Page 108 of Forever Defiant
“Sure.” I waited as she found what she needed, and she showed me her iPad. “Wow.” I gave her an appreciative look. “You’re right, that’s a hell of a shot.”
“Thanks.” She pushed her hair behind her ear, flipping her iPad toward her and then back to me. “What about this one?”
It was a picture of me, on the sidelines, taken earlier today before Dante told me Savvy and Hadley had fucked off on an adventure. I had my helmet pushed back on my forehead, laughing at whatever shit Noah had just said. I was sweaty, trouble-free, and loving every minute of spring training.
“I think this is a really true representation of who you are,” Briar said quietly. “Uninhibited on the field. You look—”
“Alive,” I murmured.
She closed her iPad. “I was going to say ‘free,’ but that works.” She checked her phone. “Well, I need to head off. But I saw you and wanted to catch you.”
“Why?”
“To show you these.” The faint smile she’d had was gone. “I want to start posting tomorrow, and I wanted you to see that one because I think it’s a great candid shot for us to start with.”
“Yeah, sure.” I took a step back. “Go ahead.”
“Cool.” She pushed her hair back again, then shook it free immediately. “See you tomorrow.” She hesitated. “Actually, don’t look for me. It’s better if you aren’t, you know... posing. I want the images to look natural, not orchestrated.”
I laughed before I could stop myself. If she’d seen me five minutes ago, she’d have seen something definitely not orchestrated. “I won’t look for you.” I gave her a wave and headed back to the dorm. I felt more like myself. Calmer.
When I went in, the living area was empty, Dante’s door firmly closed, and I heard Savvy giggling. I bypassed my room and went to Noah’s. I opened his door without knocking; his head was bent over his textbooks like earlier.
“Tell me they’ve left,” he said, taking out his AirPods.
“Nope.” I closed the door. “What are you doing?”
“Doing better since you spoke to me earlier,” he admitted, looking pleased with himself. “I’m probably dumbing it down too much, but basically, I’m treating every question like it’s a defensive move, or the line of scrimmage.”
“Cool.”
I sat on his bed again.
Noah dropped his pen and leaned back. “You’re freaking out,” he said simply.
“I’m not.”
“You are.” He hesitated, then looked at his watch. “Well, you haven’t been gone long enough... Have you?”
“I didn’t have sex with her,” I told him, then checked my own watch and scowled. “I definitely did not have sex with her.”
Silence.
“Not like full sex.” I inhaled sharply, chest burning, and Noah groaned, his head dropping into his hands. “I shouldn’t have—”
“Nope,” he cut in. “Do not finish that sentence.”
“But you need to talk to me about it.” I gestured to the door. “I’d tell him, but he’sbusy.”
“You tell Dante about your hookups?” Noah asked.
“Yeah. Sometimes. Why do you look so surprised?” I scowled at him again. “You’re going to say I’m insensitive or something?”
Noah shook his head. “No. Honestly, I didn’t think Dante would care.”
Well... that hurt. I thought about it. It was likely Dante didn’t care. But he still listened.
“Okay.” Noah straightened his shoulders as he sat upright. “Hit me with the feelings. Let it out. I’m listening.”
