“Huh? Well that was unexpected,” Noel says and then gulps down the rest of his water.

“Tell me about it.”

The four of us pile into the SUV and go to dinner at a local Mexican restaurant. Riff and Aubrey sit next to each other, a little too close for my liking, the entire time. Noel seems unfazed to the new pair as he sits back in the booth with his arms stretched out along the back. We fall into easy conversation, telling Riff and Aubrey stories about some of the fun we had when were in school together.

“Sounds like you two were quite the pair back then,” Aubrey says after a sip of her margarita.

I smile at Noel. “Yeah, we were great friends back in the day.”

Noel cocks his head to the side and gazes down at me with his blue eyes. “Friend, huh? Ouch. That’s all I was to you?”

I smack his shoulder, not hard enough to really hurt, though. “You know what I mean.”

“Damn.” He rubs his right bicep and then leans his back against the booth. “See you still pack a hell of a punch. Haven’t seen you throw a shot like that since the time you fought Jessica Cranbee over a Barbie doll back in fourth grade. Remember that?”

I laugh as rest my elbows on the table and take a drink of my Margarita. “Yeah. That girl was always such a bitch, wasn’t she?”

“She was.” He bumps my shoulder with his. “But she never messed with you again after that. I think you were the only girl in our class she didn’t scare the shit out of.”

I smile at Noel. “Yeah, I don’t get that. Why people have to be mean.” The words are practically my size seven shoes shoved square in my mouth. Who am I to talk about being mean to people? Maybe it’s not the right time to bring this up, but after six of these margaritas I can’t stop myself from saying, “Look, Noel, the way we ended things…I’m sorry.”

He reaches out and takes a strand of my brown hair between his fingers and twirls it. “Water under the bridge, Lane. Let’s not ruin a perfect night with something we can’t change.”

By the time we’re on our eighth round of margaritas, I’m feeling pretty good, even my toes are tingling. We don’t bring up the topic of our break-up anymore. We just continue to drink and tell funny stories. The tension between Noel and Riff even seems lighter for some reason, too.

After we finish gorging ourselves with drinks and food, Noel pays the bill. Once I’m standing outside, the liquor hits hard. I stumble in the parking lot as we head towards the SUV.

Noel wraps his arms around me and pulls me against me so I don’t topple over. “Easy there, lightweight. You alright?”

This time I embrace the closeness between us and throw my arms around his waist. “I’m good. Just starting to feel a little tired…and drunk.”

Noel chuckles. “That’s what happens when you stand up after hammering, what, nine margaritas? Shit hits you fast.”

I shake my head. “Eight,” I correct.

Aubrey and Riff slide into the middle row together, which means Noel and I have to share a seat. Mike shuts us inside and I giggle as Noel and I climb into the third row. “Does he always go everywhere with you?”

“Who? Mike?”

I nod, and my head suddenly feels very heavy and Noel’s shoulder beside me looks awfully comfortable. It’s crossing the line, but so is drinking to the point of intoxication with a business client. The conscious part of my brain screams at me not to do it, but the drunken tired side of me tells me to go for it. I curl into him and lay my head half on his chest and shoulder.

He sighs contently and wraps his arm around me, while resting his cheek on the top of my head.

It actually feels pretty nice wrapped in his embrace again.

He strokes my hair a couple times, and I close my eyes at the softness of his touch. “Yeah, I suppose he does. Mike’s a good guy. Maybe even my best friend. We spend a lot of time together.”

I snuggle in tighter and lay my arm across his lap. “That’s nice.”

I’m completely comfortable lying against Noel’s toned chest. It’s probably the margaritas talking, but I feel the urge to kiss him. We’ve had such a good time all night. It almost feels like the right thing to do because I want him to know how much fun I had with this sweet version of him. Physical show of emotion was the only thing Noel every really understood clearly.

I sigh and try to block out the thought. We aren’t kids anymore. Kissing him while I’m tipsy will lead to other things. I know my body well enough that when it comes to Noel Falcon, it has a hard time resisting his touch.

Aubrey and Riff lean into each other and kiss right in front of us. Noel’s fingers stop running through my hair and slide down my back. They stop at the hem of shirt and trace the skin on the small of my back. My breath catches, and his chest moves a little quicker. Seeing something so intimate while so close to him causes a fire to ignite in my stomach.

I bring my hand up to the neck of his shirt and run my finger along the exposed flesh right above it. Fingers on my back slip inside the waist band of my jeans, and his other hand finds my chin and tips it up towards him. Noels hooded eyes stare into mine, and something in me stirs. For the first time since being here, I think about giving into his attempt to kiss me. His thumb traces my bottom lip, and I close my eyes.

Noel leans into me and presses his lips to my forehead.

I slump against him a little, and he chuckles before he whispers, “I want to kiss you, but I know once I start, I won’t be able to control myself.”