chapter 10

"Have you two kissed?" Asked a small girl, brown eyes large with disgust at the very thought. I vaguely remembered her introducing herself as Abbie.

The crowd of girls around her reacted as if she'd just said that Santa wasn't real; their eyes wide and mouths open in horror.

I snuck a quick look over to Noah, who was similarly surrounded by children a few meters to my right. Me, Noah and about fifteen children between the ages of three and fourteen were standing in the play area in the pub's beer garden. It was Julie's fiftieth birthday party, and the entire place was decked out for the occasion. Rainbow bunting and multicoloured balloons were generously scattered around the premises. It was around half one in the afternoon and the place was bustling; it looked like the whole town had come to celebrate the occasion.

However, since Julie had assigned Noah and I the job of looking after the children, I hadn't had much chance to enjoy the festivities.

"Course we aren't, boys are smelly!" I said, addressing my little crowd. Noticing Noah was making his way over, I held my nose and pointed, "watch out! Smelly boy coming our way!"

The girls surrounding me copied my action, holding their noses and chanting "smelly boy!". Noah narrowed his eyes as I shot him a grin.

"Real mature," he said into my ear as he approached.

I shot him a wink as he turned to the large group of children. "Why don't you guys start a game of tag?" he asked, directing them to the large field behind the play park. They quickly dispersed, squeals and shouts following them as they ran.

"I hate kids," Noah complained, sitting down on a swing to watch over the game.

I laughed, mimicking his actions and sitting down on a swing myself. "You're really good with them!"

It was true; Noah seemed to have a talent for getting the children to do what he said. He shrugged, but couldn't disguise the small smile that came onto his face.

Before Noah could reply, Abbie ran to the pair of us and jabbed Noah on the knee.

"Tag!" she squealed, then ran away.

"We aren't playing!" I shouted at the retreating girl. I turned to look at Noah, who had a devilish glint in his eye.

"Tag," he said, touching me on the shoulder before sprinting off into the field.

Looks like we are playing.

I took off after Noah only a split second later, but by that time there was enough of a gap that there was no hope in me catching up to him. I always used to be sporty, but the fact that I had not done any exercise in the previous few months became obvious when a painful stitch pierced my side. Slowing down my pace a little, I surveyed my options.

Option one: continue to chase after Noah. Scanning the field, I saw he was at least twenty metres away, and he had already shown himself to be a lot faster than me.

Option two: go for one of the easy pickings. The other children moved so slowly, I could catch one of them in a matter of seconds. But where would be the fun in that?

So I went for option three.

"Ouch!" I screamed, dropping to the ground, clutching my ankle.

Noah stopped running and turned around, looking back at me. I upped the ante.

"My ankle!" I sobbed, screaming in pain. Noah instantly started to run over.

"What happened? Are you-"

Before he could finish his sentence I lunged for him and tapped his leg.

"Tag!"

"You bitch!" I heard him swear under his breath as I started to sprint away. The trick had worked; Noah's surprise had given me a couple of seconds head start. Heading across the field, I quickly glanced behind to see Noah rapidly gaining on me. Looking back ahead, I willed my legs to move faster. I could hear the thuds of Noah's footsteps falling closer and closer...

A high pitched scream came from across the field. I stopped dead in my tracks, Noah doing the same behind me. Looking across the field I saw Abbie on the ground, clutching her leg. Heart dropping, I instantly ran towards her. Noah reached her first, and by the time I arrived, he was knelt on the ground next to her.

"Where does it hurt?" he asked panickedly. She pointed a finger to her knee, which was bleeding. A sense of relief spread through me, and I let out the breath I had been holding. There was only a little blood and it seemed like it was just a shallow graze. From the sound of her scream I was expecting something a lot worse.

"Is it just your knee?" I asked, making sure that there wasn't anything else. She nodded slowly, her tears starting to subside.

Noah turned to me, eyes full of panic. "What do we do!" He hissed. I turned to him, mentally withdrawing my previous statement that he was good with children. If I didn't have a teary child to deal with, I might have found the situation funny- Noah was completely out of his depth.

"Go grab her mum and meet us in the kitchen," I directed him. "I'll go and find her a plaster."

Scooping up the little girl, I carried her into the kitchen and sat her down on one of the seats, before finding a plaster from Julie's medicine cabinet. By the time I came back to her, the tears had stopped flowing.

"Right, Abbie. I'm going to clean up your knee and make it all better." I said, smiling down at the little girl. "It might sting a bit, but be a big strong girl for me and hold still."

The little girl nodded up at me. As I washed and dressed her cut her face scrunched up with the effort of holding completely still.

"Well done, you did amazingly!" I said, smoothing the edges of the plaster over her skin. She grinned at me, making my heart break into a million little pieces. "Now let's get you back to your mummy." I poked her nose with my finger, causing her to giggle.

"Julie's gone to find her." I spun around to see Noah in the doorway. Before I could reply, a woman, who I assumed to be Abbie's mum, had entered the kitchen.

"Mummy!" Abbie said, leaping off the chair and running into her mum's open arms. Her mum picked her up and sent me a smile.

"Thanks a lot for sorting her out." She said, positioning Abbie so she was sitting on her hip.

I sent her a smile back. "No worries."

Abbie sent me a small wave as her mum walked out, leaving Noah and I alone in the kitchen.

"How long were you standing there for?" I asked.

Noah shrugged. "Only a couple of seconds. You were so good with her. I can see why you're doing medicine, you clearly have a natural talent."

I felt my cheeks go red, and brushed off the compliment. "I only put a plaster on her."

"Still," Noah persisted. "You were so good under pressure. I completely panicked."

I laughed. "I saw. You were absolutely no help!"

Noah let out a chuckle and I took a second to consider what he had said. I had always known I would be a doctor when I grew up. My mum had been one and when she died I knew that it was what she would have wanted for me. The past few years I had been so focussed on the long application process that I hadn't really considered the actual practicalities of the job. The compliment felt strange and deeply personal, and it made me extremely uncomfortable to think about.

"We'd better get back to the kids." I said, heading back to the party.

***

"Holy fu-" Noah took a bite of his burger, letting out a moan at the taste. I sent him a well- aimed kick under the table, and motioned to the children sitting nearby. He winced.

"-dge. Holy fudge." He corrected, shooting me a glare as he rubbed his shin. I shot him a false smile. The food had been served at the party, and Noah and I were standing by one of the tables in the garden, watching over the kids having their lunch.

"Well if it isn't my favorite teen parents!" Miles said, putting an arm around my shoulder and wiggling his eyebrows at us.

I groaned as Noah laughed and reached for a fist bump. "Hey, Miles." He nodded at Tyler, who had also walked over to us. "What's up Ty"

I looked at both of them in surprise. "Why are you two here?"

"We've known Julie for years!" Tyler said, rolling his eyes.

Of course, I thought. Is there anyone in this town that Julie doesn't know?

"Come, let's sit down!" Miles said, motioning to a nearby table. I glanced back guiltily at the children. The tables were quite close, so I sat on the side facing the kids so that I could still keep an eye out. Miles handed Noah a beer, which he accepted as he sat down opposite me on the table.

I sent him a glare. "Noah, you're working."

He shrugged. "Julie wouldn't mind."

I crossed my arms and was about to retort when Miles cut in. "So, Lois, how are you finding Charleston?"

"I haven't seen much of it yet." I said, shrugging.

"Have you seen the rocky beach yet? It's great for cliff jumping." Tyler asked.

"Yeah, No-"

"This beer is amazing." Noah interjected loudly, completely cutting me off. I sent him a confused glance. I was sure they were talking about the beach that Noah had brought me to previously.

He obviously doesn't want them to know that he took me there.

Miles sent Noah a strange look before continuing with his questioning. "What about the pier?"

I shook my head. "Nope."

"That's one of our favorite places." Noah said, shooting me an apologetic smile.

The conversation moved on but I could barely focus. I had never met someone as confusing as Noah Thompson. One minute complimenting me, the next embarrassed to have spent time with me. Then there was the way he had held me in the water yesterday, the unreadable expression in his eyes. The way he had protected me from the creepy man.

I always knew the answers. I was a planner, always one step ahead of the game. Watching his blue eyes crease as he laughed at something Miles had said, I felt myself coming to a scary conclusion...

When it came to Noah Thompson, I had absolutely no clue.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

We are 10 chapters down already eeek!!! To celebrate, I have some Noah gifs!

As always, I love you lots,

Kirsty xx