“What happened to you? Did you get in a fight?”
Noah takes a few steps back, putting distance between us like we didn’t just almost lock lips.
Me? I’m busy looking anywhere but at my best friend as she comes barreling into the kitchen, her hands going to her brother’s face.
“What happened?” she asks again, worry lacing each word. “And don’t give me that same load of crap you gave Mom. You didn’t get something in your eye. This is way worse than that.”
I peek up at Noah just as he slides his eyes over to me.
Izzy doesn’t miss it.
“Wait ... this happened when you worked on the barn, didn’t it?” Izzy gasps. “Oh my god, did you punch him, Odette?”
Before I can answer her, she’s hitting her brother, yelling, “What did you say to her? I swear I will beat your ass if you were being a jerk to my best friend!”
“I didn’t—hey! Watch the nuts, Iz!” Noah blocks her assault, covering his junk.
I’m only slightly ashamed to admit that my eyes follow right along with the gesture.
“Is this why you two are acting so weird tonight? Because you were being an ass to Odette?”
She noticed we’re acting weird? Shit. Did anyone else notice too?
I realize then that Izzy is still hitting him.
“Iz! Stop it!” I pull her off her brother, and she comes away kicking and screaming—literally. “Calm down.”
She shakes me off, brushing her hair out of her face. “I willnot. Not until you tell me what happened.”
“First, I didn’t punch your brother.”
“Yes, because that’s what’s important and not the fact that I didn’t say a damn thing.”
I glower at Noah, who is still covering his nether regions. “You’d best keep that covered,” I warn him before turning back to Izzy. “He’s right, though. Noah’s been a perfect gentleman. It was an ... accident.”
“An accident? That looks like a pretty brutal accident to me.”
“It felt brutal too.”
I wince, remembering the loud thud Noah’s nose made when he hit the door. I was certain Noah’s nose was broken, and I’d need to drive him to the hospital.
I still think he probably should have gone, but I assume he didn’t want to have to explain that to anyone, let alone his father.
“So what happened then?” Izzy asks.
“It’s a funny story really ...”
Noah snorts at me. “Funnyisn’t exactly the word I’d use to describe it.”
I ignore him, then tell his sister what happened in the bathroom—from the lack of toilet paper to the spider ready to eat me to Noah slamming into the door.
By the time I’m finished, Izzy is staring at me. Not even blinking. Just watching.
“Iz?” I say.
Finally, she blinks.
Once. Twice.
