Page 101 of When the Stars Rise

I’m lost in the moment, chasing the high, climbing up and up and up. “Oh… God.”

His lips crash down on mine, and he swallows the moan that’s ripped from my throat. I come so hard little dots float in front of my eyes, and my legs are shaking.

He keeps thrusting, relentless now, as he fucks me through my orgasm. Then he stills. I can feel the muscles in his abdomen contracting, and I know he’s close, so I swivel my hips, pushing him over the edge.

“Fuuuuck.” With one more powerful thrust, his body shudders with his release, and he spills inside me.

I clench around him and take all of him, milking an orgasm out of him that seems to go on and on.

He collapses on top of me and buries his face in my hair, and we hold onto each other, our skin slick with sweat, chests heaving as we try to catch our breath.

I feel so close to him. Skin against skin. Our bodies melded together. Our breathing ragged. I can feel his heart beating against my chest and the quickness of his pulse under my fingers.

All the other sex I’ve had with other guys was meaningless, purely physical.

But with Noah, it’s everything and more.

Afterward, we take a shower together, and he fucks me against the tiled wall. It’s quick and dirty, and my legs are too shaky to hold me up. I kiss his lips and push his wet hair off his face, and we laugh for no reason at all except for the sheer joy of being alive.

I’m so deliriously in love with this boy that I would do anything in the world for him.

We tumble into bed, spent and boneless, and he holds me in the curve of his body, my back against his bare chest, and I can’t help thinking how right everything feels.

I’m in a good place with Shiloh again. The tour is going smoothly. And I’m exactly where I want to be—back in Noah’s arms.

“Got a text from my buddy Briggs,” he says. “Thought I’d drive up to Twin Falls, Idaho, and do some climbing with him tomorrow.”

“Okay,” I say. “Sounds good.”

“I’ll just be gone for the day.” He hesitates, and I think he’s waiting for me to put up a fight, but I won’t. “So you’re cool with it?”

Out of all the things he does, climbing doesn’t bother me as much as his other sports. I know it’s still dangerous, but Noah’s been climbing since he was a little kid, and his mom started taking him to the climbing wall.

It was one of the things they bonded over and did together. Lila once told me she started doing it as a teen after her mom died. She said it helped her feel more in control of her life and more confident.

So I want to be supportive. I don’t want Noah to feel like he can’t do something he loves just because he’s on this tour with me. And he’ll only be gone for the day, so it’s not a big deal.

“Of course, I’m fine with it. I know how much you love climbing, and I’m glad you’re doing something for yourself.” I roll over so I’m facing him and tuck my hand under my cheek. “I know it’s not easy being stuck on this tour bus, so I appreciate you being here. It means so much to me.” I lift my hand to his face and say the words I’ve been meaning to say for a while now. “I love you, Noah.”

He grabs my hand and presses his lips against the pulse point on my wrist, and I love him so much it hurts. “I love you too. Always and forever.”

“Always and forever,” I repeat. “We’ll get it right this time.” I want to believe my words are true. I want to believe it so much, but fear prompts me to ask, “We will, right?”

“Yeah, we will,” he says, voice husky. “Third time’s a charm, baby.”

“Is it? I mean… how are we going to make it work?”

“Things will be different this time. Promise.”

Hope blooms inside me, but I squash it down because we’ve been here before. I’m scared to voice the question, but there’s only one way things could be different for us, so I have to ask. “You’ll choose me this time?” I’m holding my breath, waiting for his answer.

“I will always choose you.”

Sweet words, but unfortunately, we both know that’s not true. “Noah.”

He’s quiet for a moment. “I know. But going forward, it will be different. You’re the most important thing in my life, Hayley. I can’t lose you again. So I’ll do whatever it takes to make it work.”

I feel the same. I can’t bear the thought of losing him, either. I’ve been giving it a lot of thought, and maybe I could find a way to put some of my fears aside and be more supportive of his lifestyle. I think I can do that. I really do. If I want Noah in my life, which I do more than anything, we’ll both have to make some compromises. It’s the only way.