And it’s what’s happening right now.
I thought it would take more time.
I figured she’d struggle to come to terms with everything.
Never in my damn life did I think thatthiswould happen.
She… she actually thinks this is her idea.
Oh, this is fuckingbrilliant.
“What about Cole?” I ask, since that’s what sensible Noah would ask… I think.
My brain’s kinda on the fritz right now, rendering me unable to think clearly.
She huffs. “What about him? I know he has the whole overprotective big brother thing down pat, but do you really think he would come between us if he knew I was happy? Besides, we don’t even know if we could work, there’s no harm in keeping him in the dark while we give it a try, is there?”
“Well, when you put it like that…” I murmur and take a deep breath, putting on the show of my goddamn life right now. “Okay, yeah. I think maybe we should give it a try.”
I deserve some sort of award for my acting skills, Jesus Christ.
Gracie gives me a sweet smile that has my entire being humming to life before taking a bite of her food, and I grin.
Oh yeah, she’s definitely halfway in love with me.
THIRTY-FIVE
GRACIE
Itake a shaky breath before opening the door to greet Noah. This is our third date so far since I found out who he really is, and my feelings are… conflicted.
There’s a part of me that hates him for everything he’s done, for every lie and every deception, but there’s still a part of me that wants him.
And that only makes me hate myself.
How can I still want him after everything he’s done? It makes no sense, yet my brain refuses to quiet that small voice in the back of my mind.
Still, that doesn’t mean I’ll be acting on it.
Noah grins at me as he steps into my dorm, a bag of Chinese takeout in hand.
My favorite, no doubt, since Noah seems to know a lot more about me than I gave him credit for.
That’s another thing I’ve noticed in the last couple of weeks since my revelation. The closer I look, the more I realize just how blind I’ve been. I didn’t notice before just how attentive Noah is with me compared to anyone else. I didn’t notice how he alwaysseems to anticipate my needs or knows basically every single thing I like and dislike.
It’s a heady feeling, knowing just how… obsessed he’s been with me without me even realizing it.
“Hey, babe,” he murmurs as he makes his way past me, pausing to press a kiss to my forehead before walking into the small kitchen to start unboxing the food.
And just like that, my heart starts to race.
Does he realize that he’s slipping more and more lately? This isn’t the first time he’s called me babe or love while not wearing the mask. It’s like he’s trying to push the limits to see just how far he can go before I finally catch on.
I grit my teeth before pasting on a smile and helping him, making small talk as we both plate up our food and head to the couch.
We decided that instead of going out tonight, we’d just chill in my dorm and watch a movie, which I’m grateful for.
It’s hard enough to keep up pretenses without being out in public, so this seemed like the easier option.
