All Chapters of Before We Were US: Chapter 31 - Chapter 33

Isla’s POVThe hotel room felt warmer after the biting wind off the river. I kicked off my boots near the door and collapsed onto the edge of the bed. Noah took off his jacket, hanging it up before pulling a fresh t-shirt over his head. He looked so relaxed, so completely at home in his own skin, but my mind wandered back to what we’d talked about a while ago .“You really want to tell your mom?” I asked, my voice dropping,Noah didn’t hesitate for a single second. “Yeah.”My stomach took a sudden, nervous plunge.For anyone else, telling a parent about a new relationship was just a standard life update. But for me? Telling Elena Callahan wasn’t just saying, I have a boyfriend. It was saying: The boy I grew up with and best friend , the boy whose family took me in when my world fell apart, the boy who has been my anchor since childhood;he’s the person I chose.It carried weight and there was no turning back.Noah must have caught the shift in my mood, he reached down, taking my hands

Isla’s pov The club downtown was packed, a sea of low ambient purple light, thumping sub-woofers, and heavy bass that vibrated through the floorboards.At the far corner near the VIP section, Shane and Noah stood shoulder-to-shoulder near the railing, drinks in hand, looking like a pair of off-duty security details.“You’re suffocating the girl from thirty feet away, Callahan,” Shane muttered, taking a sip of his bourbon. “Take a breath.”Noah didn't take his eyes off the floor. “Look at what she’s wearing, Shane. I’m exercising extreme self-control.”On the crowded dance floor, the tempo shifted. The heavy trap beat dropped away, replaced by the deep, rhythmic, intoxicating pulse of an Afro-beat track. The red lights dimmed, casting long, sultry shadows across the crowd.Dani and Chloe were already moving to the rhythm, The hypnotic, driving pulse of Maceo Plex’s "Solitary Daze" filled the room, its bassline vibrating right through the floorboards. After a moment of hesitation, I le