Pushing the Limits (20 page)

“Would you believe me if I told you
I
didn’t know about it?”

Her eyes laughed. “Yes.” She stared at us like we were rats in a maze. “I should have seen this coming, but I didn’t. So much for my intuitive powers. Anyhow, let’s get the two of you to the nurse’s office. She’s here tonight in case of sudden illness or accidents.”

Noah startled me by saying “No” at the exact same time as I did.

“I’m fine,” he said.

“Me, too,” I added. “Fine, I mean.”

“If you’re sure.” Mrs. Collins collected her shoes and lifted herself off the floor. “I expect the two of you to remain professional in your tutoring sessions. I’ve been extremely pleased with your attendance and progress reports from your teachers, Noah. I see a negative change and I’ll be in the middle before the two of you can say group therapy. Am I making myself clear?”

We both mumbled something and watched her fade into the dark gym.

Noah nuzzled my hair. His warm breath sent shivers down my spine. “Truth, Echo. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I whispered, enjoying the sensation of his lips skimming the back of my neck. “Noah?”

“Yes?” The husky sound of his voice set me on fire.

I hated to end this moment, but … “I need to talk to Luke.”

He tensed then dragged me with him from the floor. “Onetime offer, Echo. You and me, but you’ve gotta dump the ape. I’ll wait outside. You’ve got twenty minutes.”

Noah left me. I stood with my hair half fallen from my mother’s clip, feeling suddenly alone. I unlatched the hook, letting the rest of my hair fall to my shoulders.

As I walked into the gym, I could barely see several feet in front of me. The glittering disco ball created the only light available. Fortunately, my friends found me.

“Oh, my God, Echo. Stephen told me what happened. Are you okay?” Lila grabbed hold of me. My heels dangled in her hand. Natalie and Grace flanked her on either side.

A lump grew in my throat. Would she stand by me? My best friend since kindergarten? She’d stood by me through so much already. If I chose the wrong guy in her eyes, would I destroy the one relationship I absolutely needed?

Grace pushed a few curls out of my face. I’d lose Grace. Definitely Grace, but had we really been friends to begin with?

“Echo?” prodded Natalie. She’d follow Lila. She always followed Lila.

“I need to talk to Lila,” I said. When I saw the hurt in Grace’s and Natalie’s eyes I quickly made something up. “Mom issues.”

Grace and Natalie both gave me encouraging smiles as they turned away. They left any conversation regarding my mother to Lila.

Lila placed her hands on her hips. “I’m not buying the mother card. You’re breaking up with Luke and you want my permission.”

“I’m not ‘in’ with him and I’m not going to be. I can handle losing Luke. I can handle becoming a social reject again, but I can’t handle losing you.”

“Are you falling for Noah Hutchins?” Glinda the Good Witch looked suddenly … serious.

Terror and joy fluttered inside of me. If I chose Noah, I might push Lila too far and destroy the only real friendship I ever had. But the mere thought of Noah’s name made my heart skip beats. It brought a smile to my face. It made my skin tingle for his touch. “Yes.”

She hugged me. “I expect a report on his abs. Real details, not romance novel nonsense.”

“What about Grace and Natalie?”

She sighed heavily, pulling away. “You know Nat will be fine. I’ll take care of Grace, but I’ll expect a picture of his abs for that one. Anyway, only three more months to graduation.”

“Echo?” said Luke from behind me.

Lila kissed my cheek, stuffed my shoes into my hand and left to join Natalie and Grace.

“Luke.” I tugged at my gloves.

He had his dress jacket off with his sleeves rolled up past his elbows. “I’m sorry for running into you. I saw you, but I couldn’t stop.”

“It’s okay.” I shifted from one uncomfortable foot to another, sensing the sand running into the bottom of the hourglass. “Luke …”

“He touched you—Noah. He saw your scars, didn’t flinch, and then he touched them.” Luke rubbed the back of his head. “I’m going to sound like a real dick, but I wouldn’t have been able to do that. Touch them or pretend they weren’t there. I thought I could, but …”

I rubbed my arms. Regardless of the words I’d planned on saying to him, the truth still stung. “Luke, it’s okay, because here’s the truth …” This sucked. “I’m not ‘in’ with you and I’m not going to be. Part of me really wanted us to work, but that’s what we became—work. We didn’t have to work the first time around.”

Luke nodded his head and then lowered it. His shoulders drooped forward and he stared at the floor for a second before wiping his nose. Then he raised his head and straightened to his full height. He forced a grin, but there wasn’t a light in his blue eyes. “Deanna came stag and she was hoping to get a ride in the limo to my house …”

“She can have my spot.” I didn’t need to rub it in that I planned on leaving with Noah.

He took a step toward me and whispered into my ear, “I really did love you.” Leaving out the unsaid word,
once
.

“Me, too.” Once.

NOAH

I should have thrown her over my shoulder and dragged her from the gym. Instead, like an idiot, I’d given her the choice. The choice to rip my heart out and hand it back to me. Why didn’t I listen to Beth? Why did I listen to Isaiah? Beth had experience down this road and Isaiah gave me advice he refused to take himself. I needed my damn head examined.

Fifteen minutes. Fuck it. She wasn’t coming and I wasn’t going to continue to stand here in the freezing cold like a moron. I had a party to go to. A party where there would be plenty of girls willing to give themselves to me and plenty of shit to smoke and enough alcohol to help me forget.

I pushed off the brick wall of the gym, shoving my hands in my jeans pocket for my keys. The door flew open, almost smacking me in the face. I opened my mouth to yell at the asshole busting out the door, but stopped the moment I came face-to-face with my own personal siren, my nymph—Echo. This time, she wouldn’t walk away.

Wrapping my arms around her, I walked her backward into the brick. “Tell me you chose me, Echo.”

She licked her lips. Those green eyes smoldered, calling me to her. “I chose you.”

For the first time in three years, the coil forever tightened in my gut relaxed. “You will never regret it. I promise.” Letting my hands skim the curve of her waist, I leaned into her soft body.

I wanted her. All of her, but Echo deserved more than a quick thrill and better than a guy like me. Everything needed to be slow and deliberate. I wanted to blow her mind with every touch and every kiss so her every thought always came back to me. I would never touch anyone else again without thinking about her.

I’d promised she would be more and I needed to keep that promise. Tearing myself away, I took her delicate hand in mine and headed toward my car. “Come on.”

“Where are we going?”

I opened the passenger door and turned to face her. Echo’s innocent eyes were wide with confusion. She shouldn’t be with me. We’d both been through hell, but Echo deserved better. Still, I wasn’t all bad. I used to be good, like her. She needed to know that. “Someplace special.”

“I’M BUYING YOU A COAT.” And I meant it. I opened the car door and slung my leather jacket around her shoulders. “It’s February. Why don’t you ever have a damn jacket on?”

Echo slid her arms through my coat, closing her eyes as she inhaled. When she finally opened them, she fluttered her eyelashes, giving me a look of pure seduction. “Maybe I like wearing yours instead.”

I swallowed. I had plans, and those plans did not involve
kissing her against my car. Dammit, she was going to kill me. “Congratulations, it’s yours.”

Her laughter warmed me in ways a jacket couldn’t. “Are you going to be a big pushover now?”

Appeared so. I entwined my fingers with Echo’s and walked her across the empty street, toward the fountain. Red and pink lights lit up the water trickling from the three flowered tiers.

“It’s beautiful.” Echo stared at the fountain, her eyes darting to the different flowers etched in the metal. No, she was beautiful.

“I helped build this.”

“What?”

I motioned toward the houses that encircled the fountain. “The houses. I helped build these houses. My mom and dad were involved with Habitat for Humanity. It’s how they met. Instead of partying in Cancun for spring break, they went to eastern Kentucky and built houses. They got married and kept doing it.”

Echo let go of my hand and stared at the small vinyl houses with porches and swings. My dad had made sure every house had a swing. As she turned completely around, she caught sight of the plaque on the side of the fountain:
In memory of David and Sarah Hutchins
.

“Your parents?”

My throat tightened, leaving me unable to answer. I nodded.

“Every time I think I’ve got you figured out, Noah, you surprise me.”

Which was why I brought her here. “We didn’t finish that dance.”

Her anxious gaze went to the windows of the small neighborhood.
All the shades were drawn. Some had lights on, some didn’t, but no one watched. “Here?”

“Why not?”

Echo’s high heel tapped against the sidewalk, the telltale sign of nerves. I took a deliberate step forward and caught her waist before she could back away from me. My siren had sung to me for way too long, capturing my heart, tempting me with her body, driving me slowly insane. Now, I expected her to pay up.

“Do you hear that?” I asked.

Echo raised an eyebrow when she heard nothing but the sound of water trickling in the fountain. “Hear what?”

I slid my right hand down her arm, cradled her hand against my chest and swayed us from side to side. “The music.”

Her eyes danced. “Maybe you could tell me what I’m supposed to be hearing.”

“Slow drum beat.” With one finger I tapped the beat into the small of her back. “Acoustic guitar.” I leaned down and hummed my favorite song in her ear. Her sweet cinnamon smell intoxicated me.

She relaxed, fitting perfectly into my body. In the crisp, cold February air, we swayed together, moving to our own personal beat. For one moment, we escaped hell. No teachers, no therapist, no well-meaning friends, no nightmares—just the two of us, dancing.

My song ended, my finger stopped tapping the beat, and we ceased swaying from side to side. She held perfectly still, keeping her hand in mine, her head resting on my shoulder. I nuzzled into the warmth of her silky curls, tightening my hold on her. Echo was becoming essential, like air.

I eased my hand to her chin, lifting her face toward me. My thumb caressed her warm, smooth cheek. My heart beat faster.
A ghost of that siren smile graced her lips as she tilted her head closer to mine, creating the undeniable pull of the sailor lost at sea to the beautiful goddess calling him home.

I kissed her lips. Soft, full, warm—everything I’d fantasized it would be and more, so much more. Echo hesitantly pressed back, a curious question for which I had a response. I parted my lips and teased her bottom one, begging, praying, for permission. Her smooth hands inched up my neck and pulled at my hair, bringing me closer.

She opened her mouth, her tongue seductively touching mine, almost bringing me to my knees. Flames licked through me as our kiss deepened. Her hands massaged my scalp and neck, only stoking the heat of the fire.

Forgetting every rule I’d created for this moment, my hands wandered up her back, twining in her hair, bringing her closer to me. I wanted Echo. I needed Echo.

A car door slammed shut, startling her. She swiftly pulled away and turned her head toward the sound of the engine. We watched as the red taillights glowed toward us, then away when the car accelerated down the street.

Her eyes met mine again. “So what does this mean for us?”

I lowered my forehead to hers. “It means you’re mine.”

Echo

Monday morning ushered in a new phase of my life—dating Noah Hutchins in public.

The moment Noah came up behind me and kissed the side of my neck, I was torn between leaning into him and skirting away. Every muscle in my body screamed to fall into him. My brain told me to run. With a sigh, I followed my head. “You are breaking so many of the school’s public display of affection rules.”

Noah chuckled while I closed my locker. “So?”

So? “I don’t want detention.”

“You are way too uptight. I think I know what will help you chill.”

The way his eyes devoured me hinted I shouldn’t take the bait, but I did anyhow. “And what would that be?”

Noah pressed his body into mine, pushing me against the lockers. “Kissing.”

I held my books close to my chest and fought the urge to drop
them and pull him close. But that would only encourage his behavior, and good God, bring on his fantastic kissing. Fantastic or not, kissing in public would definitely mean detention and a tardy slip.

I ducked underneath his arm and breathed in fresh air, welcoming any scent that didn’t remind me of him. Noah caught up to me, slowing his pace to mine.

“You know, you may have never noticed, but we have calculus together,” he said. “You could have waited for me.”

“And give you the chance to drag me into the janitor’s closet? No, thanks.”

Noah held his books at his side, his other hand shoved into his jeans pocket. As promised, he didn’t hold my hand or drape an arm around my shoulder, but he did pay more attention to me than the hallway in front of him or the other students roaming the halls.

We entered calculus and I swear, every person in the room froze and watched as Noah paused by my desk. “Isaiah, Beth and I will be by later.”

“All right.” Tutoring, car repair, hopefully a little kissing.

He flashed his wicked grin and lowered his voice. “Mrs. Frost always runs late. I could kiss you now and give the crowd what they’re looking for.”

That would be an awesome way to start class. I licked my lips and whispered, “You are going to get me in so much trouble.”