Noah Archer had almost kissed me.

There was no way I was misreading that situation. But, then again, the last time I thought he was caressing my hair, all he was doing was removing leaves from it. It's not like it would have been the first time I had misinterpreted stuff.

The reason I was even doubting that was because Noah was acting perfectly normal. No lull in the conversation, that charming smile on his face, the modicum of a nice guy.

I, on the other hand, was internally freaking out. Every time I looked at him, my eyes somehow drifted to his lips and the heat returned to my cheeks. It was even worse when he caught me looking and for a few seconds a smirk pulled up his lips before they returned back to the pleasantly charming smile he seemed to reserve exclusively for parents. The Smile™.

"Is everything okay with you, Sky?" Mom asked suddenly, pulling me out of my thoughts. "You've been awfully quiet."

"Yup, no, yeah, totally fine, just busy eating, mmmm, yum," I said and stuffed some more casserole into my mouth for emphasis.

Mom's eyebrows raised, but she shook her head, clearly not wanting to get into anything in front of our guest.

And while she didn't know why I was acting weird, Noah certainly did. His eyes were on me, head tilted slightly to the side and that all too familiar smirk on those sinful lips. I stared at him, narrowing my eyes, and refusing to look away.

I instantly regretted it. It felt like the next bite he took was unnecessarily sensual, and it didn't help that he was maintaining eye contact with me.

Oh sweet baby pandas, why was it so damn hot in this room?

Swallowing hard, I grabbed my glass of water and downed it in one gulp.

Before he had even swallowed the last piece of food, my mom jumped in with her usual, "Would you like some more, Noah?"

He just smiled and nodded – not that he had any other choice considering my mom was already grabbing his plate.

"Thank you so much, Serena. I can't remember the last time I ate such delicious homemade food," Noah said as my mom piled food onto his plate.

Kiss-ass. I shovelled another another fork full of casserole into my mouth to keep myself from grumbling in protest.

"Oh, that's so sweet of you to say. I'm sure your mom is an excellent cook as well." Mom beamed at him, innocence in every gesture but I knew the truth.

Noah was being interrogated without a single question being asked. The answer to this little remark could easily be, 'oh, no my father is the one that cooks,' or if it's his mom, it would give him an opportunity to offer more information. And if he simply breezed past the question, she would get suspicious.

When I was younger I used to think my mom was a spy because she always seemed to know everything. It took me a while to realize that most times I ended up giving her information without even realizing it.

I grinned, chewing on a piece of salad as I carefully looked from one to the other. If I knew Noah, he was going to give a half-hearted remark, breeze past the question and make that was going to be tha–

"She used to be an amazing cook, the best really – no offence to you, of course, but there's nothing quite like your mom's cooking to fix a bad day," Noah said. I gaped at him. Mom nodded encouragingly. "But, as much as she loves to cook, she hasn't had time for it lately, so the task usually falls on our live-in housekeeper. She's a lovely lady but... well, let's say she wasn't hired for her cooking skills."

My eyes narrowed. This was more information about his family than I'd managed to get during the last several days of dating him. Even though he forced us to spend basically every moment together.

"Oh, I see!" Mom said, chuckling. "Well, I'm sure your mom will be cooking up a storm soon enough. And until then you're more than welcome to join us for dinner whenever you want a–"

Mom prattled on about her cooking, clearly smitten by him. But, because I knew him, or at least, I think I was starting to really know him, I could see past the smile that was on his face. As pleasant as his expression might have looked to someone from the outside looking in, I could see that it was fake. His eyes weren't in it, anymore. They looked far away. Hollow. His body was here but his mind had gone somewhere... dark.

For some reason, a deep sadness overcame me as I looked at him. I held my breath, the fork hanging limply from my hand.

As if he sensed me staring, he turned to me. His eyes met mine. Even though no words were exchanged, even though it was barely a second or two, I felt like he knew. He knew that I saw him. Probably for the first time ever, I really saw him.

That he wasn't just smirks, and smiles, and impulsive dates, and magic.

That there was darkness there. And sorrow. And what felt like a lifetime of pain.

In that one moment, suspended in time, I felt like I knew nothing about him and yet understood everything.

His eyes filled with confusion, surprise, and something else entirely. And while I didn't know what any of that meant, a part of me had relaxed, just because his eyes no longer looked so painfully empty. Then, slowly, a small, barely visible smile pulled up his lips. Like a silent thank you for the wordless support I had given him.

Even though the whole exchanged felt like it had lasted hours, it couldn't have been more than a few second because once my mom stopped speaking he turned to her, his lips back to The Smile™.

I tried to participate in the conversation for the rest of dinner, but even though I was no longer distracted by his lips, something else had plagued my mind. Echoed in my heart.

I didn't know Noah Archer, but until now, I hadn't realized how desperately I wanted to know him.

"So, we have two more hours, huh?" Noah said once we were back in my room.

Closing the door behind us, I chewed on my lip. He stretched, his back to me, and I took the chance to mull over how I was going to ask him what I wanted to ask him.

I wanted to know more of his story. Needed to know more.

"Noah," I said, and he turned to face me.

Recognition instantly flashed through his eyes and he pressed his lips together. He didn't say anything but I could see in how stiff his body had gotten and the despair in his eyes that he was dreading my questions.

And so, I asked him. "Want to do some more of the questions? I feel like we still have a lot left."

I couldn't. I couldn't ask him what I actually wanted to know. And when I saw the relief in his eyes and the bright smile on his face that followed, I knew I'd made the right choice, instead of the selfish one.

"You're right, we should probably catch up," he said and chuckled.

Relaxed. Happy. The way he normally was.

I saw down on the bed and leaned my back against the wall. Noah just looked at me, so I pat the bed next to me.

He instantly smirked.

"Hey now, don't get any funny ideas. I'm just telling you to sit down."

"Wouldn't dream of it, Foxy."

I rolled my eyes at that infernal nickname. Noah sat on the bed, and leaned on the wall, right next to me, so close that our shoulders were touching.

A shiver passed through me, along with an intense need to scoot further away from him.It was obvious, from the grin on his face and the way he was staring at me, that was exactly what he expected me to do. So that's exactly why I didn't do it.

Seemingly surprised, he raised one eyebrow and pursed his lips before relaxing and leaning his head against the wall.

"Let's see..." he mused. "Hm, yeah, okay, let's do this one. Name three things you and me seem to have in common."

I frowned. "Is that an actual question from the list or are you just making stuff up now?"

"It's a real question I swear. You can Google it if you don't believe me."

Of course it was a real question. What was up with this psychology love game.

Sighing, I tried to come up with what I was going to say when he nudged me gently with his shoulder.

"It's your turn first, you know."

"I know, just, just give me a second." I sighed and twirled a strand of my hair around a finger.

Three things. Surely there were three things we had in common.

As I looked around the room my eyes fell on the headphones and a light bulb went off in my head.

"We have the same headphones."

"Hey, hey, that's cheating. I already knew that." Noah complained, teasingly and I just shrugged.

"So? Didn't say it had to be things you don't already know..."

A corner of his lips pulled up and he shook his head. "You really are a little cunning fox. Go on then."

Ignoring the little insult – or was it a compliment? – I thought of any more similarities.

"We have the same taste in music." It almost hurt me to admit that but it was true.

His eyes widened. "We do?" he asked, and I nodded in return. "That's awesome. I didn't know that."

"And third," I quickly added, trying to get this over with. I looked at him and only one thing came to mind. One thing that I couldn't be sure of, but I knew. "We both love our mom's and would do anything for them."

Surprise flashed across his face. A myriad of emotions played in his eyes before his face finally softened and he nodded. "Yeah, we would."

A moment of comfortable silence passed between us, a mutual understanding. Even though he'd never said this out loud, it was clear how much he adored his mom from the way he talked about her. Just as easy as it was to tell that he did not share the same emotions for his dad.

He cleared his throat and stared up at the ceiling. "Guess it's my turn."

For a few second he was quiet, and then he looked at me, really looked at me.

"We're both true to ourselves, no matter what others think or say. We're both stronger than we let on," he said, maintaining eye contact the whole time and I felt my cheeks heat up. Why were his answers so much deeper than mine had been?

"We both see our friends as extended family," he finished with a grin.

His friends had never hung out with us, but to be fair, I don't think I'd ever seen them hang out with  any of Noah's girlfriends. Despite that, him and his three close friends were a well known group to everyone. Not just because of their good looks, or because they all seemed to excel in different things, but because they were that type of group that was just naturally close. Those kinds of friends that, even if you didn't see them for a month, it would feel as if you'd only seen them yesterday when you met up. It was hard not to notice them goofing and laughing around school.

I frowned. Now that I thought about it, it did seem like he'd been spending a lot less time with them than usually this past week.

"Are your friends okay with you spending so much time with m–your girlfriends?" I'd almost made the mistake of making myself sound special. Silly me.

He just smiled and waved his hand. "Nah, they're fine. They make fun of me about it but they also call it free entertainment for them so..."

I nodded, but my chest felt heavy. Entertainment. Was  that what I was, entertainment?

"Not that I see things that way, of course, because I don't. At all. I'm serious about this," he quickly added as if he could sense the downturn of my thoughts. "They're just dumb-asses that don't really get what I'm doing."

Honestly, I didn't get what he was doing either. I didn't even get what I was doing anymore.

"How about another question?" he asked as if he wanted to change the subject.

"Sure, let's go."

"If you could wake up tomorrow having gained one quality or ability, what would it be?"

"You're first, right?"

"Yup," he said and made a humming sound. "I'd want the ability to control time and space. I feel like there's a lot you could change in the world if you had that kind of power."

"Yeah, but it's also dangerous. I mean I'd have thought you would know the repercussions of changing things, the butterfly effect and all that." I said, tilting my face as I studied him.

Noah shrugged, seemingly relaxed but it felt like there was something deeper behind the ability he'd chosen and his next words only confirmed that.

"Some things are worth the risk," he said. "What about you?"

"Uh, I'd choose the ability to fly. That would be amazing. Seeing birds in the sky, they always look so free," I said, and smiled.

"Skyler," he murmured but not in a way that seemed like he was talking to me. More like he was just tasting my name on his tongue. Then he grinned and nodded. "Definitely. I can see that. Flying would suit you."

Something about the way he said that, his voice deep and warm, made my cheeks grow hot.

What was wrong with my body today?

But it quickly became obvious that something wasn't wrong with my body. Something was wrong with me.

Because, when he leaned his shoulder against mine, I didn't move away.

I didn't even want to.

It was 9.25 PM when we stood at the front door. Noah dutifully stayed true to the curfew set by my mom, so after the questions and watching a few YouTube videos, he said it was time to go. A blessing, considering I needed to process everything that had happened today - and a lot had happened.

"Noah, it was so nice to meet you," Mom said as she gave Noah her usual big hug.

"The pleasure was all mine, Serena. It was really great to see where Skyler got her amazing personality from."

I couldn't tell whether that was sarcasm from his side, but my mom just grinned proudly and showered him with thanks.

"I'll walk you to your car," I muttered opening the door for him before Mom had a chance to embarrass me.

Silence stretched between us, our footsteps were the only sound you could hear as we walked. A few seconds later, we'd reached his car and I shuffled from foot to foot unsure of what I was supposed to say now.

Before I had a chance to overthink every sentence that crossed my mind at least three times, he beat me to it.

"Today was really great. Honestly, everything I needed after..." he started and then scratched the back of his head. "Anyway. Thank you."

"For what?" I asked. It's not like I'd made the dinner myself.

"A lot of things," he said on an exhale and looked at me.

His eyes were soft, softer than I'd ever seen them. The smile on his face felt real – tired but warm. So warm I felt it heating me up.

Noah took a step closer to me, our bodies almost pressed together. Slowly, he reached out his hand.

I stood frozen as he brushed his knuckles against my cheek, so gently I barely felt it and yet they left a trail of fire behind them.

Then he leaned down toward me, and I closed my eyes firmly, unsure of what to expect.

His lips pressed against my forehead, warm and soft and painfully sweet, they stayed there for a second or two before he pulled back.

My heart was working overdrive, beating so hard I thought it was going to explode.

Then he smiled, a sweet, boyish, innocent smile, and then the heartbeat was completely erratic.

This was it. This was when I had the heart attack.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning, okay?" he said and I just nodded dumbly.

Noah smirked as if he was fully aware of what he'd just done to me, opened his car door, and went inside.

I stood in the same spot for a few moments, even after his car turned the corner and I could no longer see it.

I stood there, waiting for my heart to stop overreacting. This was Noah. Noah Archer. There was absolutely no reason I should have been reacting like this to a simple kiss on the forehead.

And yet...

With wooden steps, I made my way back to our front door, more than a hundred percent ready to throw myself on the bed and attempt to process everything. But as soon as I walked into the house, I knew that wasn't going to happen.

Leaning on the doorframe of the living room was my mother. Lips pursed and eyebrows raised.

This day. This day was never-ending. 

Helloooo you lovely person! ❤️

First, I just want to say thank you for all the comments and votes. Honestly it really does motivate me a lot to finish writing and get things done when I see all the love you guys are showing me and this book, like it genuinely makes me so happy. (I'll be replying to comments from the last chapter now!)

ALSOOO, I know this was a few days later than expected but... I was distracted.

I completely forgot that Bridgerton was coming out this weekend, so of course, I had to binge the new season. And then, a friend that read the books said she was upset because they literally changed everything from the books, so naturally I had to read the second book as well to compare. And then, as it goes, I also had to read the third one while I was at it. 😂  

Do you watch Bridgerton? Did you watch the new season? What did you think?

I was a little disappointed, let's leave it at that. Especially after I read the books. I love enemies to lovers and I hate some of the stuff they did to try and create tension, it was just stupid. BUT Anthony was like... infinitely hotter in this season than the last one like, daaaamn. *fans self*
The best part of the show was the chemistry between the leads and the angst. But some of the unnecessary drama... Jeesh. Idk why they had to change everything from the book.

But anyway, moving away from that.

DID YOU LIKE THE CHAPTER?

Honestly, it was one of the longer ones and I had to actively force myself to stop writing because I wouldn't have been able to post today and also because it would have been way too much words for one chapter if I had just allowed myself free reign, hahah. 

ALSO ALSO ALSO, since we haven't been able to play the questions game in the last few chapters here are the two questions of the day. 

8. Name three things you and your partner appear to have in common.

Heh, well, I don't know if anyone will be willing to do this buuut... ALSO, I should mention since I forgot to initially that this does NOT have to be about a romantic partner. In the context of the psychological questions, it refers to the partner they were paired up with. SO if you're willing you can choose to write about a best friend, or literally anyone. I decided I'm just going to try and do one for all of you. 😂

We both like reading. We both like romance. We both fall in love with fictional characters. 😂

Hopefully I got this right for some if not most of you, haha. 

9. If you could wake up tomorrow having gained one quality or ability, what would it be?

Honestly, probably the same as Noah. The ability to control time and space - I know, so modest of me. Or teleportation that would be hella cool as well cause I always wanted to travel the world. 

Or the ability to connect my dog's and my lifespan together so she can live longer. :')

EEEK, I hope you answer a question, any question, I'm looking forward to seeing your answers! 😍

Alrighty, that's it for today. Another chapter will be coming this week.Stay strong, stay safe, love you lots! ❤️