I shake my head. “Do I look like I can’t handle it?”
He looks at me for a beat. That same weird tension fills the air around us again.
“Yes…” he says softly…before shaking his head slowly. “No,” he corrects, with a hint of a smile.
Getting up, he strides over to me. I watch him as he drops to a crouch in front of me, his chest a few inches away from my knees.
Tilting his head, he lifts the lighter to the end, and we both watch the tip as it sets aflame.
For some reason, I’m finding it hard to keep a steady breath.
Hesitantly, my eyes drift to his, and I realize he’s no longer watching the light. He’s watching me. His gaze pierces mine as he inhales deeply, and I instinctively lick my lips.
Being this close, I realize he doesn’t have his mother’s eyes at all. His green eyes are flecked with hazel, with a deep forest-green ring around the edges. The golden shimmer makes them all the more mesmerizing. We freeze, locked in each other’s gaze, until a wisp of smoke drifts between us, curling into my nose with that sharp, familiar scent.
He brings his hands covered in silver rings up to his mouth and pulls out the joint.
Licking his lips, I zone in on that small piercing that I’ve been so curious about.
“When’d you get that?” I tilt my chin to his mouth, absentmindedly taking the blunt from him and bringing it to my lips.
“What?" He bites his lip ring. “This?” I nod my head, ignoring the way that the action makes my stomach flip.
I take in a deep, long pull, allowing the warmth to fill my lungs.
“I got it on my sixteenth birthday. That and this—” He sticks out his tongue, holding a small silver ball between his teeth.
I suck in a breath, all of a sudden, forgetting how to breathe. Before I know it, I’m coughing up a lung.
Noah stands up, rubbing my back gently as he laughs so hard I think he may die.
“Whoa, there. You gonna be okay?” He shakes his head, chuckling.
I nod, throwing my arm in front of my mouth to keep from royally embarrassing myself even further.
It’s his fault. Flashing that…piece of metal. It completely set me off.
Confusingly, in more ways than one.
“What’d you get that for?” I ask, feeling my throat burn, but thankfully, I'm starting to breathe steadily, again.
His hand still hasn’t left my back, rubbing small circles.
Is this some sort of joke? Why’s he being nice?
“I mean, it looks cool for one.” He shrugs, backing up and sitting back in his seat across the fire from me. I’m thankful that he left, but I also feel a strange, empty feeling in his absence. It felt nice having him crowd me like that.
I look down at the joint in my hand and take another hit.
“Plus, apparently it’s good for blowjobs.”
Blowjobs?
A rush of pain shoots through my chest, and I’m hacking up a lung yet again.
“Holy shit. You’re going to get such a massive head rush. I’m almost jealous.” A deep laugh barrels out of him, and I can’t help but join in too.
He’s not wrong at all. My brain feels lighter, my body feels looser. Everything around me feels…peaceful. I’m seriouslysohigh, and it never would’ve hit me this fast if it wasn’t for all the hard coughing.
