Page 59 of The Cuffing Game
“For the record, I didn’t tell Kallie to follow me,” Noah replied, keeping his voice low and even. “I didn’t even notice she was here until now. I just wanted you two to know there’s a camera here, so you won’t do anything you’ll regret being aired.”
“Why were you even following us in the first place?” Kyle snapped. “Aren’t you supposed to be in your own cupful or whatever?”
“It’s cuffle,” Noah said, matter of fact. “Respect the terminology. And you guys both know you’re not supposed to be out in the woods like this. You heard what Mia said.”
Celine dropped her gaze to the ground, but Kyle retorted, “Okay, Mom. Jesus. We’re not in the frat house anymore, Noah. And even if we were, I’m no longer part of Alpha Tau, so you can’t tell me what to do.”
Noah ignored Kyle, opting to talk to Celine instead. That was why he was here, after all. Not to have a pissing contest with someone who was three years younger.
“Celine, I know this isn’t something you’d want to hear from me. But I just wanted to warn you about Kyle. He got kicked out of Alpha Tau for being an all-around asshole.”
Celine’s jaw dropped. Kyle rolled his eyes and said, “Oh, come on—”
“Given the kind of guy he is, I don’t think Kyle has the best intentions,” Noah went on, cutting him off. “I’mpretty sure he’s only trying to date you because he wants to be me.”
“You take that back!” Kyle yelled, with just enough outrage that told Noah he’d struck a nerve.
But before either boy could say anything else, Celine exclaimed, “Noah!” Anger burned in her eyes as she hissed, “First you waste my time, and now youstalkme and the guy who’s actually into me, just to burst in and say weird things about him?”
Noah took a step back. This wasnothow he expected this conversation to go at all.
“What do you mean, waste your time?” he asked. “Andstalk?I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
A slight movement caught Noah’s attention. Kyle was shaking his head, which annoyed the hell out of Noah. But at least he was staying quiet. Noah was surprised Kyle was even doing that.
“But why?” Celine asked Noah. “You don’t even care about me. I liked you, Noah. A lot. I DMed you so many times. You ghosted me, but I figured you got busy, like you said you did. Then on the show, you just led me on!”
Noah sighed, not because of Celine, but because he was frustrated with his past self. He needed to get better at communicating with other people, both online and face-to-face. “First of all, I’m sorry. Truly, I never realized how me being busy could hurt someone like that.” He softened all the edges in his voice before continuing, “But on the show,I wasn’t leading you on. I was genuinely trying to get to know you. I just don’t think...”
He hesitated, wondering if he should say this next part.
Celine crossed her arms. “What?” she asked. “Say it.”
Noah briefly closed his eyes. People were going to make him into a reality TV show villain because of this, butsomeonehad to be honest. “Look, our first two dates were great. But I’m not sure if we’re compatible. Or if you evenlikeme. You were literally out here kissing another guy.”
Tears erupted from Celine’s eyes, but Noah wasn’t sure if it was because his words had hurt her feelings or because he’d forced her to confront the truth on camera. Maybe a bit of both.
“I tried, too, you know!” she exclaimed. “You just weren’t the guy I thought you were.”
It took all of Noah’s self-control to not visibly react tothatrevelation. “Right, and there’s nothing wrong with that ...” He trailed off. Nothing in Celine’s face told him she was willing to listen, to meet him halfway so they could come to a peaceful resolution. It’d been a mistake for him to follow her here.
He took another step back.
“Wait, where are you going?” Celine grabbed his hand.
Noah flinched away. He’d already been tense from Kyle grabbing him earlier, but now, he’d reached his limit.
Noah glanced around the forest and caught sight ofKallie’s camera. He gritted his teeth. He hated that it was there, capturing him at his worst. Everyone was going to see him like this. The students at Marlon, the viewers on YouTube, and the who-knows-how-many of his followers that watched this show.
Suddenly Noah couldn’t breathe. His body started shaking from head to toe.
“Hey,” Celine said, sounding genuinely concerned. “Are you okay?”
“Should we call for help?” Even Kyle looked worried. Which was just great.
Noah opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He had to go. Now. Before he completely shut down and made even more of a fool of himself.
He forced out a breath and tried again. “Sorry,” he said. “But I can’t do this right now.”
