Let Love In

Noah ended up sandwiched between Kennedy and Garrett for the van ride home. Riley had made sure that she wasn’t in the same car as Colin, sensing something was up without prying in public. Best friend intuition to the rescue.

The boys kept her amply distracted, and before she knew it, they were pulling into her driveway. Kennedy held out his hand after he climbed out of the van, giving Noah a reassuring smile. Noah gave him a confused look as she took his hand, climbing easily out of the van and stepping onto the grass. They stepped out of the way for the rest of the boys to get out of the van, and Kennedy pulled her into a comforting hug.

“Cheer up Noah, you seem a bit down. I thought you were having fun tonight, but your smile’s gone. If you need to talk, you know where to find me.” He patted her on the shoulder as he pulled away, disappearing into the house. Noah stood there for a moment, staring at her front door. Garrett’s arm snaked itself around her lower back as he appeared at her side. He pulled his phone from his pocket, noting the time before pulling her closer to him. With his hands on her hips, he pecked her cheek before resting his nose against hers.

“Now what?” Noah could smell the beer on his breath, knowing he’d been drinking tonight. She didn’t drink more than one beer at the alley, while he most likely had three or four. His grip tightened at her hip bone as his bottom lip slipped between his teeth. She let out a sigh, noticing over his shoulder that Colin’s car had disappeared from the driveway. He slowly placed his lips on hers, distracting her from any thoughts of Colin, leaving a lingering kiss for a moment or two before pulling away slightly. He reached up to push away a strand of hair falling in her eyes. Noah’s lungs didn’t constrict the way they had with Colin earlier that evening, which worried her slightly. Garrett kissed her again, sliding his hand from her lower back up her side and pulling the fabric of her shirt with him slightly. The slight breeze in the air brought goosebumps across her exposed skin, causing Noah to jump back in surprise. Garrett looked at her in shock, and she let out a giggle. Realizing they were alone in her front yard, she pulled his hand toward the front door of the house.

“C’mon mister, it’s almost time for bed.”

Everyone in the house was setting up their appropriate bedding downstairs when Noah and Garrett walked through the door. Noah could hear the television on as she walked down the stairs and around the corner. She looked around the room, smiling at everyone making themselves at home. “Does anyone need anything? We’ve got some extra blankets in the closet under the stairs, and the mini fridge over there is full of drinks if anyone’s thirsty.”

“Noah, I saved you a spot on the couch next to me. We’re gonna watch a movie before bed.” Pat patted the empty cushion next to him, smiling at her as he sipped on a soda.

“But where am I gonna sit then?” Garrett pouted as Noah plopped down next to Pat on the love seat, leaving no room for him. Noah shrugged with a smile. Instead of finding a new seat, Garrett jumped onto the love seat, sprawling himself across their laps before they could react and pulled a pillow off the floor, fluffing it up and laying it on Noah’s lap. He curled up against it like a puppy, getting himself comfortable before looking up at Noah. She shook her head with a laugh, running her fingers gently through his hair. Noah surveyed the seating situation as Jared got up from the floor beside them to turn off the lights. John and Riley were curled up together in the oversized chair opposite the love seat, and the other boys were sprawled across the full sized couch and the floor in front of them. They had pushed the coffee table off to the side, and set up what was left of the makeshift mini bar from upstairs. Noah kissed Garrett on the head as the movie started, and spent a third of the movie slowly running her fingers through his hair, with no particular interest in the movie playing she had seen a hundred times.

After a while, Garrett reached up and grabbed Noah’s hand, pulling her fingers out of his hair and intertwined them with his, resting them on his hip while keeping his vision on the movie. Noah readjusted herself under his weight, and Garrett turned his head look up at her. Pat was already out cold, trapped under the weight of Garrett’s legs, but curled up against the opposite side of the small love seat. Garrett slowly twisted himself off the couch and stood up, pulling Noah’s hand behind him. The two looked at each other for a second before Noah stood up and they quickly moved out of the way of the tv screen.

They were almost to the stairs when they heard a “You better hope we can’t hear you from down here. Have a good ni-ight.” Followed by a few snickers come from the dark room.

“Fuck you, John. Goodnight.” Garrett laughed as he pulled Noah up the stairs. Garrett quickly led them through the hallway toward Noah’s bedroom, not stopping for anything.