Page 55 of Even Exchange

“Whatever happens tonight,” Theo says, taking over, “no matter where you end up, we’resoproud.”

A heaviness settles in my chest at the thought it’ll be far away from here.

“Elijah and I have huge shoes to fill,” Theo continues, referring to them taking the reins of captains. “But thanks to your guidance, I think we have a fighting chance.” Theo and Elijah share a smile before he returns his gaze to Noah and Des. “And most importantly, us guys wanted to say we’re gonna miss you next year. Don’t forget about the little people.”

Elijah lifts his beer in the air. “Stingrays on three! One, two?—”

“Stingrays!” we all cheer, clinking our drinks.

Desmond throws his arm around Noah’s shoulder, and he returns the gesture. They both have wide smiles on their faces as Noah scans the room, bouncing from face to face. He shares a smile with Luna and Tony, and then his eyes connect with mine and his expression softens. Even across the loud, crowded room, his gaze sears me, pins me in place. It’s impossible to look away.

“Earth to Charlie,” Sage says, paired with a snap in front of my face.

I blink a few times and turn toward her and Sophia. “Sorry, just love seeing all the boys so gushy.”

“Mm-hmm,” Sophia snarks. “That’s what you were watching.” I roll my eyes, and they both giggle.

“So did your mom give your car back yet?” Sage asks, running her fingers through her light purple hair.

“No,” I say, releasing a sigh. “I haven’t even tried.”

“Why the hell not?” Sophia asks.

“Because I feel like it’ll be a snowball to her trying to make my life choices again,” I say as an arm drapes around my shoulders, and I glance up to find Noah.

“Mind if I borrow her for a minute?” he asks the girls, and my stomach swirls.

“Be our guest,” Sophia says, gesturing for him to take me away. Noah slips his hand into mine, and my skin tingles with awareness. He pulls me through the loud party, into his bedroom, and closes the door, sealing us off from the noise. My heart rate sputters. All those people here to celebrate him, and he wants to be in here, alone, withme?

He releases my hand, and I amble around the space, taking it all in while trying to catch my breath. The only other time I’ve been in here was when we FaceTimed during the party last weekend, but considering I was trespassing, it didn’t really seem like the time to snoop.

A game controller sits on his desk beside a stack of textbooks that look sincerely worn in. Shelves of Lego sets line the walls along with unopened boxes. On his nightstand, photos of him and his mom, and a few with Tony, are placed neatly. A Polaroid taped on a wood frame catches my eye, and I grab it, looking closer.

It’s Noah and me at the beach, just the two of us. “I don’t remember this photo.”

“Sophia took it when we did that beach day last semester,” he says. “The one before they all played strip poker.”

“Oh, right.” I laugh, pulling my brows together. Noah and I weren’t even friends yet, but Sophia had gone around with her little camera, making everyone take photos together. She said she was “practicing” for her portfolio. “But how did you end up with it?”

“She gave it to me after you and Jonathan broke up,” he admits.

“What?” I spin around. “Why?”

Noah shrugs, sitting on the edge of the bed, rubbing his hands against his jeans, anxiety written all over his face.

“You okay?” I ask, setting the frame back on the nightstand and tabling the conversation for another time.

“I’m freaking the fuck out,” he admits, blowing out a heavy breath.

I kick off my shoes and climb on the soft mattress, then sit criss-cross facing him. “Want to talk about it?”

Noah reaches toward me, hand hovering over my knee, then sets it on his own instead.

I wish we were back in the tent.

Reality didn’t exist there.

“The draft starts in thirty minutes,” he says hesitantly.

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