It Was Always You (Ridgewater High Romance Book 3)

by Judy Corry

  "I think I need to warn you now about how much I love to have my hair played with," he whispered against my lips, his hot breath making me tingle all over.

  "Y-you do?" I couldn't breathe. Couldn't concentrate on anything but how much I wanted his lips back on mine.

  "Yeah," he said before closing the distance between our mouths once again. Electricity sparked in my veins as he coaxed my lips to move with his. He kissed me slowly, passionately, and all I could think about was how he'd said that he liked me. I'd waited years for him to notice me the way a guy notices a girl, but I never thought it was really possible. So I moved on. Then I found someone else to crush on...but I should have known my feelings for Noah would never really go away.

  I had liked Noah from almost the moment we'd met.

  "If someone told you a week ago that we'd be doing this, would you have believed them?" he asked, briefly breaking the lock he had on my lips.

  "Definitely not." I sighed. Wished for, yes. But actually happen? Never in a million years.

  And then he was kissing me again. His soft lips sent shivers through my nerves, shivers that made my whole body tremble in a way it never had before. When he'd kissed me yesterday, it had been because of our arrangement. But this wasn't an agreed-upon kiss. He was kissing me because he wanted to.

  And the thought that Noah Taylor wanted to kiss me, when he could be kissing any other girl at school, made my muscles go weak. He really did like me, right? It couldn't just be a physical thing, could it? He would have taken Raven up on her obvious offers if this was just to fill some sort of physical need, wouldn't he?

  "Do you think it's possible to know someone for years but never really see them?" he asked, his voice low.

  I swallowed. "I think so."

  His hands rubbed circles along my spine, raising goosebumps everywhere. He leaned his forehead against mine. "But..." He sighed. "Getting mixed up with me is probably the last thing you want."

  He was worried I didn't want to get mixed up with him? "It's not." I looked straight into his eyes, so he'd know I meant what I was saying.

  "But what about your dad?"

  "What about him?" My dad didn't get to control everything in my life. He didn't get to control my heart. I'd had a hard-enough time controlling it over the past couple of years when I tried to force it away from Noah.

  But my heart wanted what it wanted. It wanted Noah.

  "I don't have the perfect history, Lexi." He spoke in a husky voice. "I have a past."

  I curled a strand of his shaggy hair around my finger. "It doesn't matter."

  It was almost as if those words released a barrier between us, because when he kissed me again, it was different somehow. It changed and deepened and made all my thoughts disappear.

  His hands traveled down my sides until he gripped my waist in his hands, pulling me even closer to him. We were already so close, but I loved how he didn't seem to want any space between us because I didn't want any space, either.

  "Hey Noah, your phone keeps vibrating, you might want to get it." Easton's voice drifted up the stairs.

  Noah pulled back from me and yelled back to Easton, "I'll get it in a minute." Then he turned to me with a smile and spoke in a quieter voice. "I'm a little busy right now."

  I could have died from the suggestive look on his face. But he didn't give me a chance to do anything because a second later, he was kissing me again. This time his lips were rougher, hungrier, and I worried that I wouldn't be able to keep up with him.

  I pulled back. "Wait, don't you need to get your phone?" I asked, needing a moment to catch my breath.

  He shook his head. "My mom’s probably just calling to make sure I'm not sleeping in my car again. I'll get it when I'm done with you."

  He tightened his grip on my waist once more, and before I knew it, I was sitting on the end of the counter amidst all my baking mess. I gasped. "Noah, what are you...?" I let my question hang in the air, looking down so he'd know I was talking about suddenly being on the counter.

  His gaze softened. "Just think of it as one of your step stools."

  30

  Noah

  What was I doing? I must have been crazy to kiss Lexi in the middle of her kitchen, right where her dad or Easton could have walked in on us. But my brain seemed to have left me the moment my lips had touched Lexi's again, because all I could think about was how I wanted to kiss her forever and never stop.

  This was crazy. I had never even considered kissing my best friend's sister a week ago, but now that was all I wanted to do with my time. I wanted to hold her close and spend every waking moment with her, talk to her, laugh with her, get to know her better, and yes, kiss her. Especially kissing her.

  But she was two years younger than me. And I knew she wasn't experienced with guys...at all. But that kind of made the pull I had for her even stronger. She was sweet and innocent, untainted from the hard realities of the world. And I wanted some of her sweetness to rub off on me. Having Lexi in my life was making things so much more manageable.

  But I had no idea how I was going to break the news to her brother that I was falling for his little sister. What would Easton say? Would he even let me finish my sentence before he punched me in the face and told me to keep my hands off his sister?

  And what about Mr. Stevens?

  I pushed the thoughts away. I didn't want to think about them right now. I could figure that all out later. For now, I would just enjoy this moment and let Lexi's sweet lips continue to cast the calming spell over my mind.

  I lost all sense of time and space, but when I felt her legs wrap around my waist, I knew it was time for me to say goodnight.

  "I should probably go home." I pulled away from her slightly, letting my forehead rest against hers as I tried to catch my breath. I couldn't trust myself to keep her sweet and innocent if she was going to do things like that. My brain was still too hardwired as a hormonal guy.

  "Already?" she asked, having no idea what she was doing to me.

  I nodded. "I don't want to push things too far."

  "You don't have to worry about that with me, Noah," she whispered.

  "I know I don't have to worry about you...but you should probably be worried about me." I found her hand and rubbed my finger across her purity ring. "I know my limits, and you don't want me trying to find reasons to sneak into your bedroom again tonight."

  Her eyes went wide like she couldn't imagine I would be tempted to do something like that with her. It was kind of sweet how she was.

  "You wouldn't do that."

  I gave her a look over, letting my eyes slowly run up and down her body, taking in just how good she looked in her dress tonight. "You don't want to take your chances on me, Lexi. When I want something badly enough, I find ways to get it."

  Now she looked scared. Which was good. She was playing in a new ballpark now. She'd officially entered the world of guys, and the one she was with now was still trying to learn how to be a good one.

  But when she continued to look at me with anxiety in those big hazel eyes of hers, I knew I needed to say something more.

  I drew in a deep breath. "I don't mean to scare you too much, but I just want you to understand how certain things affect me."

  "And kissing you like that is bad?"

  I shook my head and gave her a half-smile. "Kissing me like that is very good. But wrapping your legs around me while we're kissing like that... Well, let's just say that I only have so much self-control."

  She gulped. "I'll try to remember."

  "Walk me to the door?" I asked.

  "Sure." She slid off the counter.

  We took a few steps before she stopped. "Oh, wait. I found your shirt in my closet earlier. Let me grab it for you real quick."

  31

  Lexi

  My legs wobbled the whole way back to my room. I still couldn't believe what Noah had said—that I had the ability to tempt him to cross those lines. It was mind-boggling. But I was glad he'd told me, so I
'd know how to be more careful. I had no idea what I was doing, and I didn't want to mess things up. Even though I wanted to date and kiss him—the guy my dad forbade me from hanging out with—I didn't want to cross that line. I wasn't going to be the girl who forgot all her plans, goals, and desires just because she was finally dating the guy she'd always liked.

  I didn't really think Noah would do that, either, since he'd been the one to stop things. But it was still smart to be careful.

  I walked into my room, flicking on the light before going to my closet. Noah stepped just inside the doorway like he wasn't sure he could come in.

  "You don't have to wait there, Noah. It's not like you haven't been in here before."

  "I just don't want to get you in trouble. I don't think your dad would be very happy to find me in here."

  I waved my hand. "He told me I shouldn't expect him back until about midnight. We should be fine." I was just grabbing his shirt, anyway. It wasn't like he was going to be sleeping in my room again.

  I opened my closet and looked around for his shirt. I was pretty sure I'd seen it in here earlier when I was trying to figure out exactly what to wear. I put my hands on my hips and frowned at the huge mess I'd made this evening.

  "Your closet looks a little different than it did when I left this morning," Noah commented, coming to stand beside me. I tried not to feel too embarrassed about how it was totally obvious that I'd tried on about everything I owned before throwing it onto the carpet.

  "Trying to look nice for someone today?" There was a smile in his voice.

  I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, okay you caught me. I was trying to get you to notice me."

  He laughed and leaned against the door frame to my closet. "Oh, you already had my attention." He touched the sleeve of my dress. "But this didn't hurt, either."

  I felt a blush rise to my cheeks. I shook my head. What was I doing in here again? Oh yeah, finding his shirt. I lowered myself to my knees so that I could dig through the messy pile of clothes on the floor. A moment later, I spotted it. I grabbed the gray shirt then jumped back up.

  I stood up too fast and felt lightheaded. Noah grabbed my arm again. "Does that happen every time you look for things on your closet floor?" he asked.

  I gripped his waist to steady myself. "It only seems to happen when you're around."

  He smiled. "As long as it's only when I'm around."

  I found myself getting caught up in his eyes but decided I needed to stop. He’d already told me he was tempted to be with me, so it would probably be a good idea to stop finding ourselves in my closet from now on. It seemed to have some sort of magical pull for us when we were in it.

  I handed him his shirt and stepped away. "Here you go. I think that's all you left here this morning."

  "I guess I better leave you with something else then." He pulled me against him and kissed me one more time.

  I let myself lean into him, still not believing this was real.

  "What's going on here?" My dad's voice cut through the air.

  Oh crap!

  Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap!

  I slowly turned to face my dad, knowing the guilt on my face would make him doubt anything I said next.

  "It's not what it looks like, Dad," I hurried to say, stepping away from Noah, hoping that if I moved fast he'd have less time to imprint the image of me and Noah kissing in my closet into his mind.

  "You need to get out of here now, Noah!" My dad stepped into my room, looking more threatening than I'd ever seen him before.

  "I promise this is not what it looks like, Dad." I stood in front of Noah as if that would protect him from my dad. "I was just giving him back his shirt."

  "His shirt?" My dad looked incredulous. "What in the world do you have his shirt for? What have you two been doing together?"

  He stomped closer to Noah, and the look on his face had me worried about what he might do.

  From what he'd just seen and heard, he probably thought his worst nightmare had come true.

  "I promise I didn't do whatever it is you're thinking," Noah said.

  "What I just saw was more than enough. You are never going to step another foot in this house again. You hear me?" He gripped Noah's arm and yanked him away from me, catapulting him toward my door. "I warned you to stay away from my daughter, and this is what you do? I knew better than to let Easton be friends with you."

  Noah glanced at me, his expression pained, before going into the hall with my dad on his heels.

  I chased after them. "I was helping him out! If you would just listen, I could explain."

  My dad looked over his shoulder at me. His face was red, and it looked like his vein was about to pop on his forehead because it was so pronounced right now. "Oh, I'll bet you were helping him out. I know exactly what kind of guy he is. This isn't the first time I've had my daughter taken advantage of by an older boy."

  We were in the living room now. Noah grabbed his coat from the closet and shrugged into it like he couldn't get out of here fast enough.

  "Is this why you had me fix your window last night? So you could sneak that...that..." He pointed at Noah like he couldn't even bring himself to say his name. "That boy into your room?"

  "We didn't do anything. He just slept in my closet."

  I clamped my mouth shut, and from the look Noah gave me I realized that I'd said too much.

  My dad gritted his teeth. "You need to get out of here, Noah." He pointed to the door behind him. "Now!"

  Noah looked like he was debating on whether to leave or not, but a moment later he sighed and put his hand on the door handle.

  But before Noah could make his escape, Easton appeared at my side.

  "What's going on here?" he asked Noah.

  "I have to go," was all Noah said, not looking anyone in the eyes as he pulled the door open.

  "Wait," Easton said, stepping past my dad and putting his hand on Noah's shoulder. "You forgot your phone. I looked at the screen and you missed a few calls from your sister."

  Noah's eyes went wide as he took his phone. Panic rose to his face and he disappeared out the door.

  Was something wrong with his sister?

  I wanted to chase after him to find out.

  "Don't even think about going after him." My dad shut the front door and blocked it.

  "But I need to know if everything is okay," I pleaded.

  "I think you need to be more worried about yourself than that boy. But if you can't, I'm not above getting a restraining order."

  "What are you guys talking about?" Easton asked.

  "I caught your sister kissing Noah in her room. Turns out he's been sleeping in her room."

  "My closet, Dad! There's a huge difference there."

  "You are so naive, Lexi! Can't you see that he was using you? It starts out with the closet, then once you're comfortable, it's your floor by the closet, and then pretty soon he's in your bed. Does that purity ring on your finger even mean anything anymore?"

  "Of course it does, Dad. I didn't do anything wrong! I'm not Maddie!" I shouted. Why wouldn't he just listen to me?

  He shook his head. "If I ever see that boy around you again, Yale is off. I will not pay one penny for your college. I paid my own way, and you can too. We had a deal. And if you break my trust, it's over."

  Then he turned on his heel and went to his room, slamming the door and making the whole house shake.

  I shoved my hands into my hair, resisting the urge to pull it all out. "Dad is ridiculous!" I huffed and dropped onto the loveseat in the living room.

  "Noah was sleeping in your room?" Easton asked in a quiet voice from behind me and when I turned to glance up at him, he had a look on his face that made me think he felt betrayed somehow.

  "Nothing happened."

  He walked over to the couch and dropped down. "Was it real then? Were you sneaking around right in front of my face this whole time?"

  I rolled my eyes. "It was all fake until today, Easton. We told you the truth. Noah
just needed somewhere to stay since he got kicked out of his house."

  "Wait... What?" Easton shook his head like he didn't think he'd heard me right. "Since when did Noah get kicked out of his house? And why the heck did he tell you and not me?"

  I scooted forward on the loveseat and sighed. Telling Noah's secret was probably the only way to keep my dad from getting a restraining order on him. "His stepdad kicked him out on Saturday."

  "He's been sleeping here since Saturday?"

  I blew out a frustrated breath. "If you’ll just let me talk, I can explain everything."

  So I told him all about Noah getting kicked out and sleeping in his car and me finding him in there. "He just slept in my closet for two nights. I promise he didn't lay a finger on me. I'm still wearing my purity ring, see?" I hated that I had to say it.

  "But why didn't he tell me?"

  "He didn't want anyone to know. The only reason why he told me was because I found him. He probably would have stayed in his car in the freezing cold last night if I hadn't begged him to come over."

  Realization dawned on his face. "Is that why you didn't want me looking in your closet?"

  "Yes." I crossed my arms.

  Easton shook his head. "I still can't believe he didn't tell me."

  We were quiet for a while. But then he said, "Wait, you said it wasn't real until today. What happened today? I thought you broke up."

  Oh man. My stupid mouth was ruining everything, wasn't it?

  "Lexi..." he prodded when I didn't say anything.

  I blinked my eyes shut, knowing I'd been caught. It wasn't like it mattered, anyway. There was pretty much no chance of Noah ever talking to me again after all the things my dad had said.

  I opened my eyes again. "Turns out, Noah actually liked me."

  "And what makes you think that?"