Page 49 of Speed Crush

His voice drops lower. “But lately… I’ve been asking myself what actually matters. What I actually want.”

He takes a breath. “And then you come along—calling me out, pushing back, not buying any of it. You make me think about what I really need. And that makes me want to be worthy of you.”

I hold my breath.

Then he says—soft, but not uncertain.

“I really like you, June. Is that what’s scaring you?”

“Is that why you won’t even consider what this could be?”

His blue eyes hold mine, and he whispers. “That I might actually mean it."

I suck in a deep breath.

Because deep down I know. Noah doesn’t see me as just another conquest.

The intensity in his eyes tells me he's as surprised by this as I am. Maybe even just as terrified.

And then he steps even closer.

Close enough that I feel the heat of his body even with three inches between us. Close enough that my heartbeat starts to pulse in places it shouldn’t.

“You listen to Scott,” he says. “Like his opinion holds weight. Like he’s allowed in.”

“Let’s be clear, I wasn’t asking for his permission,” I say, the words slipping out before I can soften them.

Noah’s eyes stay on mine. Sharp. Unflinching.

“Then stop acting like you need it.”

My foot shifts. My heel catches on the rubber floor mat, and I stumble—just a little.

He catches me instantly. Hand to my waist. Firm. Warm. Unshakable.

And even in this charged moment, even frustrated, his first instinct is to protect me.

That’s what unravels me.

I feel him everywhere at this moment. Especially his gentleness.

His thumb brushes the edge of my sweater before he lets go.

“I’m not trying to make things harder,” he says. “I just…”

He stops himself. Doesn’t finish the sentence.

“Why are you running, June?"

I don't answer. I can't.

Because I want to kiss him more than I want to keep my armor.

And because I have a question for myself—how in mere days, he’s somehow become necessary? Like my heart has been waiting for him all my life.

"The winter festival is Saturday," I lift my chin. "After that, you're gone. Back to your real life."

"What if I told you this feels more real than anything has in years?"

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