Page 59 of Rookie Season
Visions of Noah immediately dance through my mind—his broad shoulders and muscular ass bared under the spray of the shower when I accidentally walked in on him, his eyes surreptitiously moving over my body when we were in the hot tub, him pressed against me as we danced in our living room for that dare, and most of all, his hot, needy expression as he leaned towards me on the rooftop, breath hitching…
“No,” I blurt.
Mira sputters a laugh. “You totally have. Which one?”
“No, I promise I haven’t,” I protest.
Cora shakes her head, arms crossed. “I don’t believe you for a second.”
I hold my hands up in surrender, then cross my finger over my heart. “Not lying.”
“But you’re hot for one of them?” Mira guesses, waggling her eyebrows.
Practically burning alive.
“I mean, duh,” I say as casually as I can, scooping my hair over one of my shoulders. “They’re all gorgeous.”
This makes the table break out in laughter and murmured agreement, and I relax a little, having successfully maneuvered myself out of the conversational spotlight for a moment.
And then, of course, my phone has to go and light up on the table in front of me with a text in our “Loft 3B” group chat.
“Is that one of them?” Cora’s eyes are wide and sparkling.
Penn
You holding up okay without us, Ally?
“It is,” I tell my friend, smiling as I type out a reply to Penn.
Ally
Haven’t been forced to eat a single vegetable for two days. It’s been glorious.
Fisher
I’m going to DoorDash you some green juice right this second so Downsby doesn’t lose his mind worrying about you and your health.
For some reason, even the mention of Noah’s name on the screen in front of me has my heart jumping into my chest. I watch intently, hoping to see the little dots pop up indicating that Noah’s typing a snappy response, but nothing comes through.
I swallow down my disappointment and type out what I hope sounds like a joke-y, nonchalant response.
Ally
Aww, no need to worry about me, Noah. My health is perfect. You guys just focus on winning your game tonight, I’ll be watching it on TV. Good luck!
Flipping my phone face down on the table, I refocus on the conversation, enjoying the girls’ company, but distracted by thoughts of Noah. Where’s his head at right now? Is he disappointed I pulled away, or is this only a big deal inmystupid mind and he hasn’t given it a single thought since?
The idea of that stings more than it should.
At the end of the evening, I hug the girls and gladly agree to have dinner again with them soon. As Cora and I walk back to the dance studio, where our vehicles are still parked, she eyes me curiously.
“Did we pry into your personal life too much tonight?”
I smile and shake my head. “Nah, not at all. I had fun.”
“There’s more to it, though, right? With your roommates…or one of them, in particular?”
Maybe it’s the fact that I have been alone in the loft for the past couple of days with nobody to talk to, or the fact that I haven’t had a girlfriend in a while now, or the fact that I’m really confused at Noah’s lack of responsiveness in the group chat, but I find myself wanting to talk about it.
