Page 134 of You Fall First

Me

Lucky. You must not have shared a kiss with someone you can’t stop thinking about. I tried counting sheep, but no go.

Noah

Okay. I lied. You’ve been on my mind a fair amount, too.

Me

Fair amount?

Noah

Nonstop.

Me

I like that answer better. And as long as we’re being honest, I almost called you an hour ago. But I figured it was late. Didn’t want to risk waking anyone up.

Noah

Same.

Me

I do have some news, though. Good news. Big news.

Noah

Proceed.

Me

Nina Bennett wants me to be a part of some new pilot program at the district. It’s for student wellness. I’ll have to turn down the job at Mockingbird. But this is pretty much a dream position for me.

Noah

Permission to call.

Noah

We can be quiet.

Me

Yes, please.

A moment later, his contact lights up my screen.

And my insides.

“Hey,” I answer in a whisper. “Hope you can hear me. I don’t want to talk any louder than this, because my mom has ridiculously good hearing, and I don’t want her to know about this yet. Not until things are finalized.”

“Go.”

He doesn’t even have to explain what he means. I know he wants the details.

“So it’s this thing called the—” I check what I wrote in my notes. “The Mountain View School District’s Student Wellness and Belonging Program.”