Chapter 20
NOAH
The producers for ClikByte: Reality were all fucking smiles as they said farewell to us all on the final day of the camp.
We’d just spent the five days after the “arrow incident” doing mixed team activities and learning to work with our competition.
Some people had expressed some serious objections, but I’d found it a welcome respite from Ace and Xavier.
Two minivans arrived to take our team home, and I climbed into the back row of the second van with my mind a million miles away. Now that we were actually leaving Camp Beaver, it dawned on me that I’d be going back to Mount Olympus. Last time I was there, I’d ended up in a coma and Ace nearly died.
Minho slid in beside me with a victorious grin while Skye and Torin took the seats ahead of us. That was, until Ace darkened the open doorway with a scowl, shaking his head.
“Tor, take the other van.”
Torin gave a sound of protest. “No, I’m good here, thanks.”
“August asked if I’d switch with you,” Ace shot back. “Is that a problem?”
Torin groaned but climbed out of the van, and Ace took his seat without another word, buckling his seat belt and closing the van door like no one else in the car even existed.
“Well, this will be a fun drive,” Skye muttered sarcastically, then leaned forward to speak with our driver. “Hey, Carlo, you don’t have our phones up there, do you?”
“I don’t, sorry,” the driver replied, pulling out of the parking lot behind our other van and setting off.
Not a minute too soon, in my opinion. If I’d had to wake up one more time in the predawn hours to shower in the men’s shower block without flashing my gash to anyone, I’d scream.
I hated early mornings, even though I seemed to be on that schedule naturally now.
“We could just talk…I guess?” Skye suggested, pressing the button for our driver’s privacy screen, then shifting in his seat to give us a worried look, his gaze flicking to Ace ever so briefly.
“Or not,” I replied, sour that I was stuck in the same van as Ace. “We could just stay silent.”
“For five hours? Come on, Twin… Not even you’re that stubborn.”
I scoffed, turning my gaze out the window. “Don’t underestimate me.”
Ace, surprisingly, said nothing. He didn’t try to force the conversation or use the confined space to push a confrontation with me.
Instead he sat comfortably in his seat and watched the trees pass while Skye asked Minho about an upcoming dance show he’d been asked to guest star on as a choreographer.
The two of them chatted easily, Ace seemingly zoned out and my fingers twisted up in Minho’s between us. Ace had glanced back once and gave our joined hands a hard glare but said nothing.
After a while, Skye leaned forward to play DJ, thanks to his proximity to the ceiling-mounted control unit.
Minho slouched in his seat inch by inch until eventually he fell asleep with his head in my lap and his long legs tucked up against the side of the van.
It was stupidly cute, and I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face as I gently finger--combed his silky hair while he snoozed.
“We should be getting an actual game challenge when we get back, right?” Skye asked. “You guys have any thoughts on what it might be? Ace? You usually know all the things…”
“Do I?” he murmured with a touch of bitterness. “Feels like I don’t know much of anything these days.”
“Wow, subtle,” I scoffed. “Maybe don’t throw a temper tantrum when life gives you lemons and other people might actually trust you with their secrets.”
“I said I was sorry. What more do you want from me?” he growled, his careful calm snapping as he turned in his seat to glare at me.
I locked eyes with him, staring back for a long moment while my brain caught up with my mouth and reminded me that this was my fault. He didn’t start this and had been content to stay quiet, but I poked the bear.
Swallowing, I wet my lips and shrugged. “Nothing. Like I said, maybe other people will trust you. I sure as hell won’t.”
A long, frustrated breath hissed from between his teeth, his gaze remaining locked on me. “I kept your secret, Noah. Not even Xavier knows.”
Rolling my eyes, I gave a soft laugh. “You keeping the secret is the least of my concerns, Ace. Or did you already forget how you were so butthurt I lied that you literally tried to strangle me the day I was discharged from hospital? Where I’d been in a coma for ten days after saving your life, no less. ”
“I didn’t see you complaining much when my hand was around your throat, Noah,” he shot back, making my face flame with heat as Skye gave a squawk of shock.
“S--s--sorry?” he spluttered. “Did something—-?”
“No,” I snapped, cutting off his question and praying Minho was actually as asleep as he seemed. “Nothing.”
“Disagree,” Ace countered. “It was something, all right.”
“Weren’t you just preaching about your secret--keeping skills, dipshit?” I sneered with disdain. “Maybe put that into practice.”
His lips kicked up in a slight smirk. “Seems irrelevant in present company, don’t you think? I’m assuming Minnie is also now aware of your deceptions.”
Shit. My heart beat a little quicker as my fingers stilled in Minho’s hair. “I didn’t break my contract, if that’s what you’re implying. He worked it out on his own.”
Ace rolled his eyes. “Yeah, right, Noah. How’s that happen?”
I blew out a frustrated breath and apparently my last fuck because I replied, “He tried to touch my dick and couldn’t find it.”
A sudden silence followed my admission, like a vacuum had just opened up in the van and sucked all the air out of our space.
Then Skye snort--laughed, and a smile curved my own lips against my better judgment.
Even Ace seemed to be struggling to keep a straight face.
Then Minnie’s shoulders started shaking in my lap, betraying the fact that he was not actually asleep anymore.
“Oh my fuck.” Skye snickered, tears of mirth welling in his eyes. “That’s fantastic.”
Minho rolled over onto his back, looking up at me with a lazy, smug smile, and I shook my head and pressed my finger to his lips to tell him not to go sharing that we’d also fucked that night. He just took the opportunity to kiss my finger, then snatch my hand into his to play with.
“Why the fuck—-?” Ace started to ask, seemingly torn between amused and outraged, but leaning more toward the latter. “Why would you—-?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” Minho drawled, not bothered by the mood shift in our van. “Noah as a man was stunning and mysterious and alluring, so why would I not want to act on the chemistry between us?”
Ace’s eyes snapped back to mine, burning a damn hole through my head like he was trying to communicate telepathically, but I wasn’t picking up. I just held his gaze until he narrowed his eyes and looked back to Minho in my lap.
“This is against team contract,” he snapped. “It can’t continue.”
I scoffed, shaking my head. “That’s rich, coming from you and your hand.”
“I mean it,” he said firmly. “This isn’t open for discussion.”
Minho drew a breath to argue, but I put my hand over his mouth.
I wasn’t remotely interested in verbally sparring with Ace over this when it made no difference.
I didn’t want or need his permission to continue seeing Minho—-or Torin, for that matter—-and him knowing about it would just make things harder than necessary.
“Okay, well, this is uncomfortable now,” Skye muttered out loud, sweeping a hand through his shaggy hair. “How long until we get home, again?”
“Two hours,” Minho replied, checking his watch with a yawn. “Just long enough for us to kill each other.”
I huffed a laugh, shaking my head at his shit--stirring grin. “Turn the music up, Skye! I love this song.”
Minho laughed, catching my lips in a quick kiss as he sat back up. “You really are a fangirl, aren’t you, Chicken?” The song in question was one from his former group 1--4--3, and I had definitely spent days learning the choreography when their video had come out for it a few years back.
Ace was back to staring out his window, so I didn’t think he’d caught that kiss, but the risk of being caught had just lit a fire inside me. Was this a new kink? Or just my existing adrenaline addiction? Hard to tell. Would definitely need more research—-for science.
Somehow we survived the drive without sparking any more fights. Probably due to the fact that both Skye and I fell asleep for at least an hour of it, but in our defense, we were bored.
I woke up when the van stopped and the engine shut off, and I sleepily raised my head from my cozy Minho pillow, expecting to see Ace’s dumb fucking mansion outside. So I was all kinds of confused when I saw we were in town.
“What are we doing here?” I mumbled, then yawned.
“We’ve been at Camp Beaver for a week,” Ace muttered, his expression softer than it’d been before I fell asleep. “I figured you two boba--gremlins are probably in withdrawals by now.” He opened the van door and hopped out, making me realize where we were.
Boba--Kitty! I tamped down my instant joy, refusing to be grateful to him for anything.
“You can’t buy my forgiveness with bubble tea, Ace,” I replied with a scowl, even as I unbuckled my seat belt.
Ace peered back into the van with a quirked brow. “Never said I was, Noah. Do you want Boba--Kitty or not?”
“Yes, she does!” Skye quickly answered for me, already climbing out. “I mean he. Fuck, this is getting harder now that other people know. He does. Noah, the manly man, would love boba. Come on, Twin. Let’s try their new seasonal mixes this time!”
He was already inside the shop by the time I got out of the van, and I gave Ace a suspicious squint as I passed him to follow my bestie. Not even I was mad enough to say no to this particular peace offering, even if Ace wanted to act like it wasn’t one.
“Noah, you’re back!” one of the girls behind the counter gushed as I stepped inside. “We missed you! How are you feeling?”
I bit the inside of my cheek, realizing that the last time I’d been into Boba--Kitty was before my drowning and subsequent coma.
“I’m fine,” I replied with a smile, forcing myself to put on the public face once more.
The girls who worked in this store were always lovely and respectful, but we all knew how fast that could change if they decided one of us was rude.
While Skye placed our order, which was a whole lot more than just two drinks, Minnie leaned over the counter and swiped a marker and cup, making the teenager working the register nearly swoon when he winked her way.
“What are you drawing?” I asked suspiciously as he doodled, assuming it was something silly.
He showed me the cup with a dazzling smile. “Chicken.” He pointed at what he’d written in Hangul on the cup. Then he winked at me, and I nearly came. Fucking hell, he was too much some days.
Clearly the staff thought so too, as they giggled and fluttered their lashes to the point I had to restrain myself from licking his cheek to stake my claim.
“Ace, do you want anything?” Skye asked, a better man than I was. Well, obviously, but you know what I meant.
“Grapefruit green tea with mango popping pearls,” he ordered, then handed over his credit card.
I wrinkled my nose at his choice. He’d convinced me to try it once, and I was not a fan. Don’t get me wrong, it was tasty enough, but the popping pearls left slimy little cases behind in my mouth that gave me major sensory ick.
“Hey, Noah, our boss wanted to get in touch with you about something,” one of the regular staff said as we waited for our drinks. “Would it be okay to get your agent’s or manager’s email address or something? She’s not here today but would be so mad if we didn’t ask.”
Surprise made me blink a couple times while I processed what she’d said. Maybe I was still half--asleep. “Oh, uh…yeah, sure. I don’t have his card on me, but I can write it down?”
“Yes, absolutely!” She hurried to grab a pen and paper for me, and I scribbled down Jared’s info from memory. Whatever it was, he could deal with it. Ace watched the whole interaction with a slight frown but said nothing when I glanced his way with a raised brow. Moody motherfucker.
He knew what he was doing, though, because when we piled back into the van with our trays of drinks, both Skye and I were in much better moods. Maybe we were in boba withdrawal, after all.