But now, he realized she was something else to him.
Instead of sitting on the bench, Noah took off his skates and walked to the locker rooms. He knew he wouldn't be able to concentrate, so there was no point in staying. All he could think about was Melanie's lip, so much so, that he couldn't shoot a puck correctly. Those full, plump lips, so soft and sweet, had caressed his own. She even sucked on his lips. It was so fucking sexy. Everything about her was sexy that night. He would have never imagined that she would get so loose on one drink alone. She couldn't hold her liquor, and within minutes, she had turned into a different Melanie— a wild, impulsive Melanie, who didn't overthink.
If the other Melanie were there, the one he knew personally, she would have never let it get that far. She would have never kissed him or said half of the things she had told him. That night would have never happened. And it wasn't just because she was Melanie, an overachiever who spent way too much of her time making sure she got everything done right. It was because she was his professor.
Sometimes, it was hard to wrap his mind around it. Yeah, he went to her class. Yeah, she tutored him. But she was still just Melanie to him. When he was around her, she didn't feel like his professor. She had, at one point, in the beginning. But that was a different time. That was when she was Professor Bryant to him, the teacher he didn't like because she made his life difficult and was standing in the way of his dreams. Professor Bryant, he wasn't attracted to.
But Melanie, the Melanie that night who kissed him and rubbed against him, running her fingers through his hair and moaning in his ear, that Melanie, he was attracted to. That Melanie he wanted to fuck over and over again until she screamed his name.
But that wouldn't be able to happen, because even if she was Melanie to him now, it didn't change the fact that she was still his professor.
Damn.
Noah ripped off his gear and went to the shower hall, letting the hot water rain down on his back. When more than enough time passed by for the skin on his fingers to turn into raisins, he turned off the water and put on his clothes just as the team started filtering in. Dale walked over to his locker with a lazy stroll, clucking his teeth.
"The coach is not happy with you," Dale said in a sing-song tone, and Noah rolled his eyes. He didn't care. None of that mattered to him right now. The only thing that mattered to him was what was going to happen when Monday came around. How would Melanie react? Would she even remember? If Melanie did remember, would she talk to him? Or would she ignore him like it never happened?
The thought of her ignoring him got under his skin. He didn't like it when Melanie ignored him at all. At times, when it came down to her, he felt like a brat trying to hog all of her attention. He couldn't help it when it came to her. He wanted her to see him, to understand him, to like him.
"After Coach Benson gets in your ass, are you coming to the party tonight?"
"There's another party?" Noah asked with a groan. He was barely getting over the last one. He hadn't been that drunk on liquor, but he was definitely drunk off Melanie's lips, and he wanted another taste again.
"Of course, there's another party. And this one is going to be better than the last one. It's at Dallas's place." The last time Noah had been over Dallas's place was when he had gone grocery shopping with Melanie. His place was in Melanie's neighborhood.
"I'll think about it," Noah said as he grabbed his bag, preparing himself to face the music with Coach Benson.
"Come on, Noah. You have to go. All the girls always come when you're there. And guess what. Julie is going to be there too. She was asking about you."
Maybe if he had some fun tonight, it would take his mind off the impossible— being with Melanie. There was a high possibility that come Monday, everything would change. No more tutoring, no more texting, no more friendship. He might as well get drunk and not think about it anymore.
"Alright," Noah said, shrugging.
"So, all I had to say was Julie's name, and now you're coming. You must really like that girl."
Noah didn't bother to correct Dale as he slammed his locker shut. He wasn't thinking about Julie at all. He was thinking about someone else entirely.
CHAPTER
23
NOAH
T
HE NIGHT NOAH PARTIED WITH MELANIE AND HER FRIEND, ABIGAIL, NOAH HAD BEEN SLIGHTLY DRUNK, TIPSY AT BEST. He had most of his motor skills, and with a couple of bottles of water, had even been able to drive himself home. But tonight was different. He was definitely drunk, having one too many red cups that, right now, made the world tilt on its axis.
Everything was hazy, but all that mattered right now was how good he felt, and that he wasn't thinking about Monday. The party was crazy and packed to the max. People yelled and danced; a few even made use of the pool in the back. Just like what you would expect from any of Dallas's parties, it was a night to remember, and Noah was glad he came out tonight until the cops came.
"Fuck, man. The fucking party is over," someone grumbled as everyone trailed out of the party. According to the police, they were disturbing the peace with how loud they were, and the neighbors weren't happy about their sleep being disrupted.
Noah lingered outside near his truck with his friends, wondering what he would do next. Right now, with the way he felt, no amount of water would stop him from swerving off the road, and possibly killing himself or someone else. He couldn't drive tonight. Noah sighed, rubbing his eyes. He didn't feel good anymore. He just felt tired and weak.
"Let me get a ride with you, man," Noah asked Dale, who was talking to some random girl he had just met at the party.
"Give me one minute," Dale told the girl before he walked over to Noah, giving him a menacing look before he lowered his voice. "Are you trying to ruin this for me? Don't you see her? I'm hooking up with her tonight."
"I'm pretty sure she's just trying to get a ride," Noah said chuckling. Even drunk, Noah could tell from the way the girl huddled with her friends that she would extend that offer of a ride to them, and when Dale would try to go up to their dorm, more than likely, they would make up some excuse for him to leave.
