I hate leaving her and she knows it. In fact, she’s called me out on what she says is obsessive hovering. My girl is fiercely independent and doesn’t understand that I need to be near her. It’s not because she’s recovering, but because she makes me feel like I have a place in this world, that I’m not Liam Page’s son or the starting quarterback (at least last season) of the Portland Pioneers. To Peyton, I’m Noah. The guy she’s known her entire life and once called her best friend. To me, she’s everything.
And that’s why I’ve left her in the hands of Quinn. It wasn’t easy trying to find out when he’d be home without giving much away, but I couldn’t very well leave her all alone for a few days. I’ve told Peyton my last lie. At best, it could be considered a fib. I told her I had to fly home to take care of business. I didn’t specify said business had to do with her.
If she were any other woman, talking to her parents about pursuing a relationship with her would never cross my mind, but as luck would have it, her father and mine are best friends. Her mother is my aunt purely in the sense our mothers are also best friends. I owe it to Harrison and Katelyn to seek their permission.
I haven’t thought about what I’ll do if they say no. I suppose I’m counting on them saying yes and wishing me luck because they probably know I’ll need it. If they’re not happy… well, I’ll cross the proverbial bridge when I come to it.
The lady at the ticket booth smiles as she hands me my pass. My dad was excited to hear I wanted to attend their concert. When I told him why, he grew silent on the phone, but told me my credentials would be waiting for me.
By the time I make it to backstage, my dad and the band are well into their set. My mom, Katelyn and Jenna give me hugs. I look around and find Eden and Betty Paige sitting in the corner, focusing on their iPads, most likely doing homework. Honestly, I’m surprised to see the girls. I would think school is more important than traveling with the band while they help out an up and coming act.
I tap Paige on the shoulder and motion for her to move over so I can sit between them. Eden smiles and sets the device in my lap and both girls lean into me. Looking at us from the outside shows how tight-knit of a family we are, and some may balk at Peyton and I dating, but to me, it’s the only thing that makes sense. For years, she followed me around and I never discouraged her. I loved having her by my side, on the sidelines for football and in the dugout when I was playing baseball. We were meant to be.
Once the show’s over, we all head to the dressing room. I’m nervous. My palms are sweating. My heart’s racing. And the words I had planned to say to Harrison no longer exist. Inside, champagne is poured and another successful show is celebrated, all while I stand in the corner contemplating what my life would be like without Peyton.
I can’t even begin to imagine.
I didn’t while she was lying in the hospital bed and I won’t now.
“Excuse me, Harrison. Do you think I could speak to you in the other room?”
He looks at me oddly, as he should.
“What’s going on, Noah? Is Peyton okay?” Katelyn asks, her face full of worry.
“Peyton’s great. In fact, Quinn should be with her. Don’t worry, she’s in good hands.” I immediately regret those words even though I’ve yet to touch her.
“Maybe we could go to the hall?” I motion toward the door as I try to avoid eye contact with my mother, whose beaming smile is distracting me. One look at my dad tells me he knows what I’m about to do and for the life of me, I can’t decipher if he’s okay with it or not.
Harrison follows me out into the hall where two security guards block access to the dressing room. I clear my throat, square my shoulders and look into his eyes, while my stomach twists, turns and threatens to expel its contents all over his Doc Martens.
“So you’re probably wondering why I needed to speak with you.”
“I am. Are you in some sort of trouble?”
“No, sir.” I clear my throat again. “I’d like your permission to date Peyton.” The words seem to come out in a rush.
“Say again?” he asks, cocking his eyebrow. “I’m not sure I heard you correctly.”
Taking a deep breath, I make eye contact with him again. “Sir, I’m seeking your permission to pursue Peyton in a romantic relationship. I’m not even going to beat around the bush…” Bad choice of words, Noah! “I’m in love with her and I have been for a long time. I understand your hesitation in giving me an answer because of the situation I was in over the holidays, but I assure you, Peyton is my only priority and nothing will keep me from her… unless of course you tell me no.”
Harrison crosses his arms and glares at me. We’re about the same height, but right now I feel like I’m two feet shorter. “And if I say no?”
“Um… If you say no, I will do whatever I have to in order to prove to you that Peyton is the love of my life. I love her, Harrison. I mean, sir.”
He stands there staring at me. I don’t know for how long, but it’s enough for my stomach to heave and my bladder to beg for relief.
“Are you sleeping with my daughter, Noah?”
Kill. Me. Now.
“No, sir.”
“Waiting for marriage?”
Please don’t tell me to wait.
“If you tell me so, yes we will.”
He nods and runs his hand over his face and adjusts his beanie. “Honestly, Noah, you’re not who I pictured as someone my daughter would be interested in, but I know for a fact she loves you, and I’m not really one to stand in the way of love, so you have my blessing. But, if you hurt her--”
“I won’t.”
Harrison steps closer. “Remember, I know where you live,” he says as he pulls me into his arms. “Let me just say, it’s about damn time.”
I don’t know if I should rejoice or be relieved. I do know Harrison can hug and is squeezing the life out of me right now. “Can’t breathe,” I eek out. He finally lets go and starts laughing.
“That was your one and only warning. Don’t mess this up.”
He puts his arm around me and takes me back into the dressing room. Everyone is looking at us with expectant eyes, but he goes right to Katelyn and pulls her into his arms and whispers into her ear. She looks over and smiles, before rushing over to give me a hug.
“I’ve known it all along,” she whispers in my ear. “Hold onto her, Noah.”
“I plan to,” I say back to her.
33
Peyton
The humidity is stifling and the usual breeze that makes Chicago windy is nowhere to be felt. When Professor Fowler asked if I could come see him, I jumped at the opportunity. Not only to get away from California but to also give Noah and I a weekend alone.
Our relationship is progressing…slowly. I don’t know if he’s scared to touch me, thinking I might fall apart or if he’s afraid of my parents. The latter is a bit far-fetched because I know he went and asked my dad for permission to date me. It may have been a bit old-fashioned, but to me it was perfect.
It also made sense for Noah to come with me. His season will be starting soon, and we’ll see less and less of each other, although he’s promised to move to Chicago. I don’t want to burden him, but on the other hand, I want him near me as much as possible.
As our driver takes us toward my campus, I point out landmarks to Noah, along with my favorite coffee shop and where I watch the games on the weekends. He seems interested in every spot, even if he’s only doing so to placate me. It’s times like this where I question the age difference and wonder if Noah will stick around. I know I shouldn’t second-guess what he tells me, but I do, and it’s for obvious reasons. I mean, look at the man! He’s gorgeous, sexy, and unbelievably sweet. He cares for me, showers me with love, but so reserved when it comes to affection.
Maybe he’s waiting for a sign, for the sky to open and start raining Peytons. Or footballs would be a better fit for us. Short of throwing myself at him, I don’t know what else to do.
Elle
thinks he’s scared because of the Dessie mess. I get that, I do. But I’m not Dessie. I have no desire to trap Noah, and honestly, I feel like I don’t have to. He’s in love with me and while he knows I love him, I haven’t told him yet. Maybe that’s what he’s waiting for.
Noah opens his door as soon as the car comes to a stop. He reaches in and seeks my hand in order to help me out. Aside from the humidity, I love being back in Chicago. I turn my face toward the mid-day sun and close my eyes. Not only am I back on campus, but Noah’s here and that means everything to me.
With our hands joined, I direct him toward the journalism building. When Fowler called, I thought he was going to tell me I’d been kicked out of the program. It would make sense considering the amount of work I missed, despite trying to keep up online. My grades weren’t on par with what they had been before my accident and I petitioned the school to make them void in exchange for going for another year. This should’ve been the decision I made from the start, but I was stubborn and thought I was mentally strong enough to not only recover from my life-threatening injuries but also carry a full workload. I was so wrong.
“Sometimes I miss college, even high school,” Noah says as he holds the door open for me.
“Me too. When I first started here, no one knew who I was. The band goes on tour, pictures are posted and bam, everyone wants to be my friend. In Beaumont, people were my friend because of you and Quinn. This one time I made a mistake and told someone we went to prom together. Of course, any such evidence is somewhere in my room in the condo, so I could never prove it.”
“You could’ve asked me to send you a picture.”
I shake my head and grip his hand a bit tighter. “You were with Dessie. At best, we spoke maybe once a month with a quick ‘how are you’ text and nothing more.”
Thankfully, Dessie hasn’t tried to contact Noah. Even though he changed his number, we both expected her to somehow get her hands on it and contact him. Through the tabloids, we learned she’s gotten married to the father of her baby, who happened to be Noah’s neighbor.
He nods and continues to walk alongside me. “Well, I guess everyone has no choice but to believe you now.”
Noah takes my hand and swings it out in front of him, as if he’s spinning me around a dance floor, only now I’m in his arms and cradled to his chest. Our eyes are locked on each other as the back of his fingers brush along my cheek. My body temperature begins to rise in anticipation of what could come next.
Only I don’t wait. I rise up on my tippy toes and press my lips to his. His hand moves to my hair, soft and gentle, as he opens his mouth to deepen the kiss. We haven’t kissed like this since the hospital and while that kiss was amazing, this one’s eager.
“Now that I’ve kissed you, I won’t be able to stop,” he says, pressing his lips to my cheeks and finally my forehead. His arms wrap around me tightly, holding me to his chest.
“I don’t want you to stop, Noah. Not now. Not ever.”
He pulls back and tips my chin up with his index finger and runs his thumb along my bottom lip. “Are you sure? I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Is that what you’ve been waiting for? To know whether I’m healed or not?”
He nods and seeks my eyes for the truth.
“I’m healed, but--”
“You’re beautiful,” he says, moving a strand of hair away from my eye. He’s careful not to touch the side of my head where it was shaved. It’s tender and while my hair is growing back, it’s doing so rather slowly. “I’m so in love with you, Peyton. I know you’re cautious about the scars. I can tell you over and over to not pay attention to them, but I know you see them when you look in the mirror.”
“They’re ugly.”
Noah smiles. “It’s impossible for anything to be ugly when it comes to you. We move at your pace, Peyton. I’m not in a rush.”
I nod but frown instantly. He must’ve missed my confusion because he’s walking us down the hall again. I’m done waiting. I want to make-out with him. Score a touchdown. Kick a field goal. He just needs to touch me. I want to feel human again, desirable. Doesn’t he get it?
There isn’t time to ask because we’re at Professor Fowler’s door. I don’t know what to expect, but I square my shoulders anyway and knock.
“Come in,” he hollers from inside the room.
Slowly, I turn the doorknob and step in. I look back at Noah who is standing on the other side and beckon him forward. It may be unprofessional for him to come in, but I’ll need him with me if the news is bad.
“Good afternoon Professor Fowler.” He looks at us from over the top of his glasses. “Do I know you from somewhere?” he directs his question toward Noah who looks down at me. I nod, giving him the go ahead.
“Noah Westbury,” he says, extending his hand to shake my professor’s.
“Quarterback from the Pioneers?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Huh, I heard rumblings that Miss Powell-James knew you, but--”
“But no one believed her,” Noah says. “It’s been hard for me to get to campus to see her, but I’ve recently relocated to Chicago and will be living not far from here so I imagine you’ll be seeing me a lot more, especially once the season ends.”
My mouth drops open as I look at Noah. He’s talked about moving, but I hadn’t heard any definitive plans, and he definitely didn’t tell me about renting a place.
“Well, I’m sure Peyton will enjoy having her friend around.”
Friend with benefits, I hope.
“I was very sorry to hear about the accident, but am very pleased you’ll be rejoining us in the fall. Your last assignment was to write a recap of the game and while it took you a few months to turn it in, I was very impressed with not only your knowledge of the players but your understanding of the game.”
“She gets that from me,” Noah interjects. I poke him in the side, causing him to flinch. “What?” he asks innocently.
“What Noah is trying to say is I come from a long line of football fanatics and while I may be female, the men in my life taught me everything they know.” I glance from my professor to Noah, giving him a silent thank you.
“It’s paid off. At the start of the semester, you will continue to represent your class on the sideline of the Bears.”
“Seriously?” Noah pulls me into his arms as I try to process what this means.
“You also came highly recommended by Kyle Zimmerman. He wrote a letter to the department on your behalf. We weren’t sure why until we found out he was the driver of the car you were in. He made a sizable donation that will be used as scholarships for any female who applies and is accepted into the sports journalism program.”
Noah groans, but stops after I tap his stomach. The night after Kyle kissed me, which he says he did only to make Noah jealous, we had a long talk and both agreed we were better off as friends. He told me he was trying to come onto me, hoping to ignite a spark, but felt nothing and I was right to turn him down. This was easily the best rejection ever and instead, I’ve found a friend for life.
“Do you want this assignment?”
“Yeah, she does,” Noah answers for me. He pulls me into his arms again, clearly happy for me. We stay and talk to Professor Fowler for a bit longer until Noah tells me he has a surprise for me.
“You mean other than telling me you’re moving here?”
He puts his arm on my shoulders and pulls me close. Looking around, we’re walking like any other couple, and I like it. We take the path to the edge of campus and cross the street, entering into a non-descript building. Inside, there’s a security guard behind a white marble desk.
Noah comes to a screeching halt as soon as he enters. “Leo?”
“Westbury?”
Noah leaves me standing there as he rushes to the security guard. They hug as if they’re long lost friends. “What are you doing here?” Noah asks him.
“This past winter some nice man was having a real hard time and bought me
a cup a coffee. Coffee was nasty, but he also gave me the money in his wallet. Now he probably thought I was going to buy some drugs, but I found me a place to live with some running water and found a job sweeping floors. Just got promoted yesterday to man the front desk.”
Noah shakes his head. “Must’ve been some coffee.”
“Must’ve been some man to help a stranger out like that.”
I stand there watching the both of them and have a sense of deja vu wash over me. I’ve seen Noah and Leo together before, but can’t place where. Noah turns to me and holds out his hand. “Leo, allow me to introduce you to Peyton Powell-James. Peyton, this is my friend Leo.”
“Well, I know all about you, Ms. Peyton. I’m happy to say it’s nice to meet you.” Leo holds onto my hand as if it’s his lifeline. Strangely enough, I don’t want him to let go.
“I’m sorry, but I’m at a loss. I’ll have to make Noah spill about you so we can be friends.”
Noah places his arm around me again and pulls me to his side. “We’re the new tenants in 5A, so you’ll be seeing a lot more of her.”
“Is that so? Well, my day is made.”
“Mine too, Leo. Mine too.” Noah hugs Leo again before directing me toward the elevator. This building isn’t super fancy, and while both of us can afford to live in penthouses and high-rises, we weren’t raised that way.
“How do you know Leo?”
“I met him at the hospital while you were in a coma.” Noah’s statement gives me pause. Since I’ve woken, I’ve remembered random moments that don’t have an explanation. The only person I can talk to them about is my dad. My mom refuses to believe me, but Dad is more open about what happened. Somehow, Leo fits in, but I don’t know how.
Holding Onto Forever (The Beaumont Series: Next Generation Book 1) Page 22
