“I think we should go to the diner for breakfast while we’re on break,” I blurt out, and he turns his head to look at me.
“O-kay,” he says slowly. I know why he sounds confused. We’ve been to the diner a few times since that first time, but we never go together. We walk in alone, and we usually leave alone too.
“I mean together. Hand in hand.”
His eyes widen now as he realizes what I’m saying. “Noah, I don’t—”
“I do,” I say kissing him hard on the mouth and releasing him to lay his head back down on my shoulder. “I know.”
“If we walk into the diner—the one diner in town—for breakfast, hand in hand, everyone will know we’re a couple by lunch.”
I smile, no longer afraid of that fact. No longer afraid at all. He’s my future. I know that now. Whether we live here or anywhere else in the world, he’s it for me.
“I know. I want that.”
He doesn’t seem so sure, and I know why. He’s protective of me. Himself too, to a point, but he’s brave. He’ll go after what he wants, but when it comes to me, he’s a little more conservative.
“Look at me.” I put my mug down on the table, then take his too as he turns to look into my eyes.
“Noah, I don’t want to ruin your life. This is enough for me, you know? Coming home, to our home, and being the couple we truly are. I’m okay with that.”
I shake my head. “No.”
“No?” He sounds surprised.
“We aren’t doing this anymore. We aren’t hiding. Unless you want that for you, but I don’t think that’s the case.” He looks a little sheepish, and I know I’m right. “Right. So after the holidays, but before we go back to school, we should do this because I don’t want to hide anymore. I want the world to know we’re together.”
He grins at that. “We’re missing Die Hard, you know? It’s a damn classic.”
“You and your damn classics,” I grumble against his lips and hand him his cocoa, then take my own, both of us settling together on the couch.
In our home.
THIRTY-THREE
NOAH
My hands are shaking.
I hate that my damn hands are shaking, and it’s not from the frigid January cold. We had a great Christmas. LeAnn and Daniel stayed until New Year’s Day, then they went home to prepare for the next semester.
And we go back to school next week, so now is the time to do this.
“We don’t have to do this,” Chance says as he stands by my side, and we both look at the little diner on Main Street. “We don’t.”
I take his hand in mine, feeling just how cold it is. “Yes, we do. I want to do this. I’ve wanted to for a long damn time.”
“We could do it on a smaller scale.”
I want to laugh because it’s just a small-town diner, but we both know a lot of the town is in there. Honestly, it wouldn’t matter if only one person was there. The news will make the rounds, no matter what.
“This is perfect. They have good biscuits and gravy.”
“Yours are better,” he says instantly. I turn to face him, and he follows suit, doing the same, his hand still in mine.
I kiss him softly and slowly, my heart beating like crazy in my chest. No doubt, it’ll gain some attention through the diner window. And I don’t care.
Because I love this man.
I want this man.
I want to go to all the community events together in the same vehicle and hold hands and laugh as we walk around. I want to leave together and drive to our house that we share.
“I want to do this. I’m fully in,” I say as I pull back enough to look into his eyes, my breath visible between us as I speak.
He just nods but looks incredibly nervous.
“Are you okay with this?” I have to check because he looks a little pale.
“Yes. I’m more than okay with this. This”—he gestures toward the diner and then at me—“is all I ever wanted and never thought I’d have.”
That makes me smile. “Okay. Then let’s go get it.”
He nods and squeezes my hand confidently as we walk toward the diner, and I open the door for him to walk in first. He does, and I follow. All eyes are on us. Not one pair of eyes isn’t trained on us.
But I keep my head up high as Ralph, one of the owners, greets us with a tight, worried smile. “Booth or counter?”
“Counter, please,” I answer, and he leads us to the front counter, placing two menus in front of us and walking away.
My hands are still shaking as I pick up the menu, which is more of a distraction than anything else because I know what I’ll order—the same thing I’ve had here for breakfast for the past two decades.
But still.
“You okay?” Chance’s voice is low as I turn to take him in. He’s so damn beautiful, it nearly takes my breath away for a whole new reason other than being nervous as hell.
“Yeah.” I take his hand in mine and place them both on the counter. “I’m more than okay.”
He smiles and picks up the menu with his other hand. He peruses it, just as our waitress approaches. She’s LeAnn’s age, although I can’t quite remember her name.
I think she dated one of my players at one point. Her eyes find our entwined hands, and her mouth drops open. “Coach.”
Kennedy. That’s her name. The kid was friends with LeAnn for a while. Never really liked her though. I was pretty glad when they went their separate ways.
“Hello.” I nod to her. “I think my boyfriend and I are ready to order.”
Her jaw drops even further, and I don’t miss the look of disgust on her face. “B-boyfriend?” she stutters.
Chance shifts in his seat a little, but I hold his hand firm. “Yup. I’ll take biscuits and gravy with a black coffee,” I order.
“Same,” Chance supplies for the girl who’s still gaping at us.
“Uh . . . okay.” She flips her hair over her shoulder and takes our menus, heading into the kitchen.
Chance grins at me, and I smile back, but my eyes are carefully looking around the diner to watch for any hint of trouble. There are definitely some good ole boys in here today and even a couple who look like they might stand up to come over. But before anyone can do that, a man I recognize as Oakley Easton’s father walks up to us.
Shit. I really like Oakley. I don’t want to get into it with his dad.
I clear my throat, turning to look at him but not releasing Chance’s hand. “Mr. Easton.”
I’m surprised when the man smiles at me and slaps me on the shoulder happily before taking the seat next to mine. “Coach. Been a while.”
I nod, kind of frozen because he seems friendly. Though it could be the calm before the storm. “It has.”
He nods his head in the direction of Chance. “You’re the assistant coach, right?”
Chance nods. “I am.”
“I was sad to see you guys didn’t go to state this year, but it was damn close.” He sounds happy, and his smile has only gotten wider.
“Yeah, it was close,” I mimic.