Page 45 of Catching My Dreams

“The one you supposedly can’t stand?”

“It’s complicated.” Really goddamned complicated.

“What it is, is an absolute shit show,” Chris corrected. “Have you forgotten she’s Asher’s best friend?”

As if Noah needed the reminder. He was all too aware of how close Asher and Ella were.

“I know you’ve developed some weird infatuation for her,” his friend continued, “but he will never forgive you if you hit it and quit it.”

Noah stepped on the brakes a bit too aggressively, coming to an abrupt halt at a stop street.

“Don’t speak about her like she’s some object,” he gritted out. “She’s a person, Chris. Just like every other woman. Not something for you to discard once you’ve had your fill.”

“I’m well aware that women are people,” Chris shot back. “And I also know that if I tell a girl I’m only looking for one night of fun and she agrees, that doesn’t make me some kind of sexist pig.”

The man had a point, but that didn’t mean Noah wouldn’t punch him if he ever implied Ella was someone who could be discarded. She deserved more than that. “Just…don’t talk about her that way, alright?”

Chris sighed. “I think I already know the answer, but you really care about her, don’t you?”

Noah could feel the weight of his friend’s narrow-eyed gaze on the side of his face. He could come up with an excuse or denial, but the lie wouldn’t form on his tongue.

“You do, don’t you?” Chris pressed, letting out a chuckle. “You’ve spent the last few years telling her how much you hate her, but you’re fucking whipped, aren’t you?”

“Yes, it’s hilarious,” Noah drawled. “Can we be done talking about this now?” He didn’t need his friend’s commentary to tell him how screwed up his relationship with Ella was.

“You love her,” Chris taunted, drawing out the word ‘love’ for an obscenely long time.

“Yeah, and she hates me,” Noah snapped.

“If she hates you, why did she call you?” Brady asked, and Noah looked in the rearview mirror to see his teammate looking at him with a quirked brow.

“Because she’d already run through all her other options. I was her last resort.”

“Or maybe she doesn’t hate you as much as you think she does.”

Noah shook his head. He reconnected his phone and turned up the volume of the song that had been playing before Ella called him.

His two teammates must have understood his hint that he was done talking about it because they remained silent for the rest of the drive. The quiet didn’t make Noah feel any better, though. He was too busy wondering if Ella was okay.

By the time he pulled into her driveway behind her SUV, Noah was too agitated to feign a sense of calm. He sprang out of the car, slamming the door behind him after telling the other two to stay where they were. He sprinted to her front door, impatiently knocking on the wood and calling out her name.

“It’s open,” she yelled, the words muffled behind the door.

Noah didn’t hesitate. He wrenched the door open and rushed inside. “Ella?”

“I’m in the living room.”

His footsteps were loud and hurried as he followed her voice. He found her lying on the couch. Archie hopped off his spot on her stomach to greet him.

“Hi, buddy.” Noah crouched down to give the Yorkie a scratch behind his ears, but his eyes remained on Ella.

She had a heat pack beneath her neck and resting on her shoulders, but she was looking at him out of the corner of her eyes, which meant she still couldn’t move her head.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hi.”

He wasn’t sure if it was the fact she couldn’t look at him head-on, but she looked very wary for someone who’d asked for his help.

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