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Relief I didn’t know I needed hits me as he shares that last piece, and I think of Noah when he got that first call about his mom. How, after that, he went home to an empty house while his mom slept in a hospital bed. I know he had friends, but from what Lori had said, not friends like I had growing up. Not the kind you can run to anytime, for any reason.
Paige was there for him in a way that made him feel less alone because she understood his pain. A sense of thankfulness falls over me, just knowing he had one person he could call.
“You were lonely, and you had each other,” I whisper. “If I didn’t have my family and friends? I can’t even imagine, to be honest. I’m glad she was there for you.”
His shoulders seem to ease then. “She’s a good friend.”
“Yeah,” I agree. “She is.”
A moment later, Noah smirks, his arms locking around my waist.
“What?” I eye him, as a flirty, cockiness takes over.
“I had a feeling you were into me more than you realized way back then.”
“Oh yeah?” I narrow my gaze, fighting the pull of my lips.
“Mm-hm. You and Cam thought you were slick with that Prince Charming bit.” He chuckles, pecking my nose, but then his face softens, a tenderness falling over him.
“She thought she was genius.”
His pinkie comes up, and he brushes the hair from my face. “She could have said nothing, and I’d have still thought so.”
“Do tell, Mr. Riley.”
He’s quiet a moment, before speaking. “I could sense it, sense you, and your thoughts. I’ve had this gut-deep awareness of you since the day I met you, but every time I saw you, or was with you, I tried not to read too much into it.”
My throat grows thick, my question a low rasp. “Why?”
“Because I wasn’t sure you’d allow yourself time to figure it out.”
His words strike a chord deep within me, too many emotions to name trying to break through my chest all at once, and I seek out his lips, kissing him with more than my mouth.
With more than my mind.
With a part of me, I think might be his…
The kiss lasts minutes, maybe even longer, and when he pulls back, he hits me with a grin. “That worked.”
“What did?”
“You one-upped the prom queen.”
My head falls back on a laugh and Noah bends, swooping me into his arms, so I lock my arms around his neck.
“I better have one hundred upped the prom queen.”
Noah’s chuckle is low and soothing, as is the promise his eyes offer in that moment. “Baby, you beat out every woman everywhere, even in your sleep.”
My chest clenches, and I bury my face in his neck.
His arms tighten their hold, and he carries me back to the truck.
Noah
* * *
Watching her dance around in the seat beside me, smiling wide as she picks pieces of the bun off her burger, eating it like a bird as always, it’s as if everything clicks. Right here and now.
I love her.
I love everything about her.
I love the way her facial expressions transform with the words she sings, feeling all the emotions to every song. The way she dips her head and pinches her lips tight when she gets shy on me. I love that she is shy, even now, and I love how that, in a twist, she isn’t. She’s brazen and bold, when it’s just the two of us behind closed doors. She’s open and authentic, loves to share pieces of her life and asks about mine, not to keep conversation going, but because she truly wants to know.
I love the smile that curves her lips when she sees me. It’s the same one every time, big and bright, as if I show up to surprise her when she knew I was coming all along. I love how she is with my mom, patient and kind, but not in a way of pity, but pride. Like she knows what a good woman she is, like she understands all my mom means to me, and in turn, she means something to her too.
Ari draws thoughts out of me I never had before, about things I didn’t really know I wanted, but now feel desperate for. Deeper roots and a family.
The love of a lifetime.
I know she’s only starting out her journey here, and I graduate this year. I’m expected to go to draft, first round my coach says, being I’m ranked as both a receiver, my original position, and a quarterback, where I shined all through college. My life will be on the road, my schedule nearly full for the better part of the year, every year.
But what if it wasn’t?
What if I devoted my life to loving the girl beside me instead?
What if I found a way to do both?
