not_an_oreilly (not_an_oreilly) wrote in the_dome, @ 2013-10-01 11:57:00 |
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Entry tags: | 04-11-2017, darcy, darcy and noah, noah |
The Game Ends
Who: Darcy and Noah
Where: Noah’s house
When: late
Warnings: NSFW
Darcy had helped out at the encampment until well before dark, then headed back to Noah’s house. She’d let herself in the same way as before, picking the lock, but it was easier this time and honestly it didn’t bother her, especially since he wasn’t home. She looked for him, wandering through the house, studying it, taking it in, but not finding Noah. So she waited.
And she’d waited a while. At one point she made herself something to eat, she’d done her homework, which didn’t make up for the classes she’d missed, but it was a start. Then that was done and Noah still wasn’t back. She was still waiting, moving back towards his room, wandering until she found something on his shelf to read and taking that, laying on her stomach on his bed, facing the door forcing herself to focus on the book and not the fact that Noah was out after dark.
Noah wasn't nearly as exhausted as he'd been the night before thanks to sleeping in with Darcy that morning. So he wasn't dragging when he finally made his way into the house. He'd thought about texting Darcy but wasn't sure he wanted to presume she'd be waiting on him. If he knew one thing about Darcy it was that she sometimes made split second decisions. She might have just made the one to stay over last night and then changed her mind today. But if she was waiting for him, he'd be happy to see her.
He entered the house quietly, he'd been moving quietly all evening. There was evidence that someone else had been living in the common spaces and he smiled to himself. So Darcy was here. He walked to his doorway, avoiding the creaking floorboard in the hall, and stood leaning against the frame. Her red hair, her pale skin. She was reading a book but she'd notice him eventually. Until then he was content to watch her silently as he'd done for a very long time before he'd finally spoken to her in school a few days ago. Had it really only been a few days? He smiled again and shook his head slightly.
It was a moment before she noticed him, but it wasn’t so much that she’d heard him, just sensed someone else there, jerking her head up, expecting nothing and spotting Noah with a gasp, clearly a touch frightened. She didn’t like to think she scared that easy, but things had her nerves on edge. “How long have you been there?” she asked, flipping the book over to mark her page and pushing up to a sitting position. “I was worried about you.”
He frowned slightly at having scared her as it hadn't been his intent and he definitely didn't want to make her mad. "Oh not long. Was just admiring the view," he said, trying to lighten things a little. "Why were you worried about me?" He pushed away from the door frame with his hip and moved to sit beside her on the bed.
Darcy gave him a little look, shaking her head as if she didn't believe him even if it was a nice thing to hear and it made her stomach flip a little. "Because you weren't here. And it's not really safe to be out after dark tonight. I didn't want something to happen to you."
He rested down on his side on one elbow, closer to her level, and rested a hand on forearm. "You keep giving me that look. What's that all about anyway?" He traced a circle on her skin and nodded. "I was on the other side of the dome from the wolf encampment. I was fairly safe," he said neutrally though it might have been easy to feel defensive. Didn't she think he could take care of himself? He'd survived the zombies after all. But he really didn't feel annoyed by her worry. It felt like she cared and that was nice.
"What look?" Darcy asked, trying not to let herself get caught up in his fingers on her forearm, but that was nearly impossible. The flutter in her stomach was back, watching his face, studying it. "What if all the wolves weren't in the encampment?" she asked. "I would have just been more comfortable if you were really safe. What were you doing anyway?"
Noah imitated her disbelieving look, exaggerating it some. Then he fluttered his eyelashes, rolling his eyes with a slight smirk. He gave her forearm a gentle squeeze, just enjoying touching her. "They'd stay away from me. I'm not worth the effort for what little meat they'd get," he joked lightly but he nodded, understanding her meaning. "I was looking for Sylvia," he answered honestly, not wanting to play games or make up any more stories tonight. He'd done that enough with Audrey. Darcy was important. She deserved the truth. "I was more worried about her with the wolves out there than myself I guess."
"Oh, that look. Because…you say things like you like looking at me and I think you might have hit your head." Darcy liked him just touching her too, leaning in closer for a moment before shifting back to where she was. "You were?" She bit her lip at mention of Sylvia tugging at a few strands of her hair. "Well Aidan would be pleased. He was being snippy about you not caring about her enough to look for her." She shook her head. "You're in more danger. Look at what she is, she has to have some strengths you don't have. And you're lucky, they just turned into wolves. Not scary monsters."
"Hit my head? Well at least you don't think I'm lying," he said with a small laugh. "It doesn't take brain damage to like looking at you. Believe me." He nodded again in answer to her question but his eyes darkened. "How would Aidan know what I am or am not doing?" What the fuck did that guy know about how much he cared about Sylvia? He let his hand fall away from Darcy, not because he was upset with her but because his fingers wanted to curl into fists and he didn't want to hurt her. "She's never been on her own this long and I was always the one to take care of her. I don't know if she'd panic and not defend herself. She might be a vampire but she wasn't born one. It's still new to her." He sat up, feeling frustrated.
When Noah pulled away, Darcy took it as not wanting to touch her anymore and she was left frowning at him, sitting up more as well, pulling her knees up to her chest, almost defensive. "I told him I was here. You told him you were friends. He was just being a jerk, we were in the middle of a fight. And he said that you didn't care about her enough if you were busy having sleepovers with me." Which had made Darcy feel like the problem and some sort of awful influence on Noah. She bit her lip, looking down at her knees instead of Noah. "I guess she wouldn't know what to do," she said, giving him some ground. This damn girl. She was weird as fuck and she had two of the most important guys in Darcy's life wrapped around her pinky finger. "Maybe she doesn't want to be found Noah."
He sighed, letting the frustration drain out of him, his hands uncurling from the fists they'd made. What did it matter what Aidan said anyway? Aidan obviously had feelings for Sylvia that Noah didn't. More power to him. "Or maybe she's already dead. I just need to know and then I'll leave her alone." And he needed to show her that he did care enough to look and look until he found her. He had to prove himself but he'd begun to stop really caring about anything after that with Sylvia. "I feel responsible for her but I'm not really sure I want to be her friend anymore," he admitted quietly, not sure why he was telling Darcy this. He looked over at her, dark eyes taking in her closed in posture, but almost feeling relieved though to have said it out loud.
Darcy hadn't thought about Sylvia already being dead. That was nerve-wracking. Aidan would hate that. She bit her lip, thinking about what to say about that and coming up blank. "I'm sure she's fine," she said finally, but it was weak, obvious she didn't know what else to say. When he said he wasn't interested in being her friend anymore she looked up surprised, staring at him confused. "Why not?"
He ran a hand back through his hair and glanced away, trying to put into words the feeling he had about this whole situation. Sylvia had confided in a stranger about being a vampire rather than coming to him. Then decided that he had chosen Darcy over her even though it had never been a contest. It was like an unspoken ultimatum. Either he had nothing to do with Darcy or Sylvia fucked off. He sighed a second time and pulled at his own hair slightly. "It's just stupid. I don't know if I have time to waste on someone who refuses to believe or trust me and chooses to cut me out of her life because I've found a girl I really like."
Darcy opened her mouth to answer, but didn't have anything to say. After a moment she moved closer, uncurling from her defensive ball and reaching out for his arm, fingers going to his hair for him. "I don't see how she couldn't believe you," she said softly. "You always seem honest. But…" Darcy pulled her hand away, not able to make eye contact. "Maybe she's right. That you like the wrong girl. That you should be…with her. Focusing your time there." What Aidan had said about Darcy making Noah a bad friend to Sylvia had hurt, that he'd hoped he treated Darcy better than he treated Sylvia. Maybe it wasn't Noah at fault, but Darcy.
Noah closed his eyes, relaxing a bit. "I don't understand it either, Darcy." His eyes opened again when she pulled away. He looked at her, seriously confused. "I never felt like that about Sylvia." Okay, so maybe after she'd bit him he'd wondered. Had thought on it as a possibility but knew his head was clouded by the euphoria he'd felt when she'd bit him. As the days went by and there was still no word or sight of her, Noah knew for a fact he'd never felt that way about her in reality. And he'd never given Darcy reason to believe that as far as he knew. Or was that what girls did? Give unspoken ultimatums. Either he stopped looking for Sylvia or Darcy left? He wasn't sure what to say. "But if you're not feeling this anymore, you don't have to schlep me off on someone else," he said quietly, studying her face as she avoided his eyes.
"I know you don't," she said. "I know you've said that." Part of Darcy still worried, but that was probably because she kept comparing Aidan and Noah's reactions to Sylvia and seeing parallels. She let out a deep breath then looked up at him. "I am feeling this. Completely feeling this. Playing for keeps remember?" she said. "But I don't want you to wind up being a bad friend because of me. Or losing a friend because of me. She did come first didn't she?"
Noah half-smiled at her reiteration of "playing for keeps," but was even more confused by what she said next. "Wait, what? When I stopped the confrontation in the library she had no idea I knew you outside of school. Yet she jumped to the conclusion I'd chosen you over her, a virtual stranger as far as she knew. Which is who she went to when she found out she was a vampire, a virtual stranger, not me. She completely disregarded that I've known her for four years, been her only ally, and stuck my neck out for her all of those years. I've even put you on edge over her and for what? She clearly doesn't value our friendship herself. That's on her. Why would you think you're at fault for any of that?"
"I don't think her and Aidan would consider themselves strangers. I think they've…done more than we have." Which wasn't a lot, but things had happened between Aidan and Sylvia, no matter what they said. But she also understood what Noah was saying. "I'm sorry," she added softly. "I guess Aidan just had me feeling like it was my fault. You both talk about Sylvia like she's helpless and I'm the big bad wolf."
"Maybe not strangers anymore but he was a stranger when she confided in him." He didn't want to think about what Aidan and Sylvia did. Maybe Sylvia was right. Maybe she did cast spells on people. But maybe she had to bite them for longer than she'd bitten Noah. "I don't think you're a big bad wolf. My only thing was I wanted to know you weren't going to try to kill her. The more I get to know you, the more I realize I shouldn't have even worried about it. And Sylvia… well, it's hard to think of her differently after having been her protector for 4 years. She's always been helpless. Maybe she isn't now but she was behaving like that when she decided to run away and hide. I just … " he sighed and wished this wasn't happening for the millionth time. "And whatever Aidan said to make you feel like you're to blame, ignore it. He doesn't know what he's talking about if he's talking about you and me."
"That's probably true," Darcy said with a small sigh. "He doesn't talk about that part. We mostly just fight over the fact that I don't really approve." She rested her cheek against Noah's shoulder. "I'm not helpless. Most girls aren't. We're a lot tougher than we look. Maybe I was just giving her the benefit of the doubt." She looked up at him, smirking a tiny little bit. "Sometimes I don't know if I know what I'm talking about with you and me."
"That sucks. I know you're close with him," Noah said, not sure what else he could say that would sound neutral because he felt anything but where Aidan was concerned. He wondered if Darcy was starting those fights or if Aidan was. He didn't know the guy but he had an even lower opinion of him than he'd had to begin with if he was trying to make Darcy feel guilty for being with him. "No, I believe you are nowhere near helpless and I'm pretty sure I never want to be on your bad side. You have a mean right hook." He tried a breath of a laugh leaning his cheek against her head for a moment. "No? How do we find your some clarity?"
"I think we're at a standstill. He knows I don't approve and I know he won't listen." Darcy ran her fingers along the inside of his arm, cheek still against his shoulder. "There's a perk of having a ton of older cousins and brothers." And she missed them sometimes, now that they were gone. "Maybe we…talk about it."
Noah nodded at her explanation of where she and Aidan were then, enjoying her touch and letting it soothe him further. He didn't know about the perks of family as he had none and hadn't really had them when they'd been alive either thanks to his own selfishness. He wondered how she could be so disdainful of hers but then she'd always had them. She probably knew she could always come around again in the future and they'd still be there. He would have loved to have that and his last link to any kind of family was off choosing to avoid him and treat him as though he were just some asshole she'd known for two minutes. Yeah, he didn't have time for that. "We can do that," he said. "Talk about it." He lifted his cheek and glanced down at her.
Darcy looked up as well, watching his eyes. "So…what…" She stumbled over the question and it made her blush, looking down at his arm instead. "I don't know."
Noah's eyes flickered over her face and he couldn't help but feel mildly amused. What had her blushing? "What what?" he asked, needing some clarity himself now and almost chuckling at how silly what he'd said sounded out loud. “And don’t forget we never finished that conversation about looking at you.”
Darcy sighed, then looked at him. "What are we doing?" she asked finally, hesitantly. "What conversation?"
He sat back from her a bit, wanting to look at her better. "Kinda thought we were just playing it by ear?" he answered. He'd sort of tried to have this conversation himself last time but had backed off. "The one where I said it doesn't take brain damage … " he shook his head, amused, and let it drop.
"I guess we are," she said, not feeling like that really answered the question. "Is that okay with you?" It felt like it should be more. "Oh that. Um, well I'm still getting used to you thinking I'm pretty."
It had sounded like that's what she wanted last night. He wondered if that had changed. "I mean, it's been fun so far. Is it okay with you?" His brows furrowed slightly as she said she was still getting used to him thinking she was pretty. Again. How was that possible? "Hasn't anyone ever told you that you are?" He gently brushed a strand of her hair back from her face.
"It is fun," Darcy said, smiling softly. "I guess I was just wondering. That's what happens when you don't come home." She shook her head. "No one that wasn't trying to get in my pants or related to me."
"I did come home though. I kind of like you calling it home, by the way." His fingers slid down her face away from her hair to cup her jaw gently, his thumb brushing her cheek. "That's a shame. Because you are," he said gently, almost reverently. It was pretty obvious that he did, in fact, want to get into her pants but that apparently wasn't his only goal. He wasn't entirely sure why but it wasn't.
Darcy blushed a little more, not having caught what she said. “Well not home, but you...well...you were late.” She tried to look away, but he had her face in his hand and that felt good. “I’m glad you think so. I want you to think so.”
Noah bit back a grin. "It's home as long as you want it to be. Like I said," he replied. They weren't that serious, right? But it was kind of fun to see her blush. He wanted her to know more than he wanted to just think she was pretty. Somehow he'd figure a way of getting her to know it. He was determined now. "I think so a lot actually." He let her face go but let his hand find hers, not wanting to not be touching her somehow.
She smiled, nodding. “I know. I like it here. It smells like you.” She leaned into his fingers until he moved them away, squeezing his fingers. “How much a lot? What’s a lot?”
"Glad to know I'm not stinky or are you the sort of girl who prefers skunks to roses?" He'd read enough literature to wax poetic just a little even if he wasn't sure she'd completely appreciate it. "The face that launched a thousand ships," he reworked Marlowe a little. He lifted a brow, his expression saying that he both knew that was cheesy but that he also thought as much too.
“You’re not stinky. You just smell like you,” she said. At his quoting she looked confused, knowing it was something, but not placing it just yet. “Ships…” she tried, but not placing it.
"That sounds like you kind of like me," he teased, not sure why he felt so much in the mood to tease other than possibly the fact he wasn't on any fences anymore. He wasn't torn about anything now. He nodded at her encouragingly. "Helen of Troy. She caused a war by being very beautiful," he paraphrased, not going into too much detail because it wasn't necessary. It was even more cheesy having said that much.
“I do like you,” she admitted softly, inching closer to him. “A lot actually.” What he said made her laugh falling back against the bed. “God, why is that so accurate?” she asked, covering her face. “I feel like I have already. Though probably not just for being pretty.”
When she laughed he took license to be as corny as he could be. He put a hand to his heart and affected a very dramatic, longing expression. "But you have caused wars in my heart that never a tale could be told of. Be mine, fair lady!" And he collapsed beside her just laughing. It was maybe the first time in years he'd felt okay to just be happy.
She laughed at him too, reaching for him once he was there, shaking her head. “Be yours?” she ventured. “What kind of wars?”
"Mm, what man in his right mind wouldn't want a lovely lady like you to start wars?" he asked and turned toward her, his face still smiling. "The sort of wars that can only end with a kiss, I'm sure."
“Someone who isn’t a fan of wars,” Darcy suggested with a grin. “I think that calls for kissing then.” But she didn’t kiss him, waiting on him to kiss her.
Continuing his affect, Noah lifted her hand and paused before he placed his lips on it in a fine kiss. His dark eyes were sarcastic, enjoying playing with her and not feeling weighed down by her. "Your kiss, m'lady," he said playfully.
“Well must have been a tiny war at best,” Darcy teased back, shaking her head. She wanted more than that, but she got that they were playing a game of sort. They were always playing games.
Noah was happy. He didn't know what to do with that. He hadn't been happy in more years than he could remember. Maybe he wasn't being coherent but he was enjoying Darcy. "That was just the kiss for the first war. The one that ended with me talking to you. Imagine the kiss for the next one. When you found me behind the orphanage."
“There was a war about talking to me? What kind of war?” she asked, inching closer again. “I think that’d be sweeter. Maybe teasing.”
He watched her, feeling so at ease with her that it was surprising almost. How'd this happened? "The war was whether or not to suggest you needed something I had. You accepted. War ended." He leaned toward her a bit more and kissed the inside of her wrist, his lips lingering. Giving her the teasing. "Like this?"
“Like the pencil or something else?” Darcy was enjoying this, feeling the weight of her family lifting and letting herself get lost in Noah. “How long did you think about that? Talking to me?” His kiss sent shivers down her spine and made her smile more. “What about when you snuck in my house?”
He weighed the pros and cons of telling her the absolute truth to that first question. Finally he said, "How weird an answer to that are you willing to accept?" Though he tried to say it like it was a joke though… how did you admit you'd memorized a girl's freckles preemptively with no real hope of talking to her? "When I snuck in your house? That was a pretty big war. Worth it though. Very worth it."
Darcy considered his question, then shrugged. “I think I could handle pretty weird,” she said. How weird could it be? She smiled more, nodding. “Quite. You had to be very brave. What kind of kiss does that deserve? It seemed to be worth it just that night alone.” Since things had gotten heated between them.
He wasn't willing to admit. Couldn't go there. It was too weird even to him. Instead he said, "I'm not brave. Not really. I just know you deserve to be kissed. Well." And that was true too. But was it too prosaic to start another make out session? He wanted to kiss her, needed to, but was that really enough? He kissed the corner of her mouth but he pulled her closer, putting his arms around her.
“Do I? Well?” Darcy hadn’t heard that before, but being pulled closer was nice and she went with him, resting her head against his chest. “That’s not the weird answer is it?” Because it didn’t seem weird.
Noah was caught off guard that she'd seen through him in spite of his moves. That' s what he got for thinking he finally got her. He'd never understand girls would he? "I - no. It's not"
Darcy, played with his shirt before looking up at him. "So what was it? Something about talking to me?" She was curious and despite his distractions, Darcy was observant.
Noah looked down at her hand and made a face then began laughing, avoiding her eyes. "Uh, well… I memorized your freckles." And he nodded once, decisively. She could take it or leave it. There it was.
It took a moment for that to sink in, then she was covering her cheeks, hiding both the blush and the freckles on her skin. “Oh god. Really? They’re not even worth looking at.” She ducked her head, almost hiding from him. She didn’t like her freckles, marks across her skin that made her stand out from her family.
He knew he was probably the biggest dork for having done it but to have admitted it was even worse. "I sort of collect details about people," he went on in spite of himself. "They were the ones I collected about you. Before I knew you… a little better. And now you can tell me I'm a total weirdo. Go on." He was smiling though.
“No it’s not weird. Different, but...I don’t even like them. I sort of hate that that was what you noticed about me. I’m a freckled freak.” Darcy ran her fingers through her hair, shaking her head. “Did you pick out new details to collect now? Please say yes.” She was also curious what other details he collected about others, and who else he’d memorized.
He breathed a laugh through his nose. "That wasn't the only thing I noticed. I mean hello, fiery red hair. You're so different from other girls. I really like that." And different from himself, brown hair and brown eyes and brown skin. Noah was just brown. Whereas Darcy was pale skin and red hair and green eyes. He sat back a little again to look at her, letting go with his arms. "I haven't decided yet on new details. There are a lot now that I get to look at you up close."
“Yes but it’s what you memorized.” She looked at her arms, shaking her head. “They get worse if I’m out in the sun. It’s no fun.” Just more marks. Glancing up at Noah she felt her cheeks get pink again when she spotted him looking at her. “Like what?”
"It's all I could see when sitting behind you," he said, his mouth curling up slightly on one side. He'd bet her freckles were beautiful in the sun but he didn't say so. "Well, there's the times you blush… seeing exactly where it starts and moves outward," he said, lightly touching her cheek in demonstration. "Or the way your pupils dilate just a bit when you look at me." He bit his lip thoughtfully. "And the things that make you gasp."
“Do they do that?” Darcy asked about her eyes, but she wasn’t at all sure what to say really and it and jumped into her voice. She was nervous under his fingers. “Which things are those?”
He smiled a bit more. "Sometimes they do, yeah. Could just be there's more light when you're not looking at my chest." He shrugged slightly. This was probably the strangest conversation about something not vampire related that he'd ever had with a girl. Or anyone. "Those things I'm still learning. And I seem to find new ones whenever I go looking."
“Or maybe it’s just you,” she said softly, touching his chest through his shirt. “When are you thinking about going looking again?” Because eventually reality would crash in again wouldn’t it? Hadn’t she figured that out when spending time with Aidan today? Eventually she’d have to go home, to her real home This was his home, not hers. And she was worried this, these moments, Noah, wouldn’t exist outside of this.
Noah would like to think it was him. That she really did find herself as attracted to him as he was to her. He knew that the more time they spent together and the more she was going to realize he was just weird. That some of what he said and did was bravado, not confidence. He took a lot of risks. "Soon," he answered her question vaguely. He liked her touch on his chest. To him it almost felt like a claim and he didn't mind that at all.
Darcy had wanted soon to be now. To spend the rest of the night getting lost in Noah and then sleeping through the day again. It wasn’t real life, but it would be nice. “Soon is good,” she said instead, not telling him how she really felt, moving closer though so she was within his reach again.
Noah would have liked soon to be now as well. He also wanted to not be the guy who tried to climb into her pants all the time. She wasn't still with those guys, obviously, and he didn't want to be temporary. Not at this point. She'd become so much more than a game. He'd even confided in her things he probably never would have said out loud to anyone if she wasn't as important to him as she'd become. He sighed, uncertain how to proceed because he almost felt emotionally naked at this point. He looked down at her hand and played one finger along her knuckles, trying to look more thoughtful than unsure.
“DId I say something wrong?” she asked after a moment of silence between them, watching his fingers on her hand. “Or are you just caught up in important thoughts that I wouldn’t understand?” That could be it. She wasn’t an idiot by any means, but there was a strong chance, or no chance at all, that Noah was a lot smarter than she was.
He looked up at her and smiled, shaking his head. "No, sorry, lost in thought. Not that you wouldn't understand. I think you probably understand me better than anyone." Damn, had he just said that? One more check on the list of weird Noah shit. Maybe he should stick to trying to make her gasp. This talking thing was really exposing him for the abnormal psych project he probably was.
It wasn’t a bad thing though. It was the kind of thing that made her stomach flip again and brought a smile to her lips. “Do I? I feel like that too. That you understand me.” Except when he’d accused her of wanting to kill Sylvia, but that had gotten sorted out hadn’t it? He said now he didn’t think she would hurt her. Now that he knew her more. “What are you thinking about?”
Well he'd said it, he couldn't very well not talk about it. "Yeah, I think you do. I'm not sure I always understand you. You are, after all, one of those wonderful mysteries called 'Girls,'" he said and rested back down on his elbow on the bed. His day was beginning to hit him a little. "I talked with two of them today that I hadn't really talked to before. Sometimes it's like trying to run a maze."
Darcy raised an eyebrow at that, looking down at him. “Are we really that confusing? Because it’s not like you boys are easy. What do we do that’s so mysterious? And what on earth do I do that’s that confusing?” She narrowed her eyes a little. “Who were you talking to? Anyone good?”
Noah looked a bit sheepish. "Yeah you really are. To me at least. There will be sometimes that I figure I know what your reaction will be to something and either I get some mercy or I really just have no idea about reactions. And you, well, sometimes you seem like you're going to say something but you don't. Makes me wonder what it was and why you wouldn't just say it." He played with her fingers again, looking at them and missing her eyes narrowing as he offhandedly answered, "Let's see, I conned Avery into giving me her notes since I haven't been in class. And I met Audrey who is going to do a project with me working with the kids at the orphanage. Trying to find families for them."
“I think that’s just me being unpredictable,” Darcy said. “And sometimes I don’t say things because I don’t want to say the wrong thing. Or upset you. Or say something weird.” She raised an eyebrow at mention of her cousin. “How’d that go with Avery?” she asked. “I don’t know Audrey, but that...sounds like a good thing. Helping people find their families.” Wow, he really just was a better person than she was? What did she do? Worked at a bar? It wasn’t much at all was it? No wonder Aidan wanted her to do more.
Noah laughed a quiet rumble in his chest. "And here I sit telling you all sorts of weird things. I can only imagine what you have up there in your head." He glanced up at her face, smiling a bit at her. "She's not as boring as I thought she'd be and she agreed so I'm set on notes. And Audrey's pretty much a saint. It was her suggestion but it'd be good to help them. You could help if you wanted. Right now we're just going to post flyers and stuff. I have to talk to my contacts at city hall and find out why there isn't a program already in place. It'd be nice to be able to do something with you in public…"
“It’s mostly just silly things about if you’re still planning on kissing me again,” she said, which wasn’t the whole truth, but enough of it to pass. “Avery? What did she do that was so interesting?” Darcy supposed her cousin wasn’t a complete bore, but she could be a heck of a lot more interesting if she’d take a few more risks. Darcy looked at him closely when he said he wanted to do something in public. “I won’t cramp your save the world style?” she asked, not sure what he was saying or what that meant but wanting it too in her own way.
Noah smiled a little and nodded at her explanation of the things in her head. He wasn't sure that was anything to be worried about saying out loud but what did he know? "Avery? She's funny. Sarcastic funny. And probably more intelligent than she gives herself credit for," he said with a shrug. "Save the world? No, I just want to save the kids with no families like me. And it'd be great to have you there." Come to think of it, he wasn't exactly sure why they'd stayed private other than he was pretty sure her family would murder him.
“Avery? Funny? I get sarcastic, but she’s not really funny.” Unless Noah didn’t think Darcy was, but she supposed she really wasn’t funny. “I guess you caught her on a good day.” And not one that Darcy had gotten in a while. Of course, Darcy had mostly seen her cousin as selfish, bratty, and mean lately. “You’d save the world if you could I bet. And you probably can.” She brushed her fingers through his hair, twisting it. “If you want me there I can be there.” Flyers wasn’t that hard. And it might be nice. Though she wasn’t sure how they would act in public.
Noah smirked faintly at Darcy. "She's a lot more fun than you think she is," he stated but that was as far as he was going to go toward trying to convince her. He closed his eyes as her fingers relieved his perpetual headache. He spoke a bit dreamily then. "Mm, maybe, but the world is outside a big bubble. These kids are here, you know? And I do want you there." He didn't expect her to be interested in a bunch of PDA or anything but it would be good to have her there with him while he was pursuing something he really believed in.
“Maybe. But we mostly just fight,” she said. “Though she’s supposedly moving out, so I might not see her much outside of school.” Darcy liked the way he closed his eyes, which meant she was pulling at his hair again, playing with it. “Since you want me there, I’ll be there. Just don’t let me get in your way.”
"Maybe you live too close together?" he asked, having heard at one point that having more than one teenage girl under one roof was bad news. He peeked at her from under his lashes. "Why do you think you'd be in my way?"
“Maybe. I guess we’ll find out if she moves out and I have to move in with Patrick,” Darcy said with a sigh, still playing with Noah’s hair. “I’m not sure. I guess...well, it’s different out there than it is here right?” Liam creeped into her thoughts and she couldn’t push him away. She really did need to make a proper decision, but who could dump Liam? He was the nicest person ever. Didn’t he know an Audrey too? The blonde from the auction was Audrey. Maybe it was the same one.
"Either way, it was at least not a bad way to spend a few minutes," he said with a slight smile, emphasizing how little time he'd spent with Avery compared to the hours he spent with Darcy. He continued to peek at her, relaxing more and more the longer she played with his hair. "It doesn't have to be radically different if you don't want it to be. Or do you?" Did she not want to be seen in public with him?
“Next thing I know you’ll be wishing you were with the blonde cousin,” Darcy said, rolling her eyes. She was teasing, yes, she realized she had more time with him, not Avery, but maybe she was feeling that twinge of jealousy. She didn’t want to share Noah with Avery. “I guess it doesn’t. Though there’s some things I don’t think we should do in front of everyone else.” She paused, chewing at her lower lip. “What do you want?”
Noah gave her a look. "No more trying to get rid of me onto other people!" he reminded her with a slight laugh. "You're the girl I want to be with. Find a way to deal with it." He grinned, which he thought probably looked funny with his eyes closed. "What things? I mean, I assume you don't want me to make you gasp in public or anything beyond that - which I wouldn't. But what else don't you want? In public?"
She laughed at his face, nodding. “Fine. No running off with my cousin.” Though him saying she was the girl he wanted to be with had butterflies in her stomach again leaning down to kiss him lightly. “No, none of those things, but...I don’t know. I’m not sure what would would be okay. I’ve never done this before.” And she wasn’t sure what they were.
"She's got a lumberjack anyway. I hear those guys carry axes and spiked shoes." Not that he couldn't handle himself with an axe but that was besides the point. He liked that he got a kiss out of the deal, his hand going up into her hair gently before letting her go again. "You've never what? Been with someone you like in public?"
“She does. I wonder how that’s going,” Darcy mused, staying close to Noah. At his question she blushed and shrugged. “Before, they had to deal with my cousins and siblings, and after...nothing was really the kind of thing that you’d take in public.”
It had seemed like things with the lumberjack were mostly good but Noah wasn't willing to admit they'd talked about that. He missed her blush, his eyes closed again, but it might have been there in her tone. "Well I promise I won't do anything to get any kind of negative attention from your family. That's the last thing I'd want."
Darcy nudged him, wanting him to look at her. “I’m not worried about that. If they have issues...they’ll get over it.” She was having to ‘get over’ Sylvia. Her family could deal with Noah.
It was probably good she nudged him. The more his eyes were closed, the more he was likely to fall asleep and he didn't want to do that just yet. He opened his eyes and smiled at her. "Over it as in I'm six feet under by then?"
“No,” she said, drawing out the word and moving closer so she was curled close to him. “They’d only be tempted to kill you if you hurt me.” She nudged her nose against his jaw. “Otherwise they’d just threaten you or maybe try and beat you up. I wouldn’t let them though.” She was willing to stand up for him. She nudged her nose against his jaw again sweetly.
He tilted his head away a bit, smiling a little at her affection the first time. "Oh good to know they wouldn't actually kill me. And I have no plans on hurting you." The second time she nudged him, Noah turned his face fully toward her and kissed her nose. "I'd rather be alive and I'm pretty sure a beating is worth it."
“No plans? Good.” She snuggled in more, even if she wasn’t sure she was invited that close. “Worth it. Good to know.”
Noah always wanted her close so when she snuggled in a bit he used the hand of the arm he wasn't leaning on to play idly with her hair and trace figures on her shoulder. "Sounds like a lot of good. You think you'll want to be seen in public with the weird saving the world guy?"
“You are a lot of good.” She sighed as he touched her, closing her eyes this time. “I think so. Why wouldn’t I want to be? You’re the hero. I’m just a waitress. You’ll probably be looking for a far less lame girl before too long.”
He grinned a bit too hard at her saying that. "You're the good one," he deflected almost shyly. He kissed her right cheek. "I already found a far less lame girl than that." He kissed her left cheek. Then simply watched her.
“I knew you had another girl,” Darcy teased, because what he was saying was making her blush again and the joke helped. So did pulling at the hem of his shirt, fingers grazing his stomach as she did so.
"Mmm, she's gorgeous. You should see her," he teased back, giving her an important look. He breathed in as he felt her fingers on his stomach, her touch making him smile until he leaned in and kissed her softly on the mouth.
Darcy was giving her own look, knowing he was talking about her, but at the same time she hoped he was talking about her. The kiss helped, and while it was soft, she answered it with something with a little more behind it.
Noah's brows raised at her response to his kiss, pleasantly enjoying her taking what she wanted instead of just accepting what he was giving. He scooted closer to her, his hand sliding from her shoulder to her back.
That was nice, him closer, making her feel warmer and cared for. Darcy kept kissing him until she needed to breathe, fingers pressed against his stomach. She pressed a kiss along his jaw before looking up at him. “Are you looking for her again tomorrow?”
Noah rubbed her back gently, tugging the ends of her hair playfully a little as he kissed her. Kissing her, touching her, feeling her fingers on his skin. He really liked it all and couldn't imagine a time when he wouldn't. But he was a little taken aback when she brought Sylvia back up. It jarred his mood a little took him a minute to answer. "I'm not sure. I'd planned on it but I don't know."
Darcy nodded, something that bumped against him with how close they were. She spread her fingers more across his skin, one hand curling around his hip. “Do what you think is best,” she said softly. She still didn’t want anyone to find Sylvia, but she wasn’t as worried about Noah with Sylvia as she was about Aidan and Sylvia.
Noah let his elbow straighten beneath him, lying back on his back with his arm behind his head now. His hand followed along her arm to where her fingers touched his hip, not stopping her in the least. "Do what I think is best." He nodded feeling like there could be a joke in there somewhere. "What are you going to do?"
She rested her head against his shoulder, laying next to him. With his hand on hers she thought he’d stop her, but when he didn’t, she kept her hand where it was, thumb tracing circles on his skin. “School probably. Maybe run by the house.” She was out of clothes after tomorrow, but she wasn’t sure if she was staying with him more or not. “I should check in on Patrick.”
He watched her face, now so close to his again, shifting a little beneath her touch. It felt really good and it was distracting, so distracting. He nodded, only half hearing her. "Yeah school's probably a good idea. And your family," he said quietly.
“I’d rather be here,” she admitted softly, looking up at him. “I feel like it’s a dream that’s going to end. I’ll wake up or go home and it will have just all been in my head.” She kept touching him, simple circles, pressing against his skin a little harder.
His other arm slid from beneath his head to around her shoulders, pulling her close against him. Wouldn't it be nice to just spend the day with Darcy. In bed with nothing of the world bothering them? "It's not all in your head," he said quietly. "And who says it has to end just because you go home?"
“It won’t be like this if I go back. Not every night. Not even every other night right?” she said softly. This was where it was safe and this was where it existed. She closed her eyes with a soft sigh and lay more against him. “I don’t want it to end.”
"No, probably not, but we'd find a way to see each other, right?" he asked, hoping. Was she thinking they'd have to end this? Was that the motivation behind her theme of tossing him at other girls this evening? He hoped not. "I'd rather it didn't. You know. End."
“Well yeah, but...not as much. Which sucks. And what if it’s not the same.” She wanted it to be the same. Just like this. “Me too. I like being here. With you.”
"So don't go. Stay here," he suggested, not really believing she'd say yes. But he wanted her to know he wanted her here with him if she wanted to be here.
Darcy pushed up to look at him, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Stay here? What for good?” she asked, wanting him to say yes even if it was too soon or too weird. She wanted someone to want her around like that.
He looked up at her and nodded. "Yeah, if you wanted to. There's the extra room you could use for your stuff. And space." He didn't figure she wanted 24/7 Noah time. Who would? "It doesn't have to be like playing house or anything."
She wasn’t expecting that. He’d just let her move in like that. “I can think about it. Though...I’d want to sleep in here.” Which she hoped was okay. “If it isn’t like playing house...what is it like?”
He'd said before she could move in as long as she wanted and he'd meant it. "I just meant you don't have to sleep in here. We can be roommates. Who occasionally snuggle. I guess I'm really saying I know you're not happy with your family situation. So I'm not saying move in as a relationship move. More like necessity for your sanity?"
“Occasionally just snuggle?” she said, resting her arms on his chest and her chin on her arms to watch him. “That sounds like a step backward.” It was a tempting offer though, and she got what he was offering: an escape. “I might.”
"I'm sure we could negotiate further private displays of affections," he said, his chest quaking gently in silent laughter. He trailed his fingers along her forearms, touching her chin every so often. "Do what you think is best," he said, echoing her.
“Negotiate? Are you sure you’re interested at all?” she teased, liking his fingers on her, like she always did. There was just something about the way he touched her and how she reacted. How it made her breathing change, even if it was something simple. It wasn’t lost on Darcy that he was echoing her and she gave him a look before shaking her head. “I’ll let you know.”
"Sometimes negotiation is part of the fun," he replied, knowing this from experience at the town hall. He could imagine that negotiations with Darcy over this sort of thing would be very fun. He played his fingertip along her lower lip, then slowly traced her upper lip. He wondered if she enjoyed being touched as much as he enjoyed touching her.
Darcy’s eyes fell shut for a moment as he touched her mouth, but before he finished she moved, tongue flicking out to run along his finger, teeth grazing it. “Depends on what the negotiations are like. If it’s a lot of sitting around talking, I’m not sure I believe it’s any fun at all.”
Noah's breath caught softly. He hadn't expected that and she'd both caught him off guard and sent goosebumps up his arm. "Ye-eah, I don't think there'd be much sitting around. Or much talking."
Darcy made a point of nibbling on his finger again. “No? Well...then yeah. Maybe. Though now I want to start now.” Especially when he reacted to her like that.
He bit his lip, taking in another breath, though this one was silent. He watched her eyes, his smiling rather less than innocently. "What's the first item on the table then?"
She liked that look on him, it suited him. Pushing up more she leaned towards him. “Kisses?” she asked, not sure if that was starting in the right direction, but wanting to know how it would go over or what his reaction might be.
"Isn't that something you already have free access to or did you not mean on the lips?" he asked, his expression slipping into playful challenge.
That was definitely not the question she’d asked, but he had her attention. “Yes free access, but yes to other types of kisses. Other...locations.”
He lifted a brow. "What locations are you interested in?" he asked, wondering if she'd say or show or demure. He couldn't tell with her.
Darcy felt her cheeks heat up, but for the sake of the negotiations, managed to keep some sense of self about it. “Well you’ve already covered quite a bit of me,” she pointed out. “More of that and maybe...I’d be willing to consider more.” She felt like an idiot saying it, nor did she know how to word it, but there was more, she knew there had to be, but she was curious if he’d be interested in that.
Noah was aware of plenty more places he'd like to kiss her and so he nodded. "Any place in particular?" he asked, wondering just how far he could push her before she made him knock it off. She was fun to wind up a little for the sake of this game they played.
So that was how he was going to play? Darcy sat up completely, shifting so she was straddling him. "Here's nice," she started, fingers on his neck, then trailing lower. "Here," as fingers skimmed his chest. Her fingers kept going, down his stomach, but she didn't repeat herself until she had fingers ducking under his waistband. "Here."
Oh, so she was going to do a half-demonstration. It still hit its mark. He held his breath, watching her eyes as her fingers trailed his body. When they moved beyond his waistband, he caught another soft breath. His challenging expression faltered a bit. "There is nice," was all he could think of to say.
"Mmhmm," Darcy agreed, fingers still there again soft skin. She wondered if he was paler there skin not as exposed to the sun. "Acceptable then? Or would you like something in return for it."
Noah shivered, the scarred skin along his forearms ridging a bit with goosebumps. "Mmhm," he replied and nodded. "Though what could I get in return for it?"
That was fun, that he reacted to her like he did. She found her way to the button of his jeans and slowly undid it. "Depends on what you want. It's no fair giving you things you don't want."
Had he known what he was getting himself into, trying to keep up with the game while she pretty much had him under her control, he might not have challenged her. Not that he didn't like where this was going but he stupidly felt he had to keep up the game. Maybe he needed to let that go. "I want turnabout," he almost whispered.
"Do you?" Darcy sounded surprised, but the look in her yes gave her away. She wasn't. She knew he'd ask for as much. "Honestly, it seems only fair." She worked his zipper down as well, baring more skin. "Anything you want to bring to the table for consideration?"
His hands lifted to her hips, his thumbs brushing outward along her own waistband. He knew she couldn't get at too much of him if she were sitting that way but she'd certainly know the full reaction she was getting from him soon enough. "I'd like to revisit an old item in tandem to these kisses. Namely those on the mouth."
His hands were distracting, slowing her own movements, leaving her hands stilled in precarious places, but she didn't mind. His words brought her back, only slightly though. "Which old item?" Something that had to do with kissing, but she wasn't at all sure what he meant.
Noah gave a little breath through his nose in response to her touch, half smiling up at her. She was pretty distracted, he realized, to have missed what he was asking for. So he didn't ask again, rather let his fingers slip under her shirt, grazing her stomach just along her waistband.
Darcy was forgetting what he was talking about. Her breath hitched as he touched skin, body arching into his fingers ever so slightly. That was far too enjoyable, his hands on her and she smiled, eyes falling shut. "What thing?" She eventually asked again, voice quiet and caught up in his actions.
He watched her and found his own pleasure in seeing her response to his touch. She looked so uninhibited that he wanted as much of her as he could get. "Kisses," he said, his hands tightening on her hips so that he could sit up beneath her and kiss her lips.
Darcy finally figured it out, falling more into his lap with the change of position. She didn't get a chance to say anything before he was kissing her though and that as answer enough. Her hands wound into his hair, pulling him closer and kissing him deeply.
Her body shifting in his lap had him shifting himself and he sighed against her lips at the loveliness that was her fingers in his hair. His hands slid up her sides pushing up her shirt some. He really liked kissing her like this, pressed against each other in some places so close that the only thing between them was literally their clothing.
Her hands stayed in his hair, but dropped to the base of his neck, holding on to him there. She squirmed under his touch, but didn't pull away, just leaning more into it, giving him more leverage. This was how everything was forgotten. All the stress was pulled away by his kisses and hands alone.
Noah rolled his hips gently against hers, smiling into their kiss. This was indeed how everything was forgotten. Everything but each other and what their bodies wanted to say to one another. He kissed her jaw gently. “Any further items?” he whispered, a smile in his tone.
His hips against hers earned him a soft noise, something that could have been a moan if he hadn't been kissing her. Darcy gripped his hair, gasping for breath when he did pull away. "More of that," she said before she could stop herself, burying her face in his neck when she realized how ridiculous it sounded. "And clothes. We should discuss clothes."
That noise was enough to make him shift his hips against hers again without her asking for it. His hands slid back down her sides to the bottom edge of her shirt. "You can have a piece of mine if I get a piece of yours," he countered, tugging lightly with at her shirt.
Darcy let slip another embarrassing noise, something close to a whimper before she could pull back and look at him. "Just one or for every piece of yours you get a piece of mine?" She was already lifting her arms up, giving him space to take her shirt if he wanted.
Noah bit his lip, unable to control the involuntary response to her sound, he shifted against her again. It was a good thing he wasn't at all interested in being a gentleman. "For every piece of yours you get one of mine," he said and took her shirt, smiling at the pale skin beneath, his hands pressing gently against her stomach and up around her sides. She was soft and he knew sensitive too.
Darcy was biting her lip too, breathing shortened. She shivered as he took her shirt, both from being left alone in just a pale pink bra and his hands on her. Then she reached for his, pulling at it from his chest which wasn't the right place to pull it off from, but she wanted to take it off somehow.
Noah helped her with his shirt, a little regretful he had to take his hands away from her, but it was worth it to have one less thing between them. He tossed his shirt aside and leaned up a bit to kiss her collarbone lightly.
That was enough to make her shiver again, fingers in his hair again, keeping him where he was. Her free hand ran down his back, nails grazing the skin. Distantly she wondered where he wanted to go with things, if they'd get out of hand or not. Sh was pretty sure she didn't care.
Noah shivered himself, sighing at the touch of her nails and her fingers in his hair. He was beyond deciding where he wanted this to go because she felt so good there with him. He kind of wanted to explore every inch she would allow him to. He pressed his lips further along her collarbone.
Darcy sighed, head falling back to give him room. "Noah." She hadn't meant to say his name, but there it was, breathy and maybe even a little eager.
He paused, hearing his name, then sent his lips trailing along throat toward her chin. He caressed her back for a moment before moving his face back just a bit, eyes on her face.
When he stopped kissing her, she felt her cheeks heat up, looking at him sheepishly. “Sorry.” She hadn’t meant to say it, but it was there and she couldn’t take it back.
He shook his head. "No, I just wanted to look at you," he said, not even remotely caring how sappy that sounded. His fingers found the bottom edge of her hair and tugged gently as an appreciative smile played on his lips.
“Look at me?” Darcy was blushing again, a deep red this time. When he pulled at her hair she made a little face as she leaned in closer to him.
He nodded, not explaining that for some reason he just wanted to see her when her guard was down. He touched her reddened cheek, he hadn't meant to embarrass her. He replaced his fingers with his lips, then asked, "What's next on the negotiations agenda?"
She felt so silly, so exposed, wrapping her arms around herself. “I forgot,” she said, not looking at him, biting at her lip. “Something I’m sure.”
Noah frowned slightly at how much of a screeching halt he'd brought this to. With her arms around herself instead of him, he wasn't sure the moment was recoverable and he could've kicked himself. He put his hands gently on her forearms. "I'm sorry."
She shook her head. “You don’t have to. I just feel… silly.” Darcy started to move, off of him and more towards the pillows, but she wasn’t going fast. If he wanted to stop her, he probably could.
And she was moving. Noah felt his shoulders slump, his hands falling away from her. He wasn't sure she wanted him to stop her and so he didn't. "Why silly though?" he asked though he knew why he felt silly. More like an ass though than anything else.
“Because I said,” Darcy started, looking at him then turning pink again reaching for his pillow and holding it in front of her. The worse part was how much it smelled like him. It just made her want him closer than he was. “And you’re like…cool and god, smart.” She sighed. “I feel stupid around you.”
Noah's eyelashes fluttered in confusion. "What?" he asked quietly, not incredulously but thoughtfully. Hadn't he just embarrassed the hell out of her while they were enjoying each other? That was pretty damned stupid in his book. "I - I really don't feel like any of those things or that you're stupid. Not at all."
“I’m not as smart as you,” she said softly, finally looking up at him. “I just feel silly. Like...I used to be good at this and now I like you and...I’m always worried I’m going to screw up or say something stupid.”
He decided to attempt to level the playing field in light of what she'd just said. "I honestly have no idea what I'm doing at any given moment with you but you've always seemed like you know exactly what you're doing." He ran a finger over her arm as it held the pillow, looking at it and not her. "I do screw up and say stupid things like I just did a minute ago. That doesn't feel smart."
“Well, I know how these things are supposed to go,” she said softly, watching him watch her arm. “You didn’t really. I mean you...I just felt silly. Like you thought I was silly.” She wanted to go back, to not say his name like that.
Had he picked up on the fact that she was most embarrassed by having said his name, he would have spoken to it because he'd liked it. "I know how they're supposed to go too but not with someone … like you." Which probably made no sense but he felt silly now. "And no, I didn't think you were silly."
She raised her eyes up to his. “Like me?” she asked, not sure what he meant by that. How could she be all that different. “No?”
He pressed his lips together and tilted his chin down a bit. "You know. Someone I like as much as I like you. Someone I think is as beautiful as you are." Probably the most uncomfortable thing he'd said in a while because she had every right to laugh at it. "No, you're not silly at all."
How could she be upset at that? Darcy felt that same flutter in her stomach, letting the pillow drop a little, leaning into him. “You like me that much?” Because she wanted him to like her as much as she liked him. “Just as long as you don’t think I am.”
He gave her a ghost of a smile as she moved closer again. "I like you a lot," he said nodding and his hair fell in his face. Something he used to make happen when he was younger and trying to hide. He shook it away, not needing to hide from her. "There's a lot I think about you, but silly isn't part of it."
She leaned in, pushing his hair out of the way before kissing him, though it was hesitantly. “What do you think?” she asked pushing the pillow away and winding back up on her knees, trying to wrap her arms around his neck.
He didn't resist her, still wanting to be close to her. He kissed her back gently, letting her wrap her arms around his neck. He let his fingers slip into her hair at the back of her neck. "I think you are important," he said for starters. Being important was something he valued a lot so it was the highest compliment he thought he could pay her.
That wasn’t what she’d expected, tilting her head a little. “Important to who?” She hoped he meant him, but it did leave her feeling good. She wanted to be important to someone.
His eyes began to smile at her, his fingers playing in her hair against her neck. "To me, for one." He hoped she thought he was important to. He knew she liked him and that was at least a little important.
“That’s probably enough,” Darcy said since she was pretty sure she wasn’t important to her family. Tightening her grip on him, she kissed him again. “I’m sorry.”
"Is it?" he asked though he thought she wouldn't have said it if she didn't mean it. He liked that she was bringing more intensity and he kissed her back. "For what?"
“It is,” Darcy confirmed. “For being silly. And feeling silly.” She pressed a line of kisses against his jaw, wanting to draw them back to where they’d been, so close together, his hands on her.
He arched his neck a bit, closing his eyes at the touch of her lips. "You're not silly, I'm telling you," he said slowly between her kisses. "You are good at that, though."
She nibbled at his neck, teeth grazing against his skin. “Do you want more?” she asked before letting her kisses drop lower, down his chest. She wanted to keep this going, get lost in it again. Anything to cover up that weird and exposed feeling.
Noah opened his eyes to look down at her as she kissed his chest knowing she couldn't mistake the shiver she sent through him. "Pretty sure I do," he affirmed, letting his fingers slip out of her hair so that he could lean back on one hand.
Once he started to lean back, Darcy pushed, moving with him, wanting him all the way back. She could tell he did, but she liked hearing it. And wanted to give him more. Even if they went all night like this and she couldn’t function in school tomorrow, Noah was worth it.
He let her push him back, glad for the use of his hands again as they found the soft skin along her ribs and sides. He wondered briefly if she was ticklish but decided to test that out another time. At this point he didn't care when or how this ended so long as they were both feeling good. He'd worry about tomorrow when it came.
Darcy propped herself up over him, feeling his hands on her with a happy shiver. This was better. Better than being embarrassed. She kissed him deeply, letting her hips drop against his. She wasn’t pushing too far, but creating that contact between them.
Noah didn't need to be pushed to remember how he'd been feeling before things had stopped. Just her gentle weight on his hips combined with her kiss was enough to remind him he wanted all things Darcy for a good long time. He nipped at her lower lip as his fingers instinctively trailed the edge of her bra.
She arched against him, liking both that nip and where his hands were. She dropped a little lower, kissing him just a little harder with a little more behind it.
It was hard not to push at her with his hips, turn her over onto her back. He kind of wanted to make her gasp but he'd go for her renewal of intensity. Big time. Even if it got him nowhere, he let his fingers slip beneath the back of her bra, sliding outward toward her sides gently. It wasn't unexplored territory but he still enjoyed how she responded to it.
She pushed against him for him, hips against his as she shivered under his hands. It wasn’t territory they hadn’t covered yet, but it was still new, it still felt new. If he wanted to do more, she certainly wouldn’t stop him, not now. She felt his name coming up again in the back of her mind, which meant she was biting her lip to keep from saying it.