Love, Maybe (baby?) by Hazel Parker

Author:Hazel Parker [Parker, Hazel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-04-03T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

Raven

I gave up the hotel room when I thought I was going back to Paris. I can book a room again; I’m sure they’ll accommodate me. But I’m happy here with Noah. He wants me to stay with him, however long it takes for the storm to clear up and flights go out again.

And that works fine by me.

I wasn’t ready to say goodbye, and I feel like we’ve been granted a second chance. A second chance for what, I’m not sure. I know we’re going to have to say goodbye again, soon. I know this won’t work, and it can’t last, not even if we give a long-distance relationship a shot.

I just feel like this little bit of extra time with Noah is a gift when I thought it was all over.

“Tell me what happened after college,” I say. I’m horizontal on the couch, one foot tucked under my thigh and the other on a pillow on Noah’s lap. He’s giving me a foot massage, and God, he’s just as good with his hands on my feet as on any other part of my body.

“What do you want to know?” he asks.

His blond hair is disheveled after we spent the day on the couch, talking, cuddling under the blanket, and just spending time in each other’s company. He’s relaxed, and I love this look on him—he’s not trying to impress me, we have nowhere to go and nothing to dress up for. He’s just himself, and I think it might be the first time I truly see this side of him.

I like what I see.

A lot.

“What happened after you graduated? I mean, after I saw you. You said you were falling around a bit.”

Noah nods. “I didn’t make it pro, like I told you. I had to change my degree, but it wasn’t just about that. It was a whole dream I had to give up on. I was so set on playing pro that I never thought about a fallback, a plan B, something that would be my way out.”

“Even after retiring from football?” I ask.

Noah shrugs, his thumbs digging deep into the muscles of my foot. I moan softly in response, and he cocks the corner of his mouth into a grin at the sound.

“I don’t know,” he continues. “I was young and stupid.” He’s got that right; he was stupid back then. “I mean, I studied a business major so I guess I would have gone into something business-related or something, but I didn’t think that far. We don’t dream about the end of our dreams, right?”

“I guess that’s right.”

I nod. “Anyway, I started applying for jobs because that’s what you do—you earn a living. I got a pretty solid job, too. And working with the NFL isn’t so bad. I’m still on the sidelines. I still get to see the action.”

“I’m happy for you,” I say.

Noah nods. He looks like he wants to say more, so I keep quiet and let him fill the silence.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.