Chapter 31 #2
But he ignores me, letting that grin deepen as he leans closer. His lips brush the shell of my ear, sending a cascade of tingles down the back of my neck as he whispers, “Come back to my place.”
“Nox.”
“Just for a little,” he pleads, and I feel myself wavering. As if he knows it, he chooses that moment to push his leg a little closer, a little higher, using just the right amount of pressure to make my breath hitch. “You know you want to.”
“I—I can’t.”
I duck under his arm, determined to hold my ground.
I will not be one of those girls who gets a boyfriend and completely forgets her friends even exist. We’ve been talking about this girls’ night for a week.
I owe it to Nova, to Willa, to myself to take a night off from my boyfriend to hang out with my best friends.
“Wait,” Nox says, stretching for me.
I dance out of reach with a laugh. “Hands to yourself, mister. You can’t be trusted.”
“Hold on,” he groans, stumbling after me. “Just give me a second.”
I drop my gaze with a snort as he starts readjusting himself. Let’s just say those athletic sweatpants he likes to wear don’t leave much to the imagination. It’s the perfect opportunity to escape. I grab my bag and throw it over my shoulder as I round the corner, then—
“Ow!”
The cry pops out as I slam into a hard body, momentarily seeing stars. Hands come around my biceps to steady me. I blink the blurriness from my vision as an apology flies to my lips. “I’m so sorry! That was totally my fault! I didn’t even see—”
“Clara?”
The sound of my name has me looking up into a familiar set of friendly brown eyes framed by a wild mop of blond hair, the edges curling as if they’re still a little wet from the pool. “Justin?”
I haven’t seen him since before I left for Australia. I’m a bit surprised he remembers me. Whenever he was lifeguarding, he always seemed to purposefully ignore Nox and me. But I guess he was paying closer attention than I realized.
“Hey!” He grins. “It’s good to see you. I’m actually glad I ran into you. I mean, not literally, but—”
“Clara!” Nox rounds the corner, concern etched across his features, probably due to my ridiculous yelp. The second he sees Justin, he stops short. Surprise widens his eyes, followed by a bright flash of alarm he quickly smothers behind a smile. “Justin. Hey, man. How are you?”
“Dude, I was just going to ask Clara if she’d seen you.
I, uh, guess she has,” Justin adds knowingly with a slight laugh before reaching out his hand to do one of those guy handshake greeting things with Nox.
I stare between them, a slight frown on my lips.
Why are they acting as if they haven’t spoken in months?
“I was so bummed when Coach said you weren’t on the team this year.
We all were. But I get it, man. You can’t divide your time anymore.
Those five gold medals in LA were epic! We were all cheering for you. ”
Nox shrugs, his discomfort clear to my eyes. “Thanks.”
“Brutal about that stomach bug though. That was really cool of you to let Jonah take your spot.”
“He deserved it.” Nox sticks his hands in his pockets, shrinking in on himself. “I was in no place to swim.”
“Still.” Justin lets out a disbelieving laugh. “My money’s on eight golds next time.”
“Thanks…” Nox trails off, then clears his throat. “Anyway, it’s good to see you.”
“You too. Donovan said he saw you out at the hockey house a few nights ago. You should come to one of our parties. Everyone would love to see you, congratulate you in person. And I know you and Coach are doing this, like, secret training now or whatever, but you can drop in on one of our practices anytime.”
“I will.”
“Great!” Justin smiles with an earnest friendliness that makes it clear he isn’t sensing any of the awkward undertone coming off Nox in waves. He turns back to me. “Nice running into you, Clara.”
I grin back. “You, too.”
With a wave, he walks away. When he’s out of earshot, I glance up at Nox. “What was that all about?”
His face is suspiciously blank. “That what?”
“That.” I jut my chin toward Justin’s retreating figure. “How have you guys not seen each other? You’re at the pool every day.”
“I don’t know.” Nox shrugs, not quite meeting my eyes. “Coach must have us on opposite schedules.”
“Why’d he call it secret training?”
“Who knows?” he answers evasively. I frown, but before I can press further, he puts his hands on my hips and tugs me closer. “Try not to miss me too much tonight.”
I arch a brow at him.
The left side of his lip tugs up into a half grin. He drops down, bringing his mouth close to my ear. “Though I do love to hear you beg.”
Heat ratchets down my center. His eyes sparkle as if he knows it.
“Yeah, yeah,” I toss out, fighting the breathlessness evident in my voice. “We’ll see who’s calling who at two o’clock in the morning.”
“So that’s when the embargo lifts? 2 a.m.?”
“No. That’s not what I meant.”
He drags the tip of his nose across my cheek, teasing me with the proximity of his lips, his warm breath goading submission. “Mm-hmm.”
“It’s a girls’ night.” I push him away with a laugh. “No boys allowed. Ever.”
“That sounds like a challenge.”
“It’s not.”
He backs away with an absolutely wicked grin. “Bye, Clara.”
“It’s not, Nox!” I shout as he turns around. “It’s not!”
Is it?
Despite Nox’s best efforts to distract me, I can’t entirely erase the conversation with Justin from my mind. When I get home, I ask Nova about it, but she shrugs it off.
“Who knows why Coach does what he does? He’s known Nox since he was eight. If he thinks separating him from the swim team for a bit is the best choice, then it probably is.”
“Yeah. You’re right.”
“I know.” She grins.
I resist the urge to check Nox’s location on my phone. It’s invasive and distrusting. He said he was going to train. That’s where he is. I should believe him.
I should.
But for the first time, a nagging in my gut replies, Too bad you don’t.
As soon as Willa gets home from class, we launch into our girls’ night.
Willa makes her mom’s famous mac and cheese.
I bake some chocolate chip cookies. Nova supplies the gossip while we cook.
Then we launch into nail polish, face masks, and a heap of products I couldn’t name that Nova stole from her mom.
Willa tells us all about her volunteer job at the shelter and the vet programs she’s thinking of applying to next year.
Nova is headed to New York City with her boyfriend—for what, she has no idea.
The job will come later. And me? I softly confess the plans I’ve been too afraid to voice out loud—a PhD program on the West Coast. I know Coach Fleishman is headed back to his family as soon as the contract is up.
I assume Nox will go with him. And even though he hasn’t asked, I want to be there too.
Some of the best marine biology programs in the country are based out of California, truly cutting-edge research into climate change biology, so it’s not all about Nox. It’s about me. About us.
At exactly 2 a.m. there’s a knock on the door.
I remember too late. “Willa, don’t!”
The boys storm inside the second the knob is turned.
They’re wearing black ski masks, but it’s pretty obvious who they are based on the cackling laughter as they scoop us off our feet and throw us over their shoulders.
I can’t help but notice Nova’s wild grin when she’s been rolling her eyes all night at her boyfriend’s texts.
Willa doesn’t look too upset either. She’s the one I’m more worried about pissing off, but her face is all laughter as Grant easily hauls her out the door.
He is a six-foot-five Adonis entering the draft in the spring, so, you know, not the worst choice as far as kidnappers go.
And he keeps it respectful, as opposed to Nox, who slides his hand all the way up the back of my thigh to palm my ass the second he gets me over his shoulder.
“I thought I said it wasn’t a challenge.”
“Really? I could’ve sworn you said it was,” he comments lightly. I think he’s getting off on this whole caveman thing. Honestly…I might be too.
“Where are you taking us?”
“Our evil lair.”
“So…your dorm?”
“We’ve got snacks. And board games. And—” He flips me back around so I’m cradled in his arms. Maybe it’s a side effect of the mask, but the dark glimmer in his eyes is all sin. “The guys and I spent most of the night reattaching my door.”
“You should’ve led with that.”
He laughs softly into my hair. I wrap my arms around his neck as we follow our friends to the next building over and up two flights of stairs.
True to his word, they’ve got a table full of candy and six types of board games waiting for us in captivity.
We stay up playing until dawn. And it’s so right, the six of us together like this with no drama.
It’s so perfect, so fleeting, I won’t let my neuroses ruin the magic.
There’ll be time for doubts later.
Tonight, I give myself over to the fun.