Say You Swear

His eyes snap to mine, a war of raging emotions behind them.

“Come here.”

He does, and I open my legs for him. Noah slides right in, his hands coming down to grip my thighs, squeezing.

I grab the plastic tiara behind me and slip it on my head, and then I place his top hot on his.

Handing him a blow horn, I hold mine in my hand.

“Hey, Google,” I speak to the Google Home system, “Press play.”

Noah’s eyes narrow, and then a ten-second countdown begins.

Noah’s lips twitch and a light laugh leaves me.

I count down the last four seconds, and he follows my lead, lifting the horn to his lips, and together, we blow.

But Noah quickly tears it away, slamming his lips to mine, and this time, it’s not soft or slow.

It’s deep and dirty, and my core clenches.

I moan into his mouth, and when he finally tears away, he bites at my lips, a raspy groan leaving him.

“Happy New Year’s.” My words are choppy, needy, and his eyes darken even more.

His eyes clench closed, and his forehead falls to mine.

Sliding from the countertop, I push up on my toes, kissing the corner of his mouth and whisper, “Wait right here. I’ll be right back.”

“Baby—” He grips my hips, halting me, seeking out my lips, but I evade with a smile, chuckling when his warning glare meets mine.

“One minute, Noah.” I smile and quickly walk away, pinning him with one last look. “Stay.”

I run into the downstairs bathroom, where I hid what I need, knowing he is likely to hunt me down if I take any longer than the one minute I promised.

Tearing off my leggings and T-shirt, I quickly change, carefully pulling the strategically placed bobby pins from my hair. Up, it looked like a mess, but down, as I shake it out, it’s as if I just pulled hot curlers from it.

I dash out, grabbing the stereo system remote on my way, and when I step into the kitchen, I don’t know why, but nerves swirl through my stomach.

He senses my approach and glances back.

His entire body stiffens, and as if it’s set to slow motion, his body slowly faces me.

His eyes fall to my feet, inching their way up, and my god, does he take his time, being sure to cover every inch of my body before he, finally, meets my gaze. His lips part, his shoulders fall, and he swallows hard.

My heart beats out of control, and I slip closer, hooking my finger with his and slowly dragging him beside me.

He doesn’t watch where we’re going, doesn’t resist. He stares at my face, and I could cry at the struck expression on his.

Pushing the sliding door open, I lead us to the back patio, clicking the switch just before I exit.

The lights flick on, twinkling above and around us. The patio furniture has been pushed against the deck walls, and I laid a blue carpet across the cherry wood.

Noah’s lips press into a tight line as we step into the center of it, and he knows what to do.

He takes my hand in one of his, the other planting across my lower back.

He yanks me flush against him, the satin of my gown now flat against his chest.

“Look behind you,” I whisper.

Noah’s gaze narrows, his eyes staying on mine until the last possible second, and then he flicks them toward the wall, where a small banner hangs, reading, Avix Football Annual Gala.

His hands twitch against me, clenching. He presses me closer, his eyes coming back to mine.

I smile, and then I press play, tossing the remote to the side.

His head darts up when his coach’s voice comes over the speakers, and he stops moving, listening to the kind words the man who mentored him for the past four years spoke of him that night, the words he missed.

His chest rises and falls, a shattered breath slipping past his lips, and when Trey comes on, asking me to accept the award on his behalf, Noah chuckles, and my god, it’s a settling sound.

In the next moment, Noah is hugging me to him, squeezing me tightly.

“Baby.” A heavy breath pushes from his lips, and he pulls back, his palms flattening on my cheeks. “What did you do?”

“I told you…” Tears brim in my eyes. “We missed so much, and I’m not okay with that. I wanted it back. So I gave it to us. I was gone for what should have been our first Christmas, New Year’s, and the football gala.” I shake my head. “I refuse to miss a single thing that was meant to be ours.”

A shuddered breath leaves him and he brings his mouth closer, gliding his lips across mine.

“I love you, Noah. With all that I am and more.”

“I love you, baby. Always.” His eyes gloss over, his hands shaking against me. “I need to feel you.”