Pushing You Away - Noah & Katie (Ex-Con Duet 3)

“Thank you. I’m trying my best,” I admit, swallowing down my panic. She gives me a sweet smile combined with a hug before saying her goodbyes. I don’t move an inch or even breathe until I hear her car reversing out of the driveway.

“I’m sorry,” Noah whispers when I open the closet door.

“You almost got us busted,” I scold. “And I nearly had a panic attack when she followed me over here.” I inhale a deep breath before releasing it.

Seconds later, Noah inches closer and palms my cheek. It takes all the willpower I have not to sink into his warmth and give into what we both want.

“Owen’s here,” I remind him, then take a step back. The added space is needed, but I immediately feel the loss.

The moment passes just as quickly as it came.

“Mom!” Owen yells. Noah follows me into the living room, and I try to act as if we didn’t just share a heated moment. Immediately, Owen’s face lights up with excitement.

“You’re still here!” he says.

“Sure am.” Noah offers him a boyish grin. “How was your day?”

“It was good. But tomorrow's Monday.” Owen frowns.

Noah chuckles. “Back to school?”

Owen sighs, and I notice he gets antsy. “Yeah, ugh.”

Noah and I look at each other, and though there’s an awkwardness between us, I try to act normal in front of Owen. There are so many things I want to say, so many questions I still have about the confessions we admitted earlier. Losing control was dangerous and exhilarating, but I’m not sure it can happen again. Over a decade of pent-up emotions poured out of us today. It’s a dangerous game to play, and there’s a lot to lose—not just for me but for Owen too.

We need to discuss what took place and figure out what it means or where we go from here. I’m not sure how to even start the conversation, but things will get even more tense if we don’t talk it out.

Owen yawns, and I check the time, realizing it’s close to five.

“We probably should get going since you have to take a bath after dinner,” I tell him, flattening down his hair that’s a mess from playing.

“But Mom,” he whines, and I know it’s because he wants to hang out with Noah. It makes me happy and breaks my heart at the same time.

“We have to be up early,” I remind him.

He pushes out his bottom lip.

“I’ll be around for a while,” Noah promises him. “Probably will be around working on the house every now and then too.”

Owen’s face lights up. “Really? Maybe I can help too.”

Shocked, I immediately beam. “Who would’ve thought all it took was Noah to get you interested.”

Noah chuckles, and Owen crosses his arms over his chest. “I am sometimes,” he says, and he puffs out his little chest.

“You do.” I throw him a wink. “Go put your stuff in the car, and we’ll get going.”

“Bye, Noah.” Owen gives him a wave, grabbing his Bible and bag.

I linger for a moment, not really sure what to say. “Let me know if you need anything, okay?”

“I will. Good night.”

“Night,” I say and force myself to walk away.

On the drive home, I try to process what happened earlier. I feel silly for not believing Gemma and Everleigh in high school, but he didn’t make it obvious—not to me, at least. Had I known, maybe things would’ve been different, but it doesn’t matter now. What happened can’t be changed. All we can do is move forward, even if I don’t know what that currently means.

Chapter Fourteen

NOAH

I never thought I’d have the guts to confess my feelings to Katie. However, something came over me yesterday, and I couldn’t stop the words from coming out. Once they did, though, I felt a huge wave of relief because it’s finally out there.

The last thing I anticipated was for her to admit they weren’t one-sided and to finally…kiss her.

Decades of dreaming and fantasizing about that very moment couldn’t do justice for how it actually felt.

Pure fucking heaven.

Like everything in the world made sense.

The axis that’d tilted had straightened.

Katie’s soft lips tasted like the sweetest honey, and hearing her moan my name nearly had me losing control.

As much as I wanted more of her, I knew we had to slow down. Good thing Loretta showed up because I’m not sure I would’ve had the restraint to actually stop.

This puts Katie in an awkward position, and it makes me feel horrible, especially since she has to lie to Gabe’s mom. Not to mention, Owen’s in on it too. But the consequences of anyone finding out could mean the difference between life and death.

As I stand in the shower, I replay every second of our kiss. My cock hardens as I squeeze my eyes closed and recall the sweet sounds she made as my tongue danced with hers. I stroke my shaft with images of her floating in my mind, and I pump faster as the release builds. Soon, I’m muttering her name on my lips.