reaction, I slowly walked across the room and moved toward the chair across from him. I was only about two feet from my destination when he kicked out the chair next to him and tipped his chin, indicating I should sit there instead. To refrain from looking like an asshole, I went against my instincts and sat in the closer chair.
“So how’s your first day going so far?” he asked, lifting his own cup of coffee to his lips and taking a sip.
I followed suit with my own latte before asking, “Were we such assholes at that age?” earning another laugh from Noah. My belly swooped low again and I had to clench my legs together. Jesus, if his laugh was enough to turn me on, I was in serious trouble. The last time I’d had sex was the last time with Noah. I’d managed to go years without it, only to turn into one giant bundle of raging hormones whenever he was near. Obviously my self-imposed dry spell had been a bad idea.
“I think that exact same thing every day,” he answered, yanking me out of my inner musings. “I mean, we couldn’t have been that self-involved, right? At least I’d like to think that was the case back then.”
“It’s more than that.” I giggled, the change in topic finally settling some of the nerves I was feeling. “It’s like these kids speak another language. They actually talk in text. If I hear one more LOL or OMG I’m going to intentionally deafen myself.”
“And what about YOLO ?” Noah added. “Seriously, do they even comprehend the meaning behind you only live once ? ‘Oh, it’s pizza day in the cafeteria. YOLO! ’ I’m pretty sure I haven’t heard that used in the correct context the entire time I’ve worked here.”
“Oh, oh! And what’s with all the shrugging and mumbling? That’s how they answer every single question . It’s like an involuntary tick or something. And get this! When I finished passing out the cameras in my second period class, one of the girls actually asked me if they came with a selfie stick!”
My head fell forward in laughter and I was so lost in the ridiculousness of kids now a days, I hadn’t even noticed I had reached over and placed my hand on his thigh. That was, until I felt the heat coming from his own palm as he wrapped his long fingers around mine, pinning my hand in place. The muscles in his leg tensed and I noticed just how much stronger they were now than when we were younger. His gaze bored into mine, sending a chill up my spine. It was like he could see everything I was feeling from just that one gaze. It was impossible to look away.
The intensity of our stare should have frightened me. Don’t get me wrong, the things I was feeling for him in that moment were unsettling, to say the least, but I couldn’t bring myself to break the hold. And right then, a question that had been plaguing me since my return to Pembrooke shot to the forefront of my mind.
I had to know.
“Why are you here, Noah?” I asked in a voice so quiet it was amazing he heard me.
“What do you mean?”
“Why are you coaching high school football? Your dream was to go pro. That was always the plan. What happened?”
He closed those warm whiskey eyes for several seconds. Once they opened again they were clouded by something I couldn’t understand. And his vague answer did nothing to assuage my desire, my need , to know.
“Losing you wasn’t the only fuck-up I’ve made in my life, Harlow,” he said cryptically. “For a few years I was hell bent on screwing up anything good I could have had.”
“Noah…” I started, not knowing what to say, but wanting to offer him some sort of comfort. The disappointment in himself was written all over his face. The visceral need to soothe that ache inside of me was so strong it scared me to the core. Was I still attracted to Noah? Yes, there was no denying that. Was that insane connection we’d had since the very beginning still there? Absolutely. But the overwhelming desire to protect him caught me off
“So how’s your first day going so far?” he asked, lifting his own cup of coffee to his lips and taking a sip.
I followed suit with my own latte before asking, “Were we such assholes at that age?” earning another laugh from Noah. My belly swooped low again and I had to clench my legs together. Jesus, if his laugh was enough to turn me on, I was in serious trouble. The last time I’d had sex was the last time with Noah. I’d managed to go years without it, only to turn into one giant bundle of raging hormones whenever he was near. Obviously my self-imposed dry spell had been a bad idea.
“I think that exact same thing every day,” he answered, yanking me out of my inner musings. “I mean, we couldn’t have been that self-involved, right? At least I’d like to think that was the case back then.”
“It’s more than that.” I giggled, the change in topic finally settling some of the nerves I was feeling. “It’s like these kids speak another language. They actually talk in text. If I hear one more LOL or OMG I’m going to intentionally deafen myself.”
“And what about YOLO ?” Noah added. “Seriously, do they even comprehend the meaning behind you only live once ? ‘Oh, it’s pizza day in the cafeteria. YOLO! ’ I’m pretty sure I haven’t heard that used in the correct context the entire time I’ve worked here.”
“Oh, oh! And what’s with all the shrugging and mumbling? That’s how they answer every single question . It’s like an involuntary tick or something. And get this! When I finished passing out the cameras in my second period class, one of the girls actually asked me if they came with a selfie stick!”
My head fell forward in laughter and I was so lost in the ridiculousness of kids now a days, I hadn’t even noticed I had reached over and placed my hand on his thigh. That was, until I felt the heat coming from his own palm as he wrapped his long fingers around mine, pinning my hand in place. The muscles in his leg tensed and I noticed just how much stronger they were now than when we were younger. His gaze bored into mine, sending a chill up my spine. It was like he could see everything I was feeling from just that one gaze. It was impossible to look away.
The intensity of our stare should have frightened me. Don’t get me wrong, the things I was feeling for him in that moment were unsettling, to say the least, but I couldn’t bring myself to break the hold. And right then, a question that had been plaguing me since my return to Pembrooke shot to the forefront of my mind.
I had to know.
“Why are you here, Noah?” I asked in a voice so quiet it was amazing he heard me.
“What do you mean?”
“Why are you coaching high school football? Your dream was to go pro. That was always the plan. What happened?”
He closed those warm whiskey eyes for several seconds. Once they opened again they were clouded by something I couldn’t understand. And his vague answer did nothing to assuage my desire, my need , to know.
“Losing you wasn’t the only fuck-up I’ve made in my life, Harlow,” he said cryptically. “For a few years I was hell bent on screwing up anything good I could have had.”
“Noah…” I started, not knowing what to say, but wanting to offer him some sort of comfort. The disappointment in himself was written all over his face. The visceral need to soothe that ache inside of me was so strong it scared me to the core. Was I still attracted to Noah? Yes, there was no denying that. Was that insane connection we’d had since the very beginning still there? Absolutely. But the overwhelming desire to protect him caught me off
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