“And how do you feel about that?”
I opened my mouth. Closed it.
Guilty. Definitely guilty. Emily didn’t deserve this. But also... relieved? Which made me feel like even more of an asshole.
“I don’t know,” I said finally.
Noah leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. “Okay, but what about Alex?”
My stomach tightened. “What about him?”
“Come on, man.” Noah gave me a look. “I’m not stupid.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Really? Because when you guys were hiding in that closet, it sounded like—“ He paused. “It sounded like you were kissing.”
My heart hammered against my ribs. It was much more than that.
Don’t say anything. Don’t confirm it. Just—
But I couldn’t lie to Noah after everything he’d done for me tonight. So I didn’t say anything at all.
Noah watched me. Waiting. The silence stretched between us, moments passing like hours.
“This isn’t just a rivalry, is it?” he asked.
My throat felt tight. I looked at the ceiling, at those water stains I’d never noticed before tonight. Anywhere but at Noah.
“No.” The word came out rough. “It’s so much more than that.”
Another beat of silence.
Then Noah’s voice, softer now: “I’m here for you, man. No matter what.”
Something in my chest loosened. Just a little.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
I nodded. Couldn’t look at him. Couldn’t handle the kindness in his voice right now when I felt like I was falling apart.
I lay back on my bed and the ceiling swam in and out of focus.
What the hell just happened?
I pissed off Emily because I lied. I kissed Alex in a closet. And now I’d basically just come out to Noah without actually saying the words.
Three major life events in one night.
My phone buzzed.
I pulled it out, hoping for Emily. Hoping she’d changed her mind, that we could talk, that I could fix this somehow.
But it wasn’t Emily.
Alex
