Page 34 of Two Weeks to Fall in Love

Two Weeks to Meet the Friends

Noah led me through the groups of people, hand firmly clasped in his. My heart hammered as the realization that we were alone together finally dawned on me. Well, alone in a huge crowd, at least.

“What’s your drink?” he asked as we came to a stop in the kitchen.

“Beer?” I asked cautiously, looking around the kitchen and mentioning the first thing that came into view. Only, I didn’t like beer, so the fact that I asked for it seemed especially dumb. “Or, uh, a Coke?”

“A beer or a Coke?” Noah asked, one eyebrow raised playfully.

“A Coke. If you have any.” I cleared my throat and quickly brushed my hair off my face. Way to go, Sky .

“Yeah, sure, one Coke coming up.” Noah grinned at me before shuffling through the fridge.

“You okay?” he asked, tilting his head, amusement clear on his face.

“Oh, yeah, sorry, I just zoned out for a minute.”

“Uh, I’m sorry about this. I swear it was supposed to be just a small party but apparently word got out and one person invited another and, yeah.” Noah scratched his nape, eyes critically assessing all the tipsy people around him.

“I mean, don’t parties always kind of escalate like that?” I joked, bumping his shoulder with mine.

He just laughed and shook his head. “Honestly? Not really. At least not like this. Kinda feels like my sister just sent some mass invite over social—” Suddenly he froze midsentence, letting out a groan as he ran his hand down his face.

“Shit, that’s probably exactly what she did.

Wouldn’t be the first time she hid her Insta story from me. ”

The fact that he seemed so mature kind of made sense. After all, his sister seemed to be the wild child, so maybe he had to keep the peace.

Among all of that, one big question surfaced: Where were his parents right now to make all of this okay?

“You gonna take this?” Noah grinned and looked down at the red cup in his hand.

“Oh, uh, yes, thanks.” I grabbed the cup and took a sip, finally feeling myself relax, at least a bit.

Noah offered his hand again, this time with an inviting tilt of his head. “Wanna go chill outside a bit?”

It was as if he’d read my mind. I grinned back at him and took his hand, taking the initiative to lead this time.

He chuckled behind me, probably amused by the fact that I was leading him through his own house, but I had spotted the wide-open deck and the lit-up pool as soon as we’d passed by the living room. Honestly, it was kind of hard to miss.

This time, with my red cup in hand, feeling almost like I belonged, I studied the people we passed.

A group playing the newest FIFA game on the big screen in the living room, another group huddled on the biggest sofa close to an open window, smoking.

And while at first glance, it felt like cliques had formed, it only took a few seconds to notice how some people still mingled.

They went from the couch to the FIFA screen.

Or left the FIFA screen to join the bar-side talks.

The fresh air felt like an energy boost as soon as we walked outside. I let out a satisfied sigh and turned to Noah.

He looked down at me, smiling back, and opened his mouth.

“Yo, Casanova, come here,” someone called, and he shut his mouth with an exhale before turning toward the voice.

A group of people, mostly guys, sat at a lounge area by the pool. I instantly recognized a few.

“I’m busy,” Noah called back. His response was met with instant boos and laughter.

“You’ve been busy all night, come on,” another voice echoed.

“Yeah, which is why I don’t host parties,” Noah said, too quietly for any of them to hear but loud enough to make me chuckle.

He cast an exasperated gaze at me and sighed. “Do you mind if we—” He gestured to the group. “Don’t feel pressured, they’re just being—”

I stopped him with a squeeze of his hand and a warm gaze. “I don’t mind. Let’s go.”

Noah squeezed my hand back and grinned. As soon as we started walking toward the group, they hollered excitedly, adjusting to make space for the two of us.

“You must be Skyler,” a boy with messy blond hair and charming dimples said, leaning in as soon as I sat down. “I’m Darren. And that’s—”

“Brandon.” The guy opposite me held out his hand, and as I shook it, he grinned. His dark eyes and sharp jawline made me instantly glad I was on the receiving end of his smile. “And this is my girlfriend, Inna.”

Inna, a petite redhead with a pixie cut, smiled huge, but instead of just offering her hand, she leaned across the table and gave me a quick hug. I awkwardly patted her on the back, and when I sat back down I heard Noah snickering next to me.

When he saw the confused question in my eyes, he moved closer to me and whispered quietly in my ear, “You love hugs, huh?”

Pulling back, I lightly punched his arm for choosing to bring that up now.

“And the best for last,” said the guy sitting next to Noah. Dark shoulder-length hair framed his face as he leaned over him. His bright smile was so contagious I felt my lips start to pull up. “I’m Hunter.”

I shook his hand as well, and felt lucky that this was the last hand I was going to have to shake because I was starting to get sweaty.

This was probably the most people I had met at the same time, and they were all probably going to have to repeat their names for me because my nerves had frozen my brain at the exact moment they introduced themselves.

I was too focused on appearing normal when shaking their hands.

“It’s really nice to meet you all, I’m Skyler,” I muttered, swallowing hard.

“Oh, we know,” Darren said, a mischievous smirk on his face. From the corner of my eye I saw Noah glaring at him. “Do you need a drink, Skyler?”

I raised my red cup, tilting it slightly in acknowledgment. “Thanks, Noah already got me a Coke.”

“A Coke?” Hunter repeated excitedly before pushing Noah’s shoulder. “Aye, we found another designated driver, means you can drink, Archer.”

“Y’know I’m the designated adult, too, someone’s got to keep an eye on Tara and make sure she doesn’t—” Noah said, and just on cue as he spoke a crash of something, probably glass, breaking in the house echoed along with a round of hollers.

Noah sighed and ran a hand down his face. “—break something,” he finished, and turned to me with an apologetic look. “I gotta go check on this. You okay waiting here for a second?”

“Don’t worry, man, we’ll keep her entertained,” Brandon chimed in and Inna nodded enthusiastically.

“That’s exactly what I’m worried about.” Noah rolled his eyes before focusing back on me and pressing his lips together.

I grinned and nodded to the house. “I’m a big girl, I can take care of myself.”

Noah grinned back, a devilish spark in his eyes. “Don’t I know that. Be back in a sec.”

And then he was gone and I was left in what I quickly realized was the lion’s den, with four pairs of hungry eyes staring directly at me.

“So, Skyler,” Hunter started, scooting a bit closer to me. “Noah. He’s a ten but he . . . ?” He lightly bumped me on the shoulder and I frowned. “I can start if you want, I have a lot of material for that game.”

“Hunter,” Darren said, making the word sound like a warning, and Hunter raised his hands in the air.

“Honestly, we always thought this whole two-week dating thing was a joke,” Darren said, leaning closer.

“I mean, I get why you’d think that, I guess,” I muttered, not really wanting to admit that I wholeheartedly agreed with them, considering this felt like some kind of test.

“Actually, you’re the first girl he’s dated that we’ve officially met,” Darren continued, and the rest of the people at the table just nodded, except for Hunter, who whistled and leaned back.

“Damn, that’s right. Does that mean he’s embarrassed by us?” Hunter asked, pressing a hand over his chest as if he was heartbroken.

Brandon rolled his eyes and focused back on me. “So what attracted you to our little Casanova anyway?”

“You’re serious about him, right?” Inna followed up, concern clear in her eyes, and my heart dropped.

They all seemed to care about him so much, and there was nothing honest I could say to any of these questions that wouldn’t make them hate me.

I had the distinct feeling that if they knew I’d started dating their friend in hopes of taking him down, they would have picked me up and kicked me straight out of the party.

An awkward silence stretched and I swallowed hard, knowing I had to say something.

“Noah seemed mysterious, and it attracted me,” I said, the only half-truth I could muster, and they laughed instantly.

“Sounds about right,” Darren said between laughs.

“So you’re like Nancy Drew, huh?” Hunter added, poking me in the side with his elbow. “Is he any less of a mystery now?”

I relaxed a bit and shook my head. “I feel like the more I get to know him, the more of a mystery he becomes.”

Another round of laughs, and then Hunter wrapped his arm around my shoulder, squeezing me. “You’re a good one, Skyler. Take care of our boy, eh?”

Before I could reply, his hand suddenly flew from my shoulders and I looked up to see a very annoyed Noah.

“What did I say about the casual touching, Hunter?” Noah’s voice was surprisingly rough when he spoke, and I swallowed hard at how attractive he actually sounded.

“Can’t help it. Physical touch is my love language.” Hunter grinned mischievously and shrugged.

“Well, keep your love language away from Sky,” Noah said through gritted teeth, extending his hand to me. “Want a tour of the house?”

I nodded, taking his hand and getting up. He entwined our fingers, and his friends instantly oooh ed us. Noah rolled his eyes, and then pointed a finger at each of them. “Don’t make trouble while we’re gone.”

The grins on their faces clearly said they weren’t making any promises. Noah sighed and turned around, pulling me with him.

I looked back at the group, smiled, and gave a small wave. “It was really great meeting you all.”

“I’m sure we’ll see you again, Skyler,” Brandon said.

The feeling of Noah’s hand holding mine and how tightly he squeezed it made it hard to be bothered by anything.

“Everything okay?” I asked, and Noah glanced at me and sighed.

“Yeah, Hunter just gets on my nerves sometimes. They call me Casanova, but he’s the biggest playboy this town’s ever seen.”

I pressed my lips together and Noah looked at me, frowning. “What?”

“I was asking about the house. The crashing sound?” I said, biting back the grin that threatened to break free.

Noah blinked a few times before his face turned a deep shade of red. He scratched his forehead and cleared his throat. “Oh, yeah, yup, everything’s fine, a vase broke, nothing important.”

This was the first time I’d seen Noah Archer so flustered.

My heart started hammering in my chest. The air around us felt hotter than usual, and for a second as we passed by the pool I considered just jumping in to cool off.

But before I could even weigh the pros and cons in my head, we’d made our way back into the house.

At least with the blaring music there was no way he could hear my racing heartbeat.