Chapter 8

"River, can I have my blue top back?" I called to her, hoping she could hear me over the shower running.

"Which one?"

"The one from my wardrobe that you stole from me!"

"Take it from my room!" her voice was faint over the sound of running water, so I ignored the rest of what she was saying and headed over to her room. Sheesh, I knew River wasn't the cleanest person around, but her room was giving me major rat infestation vibes. No wonder she restricted her dates to the living room. If they ever saw the mess she was living in, they would run for the hills and never come back. Navigating through the piles of garbage, I reached her wardrobe, opening it with much difficulty as the piles of rubbish under it remained immobile.

Fuck.

A putrid smell wafted from the wardrobe, and I shut it immediately, making my escape to fresh air. I needed to have a conversation with her about this, or she would have to find a new place to stay.

Later, though. At hand, I had more pressing matters to attend to. Like how it was Friday evening, and the clock said 6.30pm and I was still not ready for my date with Noah. It wasn't like I wanted to dress up or something, but the lack of decent clothing options in my wardrobe was making me cringe. A shopping trip was desperately needed, and I would have to take Eleanor along, because she always knew where the sale was on and where to get the best deals.

I put together dark black jeans and a baby pink top, but then exchanged the latter for a basic yellow graphic tee shirt. The pink top looked like I was trying when I wasn't. Feeling satisfied by my outfit, I swiped on eyeliner and my usual shade of lipstick. The last bits of my concealer went over my brow and the tube stuffed in its designated bag for refilling.

@noahsterling: I'm here, come downstairs when you're ready. (6.54pm)

@noahsterling: Bring a smile with you, please? (6.59pm)

I shut down the smile I found creeping up on my face. No. Noah might be a good flirt, but I knew that he was looking for nothing more than a fuck which I wasn't. I would prove him wrong because I would never fall for his charms.

"I'm going out, bye!" I called out to Nathan and River, who were huddled up on the couch watching some true crime documentary.

"Please get laid and come back!" Nathan said, not even taking his eyes off the screen. Shaking my head and rolling my eyes, I exited home. Nobody was getting laid here.

The wind outside was strong and biting, almost strange for this time of the year. I pulled my coat closer, almost half glad that Noah had parked his car right in front of the apartment building. Spotless, clean and shiny, Noah's car screamed the fact that he was a Sterling. With more money than my parents could have imagined in their life, the Sterling family name was reflected in every aspect of Noah's life. From the fancy car with a logo I recognised as a BMW, to the fine looking leather jacket he was wearing. Noah was floating in a pool of money and living in heaven.

I took a glance at my old flimsy shoes. Noah and I couldn't be more different if we tried.

Exhaling sharply, I rolled my eyes at his satisfied smirk as I sat in the car, shutting the door as carefully as possible.

"Hello," His voice was smooth, yet cold, like an ice cube melting on a hot summer day.

"Hi," I forced a polite smile on my face, more occupied with taking in the interiors of the car. Pitch black, just like the outside, plush cushioning all over the seats and a glowing panel in the front, already showing the directions to some destination.

"Yellow is definitely your color," he said, "but then with that face, you could pull anything off and look gorgeous."

How was my brain supposed to comprehend my dislike for him when he was saying these things? Hiding my smile became harder, but I persevered anyway, finally putting on a mask of indifference, "This has to be the most cliche compliment I've ever gotten."

"I don't doubt it," he had a half-amused smile on his face, "doesn't make it not-true."

"False," I corrected him, making him chuckle again.

"As you say princess," He turned to get comfortable in his seat again, running the engine of the car, "Put your seatbelt on."

I hurried to do as I was told. It wasn't because Noah asked me to, not at all. It was about being safe in a car. Yes, road safety was the only reason I ever listened to Noah. He checked the oncoming traffic before pulling his car on the road, and off we went. He drove safely, slow with the oncoming traffic, heading north, to this unknown destination.

I looked out of the window, watching the streets, the houses and the people pass by, living their own specific lives, unaware of the knot in my stomach as Noah took me away and way out of my comfort zone. His hands remained firmly on his steering wheel and on his thigh, not even crossing over once to me, unlike what I had expected. I stared at his hand, the long fingers spread over the black material of his pants, wondering for a quick second what it would feel like to have the warmth of his palm seeping into my skin. No.

Brianna. Behave.

I went back to looking out of the window, crossing my legs over to control the squeamish feeling in my stomach.

"You know, it's quite easy to tell that you're attracted to me," Noah said finally, right as we stopped at an intersection.

"Ha-ha," I mocked him, "If that's what you want to believe, sure."

Noah didn't even take his eyes off the road, moving ahead as soon as the lights went green, "Tell me you're not clenching your thighs thinking about me."

Damn.

"I'm not..." Of course Noah Sterling had me flustered in this confined space, reeking of the addictive smell of his perfume, and a refreshing mix of sage from his car freshener. But I would not give him the satisfaction, because that's not who Brianna Winters was, "I need to pee," I blurted, immediately cringing at the stupidity of my response. Would I have rather admitted he was right? Absolutely not.

Noah stayed silent for a quick second before he burst out laughing, "You need to pee?"

"Yes," I stood my ground, not wanting to call myself out.

"Okay," he said, still snickering as he pulled into the parking lot of a Starbucks. "Go do your thing and come out soon. This doesn't count in my date time, though. I'm already on a crunch for that."

Not arguing the slightest, I rushed into the store, locking myself in the bathroom. Away from the intoxication of his sage car freshener and the smell of his cologne, I was hit by the coffee aroma and was able to relax myself. Even if I didn't want to, I peed, just to kill time. I wiggled my jaw that was taut with tension, and rolled my shoulders back. I could have chewed my lipstick off with the amount of stress I was putting on my lips, so I applied a fresh layer before finally exiting the stall.

There was little doubt in my head that I could do anything more to stall this date, so I walked out of the store, heading back to Noah's car.

Wait, where did Noah go?

The car remained perfectly still in its spot, but the lights were off and Noah wasn't in it, which confused the heck out of me. I pulled my phone out of my small purse, checking if it could tell me his whereabouts.

Zilch.

Okay, I thought, I could head back to the store and call him. So I turned on my heel to walk back. Parking lots were always eerie, and I knew that I should have hurried up in my walk, but the cold air was making me shiver and I was close to wobbling. I hated the cold, for it always froze my bones, and my legs especially did not tolerate it well.

The store wasn't too far though, and I was close enough to almost smell the aroma of coffee again, when a hand reached out from between the cars and dragged me in, a sharp scream coming through my lips, until it was silenced by a strong hand gripping over my mouth.

"Hush, it's just me," Noah's grip on my waist was tight, pulling me to him, our lips separated just barely by his hand concealing my scream. My heartbeat was erratic and loud, filling my mind with it's drumming.

"It's just me," he repeated, as I stopped struggling, instead focusing to glare at him.

"You look cute when you're angry," He half smiled, making me push him away harder. Not that it was working. He was more or less a wall of muscle, as cliche as it was. What was wrong with this guy?

"At least now can you admit that you want to be here with me?" He removed his hand off my lips, his hot breath fanning over me.

"What does this have to do with anything?" I rolled my eyes.

"Don't tell me if you were stuck with an absolute waste of space, you wouldn't have made your escape through the staff exit or the bathroom window," he ran a hand through his hair, a merry glint in his eyes. Why didn't I think of that?

Even if he tried to move away, my body was craving the heat from him, feeling utterly helpless against the weather. "I know you have it in you."

A shiver ran over me as his warm breath ran over my neck, leaving a trail of goosebumps all over.

I wanted to argue with him; I wanted to tell him to piss off, but my words died in my mouth as his nose trailed over my earlobe and over to my cheek. My breath hitched in my throat as a fiery trail of his breath fanned across my face, as his fingers dropped away from my mouth and brushed gently across my skin. If my heartbeat wasn't overpowering the music playing inside the cafe, I was positive Noah could hear it.

And maybe he could. He looked at me with conviction, whsipering in my ear, "You want to stay here with me."

Did I? I mean...

A car honked behind us, breaking us out of the bubble we had been captured in. As if someone had splashed cold water over me, my senses were hyper aware as I staggered back, putting some space between us. The winds were back, blowing my hair over my face and shaking me out of the daze I was stuck in. Wedging out of the confined space, I looked over at Noah, who looked unfazed by the whole deal, unlike me.

"I'm starting the timer back up and you don't have too long," I jutted my chin out, trying to reassert some of my control over this situation.

Noah bent down and picked up two coffee cups, handing one out to me, with a stupid grin on his face, "I wouldn't want to waste a second, ma'am."

**°°°**
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