I want to, but don’t.
“Where are your plates and stuff?” I push up. “Least I can do is get those ready.”
“There’s a stack of paper plates above the microwave. Hope that works for you.”
“My mom said she had children so she didn’t have to wash dishes ever again. So yeah, paper plates are perfect.” I laugh and he joins in.
“Smart woman.”
“Right? It was a joke, but I can see the appeal.”
Noah chuckles as he turns the burner off and rinses his hands in the teeny sink next to the teeny stove. “Want to grab some drinks and I’ll clean off the coffee table so we can eat more comfortably?”
“Yep.” I set the paper plates next to the stove, my eyes flicking to the small table against the wall. It’s a two-seater table, not quite big enough to fit Noah’s long legs under, let alone a second person’s.
“This place is pretty dope,” I shout. “From the outside, you’d never know it was here.”
He steps from around the wall that separates the kitchen from the living room. “Yeah, my coach calls it the perks of being team captain, but sometimes the space isn’t worth all the shit I have to deal with in the house. It does make it easier to try and keep the first years in semi-check, though.”
“So, you’re basically the designated party pooper?”
“Nah.” He pours the pasta into a large bowl and nods his head, motioning for me to walk ahead of him.
Snatching the plates, I lead us into the living room, listening as he explains further.
“I let them have their fun, it’s a part of the whole experience they earned by getting here. As long as they’re respectful and keep it to a minimum through the week, they know Saturdays are usually their free nights to live it up.”
I nod and take the seat next to him on the corduroy-looking couch, setting our drinks down.
“Now in the off season…” He shakes his head with a grin. “It gets a bit wild.”
“I bet.” I kick off my slides, folding my legs up. “Spring back home was nuts, but definitely more fun around the house. The boys weren’t so strict on themselves since football was over, which meant they weren’t so hard on us.” I shake my head with a grin. “Not that football was ever really ‘over.’ There were always camps or something or another, but no actual games meant we could party a bit.”
“Yeah, light training and no coach on your ass.” He laughs. “I’m just glad there’s a door at the bottom of the stairs instead of the top. Keeps the wild ones away, and I don’t have to worry about drunk people falling down and busting their heads open when they’re lost looking for the bathroom.”
“Come on.” He nudges my shoulder. “Scoop your plate first, so I feel like a gentleman.”
Leaning forward, I do as he asks, admitting, “And I was over here trying to be polite by waiting for your go-ahead, but fair warning, I’m known to eat like a man, so no judging.”
He chuckles. “Wouldn’t dare.” He clicks on the TV, turning down the volume, leaving reruns of The Office to play quietly around us.
Food piled high on my plate, I chew on the inside of my lip. “Thank you for this, Noah.”
“Juliet, look at me.”
My eyes slide his way and he smiles.
“Stop thanking me like I’m doing you a favor. I’m not. I saw you sitting there with Brady the second I stepped through the door. Went in specifically to find you, if you really want to know, and I was about to walk over to ask if you wanted to hang for a while when I saw Mason and Chase slip up behind you. All they did was beat me to the starting line.” He looks back to his food, and then, as if deciding to go with his last thought, he hits me with a sly grin. “Looks like I won.”
My hand comes up to cover my mouth as I laugh, and I flick my eyes to his. “So what you’re saying is… I’m looking at a winner?”
He turns to me with a mouth full of food and winks, pleased with my lyric of choice.
Giddy, I focus on my meal.
It seems Noah gets me.
I think I like that.
Once we’ve eaten, Noah tosses our plates into the trash and comes back to join me on the couch.
He’s quiet for a minute, and when I twist to face him, he does the same.
“You’ve never been here, have you?” he asks.
I sigh and drop back against the old cushions. “Nope. Now that you mention it, I feel like a jackass.” I shake my head. “They are definitely going to get their feelings hurt when they find out I came here today.”
“They’ve been waiting for you to come?”
“Mason and Brady have invited me so many times, but I just… haven’t.”
He eyes me. “Chase hasn’t been? Begging you to come over?”
Pulling in a full breath, I say, “No, he hasn’t. I can’t decide if he’s giving me the space I’ve made clear I need or if he’s giving it to himself, but either way, I’m kind of tired of it now.” I look down, scratching at the glitter polish on my fingernails. “I want to be able to hang out, watch movies and do absolutely nothing other than be with my friends again. Dumb right? Since I’m the one messing it all up to begin with.”
“You’re not messing anything up if you’re doing what feels right.”
“That’s the thing,” I say quietly. “It doesn’t feel right. Necessary, but not right. When we’d fight growing up, it was over the next day. We just don’t get mad at each other, you know? None of us. Annoyed, pissy, all the time, but not angry, like for real angry. It sucks, and we didn’t come to college together for this to happen during our very first semester.”
Noah doesn’t say anything at first, but once I look to him, he gets more comfortable. “How did that happen?”
My gaze drops to where his jean-covered knee now touches mine, and a small smile pulls at my lips. He doesn’t notice, he’s simply relaxed, and I realize I am too. My shoes are off, my legs tucked under me, and my body settled into the cushions as if I’ve sat in this spot a thousand times.
It sort of feels like I have.
I look up and find his insane blue eyes surveying me, and for some reason, I feel the need to look away.
“Ari?”
“Hm?”
Noah grins. “How’d your whole group end up at Avix?”
“Oh.” I laugh. “Right. So our counselors in high school thought we were crazy because, literally, the first day of freshman year, we went to the office as a group, notes from our parents in hand, and told them our plan, asking for schedules that would help make it happen. We took summer school every year to get ahead and just in case we struggled later. Once we agreed we’d make it happen, we started narrowing down schools based on what everyone wanted. None of us wanted to leave California, so that tightened the list, but we still applied out of state, just in case. We pretty much knew the boys would get in anywhere, so we looked for the best team versus the best child development program for Cameron. In the end, we chose Avix.”
“I didn’t hear your name in there.”
“You’re right, you didn’t.” I grin. “I didn’t care where we went.”
“Really?” He’s more curious than surprised. “Not a single stipulation?”
“Nope.”
The corner of Noah’s mouth hikes up. “Why do I get the feeling there’s a reason behind it that you’re choosing not to tell me.”
“Because there is.” I laugh. “It’s too embarrassing to share, but I will admit I did push for a fat house off campus, but my dad shot that down so fast. After the boys had their meeting with the athletic director, who was kind of a dick, by the way, we learned that was out regardless. Honestly, the level-three dorm we scored is perfect anyway.”
Noah grins, nodding.
“What about you?”
“What about me?”
“How did Noah Riley, superstar quarterback, end up in Oceanside?”
“Haha,” he teases, as he looks away, only to turn right back.
At first, I w
onder if he won’t share, but then he nods.
“I’m from near here, stayed around so I could be close to my mom.”
“Aww,” I coo.
Noah gives a playful glare, and I can’t help but laugh.
“I love that. It’s pretty much why we wanted to stay, too.” I lean back, wrapping my arms around my drawn-up knees. “She’s the real Master Chef, isn’t she? I know you told me she taught you how to cook, but I’d bet a dollar the recipes you use are hers.”
“A whole dollar, huh?”
“What can I say, I’m a broke college kid.” I shrug.
Noah chuckles, but it’s solemn, and I can’t help but search his eyes for more.
“You and your mom, you’re close.” My tone is gentle.
“Yeah,” he admits. “She’s all I ever had.”
“Here in Oceanside?”
His eyes find mine. “Anywhere.”
“Really?”
He nods.
“No siblings… a long-last dad, maybe?”
“Nope, neither. No cousins, aunts, uncles, not even grandparents. It’s just us.”
A small ache forms across my ribs. “That’s sad.”
He shrugs, looking away. “Normal for me. I never had more than her, so there was never anything to miss.”
“You must miss seeing her every day. You must get lonely here.”
Noah’s blink is slow, but he doesn’t say anything.
Now that I think about it, I never see him with anyone. It’s always him on his own.
I wonder if he likes it that way?
I can’t imagine life without my friends and family. It would be so hard if I didn’t have open arms to fall into when life got tough.
Who does he have in his life to catch him should he fall?
“So, you and Cameron,” he changes the subject. “Have you two always been best friends?”
“Since birth, yeah.” I laugh.
“She comes here often.”
“Yeah.” I nod. “Trust me, I know. She makes sure I’m aware.”
“Why don’t you tag along with her next time, make your way up here with me,” he suggests.
My cheeks grow warm, and he chuckles.
We stare at each other a moment, and his grin slowly fades. His tongue slipping out to wet his lips, calling my attention to his mouth, but only for a second.
I push to my feet. “I should go.”
“Yeah… I’ll drive you.”
I smile. “I can walk, Noah. I’m only across campus.”
He frowns, standing tall, forcing my chin to lift in order to meet his gaze. “You really think I’d send you down those stairs, into a house of twenty or more guys, and leave you to walk out alone?”
* * *
“You realize my brother and best friends are among those, right?” I smirk and his eyes narrow more, making me grin. “Come on. Walk me down, and if Mase isn’t around, I’ll take you up on that ride.”
“How ‘bout we plan for me to take you, but you can still see if Mason’s around for fun?”
My cheeks grow warm, and I laugh, leading us down the stairs. “Come on, Romeo.”
At the bottom, Noah reaches over my shoulder and unlatches the lock, pushing the door open before me.
A couple big guys nod at Noah as we slip out, grinning my way as if they know exactly what we were doing. Their grins are very Brady-like—a mix of proud papa with a naughty little twist. While Noah pauses to answer a question from one for them, I step through the entryway and into the common room area, allowing my eyes to travel the large space.
There’s a TV on both walls, a pool table in the center and a couple of couches pushed against opposite sides. The walls are a deep blue, a giant white Avix Sharks logo painted dead center. The mantel has trophies—hopefully they’re glued down—scattered along it, with a few abandoned beer cans, adding to the reality of a house full of college boys.
I grin, seeing the place for the first time. This is exactly what I’d imagined, maybe even a little cleaner than I’d have thought. Gliding my hand down the frame of the entryway, random beer bottle caps stuck all along the edges, I scan the area for Mason, but I don’t get far before a clipped voice breaks through from behind me.
“Thought you were going out for dinner?”
I whip around, coming face to face with Chase.
My breath freezes in my throat, and I cut a quick glance toward Noah, who’s still talking to his teammate. I force myself to look back to Chase, praying my voice comes out steady as I say, “Noah cooked for me instead.”
Chase scoffs. “Yeah, I bet he decided to get you up in his room last minute.”
My head tugs back. “Are you really acting like this right now?”
Chase slips closer, his voice a tense whisper for only me to hear. “What do you expect, Arianna?”
My chest tightens with anger, but beneath that is the ache, the sting. I blink, shaking my head. “Nothing.” I cut a quick glance toward Noah, who has yet to spot Chase, but is now moving toward me. “I don’t expect a thing from you, Chase. I learned my lesson.”
Chase’s brows crash, but he says nothing.
Thankfully, Mason walks around the corner in the next second, his eyes narrowing as he takes in our awkward face-off.
“Ari?” My brother swings his pinched gaze to Noah as he steps up beside me. “What are you doing here? Come to check out the place?” he asks me.
I don’t break it all down, instead sticking with the simplest of answers. “I was looking for you.”
He steps closer, propping his elbow onto the wall to block my face from the others, worry lines building across his face, but I shake my head.
I’m okay. Swear.
Mase nods.
“Can you take me home?”
“Yeah, I’ll grab my keys,” he says, right as a blonde girl tucks herself under the arm he has posted up. As soon as he looks down, he grins.
“You know what, it’s fine,” I rush out, a sudden, desperate need to get away creeping in.
“What, no.” He rolls his shoulder, essentially giving the girl the brush off. “It’s fine. Course I’m gonna take you.”
“I’ll take her.” Chase starts walking toward the door, as if his words are final, but my brother jerks forward.
“No, I’m good.” Mason shakes his head, giving the girl a quick glance.
I offer her an apologetic smile, glancing at Noah as he steps closer, and that breath I’m holding quickly turns into a lump I swallow past.
Nerves tingle along my skin as I wait, knowing what’s coming, and having no clue how it will unfold.
“I got her, man.” Noah grins easy. “Wanted to take her anyway. Told her so before we came in here.”
My stomach clenches at his direct admission, and I wait for my brother to snap back.
Mason swings his gaze my way, his frown hard and on me, but then he grins, swinging his attention to Noah. “Bet she turned bright red, huh?”
My mouth gapes, and Noah chuckles, but he doesn’t confirm. He keeps that knowledge for himself.
“You sure, bro?” Mason reaches out, and they clap hands in the way boys do.
“Positive.” Noah turns to me, nodding toward the door.
As I prepare to pass, my eyes slide to Chase.
He stands with his jaw set firm and pointed straight ahead, but he says nothing.
Why would he?
Noah takes me home, tells me goodnight, and leaves.
I lie down, another day ruined when tears I can’t hold back begin to fall.
Chapter 16
Arianna
* * *
“How is it so fucking hot?” Cam whines as she peels herself from the bleachers and begins packing up her books.
“Sitting on these plastic seats doesn’t exactly help. I’m a pile of sweat.”
“We should make the boys put a canopy up for us.”
“Because they have time to do that before practice.”
She lau
ghs, knocking my feet from the back of the chair in front of me, so she can pass. “True, but can we talk about why it’s still so hot and we’re officially in October? I mean, what the hell is this shit? We’re in Southern California, for fuck’s sake.”
“It’s the metal and the turf and the sun. You know this. Step into the shade and it’ll drop a solid fifteen degrees.”
“Which is why I suggested the canopy.” She smirks. “K, bye. My professor wants me at the child development center to meet some of the parents at pick-up today.”
“You’ll be home tonight?”
“Yep. See you later.”
I wave and lay my book on my chest, closing my eyes to bake in the sun’s soft glow.
I’m not sure how much time has passed when the clacking of cleats against cement meets my ears.
I shield my eyes with my hand and squint at the approaching figure.
“You trying to get a sunburn?!” Noah shouts from a few rows down.
I still can’t see his face but sit up in my seat with a smile. “No way, the sun and me, we go way back. She’s good to me.”
Noah chuckles, and as he climbs the next two stairs, he finally comes into view.
He’s red in the face, dripping with sweat and… ridiculously attractive.
He smiles, swiping a hand through his slick, dark hair, and the soft, sun-made highlights show themselves.
“What are you doing up here, come to watch me?” he teases.
“Ha! Sorry but been doing this for years. I guess you’re simply a bonus.”
His shoulder pads lift and he winks. “I figured as much, considering I spotted you up here weeks ago.”
“Did you now?”
He only grins, so I tap on the book covering my chest. “Me and Cam started coming out to their practices back in high school, so we carried it over once we got here.”
“Nice.” He nods.
“You guys done for the day? It’s a little early.” I peek at my phone.
“Yeah, we doubled on film this morning, weight room right after, so it was more a run day today.” He grabs the towel tucked into the back of his pads and wipes it along his brows. “Worked up an appetite though.”
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