“Do you have any money?” he asked.
“What?”
He rubbed his fingers together. “Dinero? Cash? Do you have any on you?”
Unsure where this was headed, I shook my head. He reached over the counter and grabbed a knife. He cut the burger in half and slid the plate between us. “Here. Don’t bogart the fries.”
“Are you serious?”
Noah took another bite of his half. “Yeah. Don’t want my tutor to starve to death.”
I smacked my lips like a cartoon character and bit into the succulent burger. When the juicy meat touched my tongue, I closed my eyes and moaned.
“I thought girls only looked like that when they orgasmed.”
The burger caught in my throat and I choked. Noah stifled a laugh while sliding my water toward me. If only drinking it would erase the annoying blush on my cheeks.
“I think I missed your answer to my previous question. If you’re on a date, why are you out here sharing dinner with me while Luke’s in there fondling himself?”
I cleared my throat. “Do you always have to be so crude?”
“No. I’ll rein it in if you answer the question.”
“We were running late and I didn’t know what movie he’d chosen until it started. Enemies at War is a little too violent for me.” I stirred my water with my straw, focusing on sounding nonchalant while the images of war tortured my mind.
Noah balled up his napkin in his hand, his playful demeanor gone. “So why isn’t he out here with you?”
Good question. “I told him to stay and watch the movie. He’s been looking forward to it.”
“You deserve better.” He pushed the plate in front of me, his part of the hamburger gone, but all the fries still on the plate.
Like a guy who would share his dinner with me and give me all the fries? A guy who broke rules so I could listen to my father talk to my therapist? A guy who gave me his jacket when I was cold? A guy who set me on fire with a simple touch? But Noah couldn’t possibly want a girl like me.
I finished my hamburger and pushed the plate back to him. “Thanks. I guess I should let you go home.”
“What are you going to do?”
A few teenagers gathered around a table in the middle of the empty food court. A janitor set up a sign indicating a wet floor. A homeless guy clutched his shopping cart and stared at me and Noah from across the room. Oh, I don’t know. Wander around by myself, probably end up dead, stuffed in the bottom of that guy’s shopping cart. “Maybe head to the arcade and hope someone left some quarters on the table so I can play pool.”
Noah raised an eyebrow. “You play pool?”
“Aires taught me.” The sound of Aires’ laughter as we played replaced the screaming in my head.
Noah hopped off the stool and enveloped my hand in his. The gesture took me by surprise and caused my heart to stutter. He pulled me off the seat. “Come on, let’s go see if Aires taught you pool like he did math.”
We walked toward the arcade and Noah shifted his hand to allow his fingers to rest beside mine. My heart galloped like a horse. This was Noah Hutchins. The Noah Hutchins that refused steady relationships or even dating. The Noah Hutchins that only wanted one-night stands. A stoner. My opposite. And right now, everything I wanted.
NOAH
Echo withdrew into her hair the moment she entwined her fingers with mine. I hadn’t touched weed in over a week yet somehow I floated above the ground, my blood ran warm in my veins and I felt high—no, not high … invincible.
“Can I ask you a question? I won’t mean to offend you by it,” I said.
Her hand went limp, but I clung to it, not allowing her escape. “I guess.”
“Is there a meaning behind your name?”
We reached the arcade. A few middle-schoolers hovered around a game with a mock machine gun. The sound of bullets flying amid screams blared from the game. A college student flipped through a comic book behind the glass counter full of cheap prizes from ski ball tickets. I squeezed Echo’s hand tighter and led her past the game to the empty pool tables in the back.
Reluctantly, I let go of her hand and pushed a couple dollars into the coin machine.
“My mom was obsessed with Greek myths. I’m named after the mountain nymph, Echo.”
Aires’ name suddenly made sense, too. I plunked two quarters into the table and the balls rumbled out of the slot. Echo immediately tossed them onto the table. “Eight or nine ball?”
“Eight.” Nine was more complicated. I already planned on playing at sixty percent capacity, hoping she’d have a good time. “What’s the myth?”
She set the balls into the rack and flipped the triangle away. “There are several, actually. You break.”
I’d met several girls like her; terrified to break because they couldn’t hit more than a few balls off the group. Better she break and get one in than nothing at all. “Ladies first.” I couldn’t wait for this game to be over so I could teach her how to break properly. Images of her body pressed against mine, bending over the table, caused my jeans to get tighter.
“Your funeral,” she sang and my lips turned up at her flash of confidence. Echo twirled her pool cue like a warrior going into battle, never once taking her eyes off the cue ball. She leaned over the table. I focused on her tight ass. My siren ate me alive with every movement. As she took aim, she no longer resembled the fragile girl at school, but a sniper.