Loving Noel (Wildcat Graduates Book 1) Read online

  “Okay?” I ask and place my free hand on his chest. He nods in response and places a kiss on my temple, and I can feel him smiling on my skin.

  “XANA! Get your butt over here, now,” Stacy yells at me over the music. Noel and I break apart and move over to the table where Cade, Stacy, Erika, Jason, Shawn, and Kaitlynn are sitting. Erika is sitting in Jason’s lap, and he looks quite pleased about it. Shawn and Kaitlynn are sitting beside them, while Stacy sits atop Cade’s lap, next to Shawn. I start to sit in the chair next to Kaitlynn when Noel pulls me into his lap. Noel places our drinks on the table and wraps his arms around me as he and Cade begin to talk about their upcoming ski trip during Christmas break.

  Stacy looks over at me and gives me her ‘what the hell is going on?’ look. I shrug my shoulders and mouth ‘I don’t know’ back at her. I’ve never sat in anyone’s lap. I have no idea what’s gotten into him, but I have to admit, it feels right sitting in his lap, like we’ve always done it. I place my hands over his and he pulls me closer to him, resting his chin on my bare shoulder. After a few minutes, I’m finally able to relax and lean into him. We sit like this for a little while longer before Stacy drags me back onto the dance floor. Kylie Minogue’s ‘Timebomb’ is playing and we get lost in the music, but not before Stacy grills me about Noel.

  Stacy turns to face me and raises her eyebrows, “What is going on with you and Noel? Are you two dating now?”

  “I have no idea, Stace. I’m just as confused as you are. Yeah, he’s holding my hand and pulling me into his lap, but the rest feels like it does every day at school,” I tell her quietly enough to keep others from hearing me.

  “Well, whatever it is, it looks promising from here! You go, girl!” Stacy wiggles her eyebrows again and gives me a thumb up.

  “Whatever you say. Shut up and dance.” Stacy and I dance for a few songs before Cade comes to join Stacy on the dance floor. Those two have no shame. I’m surprised the chaperones haven’t caught them yet. I continue to dance to Chris Brown’s ‘Turn Up the Music’ until it changes to a slow song. I turn to make my way over to our table to get a drink when I run into Noel. His hands grip my hips as my hands land on his chest. “Oh, you scared me,” I giggle and Noel grins at me.

  “Dance with me,” Noel asks as he looks down at me.

  “Okay,” I respond with a shaky breath. Okay? That’s all I can come up with to say? How on Earth does being around him turn me into someone who can’t form a more intelligent sentence?

  “You were having such a good time dancing alone, but I needed to join you. You shouldn’t dance alone.” Noel bends his head toward me and holds my gaze.

  “Oh really, and why shouldn’t I dance alone?” My stomach begins to do flip flops and my heartbeat speeds up. There’s something about the way he looks at me that I can’t place. I’m not sure what it means. Apparently tonight is a night of firsts.

  Noel stares at me for a few seconds before he answers, “Because I should be dancing with you.”

  I release the breath I was unintentionally holding as Noel leans down and kisses me gently on the lips. I feel a strong tingle when his soft, warm lips touch mine. I can feel my hands moving up toward his hair. We are pulled apart from the kiss when another couple bumps into us. The moment being broken, Noel moves us away from the crowd to a less occupied spot on the dance floor.

  “I don’t think they even knew they bumped into us.”

  Smiling slightly I reply, “No kidding. I don’t think they missed a beat in what they were doing. I don’t see how they haven’t been banned from the dance along with Stacy and Cade. By the way, where are they anyway?” Noel looks over my shoulder and lifts his chin toward them, still dancing with each other near where we were dancing before.

  “Want to go over to see them?” Noel asks me. He’s so polite, always seeming to know when to say the very thing I’m thinking about.

  “Yeah, if you don’t mind, I need a drink break anyway.” Noel places his hand on my lower back as we walk toward the drink table. His hand on my lower back makes me a little nervous, excitedly nervous. I wonder where this will leave us come Monday morning.

  We spend the rest of the night dancing and hanging with the rest of the group. Cade and Jason are being goofballs, as usual, and have us all dying from laughter. Even Erika isn’t irritated like she usually is. I’m glad, I didn’t think she’d ever lighten up and enjoy herself. After about fifteen minutes of resting and talking to our friends, Noel makes his way back to the refreshment table and gets us another drink.

  “Xana,” I hear called out over the music, and I look around for the person it came from. Over my shoulder I can see Blain making his way over to me. He stops in front of me and says, “There you are! Come dance with me before the night is over.”

  Blain grabs my hand and drags me over to the dance floor before I even realize what he’s doing. By the time we reach the dance floor, the dance song that was playing changes over to a slow song, and Blain places my arms around his neck, his own arms firmly gripping my hips.

  “What did you do that for, Blain? I would have danced with you without your dragging me over here without asking.” I frown up at him, trying to figure out what has gotten into him. His behavior is completely out of character for him.

  “Can’t I dance with my best friend? It isn’t like we haven’t danced before, Xana.” He continues to sway us back and forth in place while I figure out the best way to answer him.

  “Yeah, we’ve danced before, but we weren’t there with a different person as our date. I’m with Noel tonight and you brought Stephanie, so this friends dancing thing has different rules than it has before.” I really hope he understands what I’m trying to tell him. Blain looks thoughtful for a moment before nodding his head in agreement.

  “I know it does. I didn’t meant anything by it, Xan. I just wanted to dance with you,” Blain says as he moves his body away from mine. I move my arms from around his neck and step backward away from him. I laugh a little at the confused expression on his face.

  “No worries, Blain. But next time, ask me first, okay?”

  “Okay. I’m sorry. I guess I’m just not used to you having a date with anyone, so I didn’t think anything about it being inappropriate,” Blain apologizes and he walks me back over to our table, just before Noel comes back with our drinks.

  Noel and I danced several more times before we decide that we’ve had enough. It’s eleven o’clock and my curfew isn’t until twelve thirty (I had to bargain hard for that extra thirty minutes) and we all decide to head over to Huddle House for some food before we all had to head home. Fortunately, they aren’t terribly busy when we get there, so we are able to get seated and served fairly quickly. Cade, Noel, and Shawn are talking about the ski trip again and the rest of us talk about random things, from school events to movies and music.

  A little after twelve, we find ourselves telling everyone goodbye and heading home. Noel and I walk to his car and he helps me get all of my dress inside before closing the door. We leave the restaurant and head to my house across town. It’s amazing how quiet it feels in the car, even with the radio playing.

  “I had a lot of fun tonight, thanks for going with me, Noel.” Noel turns to look at me and smiles.

  “It was my pleasure. I had a lot of fun as well. Thanks for asking me, Xana.” At a loss for words, I can only smile and say ‘you’re welcome’.

  Before we know it, we’re sitting in my driveway with the motor running. Thank coconuts my parents aren’t looking out of the front windows, or waiting on the front porch for me to come inside. It’s bad enough I have such an early curfew for a junior, and on a dance night at that. Even Noel’s parents are letting him stay out until two o’clock and he’s only a sophomore, lucky him. Finally, I get the nerve to break the silence.

  “I’m sorry I have to be home so early. I have no idea why they’re not letting me stay out later.” I reply and give Noel an apologetic smile. Noel turns in his seat to look at me and
reaches over to hold my hand.

  “It’s no big deal, Xana. I have to get up early in the morning and help my dad with Christmas decorations, so coming home early is really a good thing.”

  “If you’re sure. Thanks again, I really had a good time tonight.” I smile at him when he squeezes my hand. We look at each other, neither moving nor saying anything else. The smell of his cologne has once again gotten to me. I can’t move or speak. I can only simply stare at him. Noel takes his free hand and places it against my cheek, cupping my face. His hand is so soft and warm; I can’t stop myself from leaning into it. Noel leans forward over the console and stops mere inches from my face. I look into his eyes for a moment before leaning the rest of the way. Our lips meet and the same tingling I felt earlier is still there.

  Noel releases my hand and reaches up to cup the other side of my face as he moves his lips across mine. I open my mouth to him as I reach over and place my hands on his chest. Our lips move slowly at first, and become more aggressive as I move my hands up to wrap around his neck. My heart speeds up and I can hear it in my ears. I have no idea how long we kiss, but I feel devastated when Noel pulls away and rests his forehead against mine. Breathing deeply we try to slow our breathing. Noel is first to break the silence.

  He rubs his nose against mine before pulling away a little bit to look at me. “I guess we’d better get you to your door before your parents come and get you or start to flip the porch light on and off.” Noel runs his thumb across my bottom lip before releasing my face.

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right. We’d better not press our luck.” I continue to look him in the eyes as he leans forward once again to place a brief kiss on my mouth. I half smile at him and he winks in return.

  “Here, let me get your door.” Noel exits the car and walks over to open my door. I reach up to touch my lips as I watch him walk around the front of his car. That kiss was even better than the one at the dance, much better. Noel opens my door and reaches down to help me out. The cold wind has picked up, making me shiver. Noel wraps his arm around me as he shuts the Mustang’s door. We walk just like that up the sidewalk to the front porch. Noel walks me to the door and turns me toward him before I can reach for the doorknob. He wraps one arm around my waist and places the other against the side of my face, tilting it up to look at him.

  “I had a great time with you tonight, Xana. I’m glad we were there together so I could do this.” Noel leans forward and kisses me again, this time with more intensity than the one in his car. I move my hands around his neck and wrap my fingers through his hair, pulling him closer to me. The arm around my waist pulls me tighter against him, and his other hand slides to tangle in my hair. His lips feel so amazing I can’t think about anything but his kiss, and the way my body feels pressed up against his. I don’t want to stop kissing him, and I don’t. I have no idea how long we kiss, but if time were to stop right now, I’d die happy.

  Breaking away from the kiss, Noel runs his hand through my hair and says, “I’ve been waiting for a long time to do that. I’ll talk to you later. Goodnight, Sweetness.” He turns and walks back to his Mustang before I can respond to anything that happened. Noel opens the driver’s door and pauses to look up at me, still standing on the porch, and smiles before getting in his car and driving away. I am left standing there, in a complete daze, until my mom opens the front door looking for me.

  “What on Earth are you doing just standing there Xana? I already heard Noel’s car leave a few minutes ago.” She pulls the door open further and waits for me to come inside before closing it.

  “Oh, nothing really, I thought I saw something running across the street. I was just trying to see what it was.” I take my shoes off and head toward my room down the hall. “I’m going to bed, Mom. I danced too much and now I’m exhausted.” Mom locks the front door and turns out all the lights in the living room before following me down the hall to the stairs.

  “I bet you are tired. You and Stacy are always dancing around to one song or another. I’m glad you had a good time then.” Mom pauses at the stairs to hug me before climbing them and retiring to her bedroom.

  “Yeah, we all had a really good time. Goodnight, Mom.” I turn around and continue down the hallway to my room when Mom calls out over the stair railing, “Goodnight, Xana. Don’t forget to lay out your dress so I can take it by the cleaners tomorrow.”

  “Sure thing, Mom, I’ll do it before I go to bed.” Once in my bedroom, I change clothes and take a quick shower just to rinse off the Huddle House smell from my body. I don’t want to go bed smelling like grease. I take the dress out to the living room and place it on the couch so my mom can drop it off at the cleaners, like she asked.

  Walking back to my room, I can’t help but be thankful my mother didn’t play twenty questions about the dance and my date with Noel. My mind is in such a confused state after Blain’s weird behavior and Noel’s questions about my relationship with Blain. I’m not sure what to think about any of it, so I decide to just let it all go and forget it for now.

  As I climb into bed, I can still feel Noel’s lips on mine and how his body felt pressed against my back. Just thinking about it makes me feel all tingly down there. I can’t stop thinking about it as I finish getting ready for bed. My phone rings as I’m pulling the covers down on my bed. There’s a message from Noel.

  NOEL: I had a good time tonight.

  Well, I am not sure what to think about that. He’s never called or texted me. I didn’t even know he had my phone number. How in the world did he get it? Stacy never mentioned him wanting it or giving it to him.

  ME: I did, too.

  NOEL: Good night, Xana.

  ME: Goodnight, Mr. Daniels. ;)

  Lying in bed I can’t help but think about dancing with Noel. The way his body moved behind mine made me feel light headed. And those kisses. Kissing him was more than I thought it would be. It felt like my whole body was humming when he kissed me. Even when he held my hand I could feel it all over my body. I hated to take my dress or makeup off because it would wash his smell away.

  Trying to sleep didn’t work well for me. I kept replaying every detail in my mind until I finally fell asleep, but my mind didn’t stop there. I kept reliving the date in my dreams and woke up numerous times throughout the night. Each time we were kissing and somehow got interrupted. I swear, every time we would start to kiss, someone or something would always interrupt us; a knock on the door, a light turning on, a phone ringing. It never failed. Kissius Interruptus. It was like being slowly teased for months.

  By the time I finally stopped dreaming about Noel, my mom woke me up for breakfast. We were going shopping for gifts for the family gift exchange at my grandparents’ on Christmas Day. Mom loves to get things done early and over with. She likes to have things all wrapped up under the tree with matching paper and real ribbon bows. No gift bags or fake, ready-made bows, unless it’s simply too big or difficult to wrap up. Something tells me this is going to be a weekend filled of wrapping gifts and not much else.

  Before I can even make it to the kitchen, I get bombarded by texts from Stacy. I can hear my phone pinging away while I’m getting dressed. Checking my phone as I walk down the hall, I find I have missed five calls and seven texts from Stacy, and I am more than surprised to find I have three missed texts and one missed call from Noel early this morning. All Stacy wants to know is what happened after we parted ways after the dance. I’m surprised she isn’t still texting me with questions. Her grandma must have her doing chores. Thank coconuts.

  I must have some weird look on my face when I make it to the kitchen because my mom asks, “What happened to your face, pumpkin?”

  Laughing at her question I respond, “Oh nothing, Mom. I just checked my phone and saw that Stacy has been blowing it up. Apparently my lack of response doesn’t clue her in that I may not have been awake yet. She’s been texting since you woke me up at the butt crack of dawn.”

  Mom giggles at me, “Xan, watch your mout
h, but that girl sure doesn’t know how to be patient. She’s like a dog with a bone that never lets go. Do you want eggs or fruit and yogurt for breakfast?”

  “I’ll just have juice. I’m not really hungry yet. You know I don’t really do breakfast.” I shrug and start reading Stacy’s texts.

  S: Where did you two go after we left HH? Did you kiss him???

  S: WHY AREN’T YOU ANSWERING ME?!?! PICK UP THE PHONE HEIFER!

  S: What’s going on with Noel?? Are you dating now??

  S: DAMNIT X! ANSWER YOUR PHONE!

  S: Seriously, do not make me come over there and wake your butt up!!

  S: I’ll call your MOTHER!! You know I will!

  S: Did you make out with N??

  OH I BET YOU DID! I SAW HOW HE WAS LOOKING AT YOU!

  Oh, sweet coconuts, if I don’t text her back now she’ll lose it! Mom’s right, she won’t let this go until she gets answers. I’d better text her back because I surely can’t have her calling the house and have me talking about it in front of my mother. I love her, but this is not a conversation I want to have with Mom.

  ME: Don’t get all crazy woman! Mom got me up early to go shopping. Did you forget that?

  S: It’s about time you answered me! TELL ME EVERYTHING! NOW!

  ME: There’s too much to tell in a text! I’ll have to call you when I can get away from Mom.

  S: Oh no you don’t, you’re not gonna avoid me. You know I’ll keep asking.

  ME: Calm down! I don’t want to get into it in front of my mother, you know how she gets.

  S: Okay, I’ll wait this one time. But you’re gonna tell me everything.