Remember us this way, p.31
Remember Us This Way, page 31
His hands move further down until they’re at the button of my shorts, but I don’t dare stop him. Nothing has ever felt so right in my life. I thought I would be a nervous wreck. I imagined my hands would shake and I wouldn’t know what to do, but it’s the exact opposite, and I realize we were right to wait.
Noah pops the button before slowly dragging the zipper down, and as his thumb hooks into the waistband of my shorts, he pauses again, his gaze lifting back to mine. “If you want me to stop, just say the word,” he tells me, his lips hovering above mine.
I tilt my chin, capturing his lips in mine, kissing him slowly. “Don’t you dare stop,” I whisper. “I’ve never been so ready. I want this with you more than anything.”
A soft groan rumbles through his chest, and he deepens our kiss as he works my shorts and underwear over my hips and down my legs. I kick them off my feet, and as his hands trail further south, my eyes flutter with anticipation.
Reaching between us, I work his belt buckle open and pop the button on his jeans. He helps me push them down, and then I feel him there, and I suck in a breath as the nerves finally begin to creep in. I’ve never done this before, but I’m more than ready to learn how.
Noah takes his time with me, worshiping every inch of my body as I hook my thigh over his hip. My fingers tangle in his hair, and just when I think it can’t get any better, I feel his fingers at my core. He watches me as he works my body, making sure I’m okay, but I’ve never been so good in my life.
I gasp, sucking in a deep breath as a moan slips from between my lips, and I can’t wait a second longer to reach down between us and curl my fingers around him. Slowly working my hand up and down, I get a feel for what I’m doing, and as his head falls to my shoulder, a low groan rumbles through the room, and I can only assume I’m doing something right.
He keeps working me, making me feel things I never thought possible, until his eyes come back to mine. “Zo?” he asks, those dark eyes still searching mine. “Are you ready?”
I nod, holding his stare, the electricity pulsing between us so raw and intense.
His lips come down to mine again, and I feel him reach across the bed to his bedside drawer. There’s a crinkle of a wrapper and then his hands are down between us, and I feel him right there at my entrance. “I don’t want to hurt you,” he tells me, visibly swallowing as if he’s nervous. “I’ll go slow.”
All I can do is nod again, the anticipation burning through me as his palm finds mine, and he laces our fingers together, squeezing gently. Finally, he closes the gap between us, slowly bringing us together as he inches inside of me.
It burns in a way I wasn’t expecting, but he takes his time, allowing me to adjust and get used to the alien feel of his delicious intrusion. As I take a shaky breath, his lips come down on mine, his other hand brushing over my hip and down between us to that sensitive bundle of nerves.
He gently rubs, and as my eyes roll with undeniable pleasure, my body finally starts to relax. He smiles against my lips, and with that, he starts to move, blowing my mind and showing me just how good it can be.
34
Noah
Sitting on the edge of Zoey’s bed, my head falls in my hands. We have one more night together, less than twenty-four hours before I’m packing my bags and heading to college, and despite the smile that she forces across her face, I know she’s breaking inside.
I try to tell her that it’s only two hours away and remind her just how often I’ll be home. I don’t mind driving back every night if she needs me. Nothing is going to change, but it doesn’t keep her from reliving the hurt she felt when I forced the distance between us after Linc’s death. And I’m not going to lie, despite the easy-going murmurs of confidence I give her, I’m feeling it too.
As a kid, I hated being away from her, and I hated going on family vacations unless I was able to bring her with me. A few times, I flat-out refused until Zoey had her bags packed. The three years without her almost killed me, and now? Fuck. It’s going to be hard, but we’ll be alright. This is the exact reason why I didn’t select another city to play in, otherwise, I would have been a fucking wreck. She would have had to come with me and complete her senior year wherever I ended up, even if her parents said no.
Zoey is my everything, my whole fucking world, and one day, once college is over and I’m signed to the NFL, we’ll finally start our lives together. I can see it so perfectly. Zoey is the type to want dog babies before we even think about real ones. Probably a cat or two as well, maybe a bird or a bunny. It’ll be a zoo, but it’ll be our zoo. Just the thought of starting a family with her gives me chills.
She strides out of her closet, ready for tonight’s party, and as I sit up, she climbs straight into my lap and straddles me. It blows me away. Ever since we took our relationship to the next level and slept together, her confidence has shone like the fucking sun. She was never exactly shy with me, but I’ve since realized just how much she held back, but not anymore.
“What are you thinking about?” she asks, her arms looping around my neck.
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” I say, gripping her by the ass and lifting us. Her legs immediately lock around my waist, and I walk her straight back into her closet, kicking the door closed behind her as my lips come down on hers.
She laughs and mutters something about ruining her hair and makeup that she just spent far too long on, but she does absolutely nothing to push me away. Instead, she’s the one to pull me closer. Then just like the first time I really kissed her in this very closet, I press her up against the wall. The need I have for her is simply never sated.
My lips drop to the base of her neck as she reaches down between us, freeing me from my pants as I reach beneath her short skirt to remove her panties. “Condom?” she pants, bringing my lips back to hers.
I fish one out of my back pocket, and she takes it from me, tearing it open with her teeth before rolling it into place. Then finally, I’m there, pushing into her as she holds on to me, both of us panting with a deep hunger until we’re exploding with intense pleasure.
Once she’s settled back on her feet, her underwear fixed in place, she steps into me, pressing up on her toes to kiss me. “Are you ready to go?”
“We could just stay here,” I suggest, not really in the mood to party tonight, but that’s exactly what summer is for, and with Zoey by my side, it’s been the best summer of my life.
“You leave tomorrow,” she says. “And as much as I’d love to stay right here and do that all over again, you have to go. It’s the last time you’ll see most of these guys. Besides, it’s not like we have to stay all night. Just a quick stop to show your face, and then . . . just you and me.”
I groan, pulling her in hard against me. “What the hell happened to you? You’re usually the first person to suggest skipping these things, and now you’re dying to go?”
Zoey scoffs as she pulls out of my arms and strides across the room to grab her phone off her desk, shutting off the music. “Trust me, I’m definitely not dying to go to this thing,” she tells me. “Maybe you’ve forgotten that apart from you, I literally had no one to talk to at school, so going tonight is only going to remind me just how many friends I don’t have. Buuuuut, you have about a billion of them, and they’re all desperate to see you one last time.”
“I don’t give a shit what they want.”
“I know,” she says with a heavy sigh. “But you’re still going, and you’re going to have a great time, and when we get home, you’re going to spend every last minute loving me.” She rolls her tongue over her bottom lip, hunger flashing in her eyes. “You’re gonna love me in the back of your car. In my bed. Up against the wall. And maybe if you’re lucky, I might even let you love me right here on the floor.”
I groan. Her words only make me want to stay home with her more. “Okay, fine,” I finally tell her, taking her hand and pulling her into me before leading her out of her room. “But we’re staying for an hour, tops. I don’t want to waste what’s left of tonight on them when I could be with you.”
A soft smile spreads across her lips as we make our way downstairs, and as usual, she gets a lecture from her mom about underage drinking while Hazel goes out of her way to offer me a plate of food that looks far too suspicious to be innocent.
Once Zoey’s convinced her mom she’s not about to turn into a sloppy drunk, we get going, and she remains silent the whole drive out to the lake. “You good?” I ask as I park and get out of the car. I walk around the front and meet her there, taking her hand and leading her toward the party.
“Yeah, fine,” she finally says, glancing around. “Just want to get this over and done with so that I don’t have to share you.”
I give her a tight smile, about to tell her that we’ll leave right now, when I see the guys from the football team bounding across the shore of the lake to tackle me away from Zoey. As they pull me away, I glance back, and she gives me a small smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. “I’ll be fine,” she tells me. “Go have fun.”
I hold her stare a little while longer, not wanting to leave her alone, but she trails off to get herself a drink and smiles at a few girls. They seem to welcome her in, and when she starts laughing with them, my chest eases, and I allow the guys to drag me away.
They’re talking shit and having a few drinks, but I don’t touch the drinks table. I’m not willing to put myself in a position where I have to drive drunk and potentially ruin another family’s world the same way mine was.
Girls throw themselves at the guys, and Liam goes as far as allowing some chick to suck his dick right here in front of everyone while saying something about how college is going to be amazing. I shove a few girls off me, each of them suggesting they could give me something Zoey never could, but they have no fucking idea just how much she gives me. Shit, without her, I simply couldn’t breathe.
People race into the lake, squealing as they splash water at everyone, while some couples take to the nearby woods for some alone time. Not that a few trees in front of them conceal them from the party.
Music blasts across the lake, and as I glance back to check on Zoey, I find her with a cup in her hand, only it doesn’t look like she’s actually drinking anything. A girl stands in front of her, and there’s something eerily familiar about her, but I can’t put my finger on it. “Yo,” I say to Liam when he’s finished with the girl on her knees. “Who’s that girl talking to Zo?”
Liam’s brows furrow, and he looks out across the lake, scanning the faces before finally finding them. “Oh, I’d recognize that ass anywhere,” he says, a smirk stretching across his face. “That’s Shannan. You know, the cheerleader you all but condemned to hell.”
I scoff, sneering at the girl’s back, remembering the fresh hell she put Zoey through. “Okay, but what the fuck is she doing talking to Zoey?”
“Who knows,” he says, shrugging his shoulders. “Probably staking her claim for when school goes back.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
Liam gapes at me. “Shit, man,” he laughs. “Are you so fucking wrapped up in your girl you haven’t heard what happened? Are you living under a fucking rock?” I give him a blank stare, and he visibly swallows before finally telling me what I need to hear. “Shannan flunked out. She didn’t graduate and will be repeating her senior year.”
My stomach sinks, and I turn back to the girls, finding horror flashing in Zoey’s eyes. I’m sure she’s just learned the same thing.
This isn’t good. The hell Shannan put Zoey through at the beginning of her junior year is going to look like child’s play compared to whatever bullshit she’ll rain down over her, and what’s worse, I’m not going to be there to put a stop to it.
“SHIT!”
I make my way toward them, ready to put this shit to rest before it even starts, when Liam captures my elbow, pulling me back. “Don’t get in the middle of it,” he warns me. “That’s only going to fuel Shannan. Besides, you’re not going to be there this time. Zoey needs to figure out how to do this on her own. Stepping in for her is only going to hinder her more.”
Fuck. I hate it when this asshole is right. It’s rare, but occasionally it does happen.
“She’s going to tear Zoey to shreds.”
“Mm-hmm,” Liam agrees, but I keep my eyes on Zo, watching as she glances over Shannan’s shoulder to find me, and I don’t know what she sees in my eyes, but whatever it is prompts her to throw the contents of her cup all over Shannan.
I hear Shannan’s scream right across the lake, and as people turn and start laughing, she quickly runs away, leaving the few girls she was talking to fawning all over her. Zoey glances back at me, and I arch a brow, silently asking if she’s alright. She shrugs her shoulders before a ridiculous grin stretches across her face. I can just imagine how good that felt. She’s been waiting for that moment for almost a year, and it came at the perfect time.
Someone rushes over with a new drink for her, and she gingerly accepts it, but only to be polite. She won’t drink anything at a party unless she is the one to make it.
Realizing she’s going to be just fine, I drop back into my chair, chilling with the guys just a little while longer, promising myself that I’ll give it only another thirty minutes before getting my girl and taking off.
Lucas and Cameron fall in beside me. Lucas sits back with a beer in hand, watching the bikini-clad girls in the water, while Cameron gazes back at the party with one of the cheerleaders in his lap.
“Fuck, man,” Liam says to my right. “Senior year was epic. We fucking ruled that school.”
“Damn straight we did,” Lucas agrees, holding up his beer toward me. “Wouldn’t have been the same without you.”
“Yeah,” I scoff. “None of you assholes would have scholarships or a fucking championship trophy.”
Liam scoffs. “Fuck off. We would have been alright.”
“Sure you would,” I agree, unable to keep the grin off my face as the boys shake their heads. They know I’m right, and up until now, I’ve been mostly humble about it, but who cares at this point? We all know it’s true. No point in pretending it’s a secret.
Liam rolls his eyes, and his gaze shifts toward something behind my shoulder before turning his gaze back to the girls in the water. “What do you say, man? Ditch the girlfriend and we’ll fuck those bitches out by the woods, just like old times. We can make it a party. Come one, come all.”
My face scrunches up in disgust. “The fuck is wrong with you? It almost happened once. Let it go. I’m not about to start fucking girls with you for team sports. You wanna get with them, then get to it. Take these assholes with you, but I’m out.”
Liam scoffs. “The fuck is wrong with you, bro? Zoey’s got you by the balls. Live a little. You’re going to college, and not only that, but you’ll be going in with a reputation. You’ll be at the top of the fucking food chain. Hoes will be throwing themselves at you, and not just the boring missionary types like Zoey, you’ll have the girls who are willing to do anything you want. These are supposed to be the years you let loose and enjoy yourself. This is when you’re supposed to fuck around and make stupid mistakes, but you went and got yourself attached.”
I shake my head. I’ve never bothered to explain to these guys the depth of our relationship. I don’t even think they realize that Zoey and I knew each other before I came to East View. But whether they know about us or not, Liam knows better than to talk about my girl. I’ve had to knock him out a few times over the past year, and unfortunately, this seems to be a lesson he refuses to learn. “Alright, I’m out of here,” I say, getting up.
I don’t bother to say goodbye as I walk away, and when Liam whines at my back, calling me a little bitch, I just keep moving. He doesn’t matter to me. After tonight, I’ll never have to see him again. I’ll never have to put up with him unless I just happen to face him on the field, but it’s unlikely. He won’t make it through the first season, and if he somehow does, he sure as hell won’t make it on the field. He’ll be a reserve if he’s lucky.
Letting out a heavy breath, I walk toward the group of girls Zoey was hanging out with and come up short, not seeing her familiar wave of chestnut hair. My brows furrow, and I scan the party, looking over the faces and checking the drinks table. I even turn back to the lake, making sure she didn’t feel the need to go for a midnight swim.
Not finding her, I pull my phone out and quickly pull up her name before hitting call, only it rings out and my heart starts to race. I try again, but this time, the ringing cuts off as though she rejected the call.
“What the fuck?” I mutter to myself, still searching the faces. Perhaps she snuck away to pee.
I write out a text, needing to know she’s alright.
Noah: You good? Can’t find you.
Zoey: Do me a favor and leave me alone. I’m going home.
What in the actual fuck?
I try calling her again, and she rejects it almost immediately, forcing me into a sprint toward my car, determined to find her. I swear, if she’s left this party and is walking home alone after midnight, I’m going to lose my shit.
Noah: What’s wrong? Where are you? I’ll come get you.
Zoey: What do you say, man? Ditch the girlfriend and we’ll fuck those bitches out by the woods, just like old times. We can make it a party. Come one, come all.
Fuck. I can almost hear Liam’s tone in her text, and it has me just about ready to turn around and put the fucker out, but if it weren’t for the idea that Zoey is out there somewhere, possibly alone on the side of the street, I probably would have. I saw the way he glanced over my shoulder before saying that. He must have seen her and decided he knew what was best for our relationship.
