Chapter 24

'UH, CAN I have your attention please, everyone?'

Silence fell instantly on the mix of dancing bodies. I'd been dancing with the girls for the past twenty minutes, but no matter how many times I tried excusing myself, I couldn't seem to get free. They just kept wanting to dance some more, or started up an interesting conversation. The one time I got out to 'grab a drink', I hadn't seen Noah anywhere.

And now he was up on the platform, in front of the microphone in the place of the lead singer.

And everybody was silent. All eyes on him.

'Uh, can I have your attention please, everyone?'

I couldn't explain why, but my heart started racing and I could hardly breathe. I didn't have a clue what Noah was doing up there in front of everyone, but my body reacted with anxiety, like it knew what was about to happen before I did.

He pulled his mask up off his face, so that there was no doubt about who it was.

I gulped. What the hell was he doing?

'Now, the only reason I'm up here tonight is because I'm trying to show someone that I'm sorry. See, there's this girl. I can't get her out of my mind. And I did some pretty crappy things to her and I'm making up for it. So . . . Elle? Where are you?'

Everybody just turned, almost as one, to look at me. Even with my mask on, they all knew where to find me. I fiddled with the folds in the material of my dress, shooting Noah a glare through my mask.

'Can we get a spotlight over here?' he called out, pointing, and I heard the teasing tone in his voice.

Somehow, somebody found a spotlight to blind me with. I squinted, holding a hand up over my eyes.

'Great, thanks. So, uh, Elle. This is me saying sorry. Guys?' At the last word, he turned and gestured to the band, who started playing. It wasn't a slow song – it was pretty upbeat. And I recognized it instantly.

I Really Want You by the Plain White T's. It was one of my favorite songs. It was hardly Noah's way of romantically confessing his love for me . . . Hell, he didn't even sing it himself; the band did.

He jumped off the stage, microphone in hand, and bee-lined through the crowd, who'd parted to make a path for him, stopping right in front of me.

'There goes your reputation,' I said quietly, laughing.

'You think I care?'

I bit my lip. 'But—' Before I could ask why, he interrupted me, speaking into the microphone while there was a little bit of instrumental.

'Will you be my girlfriend, Elle?'

I blushed under my mask.

Up until now, I hadn't even noticed the other people in the room. I hadn't heard the whispers while Noah was up on the stage. But right now their voices hit me like a confetti cannon at a pep rally.

'Say yes!'

'Oh my gosh, that's so sweet!'

'I can't believe Flynn's doing this . . .'

'She's so lucky!'

'Look at him. This is so cute!'

'Say yes, Elle!'

Everybody was egging me on. My eyes drifted back from the crowd to Noah, who just looked at me calmly, with a hint of a smirk at how much he was embarrassing me here.

'So? Will you be my girlfriend, Elle Evans?'

I bit my lip, but there was no way I could suppress the beaming smile that took over my face. 'Oh, hell yeah.'

He chuckled quietly, but that was the only sound I heard – none of the cheering or whooping or whistles or catcalls or 'aw' noises. Just his chuckle.

Noah tossed the microphone to someone, who handed it back along the crowd to the stage, but I wasn't paying attention. The music switched to a slow song, and couples soon started dancing again. Whoever was manning the spotlight shut it off.

Noah pulled me into his arms, and I hooked my hands around his neck.

'That was cute,' I said, knowing he'd hate being linked to the word 'cute'.

He promptly grimaced. 'Ugh. Please don't call me cute.'

'I'm sorry. I meant sexy. Very macho.'

He smirked at that. 'I just made a fool of myself for you, Shelly. I hope you know that.'

'Oh, yeah, I know,' I laughed. 'You really didn't have to, though.'

'I know, but I wanted to. I told you I'm going to do things right this time. And I've got a lot to make up for.' He twirled me around, making me laugh giddily, then pulled me in even closer than before. My skin was tingling where we touched and I could have stayed like that in his arms for hours.

'And anyway, now that we're, you know, official, I can tell you something without sounding like a complete fool.'

'Oh?'

My heart raced wildly and he leaned in close to whisper in my ear.

Don't say it. Don't say it. Don't say it.

Say it say it say it.

Don't say it don't say it don't—.

'I really like you, Shelly.'

Something washed over me – relief, I'm sure. Not disappointment. Definitely not disappointment.

I smiled at him. 'I like you too.'

He leaned forward slowly to kiss me. It wasn't the heated kiss we usually shared. Nothing close. But even though it was a soft, intimate kiss, it still had all the fireworks and the intensity.

I pulled away first. 'Noah . . . everyone's staring,' I mumbled, my face burning.

'So?'

I bit the insides of my cheeks. 'It's . . . weird. Plus, some of these girls might burn a hole in my head the way they're looking at me.'

'Tell me about it. Some of the guys look ready to rip my head off.'

'What?'

He looked at me like I was stupid. 'I'm here with the most gorgeous girl there is. Don't you think they're just a little bit jealous?'

I blushed all over again. 'I don't know . . .'

'Seriously, Elle, trust me on this. You're beautiful.'

A smile spread over my face along with a blush this time. I would never, ever have imagined Noah Flynn using the word 'beautiful' to describe a girl. It sounded so strange coming out of his mouth, but in a good way – the best way.

'I made you blush . . .' he teased in a sing-song voice, his lips brushing over my cheek.

I swatted his back. 'Shut up. At least I don't wear Superman underwear.'

'Ha-ha,' he said sarcastically. 'Come on.'

He grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the ballroom into the lobby, and then into a small alcove with a large potted fern. He pulled me behind the fern and pinned me to the wall, a hand on either side of my head.

'I have been waiting all night to do this,' he whispered, and his lips came down onto mine.

When we finally went back in, Noah was immediately swept away by a couple of the jocks to grab a drink with them – and the girls had me surrounded.

'Oh my God, Elle! Why didn't you tell us?'

'How long has this been going on, anyway? You should've said something!'

'Ooh, you're so lucky, Elle! I can't believe it. Flynn has an actual girlfriend?'

'You have to tell us everything!' Jaime shrieked, gripping both my wrists and making me sit down at a table. 'When did this all start, then?'

'Uh . . . It's complicated . . .'

'What, were you dating before, or something?'

'No, but . . .'

'Ugh, you're, like, the luckiest girl ever, you know that? Do you know how jealous we all are of you? I mean . . . it's Flynn!'

'Hey . . . so, Elle,' said Dixon, suddenly appearing and planting a hand on my shoulder. 'The guys are wondering . . . just how long have you been off the market?'

I laughed, blushing. 'Why?'

'They want to work out how badly Flynn might beat them up for talking about you.'

I laughed again. 'Uh, since this evening.' Officially, I added silently.

'I see . . . So nobody's in too much danger of broken arms,' he laughed. 'Well, you know . . . congrats. I think that's appropriate. Who'd have thought it?'

'Tell me about it . . .'

'Hey, Elle!' I looked over and saw Rachel pushing her way to my side. I smiled, sighing in relief. I stood up, brutally ignoring the girls wanting to talk to me about Noah, and grabbed her arm, dragging her away.

'So you guys worked things out?' she said.

I nodded. 'It looks like it. But—'

'Oh no, oh no, no, no,' she said frantically. 'There's a "but". This does not bode well.'

'It's not a bad but! It's just a . . . I-don't-know-how-this-is-gonna-end-up but.'

She nodded slowly. 'I see . . .'

'What?' I asked. 'What is it?'

'It's . . . well, are you sure this is really the right thing? I know you like him and stuff, but still. Everyone knows what he's like . . .'

I shrugged. 'I know, but . . . I really don't care anymore.'

She looked at me a long moment, then something clicked and she nodded like she understood.

When the band announced that they'd start slowing things down after the next song, Rachel got a distracted look on her face. 'Well, whatever floats your boat, Elle. I totally get it. Listen, I have to head off . . .'

'Lee?'

'Yeah,' she laughed guiltily. 'Yeah. Sorry.'

'Go ahead, Rach. I've got to find Noah anyway.'

'Right. Find Noah.' She winked elaborately before hurrying off.

Someone grabbed my arm in a strong grip I recognized instantly, and tugged me out onto the dance floor before I could protest.

'You didn't give me the first dance,' Noah said, giving me the sweetest smile in the world, 'but I'm sure as hell taking the last.'

He'd got us a room at the Royale for the night too. When I saw it, I realized why he'd disappeared earlier.

I giggled when he tugged me out of the elevator. 'You didn't have to do—'

'I know, I know, but I've told you a billion times tonight. I'm trying to make things up to you, so I am being stupidly perfect and unrealistic boyfriend just to show you how seriously I'm taking this.'

'Oh, this is you being serious?' I said skeptically.

'Hey, cut me some slack, I'm trying here!'

I laughed. 'Okay, okay, I'm sorry, I'll shut up.'

He laughed too as we stopped outside a room on the seventh floor. He pulled out a key card and swiped open the door.

'After you,' he said, and made a grand sweeping gesture for me to go in first.

I'll be honest: I'd expected to come in and see the floor scattered with rose petals and candles everywhere, and maybe even the sappy mood music – the kind of scene you see in films, like on Valentine's Day or when the guy's madly in love and about to propose.

Because when Noah had said he was being a 'stupidly perfect and unrealistic' boyfriend, I'd kind of thought maybe he'd gone all out here – made a huge display to try and impress me.

So when he opened the door and ushered me inside, I was relieved to find there were no candles, no music, no dimmed lighting. Nothing sappy, or cheesy, or romantic. It was just a regular suite, with a plush white lounge, soft white carpets, and an open doorway leading through to what must've been the master bedroom and en-suite bathroom.

It would've been just so artificial if he'd gone all out. This was Noah Flynn – violent and crude and totally unromantic. Even his 'romantic gesture' at the dance wasn't exactly him serenading his love to me. It was typical Noah – and I'd loved it.

'So much for stupidly perfect and unrealistic,' I said jokingly, turning around to smile as he shut the door behind us.

'Oh, believe me, you haven't even seen that yet. Come on.'

He grabbed my hand, tugging me into the bedroom.

Now this – this was stupidly perfect and unrealistic. Well, almost. It was close enough for Noah's standards.

'Now you know where I disappeared to earlier,' he said. 'Do you have any idea how long it takes to spell things out with petals? It's impossible. I gave up in the end. I was going to write "sorry", but . . .'

'I can see,' I laughed.

Deep red flower petals were scattered over the bed and the floor.

I went up on my toes to kiss his cheek. 'You didn't have to do that.'

'Yeah, I know. But I'm trying, right? I told you I was going to try. And I know how much of a romantic you are at heart.'

I smiled sheepishly.

'I am kind of surprised you gave me another chance so easily, though,' he said, pulling me down onto the bed and taking me in his arms. 'I was expecting you to put up more of a fight.'

'Are you asking for another argument, Noah?' I asked.

He tugged at my hair playfully. 'No, I'm just saying. I'm not complaining. There is a difference.'

'Barely.'

He chuckled, and I felt it reverberating through his chest. He kissed me softly. I was about to return the gesture, but at that moment my cell phone decided to ring.

I felt more than heard Noah sigh, and he took his arms away almost grudgingly as I pushed myself up to go find my purse.

I sighed when I saw the caller ID, wandering into the bathroom with my purse, my cell already at my ear. May as well check my make-up if I'm stepping out for a moment, I thought.

'Hi, Dad,' I said, hoping my irritation at being interrupted didn't show in my voice too much. I leaned toward the mirror to clean up a little smudged eyeliner.

'How was the dance?'

'Good.'

He cleared his throat. 'Did you figure out what you're going to do about him?'

I bit the insides of my cheeks before answering. 'Yeah. Yeah, I made up my mind.'

Dad sighed. 'You're going to stay with him, aren't you.' It was more of a statement than a question; he already knew.

'Yeah,' I admitted quietly. 'I have to go now. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?'

'All right.'

I took a few breaths just to calm myself down. I turned my cell off so we wouldn't have any more interruptions. Then I dabbed on a little lip balm and fluffed my hair out before I went back into the bedroom.

Noah was lounging on the bed, his arms behind his head and one leg slightly bent. It wasn't a pose, really, but right then he looked like a male model. He had his eyes half closed, totally relaxed. I didn't think he'd noticed me come back.

I looked him up and down. He was so handsome, with his tousled dark hair and the tux – even his crooked nose. He was tall enough to make me feel dainty. And I loved his eyes, so bright and blue and piercing – and now they were wide open, looking me up and down in such a way that I blushed.

'Beautiful as you look tonight in that dress, Elle, I have to say I prefer you without it.'

'Oh really? And what makes you think that's going to happen?'

He smirked. 'I don't think it'll be a problem.'

I smiled flirtatiously back at him as he swung himself up off the bed and strolled toward me. I raised an eyebrow, wondering exactly what his plan was.

But he suddenly stopped short of me. 'Come here,' he said in a surprisingly soft voice, then pulled me into his arms and walked backward until he was sitting on the bed, with me on his lap. When he wrapped his arms around me tight, I snaked mine around his shoulders. It was such a tender, intimate moment.

'We don't have to do anything, you know. If you want to take things slow now, just say the word. I didn't get this room for that. I just wanted to be alone with you – even if you choose to go home later.'

I was stunned – here I was, certain the one reason he'd booked us this suite was so we could have sex, and now he was saying he wouldn't rush me if I didn't want to. Flynn, giving up sex for me.

Jeez.

First he got down on one knee to ask me to the dance, then the whole song dedication, then the petals on the bed – now this?

Man. He really had changed.

'I heard you saying to Lee earlier you thought we'd rushed into it before,' he said then. 'And we're doing it right this time, so I thought . . .'

I did say that to Lee, because I could be brutally honest with him now and not feel so judged. I hadn't even imagined Noah might've been there to hear though . . . Lately I had been worrying that we'd rushed into it, that I hadn't been thinking straight, too caught up in the thrill of sneaking around.

This was how my first time should've been, I thought, looking at the suite, the flower petals; Noah . . .

I shook my head against his. 'No, I want to.'

If this was a cheesy romance, now would be the time for us to say I love you.

As it was, he mumbled something I didn't catch, and kissed me full on the lips, making me melt in his arms. He helped me pull off his jacket, and while I worked on his shirt buttons, he yanked at his tie, pulling away from me just long enough to tug it over his head.

I giggled helplessly when, in his haste, he managed to get the tie stuck in his mouth.

'Don't even,' he threatened, a mouthful of tie muffling his words. I giggled even more, but he soon shut me up by kissing me. At that point I let myself stop thinking completely. There was no conscious thought behind any of my actions. Tonight was just . . . just us.