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31

CHARLOTTE

SKITTLE BABES

SOPHIA

We’re having a get together around 6 tonight to welcome Abbs to the Baller Pad

SAGE

I’m still mad at you for moving

So I’m not coming

SOPHIA

It’ll be funnnnn

Besides, living with Julian can’t be all bad

SAGE

It’s definitely not all good

SOPHIA

how can having a live in friend with benefits be bad

you can get dick 24/7

SAGE

Because we’re just friends now. NO BENEFITS.

SOPHIA

what

that sounds terrible

SAGE

it is

SOPHIA

please come, Elijah is so excited for his sister to be starting CBU

he wants to make sure we give her the big stingray welcome

i bet she’ll let you ride her motorcycle

SAGE

fine i’ll come

SOPHIA

YAY. Charlie? You and Noah coming?

ME

You sure you don’t mind the preggo girl ruining your fun?

SAGE

someone has to be the designated sober friend. I designate you

ME

awh so kind

but Noah has a late practice

SAGE

So? He’s not your keeper

Let him meet you there

Don’t stay home all sad and boring while we’re having FUNNNNN

ME

Fine, see you guys in a bit!

SOPHIA

DOUBLE YAY

The front door opens, Sage and Abbs strolling in.

It’s not Noah.

Since I can’t fall into his arms, I guess I’ll fall into these cushions. Groaning, I throw myself on the corner of the couch, sinking in, and it accepts me like a warm hug. It’s no comparison to Noah’s, but I guess it'll do for now.

Great, I’m resorting to objectophilia.

It’s been a week since we found out about the paternity, and while I’m grateful Noah is accepting me—us—I still never want to be a burden or a distraction. This baby isn’t even his, after all… and as much as he’s shown he cares, it’s still hard for me to believe a man would want to raise a baby that’s not his own. That’s a hell of an ask.

I want to believe his pretty words. But after having my heart ripped out and stomped on by someone I fully relied on, I can’t ignore that tiny little carry-on of trust issues screaming at me to watch out for the next plane crash.

It also doesn’t help that Noah’s been having late nights this week preparing for their first preseason game, and we’ve barely seen each other. I miss him.

“That was sick,” Sage tells Abbs, a motorcycle helmet hanging from her fingertips.

“Anytime you wanna ride,” Abbs says, fingers unknotting her dirty blonde helmet hair, “just let me know.”

“I really wish you’d get a different mode of transportation,” Elijah says, brows raised.

“Why?” She rolls her blue eyes. “Finding parking’s easy. Gas is cheap.”

“And it’s sexy !” Sage points out.

Abbs sends her an approving wink. “Exactly.”

“It’s also dangerous, ” Elijah says, brows raised. “And you know it rains in Florida. Like, a lot.”

“Okay?” Abbs shrugs. “Then I’ll borrow the truck.”

Elijah narrows his eyes. “Did you move here just to stress me out?”

Abbs strides over and wraps her arms around his waist. “I missed you too, Eli.”

Laughter erupts in the kitchen, and I glance over to the sight of Julian and Theo keeled over while Sophia flicks them off.

The front door opens, and my eyes dart to it, finding Noah clad in a Tampa Barracudas T-shirt, sweats, and a backwards ball cap. Relief floods through me. My lips quirk into a smile, and his gentle eyes find mine as my chest flutters. He’s finally here.

“Hey, you made it!” Elijah says to Noah.

“Hey,” Noah says, shutting the door. “Sorry, we have our first preseason game this week and practice took forever.”

“No worries,” Elijah says. “Pro ball trumps party.”

The others go back to their conversations, and Noah beelines my way. His gaze connects with mine as he plops onto the couch, throwing an arm behind me. “Hey, soffione ,” he says, leaning in without hesitation. Our lips meet, and all the heaviness on my shoulders melts like butter.

“Hey, quarterback,” I say, and he scoots closer, putting a hand on my stomach. It flutters, and I can’t tell if it’s from butterflies or tiny toes.

“How’s baby girl?” he asks, rubbing gently, and I don’t ignore the way he leaves out the word “our.”

Another flutter. It’s definitely him. Placing my hand on his, I say, “She’s good.”

He grins at me. “And how’s Mommy?”

I bite my lower lip, clenching my thighs. “Better now that you’re here.” He leans in again, placing a firm kiss on my cheek.

Julian and Sage walk over, splitting to sit at opposite sides of the couch.

“Are you guys in a fight?” Theo asks, trailing after, looking between Sage and Julian.

“No, why?” Sage replies.

“You just made an active effort to not sit next to each other,” Theo points out, and I bite my lip, holding in the information.

“Why are you so obsessed with me?” Julian asks. “Worry about yourself.”

“Yeah, and we don’t have to be attached at the hip,” Sage says.

“We literally got kicked out of a bar cause you fucked in a closet,” Elijah reminds them.

“What can I say?” Julian grins. “I love Halloween.”

Memories flash in my mind of the night Noah had to carry me home from the bar. My eyes find his, and he rubs a hand along my arm knowingly. If only I’d listened to him that night, maybe I wouldn’t be in this situation.

Guilt sinks deep in my stomach, and I place a hand over it. Hopefully she didn’t feel it. Never would I wish to change the miracle growing inside me. But I can’t deny I wish it was from the man beside me.

“I don’t know,” Theo says, tugging me out of my head. “Still seems sus.”

“They made a vow to stop screwing since they moved in together,” Sophia says as she and Abbs walk in and take a seat on the couch beside Sage. Apparently, so did Noah and I. We haven’t slept together since the twins’ birthday party. I didn’t know how to bring it up after I found out I was pregnant. Wasn’t sure if it was even safe. It is. But now I’m embarrassingly desperate for connection.

“Joey!” Sage snaps at her, using the nickname she gave her when we were kids because of Sophia’s koala obsession. Noah places a hand on my thigh, and I fight the urge to squeeze my legs together. It’s going to be a long night if he keeps touching me like this.

“Sorry not sorry,” Sophia says, taking a sip of wine. “We were all gonna know eventually.”

“What kind of idiotic vow is that?” Theo says, taking a seat next to Abbs. “Living with a fuck buddy would be a blessing.”

“Yeah, it works pretty well for us,” Elijah says, winking at Sophia, and we all groan, throwing pillows at him.

Noah continues his torment on my arm, and our gazes connect. Maybe we should test that theory.

Twenty minutes later, Noah and I are in the kitchen, grabbing drinks. He boiled us water and is pouring it over tea bags.

“Do you guys have any honey?” I ask as Elijah strolls in.

“Do we have honey?” he scoffs, walking over to a cabinet and opening the door.

My mouth falls open at the filled shelves. There must be at least fifteen jars.

“Listen, your honey bee nickname is cute,” I say. “But this seems over the top.”

“Funny,” he says, narrowing his eyes. “Abbs had a beekeeping phase, and we’re still trying to get through the sweet stuff. She brought an entire suitcase full of these.”

“You’re welcome!” Abbs shouts from the living room.

Elijah hands me a jar, and I set it on the counter.

“Use the entire thing, please,” Theo says. “Don’t want that shit expiring in the pantry.”

“That’s not necessary,” Noah says. “Honey lasts forever.”

The memories of snuggling up in his tent under the stars dance into my mind. Fun fact number two. I think about my wish the next day when we found the field of dandelions : I hope Noah ends up exactly where he’s supposed to be.

It was more so because he was so stressed about the draft, but I wonder if some small part of me wished—hoped—he’d end up with me.

Noah tugs me to him, soft smile on his lips, and our eyes meet. “I’m surprised you remembered that,” I say.

“Well, it was my favorite fact from our camping trip,” he admits, hooking a strand of hair behind my ear, adoring eyes capturing mine.

“Really?” I ask, my chest filling with warmth.

He nods. “I hope we last like honey.”

“And I hope we grow like lemons.”

* * *

“Three. Hundred. Dollars?” I balk. “For a single textbook?”

“This is a hate crime to my bank account,” Andi says, grabbing her own and adding it to the stack of required reading for the upcoming school year. Classes start next week, and since Noah is in New York for a pre-season game, I’m using school prep as a distraction from being in his big empty house. “Can we petition for e-books? It’s the 21st century. If I can read about a man with an octopus schlong fucking a mermaid, certainly we should be able to read about the Byzantine empire without being robbed.”

“Sure.” A laugh bubbles out of me. “Why don’t you put exactly those words in your letter to the school president?”

“What an excellent idea.” She smiles proudly.

We check out, and I only almost throw up at the grand total of $1023 for textbooks and assisting materials. Thankfully, my student loans dropped, but since I lost my cheer scholarship, it’s definitely going to be tough this year. Living with Noah saves the room and board money, so it won’t be as bad as anticipated. I hope.

“Wanna grab dinner?” Andi asks.

Pulling out my phone, I check the time. 5:14 pm.

“Noah and I are supposed to FaceTime at six,” I tell her. “He’s so busy, we literally have to preplan a simple phone call.”

“Ohhh, yes girl,” she says. “Phone sex is the best.”

“We are not phone sex’ing!” I squeal. “We’re just phoning. Only phoning.”

Her face scrunches up. “Why?”

“Uh, because I miss him?”

“And you don’t miss his dick?”

Heat creeps up on my cheeks. “I do…”

She narrows her eyes. “Why are you being weird?”

“I’m not.”

“When’s the last time you got some?” she asks, and I side-eye her. “Come on. You can tell me!”

“Fine,” I grumble. “Fourth of July.”

“Oh, girl.” She throws an arm around my shoulders.

“I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised carrying another man’s child puts a damper on the love-making department.”

“First of all, let’s not put Jonathan in the category of ‘man.’” She pinches her fingers together, and I huff a laugh. “But yeah, I get what you mean… Now I know why you’ve been so uptight lately.”

“Hey!” I reply, slightly offended.

“You need to get dicked down.” She nods. “Dicked down good.”

My eyes bulge as I glance around us. “You are so?—”

“Cool? Awesome? Edgy?”

“I was going to say embarrassing .”

“No, baby cakes. Your sex life is embarrassing.”

My cheeks burn. “Well, thank you.”

“You are living with ‘Tampa’s Most Eligible Bachelor,’” she says, and I groan. “Please put him to good use.”

“Things have just been awkward since we found out about the whole ‘who’s the daddy’ thing…”

“You know what would solve that?” she asks, and I glance her way. “Fuck him. Literally. Fuck the poor man.”

“But how do I even bring it up?” I blow a raspberry. “I don’t know where his head’s at.”

“Here’s an idea.” Andi raises her brows at me. “ Ask him.”

“He’s the quarterback. Shouldn’t he call the play?”

“Yes, but quarterbacks can’t throw a pass if they’re not given the ball. And right now”—she drops her eyes to my belly—“you’ve got the ball.”

“Ugh, fine,” I groan. “Maybe I’ll talk to him tonight.”

“Good,” she says as we reach our cars. “See you tomorrow?”

“Yeah, wanna get lunch?”

“I can’t,” she says, lips rolled together. “I have cheer practice.”

“Right,” I say at the reminder of yet another thing that’s been taken away from me. I knew my life would change when I got that message. I just didn’t realize it would happen so fast.

“We could do dinner?” she asks, eyes hopeful. “Sushi and shit-talking?” Her eyes widen. “Wait, fuck. Can you even have sushi?”

“Oh my god! Goodbye.”

“See you tomorrow,” she says as I turn toward the Bronco. “And you better have some good details to report. My sex diary awaits!”

I get in the driver’s seat, setting my bag of textbooks with a Louis Vuitton price tag on the passenger floorboard. The engine roars to life, and I glide my hands around the steering wheel. I can’t believe Noah bought me this car. I should’ve never accepted it. He surely wouldn’t have done it if he knew whose baby I was really carrying.

‘I hope we last like honey.’

A smile graces my lips. I need to stop making assumptions about what he would want and do. Actions speak louder than words, and Noah’s actions are resonant.

I make it in the house with twenty minutes to spare, Andi’s pep talk fresh in my mind. My phone’s at fifteen percent, typical, so I put it on the charger by the night stand. Rushing to the bathroom, I take in my appearance. My attention hones in on the sloppy bun atop of my head. Groaning, I quickly unravel it and untangle the hair with my fingers. Once deemed acceptable, I make a beeline for the closet. A celestial light beams down on Noah’s old CBU jersey with the number thirteen, and I throw it on, knowing he’ll go crazy.

I pick my phone back up from the nightstand, unplugging it.

17:44: Missed Call. Noah.

Shit.

A text notification is also on the screen, and I click on it.

Noah

I tried to call early. Coach is making us go to a press conference tonight

Time stamped ten minutes ago. I didn’t notice it because I was getting ready for our “not” date. The disappointment rips me apart like a supernova tearing through the fabric of space.

So much for some long-distance love-making.