Chapter 180
Noah
The trip back felt unreal.
Everyone around me was buzzing with adrenaline and celebration—laughing, shouting, replaying every key moment of the game like it was already legend. And I smiled with them, clapped their backs, laughed at their jokes. But the thing expanding inside my chest wasn’t just victory.
It was joy.
Real joy.
The kind that felt like my ribs were barely big enough to hold it.
I knew what everyone thought—that I was just high off the win. That I was riding momentum and glory and the validation of every scout and reporter and commentator in the damn country. And maybe I would have believed that once too.
But this was different, because last night, I chose my life.
Not the one planned for me. Not the one forced on me. Not the one built off fear.
Us. I chose us.
And Aiden chose me back.
William insisted I travel back with him and his family. He said it was “only fitting,” given the “publicity” and “family unity.” Which, of course, meant control. But I told him I needed to ride back with the team. That’s how it’s supposed to be, I said. Tradition. Plus we were planning the big upcoming football event in California.
He didn’t like it. Not even a little. But I was still glowing from the game, from Aiden, from everything that felt like hope again—and I didn’t bend.
William’s smile didn’t reach his eyes.
“I suppose,” he’d said, smoothing his tie, “though I believe you have a far more important event to be preparing for than that.”
I knew exactly what he meant. The wedding. The contract. The performance.
I smiled the way I’d learned to—warm on the outside, guarded underneath.
“There’s time,” I told him. “Today is for the team. I want to celebrate with them. Tomorrow we can plan whatever you need.”
He studied me too long.
Sometimes, William’s anger was loud. Explosive. Predictable. But his smile—quiet, careful, polite—was worse.
This time though, it was the kind of grin of someone who knew something you didn't… and that gave me more unease than his own disapproval.
Lexie hugged me tightly before I left, her happiness bright and pure and undeserving of any of the damage swirling beneath the surface. When William mentioned a certain plan for tomorrow—something “special”, somewhere he didn't say—her eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas. For a moment, that soothed something in me. If Lexie was excited, maybe it wasn’t a trap. Maybe it was simply… what it looked like.
I kissed her cheek. Promised I’d be there early. Then I climbed onto the bus.
Aiden was already seated near the front, going over notes on his clipboard like we hadn’t just rewritten the history of our team. I moved down the aisle, taking my seat with Grant and Keon, but I could feel him there—the awareness of him almost physical. Every so often, when the guys cheered again or broke into chants, I looked up.
And once or twice, he looked back. Not long. Not obvious.
A flicker. A tether...
Enough.
The bus was loud, but inside me there was a quiet, steady warmth I hadn’t felt in months. Maybe ever.
I thought about our plan. About the long road ahead. About secrecy and caution and waiting.... And for the first time, the waiting didn’t feel unbearable.
I could do it.
For him.
For us.
For our future.
Only one thing dimmed the light a little. I still hadn’t heard from my mom or Emily.
I tried not to panic. No missed calls from numbers I didn’t recognize. No messages from neighbors. No reason to assume the worst. But the silence sat like a stone in my chest. I’d try again tonight. And if there was still nothing—I'd talk to William. And if that didn’t work…
I’d go home myself. No matter what it cost.
But that was tomorrow. Tonight… Tonight was ours.
I knew exactly where I was going, and exactly who would be waiting for me when I got there.
I waited for the right moment to talk to him. When I realized that was not gonna happen, I messaged him.
Hi, can't wait to kiss you again…
The smirk on his face said everything even when he didn't look back at me. I saw him typing and waited for the “not the place, not the time” kind of text.
Instead, my heart skipped a beat.
I can't wait to fuck you again…
This time it was me who had to hide his face and the instant heat that made me blush like a damn teenager.
The rest of the way, I could see the almost-smile he kept trying not to show. The one only I ever got. The one that said I see you. I’m here.
He felt me looking.
He didn’t turn fully, just glanced back enough to meet my eyes for half a second. It was enough to make my pulse trip.
Keon elbowed me. “Bro. You’re glowing. You need a mirror? You look like you’re in a romance movie.”
“Shut up,” I muttered, but my grin betrayed me.
He laughed and went back to yelling with the others.
I leaned my head against the window.
Outside, the sky was clearer, fading into the early afternoon glow.
I kept looking forward. And every time I did—Aiden was already looking back.
Back on campus, chaos spilled onto the sidewalks—everyone was still celebrating, and in all of it, I only cared about reaching him.
The moment the crowd thinned enough, I moved toward him—slowly, carefully, careful not to draw eyes. His hand brushed mine for only a second, a touch so small it could’ve been accidental—except it wasn’t.
I caught his wrist lightly, just long enough to speak under my breath.
“I didn't drive back with William so I could spend the day with you.”
His eyes flicked to mine. Sharp. Searching.
“It’s risky,” he murmured. “If you've refused him, he’s going to be watching.”
“I know.” I swallowed. “But I’m seeing him tomorrow. Today is ours.”
His jaw tightened—fear, instinct, caution, love—all in one heartbeat.
Then it softened.
“Okay,” he said. “But you leave a few minutes after I do.”
A shiver of anticipation ran down my spine.
Not fear. Want.
“Yeah,” I whispered. “Of course.”
\---
I waited ten minutes.
Not five.
Not eight.
Ten.
Every second stretched like wire.
Walking to my bike, I kept my head down. And still—there was a moment. A prickle down my spine. A feeling like eyes on me. Like being followed.
But when I turned—
Nothing.
Just the quiet campus road, dim streetlights, and the cool winter air.
Maybe I was just jumpy.
Maybe.
The ride to his house was automatic—muscle memory, heart memory. I pulled into his driveway, tucked the bike into the garage like always, closed the door quietly behind me.
The house was quiet.
I used my key.
The click of the lock was a sound my body recognized the way lungs recognize air.
Inside, I didn’t have to think.
Didn’t have to wonder.
I toed off my shoes, folded my clothes, and set them neatly on the chair by the door—just like always.
And before I could kneel—
He was there.
Aiden appeared in the hallway, silent but sure, his hand sliding to the back of my neck, pulling me up—not to command, not to correct—
But to hold.
His mouth crashed to mine, fierce and full and real, like we didn’t have time to breathe, like the world had been waiting too long to let us have this moment.
My fingers curled into his shirt as his grip tightened in my hair.
The kiss said everything we’d already promised. We could do this! No one could follow me 24/7 and there would always be a chance to get away, to make it here… to him.
Where we could continue choosing each other—again and again and again.