold on my waist lessened but his hands were still planted on my hips.

I stayed quiet, focusing my eyes somewhere ahead of me to stop myself from looking up at him.

“Hey, I’m sorry, I was just messin’ around.” His hand tightened around my waist, and before I could react he spun me around to face him.

Before I could stop myself, my eyes collided with his, and my breath hitched.

“Seriously, sorry,” he repeated. The sincerity in his voice made me realize he thought I was genuinely mad at him. But having him chase after me had been kind of fun. Not that I would ever admit that, though.

“It’s fine. I’m not actually upset,” I admitted. More like bothered that he plays me so easily , like a tune he’s known his whole life .

The way his face lit up made it both hard to look at him and impossible to look away. I swallowed hard. His hands released my hips and his right hand entwined with my left again.

“I’d also choose mind,” I blurted quickly, trying to shake away this moment that was turning too intimate for comfort.

“Figured you would.” Noah nodded softly, and I looked away, licking my lips as I contemplated whether I should say anything more.

“There’s a reason why, though,” I finally mumbled, even though I still wasn’t sure I wanted to talk about this with him. Not when he’d unknowingly played a part in how the story ended.

Noah’s eyebrows arched, gaze fixed on me in silent encouragement to continue.

Welp, no backing out now .

“My, uh—before she died, my grandma had dementia,” I said, looking down at my feet.

I felt Noah’s soft hand squeeze mine in support.

“It was hard, seeing her become a shell of who she once was. She would regress back to childhood a lot, tell stories I’d already heard a dozen times, but it was nice because they always brought a spark to her face. ”

My throat clenched at the memory, and I had to swallow to continue. Even though it had been almost four years since she’d been gone, I still missed her.

“The last day in the hospital, she didn’t recognize me anymore. She smiled at me. Said I was a nice young woman. I think some part of her still felt like she knew me even though she didn’t remember it.”

“I’m sorry that happened, Sky. I’m guessing you were close to your grandma?”

Nodding, I continued. “She practically raised me. Dad has always traveled a lot for work, and when I was younger my mother would go with him whenever she could, so I’d stay with my grandma.

It was just the two of us, but she was always so loving and warm I never felt lonely or missed my parents too much.

It was hard when she died.” My eyes felt heavy, and I chewed on the inside of my lips to stop myself from tearing up.

“You know, you don’t have to talk about this if you don’t want to or if it . . .” Noah sounded genuinely concerned, and I lifted my eyes to him, shaking my head before he could finish his sentence.

“It’s okay. I like thinking about her, even though it’s sad sometimes. That whole thing made me think about a lot of stuff too,” I said, and my heart warmed at how gentle his face looked.

It felt like at that moment a burden was lifted from my heart. As much as I still wanted to uncover why he felt it was okay to break so many hearts, and stop him from doing it again, he no longer seemed as horrible as when I’d started this. And that was a concerning revelation.

“Stuff like?” he asked, giving my hand another comforting squeeze.

“I don’t know. Like who are we without our mind? If all the stuff we live through, all the memories we have make us who we are, then who do we become if we lose them?”

“Did you find the answers?” Noah’s voice was quiet, serious, as if I was about to tell him some incredible secret to life.

“The answer I found was that sometimes there is no answer to things,” I said, and shrugged.

“But one thing it helped me realize is that feelings are so much stronger than anything else in life. Emotions can transcend time and memories. And people can live on, not just in our memories but in all the emotions they made everyone feel. All the love they shared while they were here sticks around.”

“That’s some deep shit, Sky.”

“I know, right? I’m totes ready for my Pulitzer Prize. No photos, please, sir,” I said, trying to lighten the mood as I pursed my lips into a ridiculous kissy face.

Noah laughed and shook his head, and as we started walking again, his hand squeezed a little tighter against mine, and the distance between us became just a little smaller.