We climb into his bed, and he snuggles against my side, resting his head on my chest and flinging one leg over mine. His warm body presses into me, and I wrap my arm around his shoulder, threading my fingers through his hair.
“Mm, that feels nice,” he hums, turning on the television and scrolling through to find something for us to watch.
We settle on a true-crime documentary about some college kids in the US who were murdered in their off-campus share house. It’s intriguing as fuck, especially with my psychology background, and we spend the first episode throwing out theories about who did it and why.
It all feels so natural, like we’ve been doing this for years, not months. He splays his hand over my abs, his thumb tracing back and forth in soothing strokes. I’m not sure he even realises he’s doing it. My chest aches, but in a good way. Being with him feels right.Hefeels right.
About ten minutes into the second episode, we both tense when the front door opens, and voices drift from downstairs. It’s just past ten, and there’s definitely more than the two voices of Dane and Jasper, but we can’t tell how many guests they have. No one calls out for Noah,though, and the voices move away, most likely to the games room.
Noah relaxes first, sinking back into my embrace, but it takes me a moment.
“It’s fine,” he murmurs, his hand drifting up my chest to rest over my racing heart. “The door’s locked. No one will know you’re in here with me.”
“I’m not worried for me,” I say, shifting to press a kiss to the top of his head. “The guys know I’m bi. I don’t think they’d bat an eyelid. But they don’t know about you.”
He shrugs, his attention still half-focused on the television screen. “I’ve been toying with the idea of telling them.”
My fingers still in his hair. “Seriously?”
“Mmhmm.”
I roll onto my side to face him. “What do you mean,mmhmm? You can’t just be so blasé about something like telling our teammates we’re?—”
“Dating?” he asks when I can’t find the right word. He leans in to kiss me with a cocky grin. “Kissing? Sucking each other’s dick? Fucking? All of the above?”
Placing my hand on his chest, I pull back and search his face. “Noah, what’s going on here? The sleepover, wanting to come clean to our teammates? Don’t get me wrong, I want people to know I’m with you. I want to be able to kiss you and touch you whenever I want. But your dad, and… telling everyone. Are you ready for what might happen?”
I don’t miss the flash of fear in his eyes when I mention his dad, but he holds my gaze, brushing his thumb over my lips.
“Every time I lie about Hannah or you, it feels wrong. I hate myself for pulling you both into this mess.”
“We don’t?—”
“Care?” He huffs a humourless laugh. “I do. You’re the twopeople I care about the most. It sucks asking you to lie for me. I don’t want to do that to you anymore.”
My stomach flips, and I swallow hard. It’s terrifying how fast hope spreads through me. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying I’m going to tell Dad this weekend.”
“Are you sure this is the right time?” I brush his hair off his face, letting my hand linger. “It’s your grandad’s birthday. Maybe you should wait?”
He shakes his head. “I’m done waiting. I’m done living my life the way he wants me to.”
My chest squeezes so hard it hurts. “You don’t owe me anything, Noah. I’m not going anywhere.”
He closes the small gap between us, leaning his forehead against mine. “I know, but I’m sick of being scared of him, of what he’ll do to you and Hannah the longer this goes on.”
“Are you ready for this? I don’t want you to feel pressured.”
He closes his eyes and exhales a shaky breath. “It’s never going to get any easier. Now’s as good a time as any.”
I squeeze his hip until he looks at me. “Do you want me to come with you?”
Noah smiles wistfully. “As much as I want you there, this is something I have to do myself. Besides, my sexuality isn’t the only thing I plan on telling him about.”
My eyes widen. “It’s not?”
“I’m going to tell him I’m extending my studies here in Beckford.”
