Chapter Four

*Noah*

Walking into Cadillac’s like the conquering hero Julius Caesar after he defeated the Gauls, or maybe a gladiator entering the Colosseum after a victorious showing in the games.

Did gladiators go out for a beer after the games? No doubt they did. They probably had hot girls with them too.

Applause breaks out and I flash a big smile, taking in the adulation. The cheers of congratulations continue as we make our way around the room, and a warm feeling grows in my chest. Attention from fans, a football in my hands—it’s all I’ve ever needed.

I started playing rec league when I was twelve—late for the superstar I am—because my aunt and uncle needed a babysitter for me and the field was just down the road from our house. Convenient for them to get me out of their hair, and a good way for me to channel my restless energy.

“Noah! Great game!” shouts a guy I remember from class last semester.

I wave.

“Dude, this place is packed,” Dillon says. He’s got that glazed-over, I’m-going-to-party-till-I’m-trashed look in his eye as he takes everything in. Tall and muscular with a freshly shaved head—he promised he’d shave off his blond dreadlocks if we won the championship—he’s originally a California surfer boy who moved to my neighborhood in Pennsylvania when he was ten just to play football in the South, a rich kid. We came from completely different backgrounds, but he’s the closest thing I have to a brother.

I grin. “Wish Sam and Chander were here. Losers.”

“Yeah, well, they’re getting some girlfriend action right now. Their player days are over.”

True. Sam practically bolted off the bus and ran straight into Monica's arms as she waited for him in the parking lot, and Chandler was pretty much the same. He didn’t even say goodbye before peeling out to go to Margo's.

Dillon grins at a pretty, brunette co-ed who rushes up and throws her arms around his big frame.

The athletes run this small, exclusive university, and football really is king. I roll my shoulders. I’d do well to remember that. No matter my family and scholastic shortcomings, this year is mine.

At the end of the big game, I started doing the Miss America wave for the fans, and the crowd in the bar goes nuts when I whip it out. I’m feeling good, then my eyes sweep the room and land on a table near the front.

Caroline.

I freeze.

I haven’t seen her—even in passing—for months, and the effect is like a bucket of cold water in my face.

She flips me off, and I feel red starting at my neck and rising up to my face. Something about her always…always…

“You good?” Dillon asks me, his gaze following mine.

“Fresh as a goddamn daisy.”

“Caroline is over there.”

“Thanks, Captain Obvious.”

His eyes check her out. “Can’t blame you, man. She’s not my usual, but I’d tap it. I tried sophomore year. She turned me down cold, said I was too popular. Weird.”

“Don’t even think about her like that.” I frown. “And why didn’t you ever tell me?”

“Didn’t seem important. You were only out to make her life miserable in  highschool.”

“It is important. And it wasn't like that. Stay away from her.”

His lips kick up. “Didn’t think you cared, dude.”

“I don’t.”

“Then why can’t I even talk about her—”

“No,” I snap. “End of.”

“Fine, chill out.” He eyeballs Dani and Candi chatting with their sorority sisters as they hang on to me. “You’re winning if it’s a competition. You have two and she has none.”

“It isn’t a pissing contest.”

I can’t help but stare in her direction. Jealousy pulls at me when I see how some of the guys with Connor are giving Care little glances. With long blonde hair that has red streaks scattered throughout, she’s a curvy thing but feisty as a colt. I take in the creamy pale skin, intelligent mossy green eyes that don’t miss a thing, and that perfect pink bow of a mouth. Yeah, she got under my skin so fucking bad I thought I was going to lose my mind—sleeping with her didn't help like I thought it would. My body and mind were so turned upside down that I told her it was for a bet. But honestly that night was the best of my life, I really was in love with her but if my father ever knew he would disown me.

A beer gets pushed into my hands by Dani, and I lean down to give her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Thanks.”

“I’ve missed you,” she murmurs, her hand caressing my jaw.

I pull back before she can take it any further. “Yeah. Time to party,” I say.

Maybe five minutes pass, and when a break appears in the crowd around us, I step away from the girls and my feet lead me to Caroline’s side of the room.

Sure, I shouldn’t talk to her. I really shouldn’t, but hell, it’s been three months since I've seen her and I’m over her. She doesn’t have power over me. No one does. I haven’t thought of her since…shit, since right before we walked into this place. I saw her car in the parking lot, and unease mixed with something darker took up residence in my bones. Might as well get it over with and rip the Band-Aid off. I wince. More like wax ripping off my chest hairs.

She watches me approach, her face flat and expressionless before she drops her gaze and looks down at her phone, scrolling. Her grip is tight, fingers white with pressure.

Jess jumps up and throws her arms around me with a big hug.

“Noah! You guys played amazing,” she says. “I’m so stoked for you!”

I smile and give her man Connor a fist bump. “Thanks. Greatest day of my life when we won.”

I reset my gaze on Caroline.

Pretend like nothing happened between us, I tell myself. Be cool. She’s not anyone important, just a blip on your way to the NFL.

“What’s up, city girl?” My voice is gruffer than I intended.

She tosses her head back and looks up at me. “The sky. Heard you had a good game.”

“Good game?” interjects Conner. “He only set the record for number of touchdowns and yards from scrimmage during the game. You were on fire, Noah—no pun intended.”

“Thanks, man. I appreciate that.” I smirk. “So you didn’t watch the game?” I ask her, sticking my hand in my pocket. My fingers brush over the secret note I keep tucked in there, hidden away.

“Missed it.”

“Not surprised. We never did have much in common—oh, except for that one thing.”

She flutters long lashes. “You've spent your entire life being a jerk. Why not take tonight off?”

I throw my head back and laugh before sobering and leveling my eyes back on her. Damn, she’s funny. I recall an hour-long giggling session we had that night when I asked if she needed a ride home. Mine was about cows who took over the world by killing humans with their methane farts. Hers involved golf-ball-headed aliens kidnapping her and sending her back to Earth to become the next female Tiger Woods.

My chest tightens at the memory, and I shove it away from me, stuffing it deep inside my box of Caroline Lockwood memories.

“Still quick-witted,” I say. “Haven’t seen you around much. You look good.” My gaze holds hers.

“You gonna ask me about the weather next?” She cocks her hip.

“I’m just being pleasant. Am I annoying you?”

“Annoyance would imply I care.”

My teeth grit when my eyes betray me and land on her tits. Her curves are insanely lush, full hips and breasts, a Marilyn Monroe type. “You’re soaked. Planning on entering a wet dress contest?”

“As if. One of your fans spilled a beer on me,” she says just as Dani appears, her smell arriving first, a floral perfume, sweet and thick.

Caroline’s eyes watch Dani. “Yes, you did find him. A plus. He’s all yours.”

There are a few moments of tense silence as we all look at each other. Jess and Connor have wide eyes on us, and even the guys in the back seem to be waiting for something to happen. One of them keeps giving Caroline a sheepish grin, a clear look of appreciation on his face. Heat rises inside me. He’s right up her alley: nice, subdued, smart…malleable. Everything I’m not.

“Aw, thanks, honey. What’s your name?” Dani says as she gives Care a quick, assessing look, sizing her up.

“Caroline. No ‘i’ on the end, in case you were wondering.” Her elegant brows arch. “My friends call me Care. You can call me Caroline.”

“Lovely name with just a touch of tacky. Very hipster.” Dani scrunches up her pretty face.

I watch Caroline—you never know what she might do—but there’s no discernible reaction to Dani except a slight curl of those pink lips.

Care grabs a glass off the table and raises it. “To tacky names, Noah's included,” she says dryly.

Touché.

I lift my own glass. "My mom gifted me the name from my great grandfather who has an alcoholic women hater."

“Both of you have lovely names,” says Jess, her eyes bouncing between us.

“At least it’s not Dimpleshitz,” Connor adds, and everyone laughs—everyone except for Care and me.

I stare at her. Fuck, I can’t help it. My hands twitch at my sides and the muscles in my jaw tighten while her face is void of emotion, carefully blank, her eyes leveled at some point across my shoulder.

How can she keep her cool when she hasn’t seen me in months?

She’s ice. Subzero. Antarctica in a wet dress.

She hates you.

Dani clears her throat. “They cleared a big table for us, No. Let’s do some shots.” She attempts to tug me away from the group.

I don't budge.

“You guys wanna join us?” My gaze sweeps over them, lingering on Caroline.

“No,” she says coolly.

Jess and Connor say they’re in and the chess guys look semi-interested, except for the one who keeps giving Care Hey, wanna play with my knight later glances.

Whatever.

I should walk away, but I want a reaction from her, and I don’t even know why.

I lean into her space, pulling Dani along with me. “Sure, babe? The owner said all drinks are free for us.”

She gives me a long, slow blink. “I have better things to do…better people to associate with.”

Jess gasps, but really, she should know Caroline says whatever the hell she wants, which is part of what attracted me to her—her spirit and fire.

“Better people, huh? Like who?” Is she seeing someone? I throw a look around at the guys with Connor, and they visibly shrink back.

“Like…it’s none of your business, football player. Now, if you’ll excuse me…” She snatches her coat off the back of a chair and throws it over her arm.

I take a step closer, blocking her path, and her scent hits me, fresh and clean with a hint of peppermint. You’d think such a regular smell wouldn’t get my dick hard, but it does.

I stare down at her. “Just one drink?” Shit. What is wrong with me?

Dani laughs, the sound a little forced as she caresses the inside of my bicep. “Some people just aren’t in the party mood, right? Come on, let’s go, Noah.”

“Not yet,” I say firmly.

Caroline’s mouth tightens. Some of her control is slipping, and part of me is glad. Because standing here close to her…it feels like I’m winded, and I want her to feel the same.

There’s a slight tic under her right eye and her hands are tense and balled up, one at her side and one holding on to that coat. She blinks rapidly and glances away from us, chewing on those full lips, working the bottom one with her top teeth as she answers my question. “Sorry, no more drinks for me. I need to run. Sheldon, Leonard, Howard, and Raj won’t wait forever.” Her voice has an ever-so-slight quiver around the edges.

“Who are they?” Dani asks, her expression bored.

“Big Bang Theory,” I tell her, still looking at Caroline even though she won’t return the favor. “Popular TV show.”

“Never heard of it,” Dani says. “Sounds lame.”

“The characters are hilarious, smart people. You wouldn’t enjoy it,” Care says, her expression tight as she stares at Dani’s hand on my arm.

Her eyes finally lift to mine, and she seems to take a deep breath. “Congrats on the win. I mean that. I know it was…everything you wanted.” She looks at Dani and then back at me. “I’m happy for you.”

Oh.

She’s being nice. She’s…over me.

I frown, feeling off balance, but I rein it in. Good. Good. This is how it should be.

I open my mouth to say something—I don’t know what—but she’s already walking away, her heart-shaped ass sashaying to the door. My hands tighten when I see the appreciative looks she gets from guys around the room. I’m not surprised. She has this are-you-brave-enough-to-handle-me attitude that makes you want to tame her.

I hadn’t been up for it, not with my fatherand football hanging over my head.

Before she walks out, she pauses at the door and partially turns to look back at me.

But this time…

Her face is completely unguarded, anger and hurt and vulnerability there, as if she didn’t think I’d be watching.

Her face is like a bullet to my chest.

You destroyed her. You went on with your life.

So why did everything about that night in my truck make me the happiest I've ever been?

My highschool Coach says I played the best game of my career the night after that party. He suggested I needed a full-time assistant just to call me ugly before games so I would play pissed off all the time. The memory of that night resurfaces, sneaking into my head and throwing images at me. Us touching…my body pressed against hers…and then the words I pushed out of me with force when she was walking up to her door, words that saved me from falling into a deep hole with her.

She opens the door and walks out.

End of. Done. We are over. I don’t want to be near her again.

So why does my chest…

I’m still looking at the door when Candi, Dani’s sorority sister and lookalike, joins us. I feel like I’m being squeezed by two beach balls as the girls latch onto my arms and pull me back to our table.