Chapter 24
Noah
Mason Sterling was batshit crazy.
Not in an ‘aww, isn’t he odd?’ way. No, he was unhinged fucking crazy. I wasn’t sure I liked it, but I also didn’t hate it. And it was for exactly that reason that I told him my plan.
He loved it. His whole face came alive, and I got the impression he hadn’t felt that way in a long time.
He wanted to help, and he had more stories and dirt than we did. All in all, the athletic department at Wrighton U would start to feel very nervous if any of these posts gained traction.
He agreed he shouldn’t post, but when he gave me the highlights of what he knew, I compiled them into a list, knowing I’d share them with Hadley later.
He was very clear that Briar was to stay out of it; he didn’t want any traction coming back on his sister, and I agreed.
It was why I went to Hadley in the first place.
If we were caught, Hadley and I were college kids who could spin the whole playing a prank thing.
If Briar was involved, she was someone who gave false documents to secure a job .
. . they may not let her off with a ‘simple prank.’
Despite his earlier warning about my intentions toward her, we’d now both decided to keep a secret from her, which felt like a very specific kind of alliance.
When I reminded him not to share it during ‘pillow talk’ with Diana, he actually looked like he wanted to punch me.
Then he laughed.
Right there. That was how I knew he was crazy.
We’d had a beer from Briar’s fridge. He gave not one shit. He was basically helping himself, and I was feeling the high of doing something, so I took one, knowing he’d say it was him.
Sometimes you just meet someone, and you just know you share something with them on some level.
It may never be a ride-or-die kind of friendship, but with Mason, we had something in common, something that lurked beneath the surface in both of us, and I think it was something we both fought every day to control.
I recognized it in him, and I knew he saw it in me.
Maybe I was just as crazy as him.
Which I actually think he liked. My willingness to burn it all down was the reason he stayed. He asked me one question in the middle of my plan and it wasn’t the question I expected.
“You’re really going to do this?”
“I just spent the last twenty minutes telling you that,” I told him.
He nodded. “Yeah, but there’s intention and then there’s following through.”
I looked over at him, not hiding my surprise. “You think I’m all talk?”
He shook his head slowly. “I did, when you came to the garage, when you were in the stairwell, I thought, big guy, lot of hot air.” He sat back.
“And now?”
He smirked. “I just said I changed my mind.”
I think that was his way of telling me he’d judged me wrongly.
Maybe.
We’d parted ways with a ‘speak soon.’ How different our second meeting was from our first was not lost on me.
By the time I got back to the dorm, afternoon classes were over, and afternoon practice was well underway.
I looked around the empty dorm room, and then, with my duffel bag over my shoulder, I took Dustin’s car key and headed into Halston.
The gym was empty this time of day, which was maybe not surprising. I paid for an hour, and then spent some one-on-one time with the bag.
When I was done, my body felt like I’d done afternoon practice.
As I unwrapped the tape from my hands, I eyed the ring at the far corner of the floor.
“You spar?”
I turned to the manager.
“Now and again, nothing serious.”
He handed me a bottle of water. “Want to go?”
I looked around, seeing no one else. “With you?”
His shoulder lifted slightly. “See anyone else here?”
I grinned. “Sorry, didn’t think you had it in you,” I trash-talked him, looking him over. He was middle-aged, his belly softer than he probably wanted, but his arms were strong, his shoulders wide. “You’re serious?” I took a long drink of water.
“I’m bored,” he said honestly, heading to the ring. “We can do a few rounds. No one needs to punch the shit out of anyone.” He stooped and held up two head protectors. “I’m guessing you want blue?” he asked, looking over his shoulder at me.
I breathed out a laugh as I joined him. “Nah, I’ll take red. Blue’s not really my color.”
He laughed and stepped into the ring. It was a bit smaller than a standard one, and I understood why, but still, the familiar feel of it beneath my feet eased the tension in my shoulders.
He had his headgear on and handed me a pair of gloves. “No martyrs here. Stay padded.”
“Agreed.”
Geared up, I faced him, and we touched gloves. He fell back into a stance so easily he took me by surprise, and the next second he swung, and I barely dodged.
“Gotta be quicker than that, friend,” he scolded with a grin.
I loosened my shoulders and then feinted a jab. When he ducked, I got him with my left.
“Got to be quicker than that, friend,” I mocked him.
“Okay, alright, I see you.” He jabbed and followed with a body cross.
We danced around each other for a few rounds — a few hits landed, some harder than others. We were both out of breath at the end, and we were both smiling.
There were a few more people in the gym now. Some had watched, some had gone on with their own workouts, ignoring us, as if this was normal. Which it probably was. It was a gym after all.
I’d have a black eye; he’d have a split lip. But they were both worth it. I don’t know what he got out of it, but I think I wasn’t the only one carrying demons on their back.
As I pulled off my gloves, he handed me my water. “You come back anytime,” he told me casually. “I haven’t felt this good in months.”
The fact he was mopping his bleeding lip just made me smile wider.
“Will do,” I told him, handing him the gloves. I noticed the time. “Shit, I overstayed my hour.”
He waved me off. “You’re good, slugger. See you again.”
I waved goodbye and jogged down the stairs to the outside, putting my headphones in.
I didn’t look around as I made my way down the street, so when my shirt got pulled at the back, I turned with my fist raised.
Briar jumped back. “Whoa, what the fuck?”
Shit.
“Why would you sneak up on me?” I demanded, taking my earbud out.
“Well, I called your name twice.” I held the earbud up, and she rolled her eyes. “You told me you didn’t wear them!”
“When I was running.” I took the other one out. “What do you want?”
Briar’s eyes opened wide in surprise. “Is this how you’re going to be?” she demanded, her hands on her hips. “I turn down your dick and you become one?”
My head tilted to the side as I studied her. “Wow. I mean . . .” I started backing away from her. “Just wow.” I turned away and kept going to Dustin’s car.
“Shit.” I heard her coming after me. “Wait!”
“Why?” I called, not slowing.
“Because I said so, damn it.” She was getting closer. “Damn it, Noah, stop!”
I did. She bounced off my back, and spinning quickly, I managed to grab her.
“Ow!” She looked up at me through the curtain of her hair, fighting the smile. “Thank God you’ve got good reflexes. I didn’t want to land on my ass.”
I let her go and stepped back. “You just chased me down the sidewalk.”
She shrugged. “So?”
I couldn’t keep up with her. “Why are you here?”
She pointed at her clothes. “Yoga.”
I’d guessed that. “What do you want?”
“Are you okay?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” I crossed my arms as we spoke, my feet slightly apart.
“Because you look like you’re about to tell me my name’s not down, so I’m not getting in.”
A bouncer joke again. “And?”
She scoffed as she looked away. “Okay. Fine. Noah is in oafish mode. Call me when you’ve chilled out.”
“Why?”
Her eyes narrowed, and she stepped closer. “Seriously?”
I didn’t react to her question.
“Is this because we made out?” She looked ready to punch me.
“No.”
Briar tugged the ends of her ponytail and then tossed it over her shoulder. “Is this because they benched you?”
“No.”
Her green eyes narrowed into slits. “So it is because I turned you down.”
I shook my head, and my arms dropped to my sides. “No. I’m going home, enjoy yoga.”
“This is because I didn’t fuck you! Are you serious?”
I didn’t turn around. “Shout it louder, Briar, I don’t think everyone heard you.”
“Asshole!”
I got into Dustin’s car and watched her stomp back to the gym. She was on her phone, and I doubted she was texting me.
Why was I pissed at her? I wasn’t. I was pissed at the specific situation of wanting someone who had the right to say no and did.
I respected her decision, but I also respected myself.
I wasn’t going to chase her when she wasn’t sure what she wanted.
I also couldn’t be around her right now without thinking about what I’d already set in motion without her. That was a different kind of distance.
I definitely wasn’t going to fuck with her when I was pretty sure her younger brother might actually kill me. What I’d started with him and Hadley was more important than whether or not Briar and I hooked up.
I leaned my head back against the headrest. No, it wasn’t. I really wanted something with her. Not just a hookup — she was under my skin. I don’t even know how she got there.
Actually, I did know how she got there. She was smart enough to see through bullshit, stubborn enough to call it out, and brave enough to stand in front of you when she did.
When most people would look away, Briar faked her credentials to get a job in the one place she resented most. How could I not admire the balls that took?
How could I not want to know more, or everything, about her?
But she was already risking enough. She didn’t need to risk anymore.
Unless it was me in bed with her. I was quite happy for her to take a risk on that, and I really needed her to choose a side, hopefully the side of the bed with me next to her.
“Fuck.” I watched her in the rearview. Those yoga pants showed off her ass really well. “If she ever finds out, you can explain, and she’ll understand why you didn’t tell her,” I muttered to myself. “She’ll understand,” I convinced myself.