Noah led me through the groups of people, hand firmly clasped in his. My heart hammered as the realization that we were alone together finally dawned on me. Well, alone in a huge crowd, at least.

"What's your drink?" he asked as we came to a stop in the kitchen.

"Beer?" I asked cautiously, looking around the kitchen and mentioning the first thing that came into view. Only, I didn't like beer so the fact that I asked for it seemed especially dumb. "Or, uh, a coke?"

"A beer or a coke?" Noah asked, one eyebrow raised playfully.

"A coke. If you have any." I cleared my throat and brushed a strand of hair behind my ear. Way to go, Sky.

"Yeah, sure, one coke coming up." Noah grinned at me before shuffling through the fridge. I should have told him any kind of juice would be fine. Or water. I drank water too. Water was good.

What if they didn't have coke? Or maybe they needed it for mixing some alcohol. My mind spun in circles until a red cup with dark fizzy liquid popped up in front of me.

"You okay?" he asked, tilting his head, amusement clear on his face.

"Oh, yeah, sorry, I just zoned out for a minute."

"Uh, I'm sorry about this... well, this. I swear it was supposed to be just a small party but apparently word got out and one person invited another and, yeah." Noah scratched his nape, eyes critically assessing all the tipsy people around him.

"I mean don't parties always kind of escalate like that?" I joked, bumping his shoulder with mine.

He just laughed and shook his head. "Honestly? Not really. At least not like this. Kinda feels like my sister just sent some mass invite over social–"

Suddenly he just froze mid-sentence, letting out a groan as he ran his hand down his face. "Shit, that's probably exactly what she did. Wouldn't be the first time she hid her Insta story from me."

His face creased, the concern so obvious I lost all sense of humor. The fact that he seemed so mature, to the point where he felt fictional, kind of made sense. After all, his sister seemed to be the wild child so maybe he had to keep the peace. Figuring out Noah Archer felt a lot like trying to assemble a rubrics cube. You think you know what you're doing, and it all makes sense but then something happens and your colors just don't seem to fit...

Among all of that, one big question surfaced. Where were his parents right now to make all of this okay?

"You gonna take this?" Noah grinned and looked down to the red cup in his hand. 

"Oh, uh, yes, thanks." I grabbed the cup and took a sip, finally feeling myself relax at least a bit.

Noah smiled at me and offered his hand again. "Wanna go chill outside a bit?"

It was as if he read my mind. I grinned back at him and took his hand, taking the initiative to lead this time. He chuckled behind me, probably amused by the fact that I was leading him through his own house, but I had spotted the wide-open balcony and the lit-up pool as soon as we passed by the living room. Honestly, it was kind of hard to miss.

This time, with my red cup in hand, feeling almost like I belonged, I actually studied the people we passed. Groups assembled. People talking about particular topics, then there was that group that played the newest FIFA game on the big screen in the living room, a group that was huddled on the biggest sofa close to an open window smoking. And while at first glance, it felt like cliques had formed, it only took a few seconds to notice how some people still mingled. Went from the window couch to the FIFA screen. Or left the FIFA screen to join the bar side talks.

I was never big on parties, and so alcohol never tasted that great – but then again, maybe it was just the bottle of vodka Lily stole from her parents when we were 15. None of us wanted to taste alcohol after that experience.

The fresh air felt like an energy boost as soon as we walked outside. I let out a satisfied sigh and turned to Noah with a smile.

He looked down at me, smiling back, and opened his mouth to–

"Yo, Casanova, c'mere." Someone called out and he shut his mouth with a sigh through his nose before turning toward the voice.

A group of people, mostly guys, sat at a lounge area by the pool. I instantly recognized a few that were hit by the lights around them – two of the infamous best friends, and it was likely the third was somewhere there.

"I'm busy," Noah called back, and the booing and laughing returned.

"You've been busy all night, come on," another voice echoed.

"Yeah, which is why I don't host parties," Noah said, too quietly for any of them to hear but loud enough to make me chuckle.

He cast an exasperated gaze toward me and sighed, "Do you mind if we–" he started and gestured toward the group. "I mean don't feel pressured they're just being–"

I stopped him with a squeeze of his hand and smiled. "I really don't mind. Let's go."

Noah squeezed my hand back and grinned, walking toward the group. As soon as we started approached, they started hollering excitedly, already squeezing together to make space for the two of us.

"You must be Skyler," one of them leaned closer as soon as I sat down. "I'm Darren. That's–"

"Brandon," the guy opposite me held out his hand and I reached out to shake it. "And this is my girlfriend, Inna."

She smiled at me, but instead of just offering her hand, she leaned across the table and gave me a quick hug. I awkwardly pat her on her back and when I sat back down I heard Noah snickering next to me.

When he saw the confused question in my eyes, he moved closer to me and whispered quietly in my ear, "You love hugs, huh?"

Pulling back, I lightly punched his arm for choosing to bring that up now.

"And the best for last," the guy sitting next to Noah said and leaned over him, his bright smile so contagious I felt my lips start to pull up. "I'm Hunter."

I shook his hand as well, and felt blessed that this was the last hand I was going to have to shake because I was starting to get sweaty. This was probably the most people I had met at the same time, and they were all probably going to have to repeat their names from me because my nerves froze my brain at the exact moment they introduced themselves. I was too focused on appearing normal when shaking their hands.

"I-It's really nice to meet you all, I'm Skyler," I muttered, swallowing hard.

"Oh, we know," Darren said, a mischievous smirk on his face and from the corner of my eye I saw Noah glaring at him. "Do you need a drink Skyler?"

I raised my red cup and smile, "Thanks, Noah already got me a coke."

"A coke?" Hunter repeated excitedly before pushing Noah's shoulder. "Aye, we found another designated driver, means you can drink, Archer."

In truth, I had my drivers license, and my parents had promised to get me a car as a graduation gift. However, having not driven a lot now, it's not like I was the most experienced of drivers. In fact, I was one of those extra cautious, slow ones. Maybe that would be a good thing when driving off drunk people? After all the one time I got drunk, I threw up the entire contents of my stomach – driving can't help with avoiding that. Before I could even say anything though, Noah shook his head and bumped his friend with the shoulder.

"Y'know I'm the designated adult too, someone's got to keep an eye on Tara and make sure she doesn't–" Noah said and just on que as he spoke a crash of something probably glass breaking in the house echoes along with a round of hollers.

Noah sighed and ran a hand down his face. "Break something," he finished and turned to me with an apologetic look. "I gotta go check on this. You okay waiting here for a second?"

"Don't worry, man, we'll keep her entertained." Brandon chimed in and Inna started nodding her head enthusiastically.

"That's exactly what I'm worried about." Noah rolled his eyes before focusing back on me, and pressing his lips together.

I grinned and nodded my head toward the house. "I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself."

Noah grinned back, a devilish spark in his eyes. "Don't I know that. Be back in a sec."

And then he was gone and I was left in what I quickly realized was the lions den, with four pairs of hungry eyes staring directly at me.

"So, Skyler," Hunter started, scooting a bit closer to me. "Noah. He's a 10 but he...?" He lightly bumped me on the shoulder and I frowned. "I can start if you want, I have a lot of material for that game."

"Hunter," Darren said, making the word sound like a warning and Hunter raised his hands in the air.

"Honestly, we always thought this whole two-week dating thing was a joke," Darren said, leaning closer.

"I mean, I get why you think that I guess," I muttered, not really wanting to admit that I wholeheartedly agreed with them considering this felt like some kind of test.

"Actually, you're the first girl he's dated that we've met," Darren continued and the rest of the people at the table just nodded, except for Hunter who whistled and leaned back.

"Damn, that's right. Does that mean he's embarrassed of us?" Hunter said, pressing a hand over his chest as if he was heartbroken.

Brandon rolled his eyes and focused back on me, "So what'd attract you to our little Casanova anyway?"

"You're serious about him, right?" Inna followed up, concern clear in her eyes and my heart dropped.

They all seemed to care about him so much and there was nothing honest I could say to any of these questions that wouldn't make them hate me. I had a distinct feeling that if they knew I started dating their friend in hopes of taking him down, they would have picked me up and kicked me straight of the party.

An awkward silence stretched and I swallowed hard, knowing I had to say something.

"Noah seemed mysterious and it attracted me," I said the only half-truth I could muster and they started laughing instantly.

"Sounds about right," Darren said between laughs.

"So you're like Nancy Drew huh?" Hunter added, poking me on the side with his elbow. "He any less of a mystery now?"

I relaxed a bit and shook my head, smile on my face. "I feel like the more I get to know him the more of a mystery he becomes."

Another round of laughs and then Hunter wrapped his arm around my shoulder, squeezing me one. "You're good, Skyler. Take care of our boy, eh?"

Before I could reply, suddenly his hand flung away from my shoulders and I looked up to see a very annoyed Noah.

"What did I say about the casual touching, Hunter?" Noah's voice was surprisingly rough when he spoke and I swallowed hard at how attractive that actually sounded.

"Can't help it. Physical touch is my love language." Hunter grinned mischievous and shrugged.

"Well, keep your love language away from Sky." Noah said through gritted teeth before he extended his hand to me. "Want a tour of the house?"

I nodded, taking his hand and getting up. He entwined his fingers, and his friends instantly oooh'ed us. Noah rolled his eyes, and then pointed a finger at each of them. "Don't make trouble while we're gone."

The grins they all had on their faces clearly said they weren't making any promises. Noah sighed and turned around, pulling me with him.

I looked back at the group, smiling and giving a small wave. "It was really great meeting you all."

"I'm sure we'll see you again, Skyler," Brandon said, in a way that sounded as if he knew something I didn't, but I didn't let it bother me.

The feeling of Noah's hand holding mine and how tightly he squeezed it, made it hard to be bothered by anything.

"Everything okay?" I asked and Noah glanced at me and sighed.

"Yeah, Hunter just gets on my nerves sometimes. They call me Casanova, but he's the biggest Playboy this town's ever seen."

I pressed my lips together and Noah looked to me, frowning. "What?"

"I was asking about the house. The crashing sound?" I said, trying not to let a huge smile consume my face.

Noah blinked a few times before his face turned a deep shade of red. He ran his free hand through his hair and cleared his throat. "Oh, yeah, yup, everything's fine, a vase broke, nothing important."

This was the first time I saw Noah Archer so flustered. My heart started hammering in my chest. The air around us felt hotter than usual and for a second as we passed by the pool I considered just jumping in to cool off.

But before I could even weigh the pros and cons in my head, we'd made our way back into the house.

At least with the blaring music, there was no way he could hear my abnormal heartbeat. 

Hi loves! ❤️

So, as some of you may have seen on my profile, my plans fell apart because I got covid - just my luck - and I've been struggling to have enough energy to do... anything. However, I'm feeling a lot better now. The plan was to finish this book by the Wattys, which is 6 days away. And we have about 12-14 chapters of the book left. Basically, it seems like mission impossible. 

But ya girl is no quitter. Go hard or die trying. I'm gonna use the rest of my sick leave trying to write 2-3 chapters every day. This means I'm now writing the next chapter and within the next 6 hours, hopefully you'll see another update from me. 

HERE'S A LITTLE TEASER FOR ALL YOU OG'S WHO READ MY AUTHOR'S NOTES. 

The next chapter is called.... TWO WEEKS TO KISS THE GUY....❤️

YESSSSS, FINALLY WE'RE GETTING THAT CHAPTER, REJOICE. ✨✨✨

So, stay tuned and I'm keeping this short so that I can treat you to THE updated by end of today, eeeeeek! So excited we're getting this finally. 

Love you, stay strong, stay safe!