Breaking Noah

I curl up in his arms as the cool air hits my clammy skin, making me shiver. He kisses my forehead and holds me tight. I love the way his arms make me feel so protected.

“You know,” he says with a chuckle, “there’s a pretty good chance I was conceived on this bed.”

“Oh, yuck.” I giggle, slapping his arm. “I did not need to know that. I’ll never be able to look them in the eye.” If I ever meet them. At that moment, it occurs to me that they’ve probably seen the video. Everyone has seen the fucking video. It’s one thing for him to forgive me, but I hadn’t even thought about his family or his friends. I can’t even imagine what they must be thinking of me. I cringe at the thought of his dad seeing me naked. And in that pose…

Oh, God, I’m going to be sick.

“Where’ve you gone?” he asks gently. “You look a little green.” He tilts my head up, letting his lips graze mine. I sigh, the softness of his touch against me electric.

“Just thinking about stuff,” I reply, dropping my eyes. I really don’t want to elaborate.

“Like what?” he presses.

“Like how I thought the hardest part was going to be gaining your trust again, when in reality that’s just the beginning. Has your family seen the video?” I ask.

“They have,” he replies. I can tell by the way his jaw clenches when he speaks that it isn’t good. “I don’t care about what my family thinks, Zara. I honestly don’t give a damn whether or not they approve of you. They’ve never liked any of my girlfriends, if that makes you feel any better.”

He watches me for a moment before speaking again.

“There’s something else, isn’t there?”

I shrug. “I just want this whole mess to go away, but I’m not sure how to do that. And I hate that in all of this, Dillon gets away with everything he has done with no consequences. That’s what bothers me the most. He continues on like nothing happened and there isn’t a single fucking thing I can do about it. And he knows that.”

I watch as Noah’s lips slowly spread into a smirk.

“You just gave me an idea.”

Before I can question him, I’m interrupted by loud, persistent banging on the front door.

“You better be in there, Bain!”

Chapter 30

Noah

The perfect plan hatches in my head and I can’t wait to tell Zara all about it. Being a professor kind of gives you the inside track on who’s doing what and all that stuff. The students talk while they’re supposed to be working, and they never realize that I’m listening to every word they’re saying.

In one of my lit classes, a few of Dillon’s frat brothers sit side by side near the front of the room, so all of their dirty little secrets they think they’re guarding so carefully are spilled right into my ears. I never wanted to violate their trust and all, but Zara’s right. If Dillon did send out the video trying to get back at her, and based on the fact that he was fucking her cousin and knocked her up, I’m going to go ahead and say I believe Zara. He needs to learn a fucking lesson.

I’m just about to tell Zara what I heard those two boys talking about a few weeks ago when Derrick’s angry voice booms on the other side of the door, screaming something about driving all the way out here.

“Shit.” I chuckle. “Looks like we’ve been rescued.”

“Help me find my clothes,” she says, panic evident in her voice. That’s another reason I know it couldn’t have been her who’d sent out the video. If it had been her, why would she be so modest now? She’d assume all of my friends already saw her exposed, and her being wrapped in a sheet really wouldn’t matter.

Jumping out of bed, I grab a clean T-shirt and a pair of boxers, tossing them her way. I wish she did fit the pants. As much as she doesn’t want Derrick to see her this way, I’m dreading opening the door. I wish we could just stay like this for a few days before going back to the crazy world of reporters who want to drag this story out for as long as they can.

“You’ve got one minute, Noah, and I’m breaking down the fucking door.”

“Sounds like that’s my final warning,” I joke, hopping into a pair of pants and making my way to the door. As I approach, I can hear Derrick counting. He really wasn’t playing about that whole minute thing. He’s usually the jokester, whereas I’m the more responsible one, but right now I feel like switching the tables a little. Purposefully, I wait until he’s reached fifty-eight before I turn the door handle and pull it open.

Without waiting, Derrick storms into the living room, hands flailing around, a bunch of words coming out of his mouth at such a quick pace that I can’t understand anything he’s going on about. At that moment, Zara makes her entrance from the bedroom, her hair still mussed from our post-breakfast workout.

“Really?” Derrick asks, looking back and forth between me and Zara. “You borrow my car, bring it up here, don’t bother answering your phone, and fuck the girl who’s ruining your life?” He pauses, turns to Zara, and takes a step in her direction. “You’ve got some nerve, you little bitch—”

I cut him off, rushing to stand between the two. “Shut your mouth. You don’t know what’s going on, D. Give me a second to explain.”

“Fuck that noise. This little shit sends out a sex tape to everyone you know and you’re taking her side? The pussy must be real good, sweetheart.”