Back to Me (Carolina Rebels 1)

Serious Marc quickly fades and never resurfaces. He jokes throughout our time at the ice cream parlor, and even posts a picture of the three of us on Noah’s account, talking about how he’s our “favorite third wheel.”

Later, Noah and I are in bed. He’s holding me like h

e normally does. I’m busy thinking about my conversation with Marc, while Noah seems to be thinking about something else.

“Are you happy, Mere? Truly happy? Excited about our future?”

I prop myself up on one elbow to look at him. “Of course I am. Why are you asking me that?”

“I don’t know.” He sighs.

“Noah, what’s wrong?” I sit up on my knees with my butt resting on the back of my legs. He lays a hand on my thigh, but doesn’t say anything right away.

“I’ve just been thinking about what you said.”

What I said? “What did I say?”

“Before I met you, my biggest dream was to make a career of playing hockey professionally. Your dream has always been to play tennis professionally. That’s gone, Mere. I...” He squeezes my thigh. “I know you have something else now, but I just want to make sure you’re actually happy and satisfied.”

I cup his face and push his cheeks together, just because. “Noah, I love you. I’m going to marry you. Your name is tattooed on my body. I have a job that I love. Even if I was a housewife, as long as I had something to occupy my time with like maybe those six kids you’re insisting on, I would be happy. Yeah, my dream is over sooner than I wanted, but I still got to live it. Now, it’s time for me to live the other dream I had: being with you. You don’t need to worry about me being unhappy because I’m so damn happy with you.”

He grabs my wrists, pulls them away from his face, and kisses the tips of my fingers. “Mean it?”

“More than anything.”

“We haven’t had sex today,” he points out.

I laugh, leaning forward to give him a quick kiss and letting my forehead rest against his. “Shame on you for not making sure your fiancée’s needs were taken care of.”

He drags me over on top of his body in a move so quick I squeal, and then rolls me onto my back. “Tell me what you need, Mere.”

I run my hands over his bare chest. It hits me then exactly how happy I am. And it’s all because of Noah. “All I need now, tomorrow, and all the days after that is you.”

“I love you.” He grins.

“I love you more.”

His grin widens for a split second before he leans down to kiss me. My hands push at his boxer-briefs, so Noah stops to strip us both naked. I laugh as he puts Leo on the floor and jumps back onto the bed. I roll us so he’s the one flat on his back. His fingers graze over the spot where my tattoo is as I trail mine over his. I lean down to kiss it before starting a trail down his body.

Shortly afterwards, we’re done, ending up in the same position as before we started with my head on his chest. Since sleep isn’t coming so easily tonight, all I can think about is my earlier conversation with Marc.

“Mere?” Noah sifts his fingers through my hair. “What’s on your mind?”

I hesitate before deciding to ask. “Do you know anything about Marc’s family?”

His hand pauses. “Not really, why?”

“Just wondering.” That’s odd, isn’t it? Marc is obviously familiar with Noah’s family based on how he interacted with his parents when they came to visit. Why wouldn’t Noah know about Marc’s family? They’ve been friends for a long time, and Noah doesn’t know anything about them? Definitely odd.

“Whatever you’re thinking about, stop before I call you Sylvia for meddling.”

I prop up onto my elbow. “I wasn’t going to meddle, Noah.” I wasn’t, either. Marc is our favorite third wheel, and there’s nothing wrong with wanting to know more about him than what we see on the surface.

“Good.” He kisses me softly. “Don’t worry about Marco. Just go to sleep, yeah?”

“Yeah.” I lay my head on his chest, close my eyes, and soon, I do just that.

THE THIRD PERIOD begins with the Rebels down by one in a 2-1 game. Coach Mike spoke heavily about us coming out here and tying the game up. Each of us knows what we need to do. Now, we need to make sure we do it. Especially since there seems to be more fans here tonight. That, or they’re louder than normal. Either way, it’s good to hear and see.