18 #3
He rose from his chair and put it back at the table he’d stolen it from.
Then he headed toward the pool tables, at least hoping to snag a game from someone.
Music thumped in his ears as he drew closer to the pool hall’s ancient jukebox, and he turned sideways to squeeze past a couple who were rocking out to Ozzy’s “Crazy Train.”
Maybe he should get Olivia down here. Maybe she’d dance with him the same way. Maybe he could pull her into a quieter corner and tell her what had been on his mind all week. Maybe it would be easier if they weren’t all alone.
He stepped into an empty pocket of space and pulled out his phone before firing off a quick message.
Noah: I’m at the Hawk’s Nest, and it’s insane down here. I think everyone in town decided to come dance tonight.
He realized after he sent it that it wasn’t actually an invitation, but for some reason he left it that way. Part of him wanted to see if she’d come anyway, just to seek him out. If she did, maybe that would mean she wanted to be with him, too.
Putting his phone away, he looked up and saw his friend Carson racking a set of pool balls on the nearest table. Both cue sticks leaned against his leg, which either meant he already had a partner or he was being choosy about who claimed it. Noah decided to throw his hat in the ring.
“Hey, man!” he called as he came closer. “You playing with someone?”
“You, if you want it,” Carson called back.
He lifted the second stick from the floor and held it out to Noah, who took it and retrieved a cube of chalk from the corner of the table.
He rubbed the block against the tip of the stick while Carson finished prepping the balls. Then, he nodded toward his friend.
“You break,” he said.
The game went back and forth for nearly an hour, progress frequently impeded by the press of people on all sides. Finally, Carson sank his last stripe and the eight ball in one swift move, and Noah conceded defeat.
“Good game, man,” he shouted over the music.
Carson nodded, and Noah felt a tap on his shoulder.
A guy he didn’t recognize was claiming the next game, and Noah handed over his cue stick without complaint.
Then, he checked his phone. Disappointment washed over him when there were no new messages.
Maybe Olivia was busy. Her own friends were probably back in town, after all; he wasn’t her only option anymore—which probably answered all his questions for him.
He was heading back toward the restaurant side of the room when a small body crashed into his side.
“Oh, sorry,” he said, though it hadn’t actually been his fault.
He reached out to steady the girl before she fell, and it took him a moment to realize it was Misty from the bakery, wearing more makeup and less fabric than he’d ever seen on her before.
In one swift assessment, he decided she was several drinks south of sober.
Misty smiled and tightened her hand around his arm. “Hi, Noah!” she gushed, a little too excited. “You wanna dance?”
With Misty? No.
A group of rowdy frat boys jostled past, and Noah instinctively guided her toward the wall of the pool room, where a cubbyhole beside the water fountain allowed them space to stand without being trampled. She swayed on the spot, and he kept hold of her arms in case she toppled over.
“Misty? Do you have a ride?” he asked, shouting over the music.
“What?” she called back.
Noah shook his head in aggravation, then he leaned in so maybe she’d hear him better. “I asked if you have a ride,” he repeated.
She batted her eyes and grabbed the collar of his shirt in both hands. “Why? Do you wanna take me home?” she asked. Several of the words slurred together, but Noah got the gist.
“You should probably sleep this off,” he told her. “Do you have friends here? ”
“You’re here,” she whined, “but you won’t dance with me!” She stomped one high-heeled shoe, which slipped out from under her.
Noah caught her with one arm before she hit the floor.
“Alright, alright, easy there,” he said, righting her again.
She anchored her arms around his neck, and he gave up all hope of peeling her off—at least, not before he could find someone trustworthy to leave her with.
He looked around the room again, trying to analyze the faces of the people playing pool, but he didn’t recognize anyone on this side of the room.
Across the dance floor, closer to the bar, he spotted Parker, recognizable because the back of his shirt had his last name emblazoned across the shoulders. Suddenly, a girl stepped out from beyond him, and every gear in Noah’s brain ground to a halt as her gaze connected with his. It was Olivia.
Stupid, stupid, stupid!
Olivia berated herself as she wrestled with the lock on her front door. She could barely remember the drive home, could barely remember anything but the guilty look on Noah’s face when she’d caught him with some blonde pressed up against the wall in the pool room.
What were you thinking?! she demanded. He didn’t actually ask you to come!
She finally wrenched the door open and let it smash against the drywall on the other side, only vaguely hoping the impact wouldn’t leave a hole.
Then, she slammed it behind her again. The motion soothed an innate need to break something—but only for a second.
She threw herself down on the couch and started to unlace the strappy heels she’d worn for dancing.
With Noah Campbell , of all people!
She’d barely finished the second buckle when there was a pounding on the door.
“Pixie! Pix, I know you’re in there. That wasn’t what you think it was!”
Fire crackled behind Olivia’s breastbone, and she hurled the shoe in her hand at the inside of the door. It landed with a crack. “Go away!” she shouted.
There was a soft sound as the door seemed to strain on its hinges, like maybe he’d leaned his whole body against the wood. “Please, Olivia,” he pleaded. “Please, let me explain. Just open the door.”
He actually sounded like he was in pain, and the tone of his voice tugged at her heartstrings, begging her to hear him out. Though, honestly, that irritated her more than anything else.
He shouldn’t have this kind of control over her!
She shouldn’t have given it to him!
She stormed across the room and twisted the doorknob before yanking it open without warning. Noah nearly fell onto the carpet.
“No reason to explain,” she said, her voice too light, too casual, and in direct opposition to the anger coursing through her veins. “After all, we’re not really together; we never have been. You’re a free agent, Campbell!”
He winced at the use of his last name, and it was only then she realized she hadn’t used it all week.
“Don’t do that, Liv,” he begged.
“Do what?”
“Brush us off like we don’t matter. ”
“We don’t matter!” she snapped, her facade failing. “Like I said, we’re not anything! It’s fine! Go add another name to your little black book!”
“I don’t want another name, I want you !”
Olivia stood with one hand on the door, holding it open while they stared each other down.
I want you.
That was what he’d said, but was it really what he meant?
Noah raked both hands through his hair, which was already standing on end, and muttered a few choice words under his breath.
“Olivia, I don’t know what I’m doing,” he admitted.
“I don’t know what I’m doing, and I’m scared to death I’m going to get it wrong, but I can’t—” His voice cracked, and he shook his head as if to fix it.
“I can’t not try. I can’t just play this game anymore. ”
He took a step through the still-open doorway, and Olivia sucked in a surprised breath when he cupped his hands around her face and tilted it up to look at him—like he wanted to be sure she heard all the words that spilled out like water.
“I like you. A lot. I think I more than like you. You might be the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and if you’d told me six months ago I’d be saying that, I’d have said you were insane, but it’s true.
The thought of not being with you, of not being yours, of not being able to tell the whole world you’re mine, scares me worse than anything else, and I’m begging you please, please don’t throw this away. Not like this, not now.”
Olivia stood silent, her head spinning as she stared up at Noah’s face.
“That wasn’t what you think it was.”
If there was a legitimate reason for the compromising position she’d found him in, then he was serious when he’d said.. .
But did she want him to beserious?
Olivia tried to take a full breath and somehow found she couldn’t. Five seconds ago, she’d been angry, but now... now she didn’t know what she was.
“Liv?” he asked at last.
She shook her head, suddenly needing to put as much space between them as possible so she could think. She reached up and pulled his hands away from her face before stepping backwards. “You need to go,” she managed, though every word felt sharp in her throat.
“Go? But—”
“Just, go! Please!” She was desperate now—for space, for air, for clarity. Nothing seemed to make sense all of a sudden. Noah’s stricken expression clawed at her heart, and she felt a gash rip wide open when he stepped away.
“Liv,” he rasped as he reached the threshold. “Liv, please, just give me a real chance. That’s all I want—just one real chance.”
Olivia tried to shake her head as she shut the door in his face, though in hindsight she wasn’t sure if she was saying yes or no .