Epilogue

Friday: Bistro Dinner 5:30, Cinema at 7pm

Saturday: The National Gallery 10am, Whaler's 5pm

Sunday: Wake up at noon, Marathon Lord of the Rings

I stared at the laminated slip of paper Noah handed me and laughed at the ridiculousness of it. Not that the schedule was ridiculous—no, it was that he remembered his promise from so long ago about forcing me to have a weekend without worrying about studying.

In fairness, he didn't give me much time to prepare. If he'd told me two weeks ago that this weekend was going to be the relaxed one, I would have spent all my extra time studying for the tests I had coming up. After all, finals were now only three weeks away, and I needed to make sure I got perfect marks. It was never too early to study.

"What do you think?" Noah was already grabbing my backpack from the library table and shoving my things inside. I held back the cringe at how disorganized that was, but I'd been doing much better recently. Things didn't have to be perfectly in their place all the time. Just…most of the time. I could fix my backpack later.

"Why is it laminated?" I giggled. It was a bit silly to laminate what looked like a torn edge of notebook paper with scribbled plans for the weekend.

"So you couldn't change anything. No penciling in alterations." He slung my backpack over his shoulder and grabbed my hand as I stood from my seat.

I laughed again, this time, much too loud.

"Miss Baker!" Mrs. Ellington, the librarian, scolded. My cheeks burned as I gave her an apologetic look before glaring at Noah.

"Come on, Baker, before you get in even more trouble." Noah yanked me closer for a brief but fiery kiss before whisking me out of the library.

"Are we going to spend the entire day at The National Gallery?" I hadn't been since I was a child, and honestly, I couldn't remember if there was enough to do there all day.

"Yes, Henri. We are going to stare at ancient art and discuss the emotions it creates within us," Noah answered, his tone snarky. He was moving us across the courtyard at a killer pace, and we would be in his car before we finished the conversation.

"Ah, your favorite past time."

Abruptly, he stopped and faced me, his lips landing on mine. Even after the last few weeks, I hadn't gotten used to it. Not the kisses and constant affection, not the affirmation I always received from him, and certainly not the openness he felt to do all those things in public. Honestly, I probably would never get used to it.

"Every single work of art is going to make me want you. Think we can get away with having—"

"Noah!" I whispered, cutting him off. I knew exactly where he was going, and I couldn't bear to hear him voice it, regardless of how it made my blood heat.

"Can you blame me?" He smirked that stupid, arrogant, perfect smirk that was easily what I looked forward to seeing every day.

I shook my head and leaned in for another kiss. All too easily, it turned into something more than a simple peck, and I could have forgotten we were in the middle of campus for all to see.

"Darling, I can cancel our dinner plans if you would like to just spend the rest of the night at home." His voice was rough and low, sending shivers down my spine.

"Ah-ah!" I backed up, clearing my head, holding his laminated paper between us. "No penciling in any changes, remember?"

I felt like a teenager with Noah. No matter where we went, we couldn't quell our constant need for affection—not that I was complaining.

At the cinema, Noah insisted we sit in the back so he could kiss me anytime he desired and no one would see. Then, just as he'd alluded, our day at the museum was spent sharing private moments after particularly inspiring pieces of art.

Now, back at Whaler's, the beat of the music and the dim lights led to dancing together. We were hot and sweaty and couldn't keep our hands to ourselves. Not that anyone noticed; it was what everyone here was doing.

"You're a genius!" Ivy yelled over the music, drink in hand. Noah's hands were on my hips as we swayed to the beat, his chest to my back. Remy and Ivy were across from us in the same fashion, and Noah had just told them how he got me to agree to this unplugged weekend.

"I keep telling Henri that, but she doesn't believe me!"

I rolled my eyes, leaning my head back against his chest for a second. This was such a surreal moment—to be with Noah, Ivy, and Remy at a club. Certainly out of the norm for me, but it felt right. Finally.

As the night rolled on, I might have consumed too many alcoholic beverages, because my inhibitions for too much public affection waned to nearly nothing—which led me to grind on Noah as we kissed in the middle of the club. It could have certainly gotten out of hand, except someone interrupted us—or rather, saved us—from pushing our affection much too far for the public. "Do you two ever stop?"

I pulled back, already embarrassed but laughing. My surroundings came back to me, and I recognized I wouldn't need any more drinks for the night.

"Never," Noah said, wrapping me in his arms while he looked at Lukas, who closed the remaining distance between us. He'd let his black hair grow out the past few months, and where I'd once thought it made him look unkempt, it now made him look rugged and dangerous. Before everything happened with the poison, he was just in the background. However, now that I spent nearly every waking moment outside of class with Noah, I'd gotten to know Lukas quite well.

"You two make me sick," Lukas said, only partially in jest. His crooked smile and sad eyes told a bit of a different story.

"Don't worry, mate. If I can finally get Henrietta Ruth Baker to agree to a date, I'm sure you'll manage to—"

"Yeah, yeah. Not sure I care about any of that anymore. Just want to see Aster rot for what she did."

I reached out and touched Lukas's arm. Clearly, I was the only one with sympathy here. "She will."

"Oh, I'll make sure of it."