“Heya, Elliot.”
She didn’t look at me as she spoke; she busied herself with adjusting her jumper and clasping her hands together and resting them on her knees, before changing her mind and folding her arms across her chest. I blinked when I realised that she was nervous. This knowledge calmed me immensely.
“Heya,” I replied with a chuckle. “Ye looked a little lost over there.”
She tucked tendrils of stray hair behind her ear. “I know. I’m friends with a lot of the girls, we just never hang out outside of school. I feel a little awkward being here.”
I had noticed that about her. At first, I thought she was being made an outcast by our classmates, but I quickly learned Noah was the one who decided to keep to herself. I only worked my way into her tiny circle because she was table-partnered with AJ in almost every class.
“I’m glad ye came,” I told her. “I’d have been sad if ye didn’t show up.”
The glow of the fire illuminated Noah’s cheeks as they flushed a soft red. I felt my pulse increase at the sight. Her blush-stained cheeks only elevated her beauty in my eyes. I wanted to kiss her so badly that it made my throat run dry.
“I’m sure you’ve said that to all the girls.”
She chuckled and still wouldn’t make eye contact with me, so before I could stop myself, I reached out and tipped her chin up with my fingers until her eyes snapped to mine.
“Why won’t ye look at me?”
She swallowed and parted her lips in a sensual little O.
“I am looking at you,” she blurted. “This is me looking at you.”
Her entire face was crimson now and it made me smile, which seemed to fluster Noah altogether. That was the moment I began to believe what AJ had been telling me all this time. Noah liked me . . . she liked me like I liked her.
“I have to tell ye somethin’, Noah.”
Her eyes widened, and before I could say anything else, she exclaimed, “This is for you!”
I dropped my hand to my thigh and blinked as she reached into her hoodie pocket, pulled out a small box and thrust it in my direction. I stared down at it for a moment before I cleared my throat and took the box.
“For me?”
“Of course,” Noah said, her voice a little breathless. “You are the birthday boy.”
“Thank you.” I looked up at her. “I love it.”
“You . . . you haven’t even opened the box, Elliot.”
“Doesn’t matter,” I said. “I still love it.”
I looked down at the box again to give her a moment to herself, because her skin was still flushed and she looked completely out of sorts from sitting in front of me. I wanted to calm her like she calmed me.
I lifted the lid of the box and stared down at a little silver flower.
“It’s a calla lily, otherwise known as the Easter lily in your country,” Noah explained. “I didn’t know what you’d like so I got something I liked and put it on a necklace. I love flowers, and I didn’t want to get you something as common as a shamrock or a four-leaf clover, so instead I picked a calla lily. I read it’s used in Ireland as a symbol of remembrance for those who died in the 1916 Risings.”
I brushed my finger over the small pendant.
“You hate it,” Noah murmured. “I’m sorry, it was stupid—”
“I love it.” I looked up at her. “I absolutely love it. Me great-great-granda almost died in the Risings. He passed away long before I was born, but when me granda was alive, he told me stories about his granda . . . I think of the man I knew through those tales when I look at this. Thank you, sasanach.”
Noah ducked her head, but I saw her smile.
“Put it on me.”
I took the necklace from the box and handed it to her before she could say no. I turned my back to her and waited. Over the laughter and shouting of our friends, I heard Noah’s breathing shift as she moved closer to me. I clenched my hands to keep myself still when I felt her hot breath on the back of my neck. She placed the chain around me and carefully secured it with the clasp.
“There.”
Her voice was barely a whisper. I turned to face her and found we were face-to-face. I looked down at the lips I wanted to kiss so badly before looking up into the eyes I was coming to adore. I had never felt such an attraction to a girl before, but it wasn’t just physical – I liked how quiet she was, how she looked away and smiled when she received a compliment, and I definitely liked that she put so much thought into giving me a gift that had meaning.