Exit Wounds | Noah Sebastian

T W E N T Y S I X

I can feel Noah's gaze searing me before I even open my eyes, "stop staring, creep."

I feel his chuckle rather than hear it, Noah's lips caress the corner of my mouth, "I would never," he scoffs in mock offense. I smile involuntarily as he kisses my neck. I mewl at his touch, but louder than that my stomach growls.

"Right, better feed you first," Noah chuckles pulling me up.

"Can't we stay in bed all day?" I pout, holding the covers over my naked body.

"No, Delaney, you have things to see," I roll my eyes as he says my name with that familiar inflection. I get up, wrapping the sheets around my body, Noah grabs the other end and yanks them off. I gasp as my nipples pucker in the cold air. Noah smirks at me, "I should come with you, we are in a drought after all."

Noah follows me into the shower, a small grin plays on his face while he washes himself with my bodywash. He keeps his hands to himself, cleaning himself while I wash myself. He's playful, teasing me, when all I can think about is how naked we are and how much I wanted him inside of me.

However, the whole sleeve of condoms were gone.

I get dressed quickly, pulling on shorts and a sweater. I don't bother with makeup or fixing my hair. Noah and I walk out to his car and he pulls out of the parking lot.

"Where are we going?" Noah gives me a look that says I should know better than to ask and turns up the radio. He pulls into a small cafe not far from my hotel, he orders me to go sit while he orders for us. He sits across from me and a few minutes later coffee and pastries are sat on the table. My coffee is a light tan, full of cream and sugar, Noah's is almost black, maybe a hint of cream.

"And I thought your O face was good," Noah whispers suggestively and I can feel the blood rush to my face. "No, I don't think I'll ever be able to pick a favorite," he chuckles.

I pick at a croissant, the mood is shifted within me. I couldn't imagine picking a favorite thing about Noah either. We've just reconnected, what's going to happen when I leave in a few days? I know I had intentions on moving here, but what if we couldn't do long distance? What if we fell apart again before anything real could bloom.

"Hey," he calls softly, "where'd you go?"

"I-."

"You're overthinking?" Noah guesses, pinning me with a look. I would never understand how he can read me so easily. I shrug at him, not wanting to say how I feel out loud. "You're wondering what's going to happen when you go home?" I roll my eyes at him, but nod too.

Noah doesn't seem to have lost his appetite like I have, he downs a muffin in only a couple of bites. Crumbs collect in the stubble around his mouth and I smile as he brushes it away. Noah runs his hands through his hair and looks at the table before looking at me again, ready to answer, "you can't control everything, Laney."

"What if I move here and we can't stand to be around each other?" I ask, pushing my hands through my hair and tousling it to the side, a long dead nervous tick that I seem to have picked back up. "We've never been anything but volatile and toxic."

"Okay, well that's your opinion," he replies, raising his eyebrows and finishing the last of his coffee. "You remember when you asked if I had written any songs about you? The answer is most of them are about you. Maybe our beginning was a little rocky, I had to leave, Laney, but I didn't want to leave you. But you were always with me," Noah presses his fist to his chest. "Always."

"I need to make a list," I say absently, and he laughs.

"There she is," he grins, "let's go for a drive."