Chapter 26 #2
We were to pick Savvy up on our way there, and we walked across the quad, all suited and booted as requested by our coach.
“Do we remember the script?” Dante asked as we walked.
Several of our teammates were behind us, and he was talking to all of us.
“We know nothing. We’ve seen nothing. We do not comment,” he reminded us all.
There were several ‘yes, Spences,’ and he turned to look at Hadley. “Hadley?” he asked more quietly.
“Yes, QB.” She gave him a mock salute, and I gave her a warning glare that the others missed. “I’m joking,” she toned it down. “I’m grateful you guys were okay with me coming. I’ll be on my best behavior.”
“Not too good,” Dust murmured, and she giggled.
Couples — kill me now!
Savvy was waiting for us; her dress was longer than Hadley’s, but just as classy. Her hair was up and elegant-looking.
“Looking good, Savvy,” I greeted her, and she gave me a hug.
“Thank you, Mr. Handsome.” She smoothed her hands over my shoulders. “A certain social media girl will be tongue-tied.”
“What?”
But Dante was there and gave her a kiss. “You look amazing.” He pulled her close. “Your dad okay with you not being there at his side?”
“Not really, but he kept his opinion to himself.” She gave a light laugh. “Progress, right? But I will need to mingle with him, just to, you know, keep the status quo.”
“Of course,” Dante murmured, kissing the back of her hand.
The event tonight wasn’t in the same place as last time. This time, it was a large function room in the arts building.
“The arts building hosts exhibitions,” Savvy informed us as we approached.
Savvy and Hadley slipped inside before us, as we got held back in the entrance hall, and then they put Dustin and Jason on either side of Dante, and me just behind them.
The boosters and alumni gathered in the room cheered and clapped when we entered, as if we had won the championship all over again.
Which was weird. Because today’s game was for the team, not the boosters.
A dark-haired girl peeled away from two people who looked to be her parents, and she threw herself at Jason. He scooped her up, and I don’t care that they were waiting for marriage; they needed a hotel room right now.
I looked away.
And saw Briar standing beside a table, a champagne flute in her hand. She was looking right at me.
Her hair was down around her face, but it looked different. Softer, falling in waves that suited her better. She wasn’t hiding behind it tonight. You could still see her face — the pale skin, the small nose, and the wide green eyes. Lips soft and pouty, begging to be kissed.
She was wearing a strapless, corset-like top and a soft, silky black skirt that flowed down her legs.
She looked totally fuckable.
I wanted to go straight to her, but I knew I couldn’t. I followed Dante and shook hands. I laughed when he did, and I nodded when he did.
I didn’t hear a single fucking word.
Time and again, I looked for her. A glass of champagne was never far from her, but tonight, instead of her camera, she had her phone. She had a strap around her wrist that identified her as media.
I watched her ass when she had her back to us, her curves accentuated.
“You hanging in there?” Dante asked me quietly as he guided us away from an older-looking couple.
“Fuck no.”
He smiled and met my eye. “Dust said you had no game, but I doubted him. I shouldn’t have. You’re basically panting.”
“Have you seen her? Wouldn’t you?”
He faked taking a drink, and his gaze swept the room. “She’s definitely pretty.”
“I need a distraction,” I murmured. “Don’t make me beg.”
He sipped his drink, failing to hide his shit-eating grin. “I got you,” he told me. “Savannah?”
If she was surprised he called her by her full name, she didn’t react. Dante whispered in her ear, and she gave me a knowing look.
“Of course.”
Savannah held her hand out to me. “I never knew you had a passion for eighteenth-century art, Noah. Wrighton U has the most fabulous collection. Come, I’ll show you.”
I took her hand and didn’t question.
She led me out of the room, talking to me about painters . . . I think. I followed until we reached a hallway, and I looked at her as she led me into a small room.
“Savvy?”
“Thank me later.” She slipped through an adjoining door. Dante and I hadn’t spoken properly in days. He’d just helped anyway. The door opened again, and Briar walked into the room.
“Noah?” She looked behind her as the door closed. “What—”
I was already kissing her.
I hadn’t kissed her in what felt like forever, and the moment my mouth met hers, it felt like breathing after being underwater too long. Briar grabbed my jacket and pulled me closer without hesitation.
Her back hit something solid.
I glanced over her shoulder.
Wall.
Perfect. Walls were good.
“You look fucking beautiful,” I murmured against her skin. My mouth moved along her jaw, slower this time, giving myself time to feel her again. Her breath caught as I pushed her hair off her shoulder and dragged my lips down the length of her neck.
“Noah,” she whispered. She wasn’t resisting us. Not even close. “You look good too, you feel so much better,” she added softly, her fingers sliding down my chest before grazing lower, over the front of my pants.
My breath left me in a slow, rough exhale.
“You taste like strawberries,” I murmured, my mouth moving along her bare shoulders.
“Body lotion.”
“I love it.”
“I can tell.” Her laugh broke into a gasp when my mouth pressed against the soft swell of her breast that her top pushed up into a mouthwatering curve.
“I’m not fucking you in the . . . wherever the hell this is,” she told me breathlessly.
My hands slid up her thighs as I pushed her skirt higher, my palms warm against her skin. “I told you what I wanted.”
I dropped slowly to my knees.
Her eyes darkened as she looked down at me. “What are you doing?” She licked her bottom lip; her teeth caught the corner as she stared down at me.
“Apologizing.” My fingers caught the delicate string at her hips. I looked up at her before moving another inch. “Let me apologize, Briar.”
Her lips parted slightly. “Noah . . .”
I held her gaze as the fabric slipped lower. “Let me taste you, Briar.”
She swallowed hard. For a moment, she didn’t move.
Then her head tipped back, exposing the long line of her throat, and her fingers slid down to rest lightly against my shoulder.
Wordlessly, slowly, she lifted her leg.
Permission.
I unhooked her panties from her ankle, lifting her leg over my shoulder.
The satin of her skirt fell around me as I pulled her closer, the world narrowing to the sound of her breath and the heat of her body as I took my first taste.
And when she gasped my name, I knew I wasn’t stopping until she accepted my apology.