005

Chapter 5

  

SLOANE

I spent years imagining what it would feel like if Noah Brooks looked at me the way he looks at everyone else.

What happened last night was never part of that fantasy.

In my head it was always simple. He would finally see me, realize I wasn’t a little girl anymore, and everything would fall into place. Reality is heavier. It’s a pounding heart, wet pavement, and the terrifying knowledge that the line between us didn’t just blur—it cracked wide open.

I stare blankly at my laptop. I’ve been trying to read the same paragraph of the psychology syllabus for forty-five minutes.

It’s useless. Every time I close my eyes I’m back under that concrete awning. I can still feel the burning print of his hand on my waist. I can still see the dark intensity in his eyes when his gaze dropped to my mouth.

You’re imagining things, I tell myself, aggressively clicking a random link just to move. You’re reading way too much into it. He was just catching you. He was being nice. He’s Kai’s best friend and you almost face-planted on wet concrete.

But my lips still tingle. And no matter how hard I try to rationalize it, a deep, aching hope is burning a hole straight through my chest. I’ve kept these feelings locked away for years, too embarrassed to ever say them out loud. Right now the weight of last night is too heavy to carry alone.

“Okay, spill it.” Zoe slams her closet door and crosses her arms. She’s in a cropped sweater and cargo pants, hair in a sleek ponytail. “You’ve been staring at that same page since we woke up and you’ve sighed like fifteen times. Who died?”

“Nobody,” I mutter, pulling my knees to my chest. “Just stressed about classes.”

“Liar.” She steps closer, eyes narrowing with full roommate radar. “You look like you’re having an existential crisis. Is this about the hockey house? Did something happen with Kai?”

I bite my lip and glance at our closed door. The secret is burning.

“Not Kai,” I whisper.

Zoe’s eyes go wide. She practically launches onto my bed. “Wait. No way. The captain?”

“Shh! Keep your voice down!” I hiss, swatting her arm.

“Oh my god.” She drops to a fierce whisper, covering her mouth. “What happened? Did he say something? Did he look at you?”

“We ran into each other near the student center last night,” I stammer, heat flooding my neck. “It was raining. We were walking back together, just talking. And then I slipped.”

“And?”

“And he caught me.” My heart does that violent flip just from saying the words. “He held onto my waist. And for a second… Zoe, it didn’t feel like he was just being my brother’s friend. He was looking at my mouth. He leaned in. I swear, if Kai hadn’t called his name, he would have kissed me.”

Zoe is frozen, eyes dinner-plate wide. “Shut up. Noah Brooks almost kissed you? The ‘married to hockey and has no emotions’ Noah Brooks?”

“Yes. And today he’s acting so weird.” I bury my face in my hands.

It’s true. I saw him this morning in the courtyard between our buildings. He was walking with a few guys from the team, laughing at something Miller said. The second his eyes landed on me coming out of Alder Hall, the laughter died. His entire body went rigid. He didn’t wave. He didn’t smile. He just stared for a split second, then looked away hard, pretending to listen to his teammate.

The mixed signals are driving me insane. It’s like he’s trying to erase last night, building a wall of ice between us.

“He’s panicking,” Zoe declares with total confidence. “He’s spiraling.”

“No. He’s avoiding me because he regrets it.” A cold wave of rejection hits my gut. “He realizes he almost crossed a line with his best friend’s sister and now he thinks I’m a distraction. He’s probably horrified.”

“Sloane, guys don’t look at a girl like that because they’re horrified,” Zoe says, rolling her eyes. “Trust me.”

Before I can argue, my laptop chimes. An email from the Maplewood Athletic Department sits in my inbox.

“What’s that?” Zoe leans over my shoulder.

I click it open.

Dear Sloane Harper,

We are pleased to inform you that your application for the student athletic assistant position has been approved. You have been assigned to the Men’s Varsity Hockey Team for the Fall semester. Your duties include managing study-hall logs, tracking player eligibility paperwork, and assisting the coaching staff during home game operations. Please report to Coach Daniels’ office tomorrow at 4:00 PM.

My breath catches.

“Oh my god,” I whisper.

“No way.” Zoe’s grin is pure chaos. “You got the work-study job—and you’re assigned to the hockey team?”

“I applied for general athletics!” Panic spins through me. “I thought I’d be filing papers for the swim team or tracking tennis rackets. Zoe, I can’t do this. I’m going to be around the team constantly. I’m going to be around him.”

This job is a massive bridge. It’s exactly what I need for financial aid, but it forces me straight into Noah’s orbit. No more hiding in the dorm. I’ll be in the locker-room hallways, the study halls, the arena.

“This is destiny,” Zoe says, shaking my shoulders. “You wanted to find your own identity and stop hiding? Now you’re official Wolves staff. You have a reason to be there that has nothing to do with Kai.”

I stare at the email, terror and dangerous excitement mixing in my veins. She’s right. It’s a job. It’s professional. I can handle this. I just have to keep my head down and ignore the way my heart behaves whenever Noah is within five miles.

“I still think I’m reading too much into last night,” I mutter, trying to ground myself. “He’s Noah. He has everything to lose—the draft, his friendship with Kai, his whole reputation. There’s no way he’d risk all of that for a stupid crush on a freshman.”

Zoe goes quiet. The teasing expression leaves her face, replaced by something serious and certain.

“Sloane, I don’t think the problem is that you’re falling for Noah Brooks,” she says softly.

I frown. “Then what’s the problem?”

She slowly closes my laptop, eyes lockin

g onto mine.

“The problem is that I think Noah Brooks might be falling for you too.”