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.

Noah opens the door to the apartment and scoops me into his arms to carry me over the threshold. “I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of carrying you,” he says, as he kisses my cheek. He carries me through the hallway and into the living room where two large picture windows overlook the city.

“Wow.”

“Yeah, I thought you’d like this. As soon as I saw it online, I saw you curled up on the couch with the fire lit, doing your homework.”

“You see me living here?”

“With me,” he says looking into my eyes.

“As roommates?”

Noah starts walking toward another hall and steps into a bedroom. It’s tastefully decorated in various shades of purple, but it’s the view that has me falling in love. He sets me on the bed and stands in front of me.

“I’d like you to live here as my girlfriend, as my lover.”

“Noah…”

“For months I’ve been trying to get you alone, but someone is always around. I take you on a date, Quinn shows up. We’re alone at the condo and Elle comes home. I take you to my hotel, your mom calls. Ever since I asked your dad for permission to date you, something has been preventing me from… well, from being with you.”

“You’ve never told me what my dad said?”

Noah sits down next to me. “I think that’s between your dad and I, and while I still think that, I have a feeling he’s been plotting against us.”

I start laughing, but Noah frowns. “I thought you weren’t attracted to me.”

His eyes go wide. “Are you serious?” Noah shakes his head. “I’ve been walking around with a raging hard-on for months. I mean, at first I was waiting because I wanted to make sure you wanted to be with me, and sometimes I still question--”

I don’t let Noah finish his statement before attacking him with as much vigor as I can muster. For two people who are in love, we’re horrible about reading each other’s cues, but not anymore. Noah deftly moves us up the bed without breaking our kiss. I’m tugging and pulling at his clothes, trying to get his shirt off and his jeans unbuttoned.

“Eager?” he asks. I nod and shimmy out of my shorts. “What about this?” he pulls at the hem, but I shake my head. I’m not comfortable taking my top off, and he knows that. Noah nods and pulls his shirt off slowly, revealing his washboard abs. I’ve seen him bare-chested many times, but everything seems different now.

He slides his jeans down his legs, pausing only to remove a condom from his pocket. I take it from him and examine the packaging.

“It’s valid, don’t worry.”

“I’m not worried because I know you would never do anything to hurt me.”

Noah cups my face and brings his lips to mine. “I love you, so much it hurts sometimes when I think about heading back to work and leaving you.”

“I love you, Noah. I love you so much.” Our lips and tongue meet again, but now he’s exploring. His hand moves up my shirt and grazes over my scar. My body tenses until his fingers slide under my bra. His large hand easily covers my breast while his other moves to my center. My legs spread, welcoming him. The first brush of his thumb over my sensitive bud sends a quake of shivers over my body.

Noah is everywhere. And so am I. His mouth is on my neck. My hands are roaming his body, pulling at him to get closer to me. His hands push and grab in all the right places and his fingers… I cry out when they enter me. My hand finds his erection, tugging gently at his smooth-skinned shaft. And when he groans in my ear, I smile.

He searches for the condom, ripping the package open and sliding the rubber over his hard-on. “This will be fast, Captain. I’ve been waiting for this to happen again since your prom.”

“Really?”

Noah answers by pushing himself into my sex and pausing. “You have no idea. I’ve waited for a long time for you, Peyton.”

Not as long as I have, Noah.

“I’m yours now,” I tell him as I cup his face. He tilts his head and kisses my palm as he slides into me. My eyes close from the sensation.

“Open your eyes. I want to see you,” he tells me as he moves languidly. Every thrust, his eyes are on me, and when they’re not, he’s kissing me deeply. I’ve never been made love to before, and I’m thankful I waited for this moment because being with Noah is like no other feeling in the world.

Our first time, we don’t climax together because let’s get real, we haven’t been together in years. But every time after that, through every room in our new apartment, he plays my body like it’s the two-minute warning and scores each and every time.

Sometime during the night, he whispers, “I love you. I’m going to love you forever.”

“Same,” I reply.