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The drive is peaceful, full of laughs and stories, and once we do finally make it back to town, he doesn’t drop me off at home. He hops on the opposite highway, headed for his mom’s.
As we arrive, he jumps out and reaches for me.
“Not embarrassed to enter with a hot mess like me?”
“Psh.” He hauls me out, stepping back to get a better look, his smirk far too cocky. “You look better in my clothes than you do yours.”
A laugh pushes past my lips, and I shove him away, taking off ahead of him, but he catches up quickly, his lips at my ear.
“And the mark on your neck you thought I wasn’t aware of, we should talk about making it a little more permanent, hmm?”
My steps falter, and he leaves me with his airy chuckle, only turning back once he’s at the entrance, and holding the door open for me to step inside.
He and I walk into the building side by side, hand in hand, and when we curve the corner, stepping into his mom’s room, she smiles wide.
“I prayed you’d be with him today, and here you are,” she admits. “Come sit. There’s so much I need you to know.”
She reaches for me with her right hand, her working hand, so I let go of Noah’s and take the opposite chair this time. I glide my palm under her left one, my other coming down on top of it.
Tears brim in her eyes, but she blinks them away, her free hand covering my own.
I don’t look to Noah, I couldn’t possibly, but there isn’t a doubt in my mind that his eyes are on me. I can feel the weight of his gaze. It pierces through me, searing into my soul, where I suspect a piece of him now lives.
“I like your sweatshirt. I think I recognize that one,” Lori teases, mischief in her eyes when my cheeks burn a bright red.
“Me too, but it’s kind of warm in here. You sure you don’t want to take it off?” Noah takes the place on her right, grinning wide when I pin him with an I’m going to kill you expression while subconsciously pulling my collar a little closer to my neck.
I give all my attention to Lori.
“Tell me the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to him.”
Noah laughs loudly, and his mom’s chuckle follows.
“You know, I hate to disappoint, but he’s never quite been the embarrassed type. A little quiet at times, but nervous or embarrassed…” She shakes he head.
I narrow my eyes on Noah, his grin still in full effect as he props back in his seat, leaning all lazy and gorgeous like. “No, I don’t suppose he was. He never does leave you guessing.”
“Growing up, his friends were his teammates, so each year, as kids got older or moved programs, the new incoming kids would become his friends. He never did much with them outside of that though. He liked to be home.”
He liked to make sure you were never alone.
He understood her sacrifices as a young boy and grew up with an open heart and a strong mind, both that came from the unyielding love and support of his mother. He didn’t have an army around him like me, but he had her, and he made sure she felt she was enough.
A tender, heaviness falls over my chest, but I try not to show it, propping my chin in my open palm. “Tell me about his first ever football practice.”
“He cried like a baby,” she says instantly, making me laugh. “Begged me not to make him go, but I said, son, listen to me,” Lori continues telling her story and slowly, I look to Noah.
He winks my way, but it’s soft and different, and when he looks to his mom, I realize something.
Noah isn’t all the things the boys are for me.
He’s somehow… more.
Chapter 27
Arianna
* * *
“Brady said this week’s game is a big one for them.”
I nod, flipping over my flashcard. My shoulders fall.
Wrong again. Damn it.
“Yeah.” I drop back in the plastic seat. “Noah said they lost to this team in overtime last season, and right now, they’re tied for first place.” Checking the time on my phone, I begin stuffing my materials into my backpack. “Come on, if I don’t get an energy drink or a coffee or something, I might die, and they still have forty-five minutes of practice left.”
Cameron jumps up, ready to roll. “I wish we could drive out with them. This is the third away game in a row.”
“I know and they’ll be gone for three days this time. It’s a fourteen-hour drive to New Mexico. How miserable is that?”
“Ooh, I almost forgot. Someone might go through quarterback cock withdraws.”
“Shut up before I push you down the walkway.”
