Undeniable (Haven Falls 5)

Once we look acceptable enough to show our faces in public again, we make our way out and I start pulling out my phone. “I’ll text Noah so they know we’re out here.”

“No,” Tully says, lowering my phone. “They laughed so I think it’s only fair that they sit through the play right until the very end.”

I grin across at her as we make our way down to her Jeep. “Good plan,” I tell her, absolutely loving her wicked ways. We sit in her car for about twenty minutes, listening to music and chatting about the show and how humiliating it was until people start streaming out of the assembly hall.

“Now, this is the real show,” Tully laughs.

The boys are some of the first to get their asses out of the auditorium and I laugh as they all hover around in the quad waiting for us. It’s not until someone in the student parking lot calls out to Noah to say bye, that he notices the headlights on Tully’s Jeep, shining bright and aiming right for them.

His mouth drops and a flash of confusion overtakes him before he starts making his way down here with the boys.

We wait patiently, trying to find our game faces and act as though we’re completely innocent, only that’s too much of a task to handle. A devilish smirk cuts across both our faces as Noah shows up at my window. “We were waiting for you outside the auditorium. How long have you been down here?” he questions.

I pretend the check the watch that I don’t have. “Ummm…maybe half an hour.”

“Huh?” he grunts. “The show only just ended.”

“We know,” I laugh.

Aiden shoves his face in beside Noah’s. “Wait. Did you purposefully make us sit through that when we could have gotten out of here ages ago?”

I grin at him. “Wait. Did you purposefully laugh at us when you could have been encouraging instead?”

Noah slowly shakes his head in disbelief as Aiden gapes in outrage. “Low blow, ladies,” he tells us. “Low blow.”

Noah opens the door and Aiden steps out of the way. “Come on,” he tells me. “Let’s go home.”

I look back at Tully who laughs. “Uh-oh, you’re in trouble.”

“Go home, Tullz,” Noah grins. “I have a feeling you didn’t tell mom about this shit otherwise she would have been here. So, she’s probably sitting at home wondering why her favorite kid isn’t sitting at her dinner table.”

“Shit,” Tully sighs. “Yeah, you’re right.”

With that, I jump down from Tully’s Jeep and take Noah’s hand as we make our way across to his Camaro. The rest of the boys disappear and before I know it, he’s backing out of his parking space and getting us the hell out of here.

We get halfway home when I turn and study his face. “You laughed,” I accuse.

He looks back at me with thoughtfulness lingering in his green eyes. “If you can honestly tell me that you wouldn’t have done the same thing, then I’ll apologize.”

Damn it. He’s got me there. I would have howled with laughter until I wet my pants. A grin spreads over my face. “It was really bad, wasn’t it?”

“I mean…” he lets out a sigh, unable to find a lie that would work. “Yeah. It was bad. I was embarrassed for you.”

“I just love how supportive you are.”

He grins back at me before sending a devilishly sexy wink my way. “Anything for you, Spitfire.”

I laugh and all too soon, we’re pulling up at home, only dad’s truck isn’t here. I guess he took Ari out for dinner.

I pull my phone out and call dad as we climb out of Noah’s car and walk towards the door. He answers on the fifth ring and I grin to myself. Dad always answers quickly unless he’s in the truck which tells me he’s trying to avoid the call, but then ‘daddy guilt’ takes over and he quickly answers before it’s too late.

“Squish,” he says cheerily. “What’s going on?”

“You’re not home,” I say a little more accusingly than what’s deserved.

“Yeah, you weren’t home so I figured I’d take Ari out somewhere special for a bite to eat. Why, do you need me to bring something home for you?”

I scoff under my breath. “Can you put Ari on?”

“Ahhh…why?”

“Because she hasn’t worked out how to lie to me yet.”

“Oh, um, well…she went to the bathroom.”

“No, I didn’t,” Aria’s loud screechy voice comes hollering down the line making an unladylike snort come tearing from deep within me. I slap a hand over my mouth as Noah raises an amused brow. Great, I’ve managed to embarrass myself a little more.

“Damn it,” dad groans.

I can just picture the cringe on dad’s face as he hands the phone over. “Hi, Henley,” Aria booms excitedly into the phone.

“Hey, sweet girl. Did daddy take you out for dinner?” I ask as I rifle through my things for my keys and hand them over to Noah to unlock the front door. He gingerly takes them and gets busy working the lock.