His eyes fall to my feet, inching their way up, and my god, does he take his time, being sure to cover every inch of my body before he, finally, meets my gaze. His lips part, his shoulders fall, and he swallows hard.
My heart beats out of control, and I slip closer, hooking my finger with his and slowly dragging him beside me.
He doesn’t watch where we’re going, doesn’t resist. He stares at my face, and I could cry at the struck expression on his.
Pushing the sliding door open, I lead us to the back patio, clicking the switch just before I exit.
The lights flick on, twinkling above and around us. The patio furniture has been pushed against the deck walls, and I laid a blue carpet across the cherry wood.
Noah’s lips press into a tight line as we step into the center of it, and he knows what to do.
He takes my hand in one of his, the other planting across my lower back.
He yanks me flush against him, the satin of my gown now flat against his chest.
“Look behind you,” I whisper.
Noah’s gaze narrows, his eyes staying on mine until the last possible second, and then he flicks them toward the wall, where a small banner hangs, reading, Avix Football Annual Gala.
His hands twitch against me, clenching. He presses me closer, his eyes coming back to mine.
I smile, and then I press play, tossing the remote to the side.
His head darts up when his coach’s voice comes over the speakers, and he stops moving, listening to the kind words the man who mentored him for the past four years spoke of him that night, the words he missed.
His chest rises and falls, a shattered breath slipping past his lips, and when Trey comes on, asking me to accept the award on his behalf, Noah chuckles, and my god, it’s a settling sound.
In the next moment, Noah is hugging me to him, squeezing me tightly.
“Baby.” A heavy breath pushes from his lips, and he pulls back, his palms flattening on my cheeks. “What did you do?”
“I told you…” Tears brim in my eyes. “We missed so much, and I’m not okay with that. I wanted it back. So I gave it to us. I was gone for what should have been our first Christmas, New Year’s, and the football gala.” I shake my head. “I refuse to miss a single thing that was meant to be ours.”
A shuddered breath leaves him and he brings his mouth closer, gliding his lips across mine.
“I love you, Noah. With all that I am and more.”
“I love you, baby. Always.” His eyes gloss over, his hands shaking against me. “I need to feel you.”
With a sly smile, I slip my arms around his neck, and whisper, “Then take me to my room.”
I yelp, when in the same second, I’m tossed over Noah’s shoulder, and just like that… we’re headed to my room.
Noah
* * *
I take the steps two at a time, and when I push into her room, my feet jerk to a stop. Holy shit.
Fuck me.
Slowly, I lower her to her feet, my eyes flicking to hers.
“Happy Valentine’s Day,” she whispers, a hint of bashfulness washing over her cheeks.
I squeeze her palms, but quickly release her, moving to the calendar lying open on her bed, red rose petals all around it.
The room itself is lined with red-dimmed lights, and flameless candles are lit all around the room, something I should be doing for her. Something I planned to do for her, the items in my bag in the truck proof of that, but this…
The calendar.
The item that led her back to me.
But it’s not the same one. It’s open to February, this month, and the image on the top half is of her, wearing my letterman’s jacket. Wearing nothing but my letterman’s jacket.
She’s angled to the side slightly, sitting back on her knees, her legs bent just right to hide what’s mine, the jacket pulled in close, but only enough so that the buttons of the jacket hides her nipples, the swell of her breasts, her breastbone, and stomach on full display.
Her brown hair is down and silky straight, her eyes covered in golden glitter, her lashes thick and painted black. Her arms are bent as well, gripping onto the collar as she stares straight into the camera, the tips of her blue-painted nails, the only thing showing through the sleeves, it’s so large on her tiny frame.
I pick it up and look to her.
She smiles from the doorway, her gown glowing against the shine of the candles in the room.
“Wait until you see the ones in your jersey.”
Heat pulls at my groin, and I stalk toward her, but her hands dart up, halting me, and I glare.
Ari chuckles softly, her palms gliding up my chest. “Turn to July.”