AllFreeNovel
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It was second nature when I reached for my phone, and I blinked away the blurriness of my vision to see an equally sleep-hungover Noah rubbing her eyes.
"Why?" I asked. The results wouldn't be finalized until the end of the week, but we had a good feeling of who was going to win by the first night of votes. No one had time to catch up now. Whoever was in the lead would most likely stay there, unless something unprecedented happened.
"Just for a second." Noah pushed herself up on her knees as she smiled down at me. "Let's enjoy life without knowing for a second."
"Okay. I can do that." I nodded and reached up to readjust her crooked bonnet. "How'd you sleep?"
"Good…when you weren't elbowing me in the face," she teased.
"I did not, did I?" I groaned when she laughed. "I'm sorry, Pastel. Did I hurt you?"
"No. I had a few jump scares to wake me up, is all. After getting elbowed in the forehead in hour three, I started getting used to it."
"You're very adaptable," I said.
"It's one of my best qualities."
We laughed, and the bed shook underneath us, springs sounding like the beginning of a good song. I wanted this to be our norm—waking up together laughing, our bodies sinking under the blankets, protected from the world.
"I think I've decided to leave Harpy." I don't know why I said that—it was the perfect thing to say to ruin a perfect moment. The words had been on my tongue since last night, though. I felt like the decision would soon become something bigger, and I wanted to share it with her first.
Noah placed a hand on my cheek. "Are you sure?"
I nodded. "I am."
"Good." She smiled. "You've been too good for that place for a long time. Your comic will run circles around their silly lineup."
"Really?" My smile grew. "I remember you saying otherwise."
"I can be wrong." She rolled her eyes. "And jealous."
"You can."
"Hey." Noah pulled her hand away, pretending to be offended.
"Joking," I said. "Kinda…"
I pulled her to me for a kiss. What started as an 'I'm sorry' turned into an 'I want to take your underwear off' quickly, and she let me. I played with her clit until she begged me for more.
"You gotta be quiet," I warned her before sliding underneath the covers and finding my way between her legs. Noah was the queen of quiet. The only way I knew she'd come was from how her thighs tightened and back abruptly arched.
"Good?" I asked when I pulled away.
"Incredible," she corrected with a lazy smile before giving me a chance to practice the art of quiet climaxing. I wasn't as skilled, having to bite down on a pillow as her tongue made me come undone. She continued to eat me out until I couldn't take the trembling that had taken over every inch of my body.
"That's a sneak peek of our dream life," she reminded me as she climbed on top.
I smiled up at her, gripping her waist and enjoying her warmth. "It's already exceeding expectations. Now, are we ready?"
She pressed her lips together and took a deep breath as I gently squeezed her. The results still mattered to me, of course. I still would love the money and the space to prove myself, but there was no clock. I didn't have to save my family. I was free to do things at my own pace, free to not have to hope that art could save me. I was finally wise enough to realize that I could save myself.
Yes, I still wanted to win, to show the world I was the best. If I didn't, though, I wouldn't break. Not by a long shot. I knew who I was now, who I wanted to be going forward, how grounded I was in being okay with letting go.
"Should I look, or do you want to?" I asked.
"You." Noah nodded and chewed on her nail. "You look."
I gave her one more smile before reaching for my phone and unlocking it. With a swipe, I refreshed the page, and the leaderboard updated. The winner was clear, ahead by more than two thousand votes.
