“Some would call it selfish to want to stay home and raise a family while my partner busts his ass outside of it.”
“A good man would disagree.”
I blink up at him and his chest inflates.
“Yeah, maybe you’re right.” A sigh pushes past my nostrils, and I shake my head. “My dad would like you,” I tell him. “Someone who loves his mom, plays football like a boss, and cooks like a badass.”
Noah glances away, far too humble to face me while I boast about him, but his smile is evident in the creases framing his features.
After a moment of silence, he says, “I went on a picnic once.”
My jaw drops. “Once?!”
He laughs, looking down. “Yep. Once. My mom worked a lot, but on my birthday one year, she picked me up early from school, had lunch packed up in a mini-laundry basket and off we went.”
“Where did she take you?”
He meets my eyes. “She took me here.”
And my heart melts. “Here?”
He nods. “She gave me my present, a football.” He laughs, remembering, and I trace every line of his face. “It was the same every year. She’d ask what I wanted, and I’d say a football. She’d tell me to pick something else, but I’d hold strong.”
“You can never have too many.”
“That’s exactly what I’d say.” He peeks at me. “Mason?”
“Yep. My grams didn’t have a lot of money, so he always asked for a ball. He knew she’d get him something regardless, so he wanted to be sure it wouldn’t cost her much.”
“Exactly.” He stares, and it hits me.
That’s why he did it. He knew his mom couldn’t do much more, but would die trying, so he made it easy on her.
There’s no doubt in my mind she knew. It must have been so hard to have only one parent. One person period.
If she worked a lot, was he alone often?
Does he feel alone now?
I clear my throat. “What did she pack for lunch?”
“Ice cream.”
A laugh bubbles out of me and Noah’s follows.
Together, we turn to the ocean listening to the sound of crashing waves until the chill gets too strong, and then we head back to campus.
Once we’re pulling up in front of my dorm, I’m not ready to climb out, so I turn to him and pull my knees up to my chest. “Tell me something.”
“What do you want to know?” he rasps, a hidden grin on his lips.
I drop my head against the seat and whisper, “Everything.”
Chapter 22
Arianna
* * *
It’s a little after eleven when Mason, Brady, and Chase are walking through the door.
Brady swings me around in a hug and Mason plants a grumpy kiss to my hair as he slips by, falling to his ass on the couch, his eyes instantly closing.
“Someone had a long night.” I laugh, turning to Chase, who hesitates near the door, last night’s encounter likely playing in his head, so I ease his mind, offering a smile. “Hey.”
It works, his shoulders pepping up a bit, and he grins, his eyes falling to my outfit. “Hey, you look good.”
“Thanks.” I smooth my top down on instinct, glancing at my matching burgundy booties. “Cameron said you guys ordered pizza?”
“Yeah, none of us thought we could stand long enough to grill burgers like we planned to.”
I laugh, and he follows me into the kitchen, posting himself on the opposite side of the countertop. “The loss hit that bad, huh?”
“Fuckin’ sucked. We beat ourselves.”
I blow out a long breath. “True, but hey, maybe you’ll get your shot at starting this week now. There were three errors from the starting receivers this game alone.”
“Hate to admit it, but…”
“But that’s the first thing you thought?”
He nods.
“Hey, that’s the name of the game.” I shrug. “Our dads have told you guys time and time again, one man’s mistake—”
“Is another man’s gain.” He frowns suddenly, his eyes lifting to mine.
They hold there, only dropping when the door is thrown open, and Cameron comes inside, some guy I’ve seen in the halls behind her, pizza boxes in hand. “The food has arrived.” They set the items down and she pats the boy’s shoulder, shoving him back into the hall. “Thanks, G-dawg. I owe you one.”
“I’ll cash in on that!”
“K, bye!” she shouts, turning to us with a grin. “Let’s eat so we can tell our parents were good kids and be on our separate ways. I’ve got shit to do today.”