I roll my eyes.That’swhy he answered, always one to worry first and ask questions later.
“Sorry, I’ll call you back later if you’re driving. I was just bored.”
“It’s fine. One sec.” There’s silence on the line for a moment before his voice comes back, clearer this time. “So, bored of being home already, huh?
I huff a laugh. “Oh, it’s been entertaining, that’s for sure, but now I’m stuck sitting on the balcony because I had to get away from Cole and Lana’s sex noises and while the view is pretty, it’s borrrriiiingggg,” I whine dramatically, and his laughter fills my ears.
“You think that’s bad? Try living with them.”
“Nope. No, thank you, that sounds like hell. Where are you, anyways? Were you driving?”
He hums. “Uh huh. I just got to my parents’ place.”
My brows climb up to my forehead. He’s at his parent’s place? I don’t know much about Noah’s family, but I do know that he usually spends the holidays with one of the guys, so I figured he was going to Harley or Logan’s this year.
“You’re home? I thought you’d be with one of the others.” My heartbeat picks up and my gut drops. “Noah Archibald White?—”
“That’s not my middle name.”
“—don’t you dare tell me that you spent the holiday alone or I’ll… I’ll…”
“What? What you gonna do, huh?”
I make a strangled noise in the back of my throat. “I know how to fight.”
“I know. I was one of the people who taught you how to fight. You really think you could go up against me and get the upper hand?”
“Well, no, but I’ll be really upset if I find out that you spent Thanksgiving on your own when you could have come here again. Is that what you want, Noah? Do you want me to cry?”
“Relax, little one,” he says soothingly. “I was at Harley’s and decided to come here for a couple of days before heading back to school.”
I let out a breath of relief before annoyance hits me like a tidal wave. “You couldn’t have just said that, could you? You got me all worked up for nothing!”
He snorts. “Babe, you wouldn’t let me get a word in edgeways.”
My brain momentarily glitches at the nickname.
Babe.
Babe.
Babe.
It’s fine.
He didn’t mean it like that.
It was probably a slip of the tongue.
The only reason it’s affecting me the way it is, is because it’s whathecalls me when he isn’t calling me love. If it wasn’t for that, I would have breezed past it already.
I really need to stop letting him dominate all of my thoughts.
“Gracie? You there?” Noah’s voice snaps me back to reality and I clear my throat.
“Sorry, I zoned out. How long are you staying in town before heading back?”
“Gonna stick around until the day after tomorrow. What about you? When are you guys heading back.”
