Page 101 of Arctic Titans of Northwood U: Volume 1

Sawyer

“Shit,” I said, looking at Avery, horrified. As I leaped for the door, my heart was racing. Refusing to recognize what I already knew, deep down, I pulled the door open and felt my heart drop into my stomach.

Noah’s floppy, light brown curls were unmistakable when I spotted him racing for the main door. By the time I managed to open my mouth to call after him, the door swung open and then shut.

“What the hell was that?” Beckett asked from the kitchen island, where he was scraping off the burnt side of a piece of toast.

I had no time to explain. I only turned to Avery with a look that was devoid of emotion. I tried to go over all the things I’d said. I’d outed him as inexperienced to a total stranger — no matter that Avery was my best friend; I had no right — and I had…oh shit! I had declared there could never be anything between us.

Fuck. My. Life.

“Go,” Avery said, urgency touching his usually cool voice. It must be important if Avery was showing emotion. “Fucking go after him,” he snapped impatiently.

I nodded, my throat choking up.

“And tell him how you feel, dammit,” Avery said when I hadn’t moved. “Don’t go around it, Sawyer. Just tell him.”

“Yeah. Okay. Right.” I murmured these words one after another, my mind spinning. I had to. I couldn’t avoid it.

My feet finally moved. I found myself hurrying out of the room without even a jacket. I walked into the cool spring air, but my body radiated heat of shock and urgency that even a hoodie seemed too much.

I ran out and down the paved path connecting our house with the rest of the campus.

My heart was skipping every other beat. What the hell had I done? He’d run away so quickly that I could only imagine he’d heard the worst in everything I’d said.

I knew I had to set him free, but not like this. I hadn’t meant for him to overhear it. I had only ever wanted to make everything better for him, not to break his heart.

What have I done? What have I fucking done? The words spun around my mind as I reached the dormitory and barged in, then ran up the stairs toward his room. The last time I came here, we had been high on lust and tumbling up the stairs while making out and touching each other's bodies all over the place. We had indulged in such pleasures that this world had never known. We had given our bodies to one another for the entire night.

If only it never had to end.

I knocked on his door nervously. I didn’t know what to tell him or what I would find. If he hated me for this, I couldn’t blame him. But it would hurt more than I could bear.

Nothing. Silence met me even when I knocked again.

I reached for the doorknob, my heart thundering in my chest as I turned it.

Locked.

Where the hell was he?

What had I done?

But then, in an instant of blinding realization, it made sense. Of course, Noah knew tonight was the meteor shower night. If anyone would know that, it was him.

I glanced at the other end of the hallway, where a door hung open, showing me the staircase to the rooftop terrace. There was no other place he could be; I was sure of that. I inhaled and held my breath, then moved slowly to the door. The short staircase was narrow and bare, opening up at the top to the starry sky and a few square feet of tranquil space in an otherwise bustling campus. And up there, as I walked out, facing away from me, was Noah Foster.

My heart clenched at the first sight of him.

Far beyond the outline of his unruly hair, blazing across the night sky, a shooting star sparked to life and winked out in a heartbeat. This wasn’t how I’d imagined this night would go.

“Noah?” I called, stepping closer.

He was still for a while longer, looking up at the starry sky. The silence extended until the distant traffic seemed to be roaring in my ears. Some party or another on the block had music that flooded the night. Even crickets in the scattered green spaces on campus seemed to be working extra hard in the moments of Noah’s silence. I began believing he either hadn’t heard or wouldn’t reply. But then, he spoke at last. And the words that left his lips were the last I expected to hear. “I shouldn’t have eavesdropped. I’m sorry.”

I quickly took two paces closer. “What? No. Don’t be sorry for that.” I wanted to clear the air and explain what I’d meant, but I also didn’t want to push him any way he didn’t want to go.

Noah shrugged, his shoulders poking up. He turned slowly on his heels, and I got a good look at his disappointed expression.