---- ??? ----
The night air was cooler than I expected when we stepped out of Noah’s house. The stars blinked softly above us, and the scent of garlic and lemon still clung to my hair from the kitchen.
I glanced back one last time before we reached the curb.
Sherry stood at the doorway, arms folded over her chest in that loving, mom-way. She smiled at me as if I were already part of the family.
“You’re always welcome here, sweetheart,” she called gently. My heart did a quiet little flip.
“Thank you,” I said, meaning it more than I knew how to express.
Noah held out my helmet like he had earlier that night, the smallest of smiles tugging at the corner of his mouth. But I could tell—he wasn’t rushing to go. Neither was I.
We rode in silence most of the way back to my house. Not the awkward kind. The kind where you feel full. Like saying too much would break the spell. His back was warm beneath my hands, his scent familiar—leather, rain, and something darker I could never quite name.
When he pulled up in front of my house, I didn’t move right away.
Neither did he.
I slowly climbed off the bike, pulling off the helmet, and turned to him with a grin that felt just a little too wide, a little too giddy.
“I, um…” I cleared my throat. “I wanted to ask you something.”
He tilted his head slightly. “Yeah?”
I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.
“My mom is throwing this…thing. It’s ridiculous, honestly. A formal birthday gala, because apparently turning twenty-six in a ballroom with champagne fountains is some kind of social rite of passage.”
His brow lifted, amused. “Let me guess—black tie? Caviar? String quartet?”
“Andcustom ice sculptures oh and don’t forget the masks,” I deadpanned.
He chuckled, eyes lighting up in that way that made my chest tighten.
“So what’s the ask?”
I bit my lip.
“I want you to be my date.”
The amusement in his eyes flickered, softened into something warmer.
“You sure?” he asked gently, as if he didn’t quite believe it.
“I wouldn’t have asked if I wasn’t,” I said. “It’d mean a lot. And…” I shrugged, suddenly shy. “I want you there.”
He didn’t answer right away. He just looked at me for a long moment. Then he nodded once, firm and certain.
“Then I’ll be there.”
I smiled, heart stammering like it always did around him, and turned toward the door.
But something inside me pulled to a stop.
I hesitated on the second step.
Then I turned around.
