After (The After Series)

type of girl who has to “touch up her makeup” before her boyfriend comes? I
sense that it’s since that day at the stream with Hardin, an experience that
changed me, though the way he hurt me after changed me even more. The
makeup is only a slight change, but I know it is there.
I eat and straighten my room up a little, folding Steph’s clothes and putting
them away; I hope she won’t mind. Noah finally texts that he’s here, and I jump
off the bed where I was resting and rush outside to greet him. He looks better
than ever in navy blue pants, a cream cardigan, and a white shirt underneath. He
really does wear a lot of cardigans, but I love them. His welcoming smile warms
my heart and he wraps his arms around me and tells me how nice it is to see me.

---

As we walk back to my room, he looks at me for a moment and asks, “Are
you wearing makeup?”
“Yeah, a little. It’s just something I have been experimenting with,” I explain.
He smiles. “It looks nice,” he says, and kisses my forehead.
IN MY ROOM,
we end up browsing through the romantic comedies section on
Netflix to pick a movie. Steph texts me and says she is with Tristan and won’t be
back tonight, so I turn the lights off and we sit back against my headboard,
Noah’s arm around my shoulder and my head on his chest.
This is me, I think, not some wild girl swimming in a punk boy’s T-shirt.
We start up a movie that I’ve never heard of before, and not five minutes into
it the door bursts opens. I immediately figure that maybe Steph has forgotten
something she needs.
But of course it’s Hardin. His eyes go straight to where Noah and I are
cuddled on the bed, illuminated by the TV light. I flush; he has come here to tell
Noah, I know it. Panic takes over my body, and I scoot away from my boyfriend,
making it seem like I just made a surprised little jump.
“What are you doing here?” I snap. “You can’t just barge in here!”
Hardin smiles. “I’m meeting Steph,” he answers and sits down. “Hey, Noah,
nice to see you again.” He smirks and Noah looks uncomfortable. He is probably
wondering why Hardin has a key to the room and doesn’t bother to knock.
“She’s with Tristan, probably already at your house,” I tell him slowly, silently
pleading for him to leave. If he tells Noah now, I have no idea how I could
recover.
“Oh?” he says. I can tell by his smirk that he came here just to torment me. He
will probably stay until I come clean to Noah myself. “Are you two coming to
the party?”
“No . . . we aren’t. We’re trying to watch a movie,” I tell him, and Noah
reaches over and takes my hand. Even in the dark, I can see Hardin’s eyes focus
on where Noah’s hand touches mine.
“That’s too bad. I better go . . .” He turns toward the door, and I feel some
relief. But then he twists back. “Oh, and, Noah,” he begins, making my heart
drop. “That’s a nice cardigan you’re wearing.”
I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.
“Thanks. It’s from the Gap,” Noah says. He is clueless and unaware that
Hardin is making fun of him.
“I can see that. You two have fun,” Hardin says and leaves the room.

---

chapter twenty-eight
H
e’s not so bad, I guess,” Noah says when the door closes.
I laugh nervously. “What?” And when he raises his eyebrow at me, I continue:
“Nothing, I am just surprised to hear you say that.” I lie back onto his chest. The
electricity that filled the room moments ago has dissolved.
“I’m not saying I would want to hang out with the guy, but he was friendly
enough.”
“Hardin is nothing even close to friendly,” I say, and Noah chuckles and wraps
his arm around me. If he only knew the things that happened between Hardin
and me, the way we kissed, the way I moaned his name while he—God, Tessa,