I said no.

I couldn't date him. I simply couldn't. There were so many reasons or frankly said, excuses. For starters, mom wouldn't be happy with it. She probably won't encourage me dating a guy during the time I needed to focus on my studies. And I really didn't want to ruin our friendship with this whole dating thing.

They sounded stupid, even to me. I've never been good with coming up with excuses. And yet, I turned him down ruthlessly. Every time I said no, Noah's smile would crumble a bit but it would be replaced by a full blown grin in seconds. He seemed confident that I couldn't hold up for long.

And it was true. Of course I wanted to date Noah. But for some reason, I was... scared. I didn't know why, but I was terrified out of my mind.

It was during a late Sunday afternoon. I was sending Noah some memes and there it was again. The big question.

'So when are you going to say yes?' the text read.

I stared at it good and hard, almost as if my glares would make it magically disappear. But it stayed. Stubborn, questioning and cheeky. If I said no now, I knew that Noah would drop the subject, possibly even forever. I would get what I want. Everything would remain normal, peaceful and calm. Just like it had always been. I whispered the answer to myself, "No. No, I won't say yes."

It rolled off my tongue effortlessly. Saying no was nothing new to me. Doing the right thing was a trait which was engrained in my system. Every decision, every choice, every answer, it was never what I wanted. It was always about what was right and what had to be done.

Do you want another chocolate, Abby? No, mom. It's fine.

Do you want to go to your friend's party, Abby? No, I'd rather study.

Don't you want to come have fun with us, Abby? No. No, I don't.

There was another text from Noah, 'hello? Abby? You still here? I asked you if you'd go out with me.'

Say no, say no, say no, say no.

I texted back, 'yes.'

***

Red was the colour of my lipstick on our first date.

I was almost dizzy with excitement. Even when Sarah almost tore my hair off my scalp in the name of styling it, the smile on my face just refused to leave. 

Sarah whistled, "Damn girl, you look drop-dead gorgeous. Loverboy's gonna have a hard time controlling himself."

I had never been good at receiving compliments because it was almost always forced or I mostly thought I was undeserving of them. But when I heard Sarah say that, I just grinned wider. Because this time, it might just be true.

Noah had insisted on taking me on a traditional date. When I asked him what it was all about, he just gave me the smile he had just for me and said, "You're just about to see that you're not the biggest starry-eyed romantic around here."

The girl who was staring back at me from the mirror seemed foreign to me. From my childhood, all I wanted was this. A fairy tale; a love story. But now that it was actually happening, it all seemed so unreal. Like the last note of a dream which was about to slip away from my fingers

I did know one thing though. If it was a dream, I didn't ever want to wake up.

I touched my cheek and let out a little laugh. My tanned skin was warm and flushed and my eyes had a certain glow to them. I was wearing a dress which I borrowed from Sarah. It was a little black dress which reached my knees. My hair came to my shoulders in soft blonde curls. I looked beautiful. I looked happy. I looked alive.

By the time I heard three precise knocks on the door, I was literally vibrating with anticipation. Sarah clapped her hands together and smiled nervously, "Let's get you to this date of yours."

She hummed a song under her breath and went to open the door. I looked at myself for one last time and took a deep breath. By the time I reached the door, they were talking in heated whispers,

"-I don't think I have to say this twice, but you better not hurt her, asshole. If you do, lookout. Because I will most definitely jump out from the shadows and kick your pretty athletic ass."

Noah arched an eyebrow, challenging her, "Oh really?"

Sarah cracked her knuckles and took a threatening step forward, "I won't hesitate, bitch."

I ran to the door before they had the chance to tear each other apart, "Kids, stop all that bickering," I glared at Sarah, pulling my best intimidating-mom look, "I leave you alone for 5 seconds and you're already terrorizing my date."

Sarah snorted and shrugged. I shook my head slowly and turned to Noah and froze.

All my life, I had always felt like my foot never touched the ground. I was always dreaming of touching the stars, but I wasn't quite flying either. I was stuck somewhere in between fantasy and reality and I hated it. The sky was so close to my fingertips, so darn close, and yet I just couldn't touch it. 

Noah's eyes widened and something which I couldn't quite understand flashed through his eyes when he saw me. His smile was enough to light up a thousand cities, "Hi."

And then I was soaring. I was laughing and touching the cotton candy skies. At that moment, standing under my bad dorm lighting, I felt like everything was possible. Anything and everything.

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, "Hi."

"Ready?" He asked, offering me his hand.

I beamed and closed my fingers around his, "Always have been."

In the background, I could hear Sarah gagging. But nothing could ruin that moment for me. Noah was wearing a sleek black suit with a black tie and looking at me like I was all that mattered. I knew that this memory would be engrained in my head till the end of the days and I've never been more right.

"Use protection, kids!" Sarah yelled frantically as we walked towards his car. We gave her the finger in sync and the night was already too good to be true.
***
"You made me dress like this to go to the movies?!"

Noah smirked slyly, "I wanted to see how you look in a dress."

When I raised my hands to smack him, he surrendered, "Okay, okay! It probably wasn't the brightest idea, but hey! I'm a college student who wants to wear a suit in which he looks fabulous and take the girl he really likes to a fancy date. But as I am royally broke, that's not possible. But you know what is? Taking her on a really cheesy date which you know that she'll love and wearing really fancy dresses at the same time."

My stomach felt funny when he said 'the girl he really likes'. I shook off my thoughts and looked around at the mildly amused looks I was getting and whispered, "But people are staring!"

He snaked an arm around my waist and pulled me to his side, making me blush, "Who cares? Let them stare. Don't you feel pretty darn great wearing that dress?"

It was true. Wearing good dresses and pulling the look off really did make you feel great. I shrugged like his touch had no effort whatsoever on me, "It does feel pretty darn great."

He smirked and leaned down to my ear. I could feel his lips on my neck as he whispered, "And you look pretty darn great, too."

And then he was walking towards the counter, leaving me a blushing mess. My skin was on fire. When I looked at him, he had the guts to turn and bloody wink at me over his shoulder.

I touched the spot where his lips were on and tried to glare at him. Oh, you'll pay for that.
***
"What a romantic you are, Mr. Winters. Taking a girl to possibly the worst movie in existence and watching her talk trash about it for the whole night." I commented, stuffing my face with fries.

Noah chewed on his burger patiently before answering, "Honey, you and I both know you are this peculiar human who enjoys trashing movies more than watching good movies. Tell me you didn't enjoy it."

Damn it.

It was true. The movie was so bad that it made me want to cry, but not of sadness. We had made jokes for every scene of the movie and thrown popcorn and silently said,"Boo." every ten minutes. Thank god no one sat in front of us. By the end of the movie, we were this close to being thrown out of the theater for being a nuisance. It wasn't anything too romantic, but it was the most fun I've had in ages.

I threw a piece of tomato at him, which he skillfully caught in his mouth and chewed smugly. I stuck my tongue out at him, "Whatever, Dimitri."

"Whatever, Abigail."

We were sitting in a fast food joint that served the most heavenly burgers to ever grace the earth. He could've taken me to a restaurant, but that bloody bugger knew I would sell my soul for greasy food.

I wolfed down my second burger and stuffed my mouth with some chicken nuggets. Noah squinted at me with fascination and disgust, "You quite possibly have the person with the worst table manners I've ever had the misfortune of knowing. Even David has better manners."

David was Noah's beloved pet Labrador. I had only met him once, but I loved that ball of fluff with all my heart.

The smile in his face was so wide that it made me wonder how it didn't hurt his cheeks. Whenever he was around me, his joy seemed to be boundless. And when his facade started to slip, he'd leave and hide from me for days, even weeks till he was back to his normal self. Now, there'll be no hiding. I will see all of him and him all of me.

The very thought made my heart race.

I washed it all down with coke and grinned at him, "You love me for that, don't you?"

He simply shook his head and laughed. As I leaned back on my chair with a content sigh, I could've sworn I heard him mutter, "Damn right I do."
***

"-and that's how I got out of jail time with nothing but my power of seduction."

I rolled my eyes and nibbled my lower lip, hiding my smile, "That sentence sounds like incredibly lame clickbait." I crossed my arms and leaned against the door, "Now tell me, why are you trying to pass time with these stories?"

He looked away and- was he blushing?!- mumbled, "I... er... I didn't um... I didn't want the night to end."

A warm feeling spread through my chest. I let a smile dance on my lips, "Go home, Noah."

He nodded, "Right. I'll get going."

Despite his words, he just shuffled around awkwardly, his eyes focused on his shoes. I had to think for a second to realize what he was waiting for.

Oh, this is going to be fun.

I moved towards him slowly, giving him a look that was meant to be coy. Looking at the way his eyes widened, I concluded that I was doing very well. His eyes were filled with something which suddenly made me feel exposed. Was it urgency? Or was it wanting?

I pulled him towards me by his tie, so close that our noses were touching. We had been close to each other before, but this was different and we both knew it. If I just moved my face a little closer, my lips would be on his. Just a little more- just...

Before I could change my mind, I placed a quick kiss on his cheek and stepped away, a triumphant smile on my face.

Ha! Try to top that, sucker!

Confusion overcame his features. He opened and closed his mouth a few times like he didn't understand what just happened. I giggled. Standing with his messy hair and scrunched up eyebrows in the moonlight, he looked so... adorable.

When he finally regained his composure, he narrowed his eyes, "You...! You know what, I'll just leave."

I gave him a thumbs-up, "Yup."

He stuffed his hands in his pockets and started walking away. I chuckled and turned to open the door. But Noah didn't seem to agree.

"Oh, screw this!"

In two long strides, he was in front of me and before I could say anything, his lips were on mine, hot and searing. What I felt in the theater was nothing compared to this. I felt like I was burning alive and funnily enough, I didn't seem to mind even one bit. His hands were everywhere and it still wasn't enough. My mind screamed more, more, more and more. I kissed him back with the same intensity.

And then it was over.

Just as fast as he came to me, he was standing away from me, looking as though nothing happened. I had to hold on to the door to steady myself. Giving me his signature grin, he bowed, "Now I can leave."

***

A/n.

hello my beloved dudes (yes, that's what I'm calling people who read my books from now on.)

I just realized that I forgot to mention that this is a short story *facepalm* (forgive me, my demon brain refuses to function properly.) It'll have 10-12 chapters max. 

What did you think of this one? Tell me in the comments and click the star below if you liked it!