Noah
* * *
Goddamn it, she’s gorgeous, perfect.
Here.
She came to me in anger, found me on memory, and now stares at me with need.
But my baby has no idea what she needs when the answer, while hard to find, is so simple.
It’s one word, one thing.
It’s me.
The ache in her voice, it cuts me. It’s fucking killing me.
How do I feel about her?
My knuckles run up her cheek, my palm flattening against it a moment later, and she blinks slowly.
I love you, baby. Every part of you.
I love the way you link life to lyrics, how you smile at the moon and love like the ocean, far and wide, and without apology. I love how selfless you are, how honest and kind, even though life hasn’t been so kind to you lately. I love how you try to be brave for your family, because you don’t want them to hurt, even when doing so hurts you a little.
I love you so much I want to come home to you, wake beside you and spend a lifetime worshipping you. I want the house you spoke of and the family in your dreams. I don’t only want to be the man you need, but the one you want. The one you can’t live without. I want to love you for a lifetime, and even more after that.
But most of all, I just want the chance to make you mine again.
Because I’m yours. Always.
No matter what.
“Noah,” she rasps, and I blink back to now.
To the vulnerable girl standing before me, confused by the way her heart beats when she’s close to me, and understanding exactly what it is she’s feeling while she is.
She feels safe and calm. She’s at peace and taken aback by the fact that she senses no need to run, how she knows she has no reason to.
Because with me, she’s home.
I am home for you, baby. Please remember…
Ari takes a deep breath. “Do something for me?”
“Anything.”
“Show me how you feel about me,” she pleads.
My gut curls, but my mind beams with light.
She nibbles on her lip. “I know I’m messed up and—”
“You’re not messed up.”
“Nothing has felt real since I woke up, but being here…” Hesitantly, her hand glides up, and it doesn’t stop. “I can’t explain it.”
My blood pumps wildly, every muscle in my body contracting. “I made you a promise once.”
“What promise?”
“Never to deny you, so I need you to think really hard about your next move, because I’m not strong enough to be a better man here. A promise to you is something I will never break, even if you don’t remember me making it, but I’m not sure if this is me being noble or if it’s being selfish.” My hand lowers, my thumb gliding along her lower lip. She shivers and heat spreads through me. “You should walk away, Juliet.”
“I don’t want to.” Tears fill her eyes, and her head lowers, so I meet her forehead with mine. As slowly as possible, she presses her lips to the corner of mine, and holds there for a long moment.
I can hardly fucking breathe, hardly keep my hands from driving into her hair, but I somehow manage to keep myself still.
When she finally pulls back, it’s with the softest of smiles. “Do you think we can maybe talk for a little while?”
Possibility sends a spark through my chest and the muscles in my neck stretch. “Always. As long as you want.”
I thought maybe she’d lead us to the living room, but she simply lowers to the floor, leaning her back against my bed, so I do the same, mine against the wall across from her, and wait.
Ari
* * *
Noah stares as I pull my legs up and drop my chin against my knees.
“Tell me something,” I ask.
A tenderness blankets him, and he looks down, biting back a smile as if he has a secret, and suddenly, I want to know all of his.
With humor in his gaze, he meets mine. “What do you want to know?”
“Everything.”
His eyes pierce mine, and I swear they grow glossy, but in the next moment, they’re clear and enthralled by me.
Noah smiles and something in my chest stirs.
He starts speaking, and I hang on his every word.
Chapter 50
Arianna
* * *
It was well after midnight when my brother finally decided he could no longer hold back and called Noah. I met him at the bottom of the stairs, and we piled into his Tahoe, Chase and the others already tucked inside.
We didn’t speak much on the ride back to the beach house, and by the time we arrived, everyone was ready for bed.
Once again, I didn’t get much sleep, the events of the day looping through my mind, thoughts of what might have happened whirling around. It’s hard, not knowing if what I see is a memory or a twisted fantasy that stems from the desperate need to know I find myself burning in.