CHAPTER
41
NOAH
A
FTER PRACTICE, NOAH WALKED ACROSS CAMPUS BACK TO HIS CAR with his headphones in without listening to music. It was hard to when his mind was filled with many things. He hadn't spoken to Melanie since the night at the bar, and that was nearly a week ago. Though they had sex that night, Noah was still pissed. A part of him had done it because he wanted to punish her; the other part didn't want to lose her to some douche bag like the guy at the bar.
That night, he had been having an okay time out with friends at a party when everyone suddenly decided they wanted to head to a bar. Noah had almost left then, wanting to spend the rest of his night with Melanie watching those boring soaps she recorded in the mornings, but his friends were adamant about him staying. He came into the bar a few minutes after his friends because he was trying to find a parking spot, and the moment he did, Noah immediately noticed Melanie. How could he not? She was the most beautiful woman inside of the bar, and even some of his friends had spotted her in that sexy black dress. Noah had been pissed seeing that guy's arm on her, but even in his anger, he could tell Melanie wasn't into it.
Melanie wasn't that type of person. She wasn't a cheater, and though Noah hadn't known Melanie for long, he still knew her. She wouldn't do something like that to him, but nonetheless, he couldn't help but feel betrayed seeing her there because she never mentioned anything to him.
The thing about Melanie was that she really didn't know just how beautiful she was. She didn't see the way she captured men's interest, and it was frustrating not being able to tell people that she belonged to him. It was frustrating not having Melanie on his arm so he could show everyone the woman he cared for. He couldn't do anything to stop the men around her. He couldn't do anything at all.
It was the first time he had ever felt helpless in a relationship before.
Sometimes, he wondered what Melanie really thought of him. Sometimes, he wondered if their relationship was serious at all to her. He knew it bothered Melanie how young he was, and though she had accepted being with him, sometimes, he couldn't help but think her heart wasn't all the way in it. Their relationship was a secret, and with the way it was going, she had no plans to tell anyone. If she didn't have any plans to tell anyone now, when would she in the future?
Did she even see their relationship as something serious to her, or was he just some fucking toy to her?
Noah sighed as he made a quick pit stop to the 7/11 on campus while it was empty. Most of the time, the 7/11 was packed, but with it snowing outside and classes canceled, for once, Noah could purchase his things with ease. He brought himself a Gatorade and some snacks before leaving the store. To his surprise, when he stepped out, he saw Julie coming in. She had an umbrella over her head to keep the fallen snow from piling down on her.
"Noah," Julie said brightly. Noah was surprised that Julie was greeting him so cheerfully after what he had said to her last time. It hadn't been pretty. He had been furious that Julie had been watching him that night like some private eye, so much so, that she had seen Melanie in his truck. Melanie had been scared, and he didn't like that at all. It was people like Julie who made it hard for him to be around Melanie the way he wanted to be.
"Hey, Julie," Noah said, deciding that he wouldn't be rude to her. Most of the time, Julie was a cool girl. There was no need to be angry with her because of his own problems with Melanie. "You picking up some things and heading home?"
"Yeah, it's really cold out here, so I thought I would pick up some hot chocolate before I headed back in. I'm pretty sure they'll probably close down the campus again tomorrow if it keeps coming down like this."
They both moved to the side so people could go in and out of the store.
"Well, you should hurry up so you can make it back to your dorm safely," Noah told her, opening the door for her, so she could go inside as she had planned before.
"Um, Noah, is it possible that you can drive me to my dorm because I don't think any of the buses are running anymore?"
Noah looked around, scratching his jaw. He really hadn't planned on making any pit stops, and he wasn't in a good mood. But it was cold outside, and the snow was coming down relentlessly and wouldn't stop until the wee hours of the morning. He didn't want to take her home, but he would feel bad leaving her out here when the buses weren't running anymore.
"Okay, I'll wait for you here," Noah agreed, reluctantly.
"Thank you so much, Noah," Julie said as she quickly headed inside. Once she brought everything she wanted, they headed to his truck and pulled out onto the slushy street. Julie's dorm wasn't too far. It was only on the other side of campus, so luckily, the ride wouldn't be too long. Noah hoped that the radio would be enough to fill the silence in the truck, but Julie decided to talk.
"Would you like to come over to my dorm and have some hot chocolate?" Julie asked over the rumblings of rock music. Noah turned the volume down a little lower and said, "I'm good. I don't want to get stuck anywhere."
"Oh, yeah, right," Julie said, red flushing her cheeks, showing she was embarrassed.
Silence filled the truck again as Noah stopped at a red light, sighing deeply. It probably would have taken him nothing but five minutes on a regular day, but because it was snowing, some people were driving slower than usual, though Noah couldn't blame them. Everybody's tires weren't like his, which were built for weather like this.
"Can I ask a question, Noah?"
"Yeah."
"What is your relationship with Professor Bryant?"
Noah froze for a second as he looked at Julie in shock. He almost would have stayed there staring if it wasn't for the cars honking behind him, letting him know that the light had changed. Noah gathered his bearings and pulled off down the street.
"What do you mean?" Noah asked. "She's just my professor and friend. What else would we be?"
A part of him wanted to tell the truth. No, all of him wanted to tell the truth. But Noah knew that's not what Melanie wanted. Then again, Noah wasn't quite sure what she wanted anymore.
