42| Thanks, Locke

IT was finally the end of finals week. But let me tell you, that didn't make me any less on-edge. Taking the AP Psychology test was the last test of this week. And I was practically shaking the entire time. I'd been studying for weeks and this was most definitely the class I'd been most worried about. Noah and I had studied together all week, which was a good thing. I was sure I'd been prepared enough to do well on the AP psych test.

Once the bell rang, everyone was practically cheering and running out of the classroom. I stood up with Gracie and we waited for Noah to walk over to us before heading out of the room. That had become a routine for us since she'd learned we were dating. We walked together heading to the parking lot.

"Thank God it's over!" Gracie exclaimed. "So what? Do you guys have any special plans together? What do super smart people who have nothing to worry about do after finals?"

I rolled my eyes, but Noah answered. "They go and impatiently wait for their grades!" He said. "Obviously by getting a coffee and going to the most luxurious backyard in all of Georgia."

"Sounds lovely," Gracie said.

"He just likes to brag about his backyard," I said. "So do you have any plans? Perhaps with a certain boy whose nickname so happens to be a type of meat?"

Gracie laughed. "Possibly," she said.

It had been a little less than a week since I set Gracie up with Porkchop. But unlike Porkchop, Gracie had known who she was going out with that night. I always knew that he was super into her, but I never knew exactly how Gracie felt. Besides the fact that she always loved being around him and would laugh at literally everything he did. It was definitely meant to be in my mind at least.

Porkchop walked over and wrapped his arm around Gracie's shoulder. They still weren't exclusive yet, but they had been hanging out a lot more often. Which gave me hope that I was the number one matchmaker in all of Georgia.

"Ready for the ball pit?" Porkchop asked.

"Ball pit?" Noah questioned.

"Porkchop apparently turned his empty pool into a ball pit. Don't even ask me how he did it. All I know is that I'm definitely ready for it," Gracie said. "Have fun with your luxurious backyard!"

Gracie and Porkchop walked away, leaving me and Noah standing by his car. Ever since we'd been public he'd started picking me up for school. Not every day, but most. And it was greatly appreciated. I was pretty obsessed with his jeep. He leaned against the front of his car and sighed.

"Now we wait for the grades," he muttered. "The last we can do is try to forget that we even took tests."

"Right," I agreed. "So coffee in your backyard."

He nodded. "It's gonna be amazing," he said and grabbed my hand. "And Amelia's still at school right now which means we get the entire house to ourselves!"

"And the pool," I added. "Don't forget the pool. I've been looking forward to swimming in that thing all day."

"Good. Then let's hit the road, why don't we Pierce?"

"Let's do it, Locke."

Noah drove us with the top down on the jeep, undoubtedly my favorite perk of dating him. He pulled up to our favorite study spot (obviously the coffee shop) and got out to grab us some drinks before we headed back. We sat on his lounge chairs in the backyard, which was the best thing ever. First of all, I had changed into a swimsuit to soak up all the sun possible. You know a girl wanted her tan. And second of all, I had a delightful view of Noah Locke half-naked. There was something about a guy's torso that just got me. And his was just so hard to look away from. Like a fricken 8-pack or some shit. Can you blame me?

I laid there and stole glances in Noah's direction every so often (more often than not, to be honest). I expected myself to be thinking way too much about finals and about the grades I hadn't yet gotten back. But honestly, I was doing a good job of keeping myself at ease. And grades rarely crossed my mind as long as I reminded myself that I was out here laying beside Noah, the guy I loved.

Wait, what?

No way. My brain did not just think of the L-word. That didn't just happen, right?

Oh shit. It definitely happened.

I looked over at Noah again, taking in his features. Yes, the rock hard abs that I could stare at for hours. But his messy hair, the way he always laid down with his arms behind his head, the slight tilt in his head and his lips. I noticed literally everything. And... and I loved it?

My heart rate increased slightly as Noah looked over at me and pulled his sunglasses down. He smirked. "Staring, Pierce?" He asked. "I know you can't resist."

I nervously laughed, and probably a bit too nervously honestly. "Shut up," I said.

"You good?"

I nodded. "Perfect," I said.

Noah sighed and sat up a bit, fully taking his sunglasses off and focusing all of his attention at me. "You're probably stressed about the grades, aren't you?" He asked, and not wanting to tell him the truth, I just nodded. It would be easier that way. "Logan, you're by far the smartest person I've ever met. You have nothing to worry about. And even if you are worried-- I'm here right now. If you need me to calm you down, I'm right here." He smiled and I just about died.

You do calm me down, is what I wanted to say. I'm not on edge because of the grades, I'm on edge because I think I'm in love with you.

But obviously, I didn't say either of those things. "Thanks, Locke."

Noah grinned. "I love it when you call me that," he said. But all my mind could focus on was that dreaded 4-letter-L-word.

Dammit, mind, get it together!

I just rolled my eyes. "I know you do," I said, and then looked back up towards the sky, trying to ignore the incessant beating of my heart. It was like my chest was going to explode or something.

I didn't know what love felt like. Or, at least, I didn't think I did until right now. But the way my heart reacted when I just looked over at Noah or listened to him speak was absolutely terrifying. It had to have been love, right? The feeling that whenever I was near him, I was instantly calm and collected. I mean, my entire life I had been constantly concerned about being perfect and getting the best grades possible. But lately, when I was with Noah, it was like nothing else mattered.

Was that love?

Dammit. I needed to get out of my own head. I needed to stop thinking about the L-word and do something, anything else. So without hesitation, I stood up, took my sunglasses off, ran, and jumped into the pool. I came up for air and saw Noah looking at me, smiling.

"The hell, Pierce?" He asked. "What? You overheat or something?"

"Maybe I just wanted to go for a swim," I said. "What? You too scared to get in the water or something?

"Not in the slightest," Noah said and he stood up, taking his own sunglasses off. "Was that a challenge?"

"Duh."

He grinned and then ran and jumped into the pool. He came up from air and shook his hair out a bit.

"What are you, a wet dog?" I asked, laughing at him.

Noah rolled his eyes and ran his hand through his hair. His wet hair. Did I mention how, other than torsos, wet hair really did it for me? I mean. A hot guy with wet hair was just so oddly pleasing. Like, Jacob in Twilight when he was shirtless in the rain with wet hair. How could you resist?

"Pierce, I have a feeling that you're just dating me because of my looks," Noah said, clearly noticing how I was looking at him. I mean, I just couldn't help myself.

"That's definitely a big factor," I agreed.

Noah swam a bit closer to me. "So it's not just my looks?" He teased.

But my heart did that stupid beating crazily thing again. I thought this would be a good distraction, but it was just making me realize that maybe the L-word really was what I felt for Noah.

"It's not," I said. "But you already knew that."

"Did I?" Noah asked and swam closer again. "I'm not sure you've ever told me exactly what it is you like about me."

"Noah I'm going to kill you," I muttered and why in the hell was my voice slightly shaky? Get it together, bitch!

He swam so he was right in front of me, wrapping his arms around my waist and fully standing up in the pool. He moved so his mouth was right beside my ear and whispered. "You like me, Pierce. Clearly, I make you nervous." And he definitely did. The feeling of his breath on my bare shoulder sent chills all down my body and I quickly splashed him with some water and moved from his grasp.

"I hate you," I said. But maybe when I said hate, I really meant love.

Finally, something saved me. And it was the sound of both Noah's phone and mine going off at the same time. I hopped out of the pool and wrapped a towel around me, sitting down on the lounge chair. Noah did the same, sitting on his chair beside me. The only thing I did notice was that he hadn't wrapped a towel around him. Which I was glad about. My view remained.

"It's the finals grades," Noah said, looking at his phone. I gulped and nodded as I looked at my own, afraid to swipe. It was the first time I'd felt myself getting nervous this afternoon because of something other than my feelings for Noah. "Here," Noah grabbed my free hand and looked into my eyes. "We're both going to look at these finals grades, and they're going to be everything we've worked for. You hear me, Pierce?"

I could only nod and took a deep breath before I swiped to look at them.

AP Government, 100 percent. AP Physics 2, 99 percent. AP Chemistry, 100 percent. AP business, 100 percent. AP Literature, 105 percent (extra credit obviously). AP Statistics, 99 percent. And AP Psych, 94 percent.

Shit.

To any regular person, a 94 would be great for a final. I mean, I know that a bunch of people would be glad to get an A on a final. But that was a low A. Technically an A-. And I hadn't gotten one of those, like, ever. I should have felt my heart start to thump and anxiety kick in. I should have started to worry like crazy about how my parents were going to react to my grade, or how I was even going to survive. Because grades had always mattered the most to me.

But... I didn't feel any of those things? I felt oddly calm. Dare I say, I even felt okay with the grade I received.

"What did you get in psych? I knew you were worried," Noah asked, still grasping onto my hand. He even gave it a little squeeze, which kind of melted my heart.

"A 94," I told him, and I kept perfectly calm.

"Oh shit," he said.

"What did you get?"

"A, uh, 100," he told me. But I didn't feel mad or jealous that he got a higher grade than me. I just felt... happy for him?

"That's amazing," I told him and smiled. Noah looked at me, furrowing his eyebrows in pure confusion. And who could blame him? He probably expected me to flip out. Hell, I even expected it. But the freaking out simply never came.

"You seem... okay," he said. "Are you okay? Cause if you're not, we can totally go get some ice cream and watch Twilight again. Hell, we could watch whatever you want. A movie day or-or something to get your mind off of--"

I interrupted him, "Noah. I'm actually fine," I said. "I know it's weird. But... I'm not hiding how I feel, I'm actually just fine."

"Who are you?" He asked, shaking his head in disbelief. "You're not pranking me right now, are you? Like, you aren't gonna tell me that you're fine and then go home and block my number and never speak to me again?"

I rolled my eyes and leaned forward, pressing my lips against his. I kept my forehead on him, eyes closed. "I'm not gonna block you out, Noah," I said and pulled away. He still had that surprised look on his face. "I'm fine and that's it. Can you trust me?"

"I can," he agreed. "You still shocked the hell out of me, Pierce."

"Shocked the hell out of myself, too," I muttered and quickly stood up. "I need some water. Need anything while I'm in?"

Noah shook his head. "Nah, I don't need anything but you," he said.

And I walked inside with my heart beating like I was having a goddamn heart attack. But it wasn't because I was upset about my grades or afraid of what would happen when my parents saw the psych score. It was just because of Noah. And because I knew it right then:

I was stupidly in love with Noah Locke.

✯ ✯ ✯

Okay yay! So cute!

Okay so I'm still in Florida, so this will be my last update while I'm here. But I leave in 2 days and then I should be way more productive when it comes to writing chapters. Don't even worry about it. I'm pumped.

But for now... you got THIS. You're welcome. Love is in the air.