Page 35 of Cross My Heart

“No need to explain yourself.” I sigh. “What we have has to stop.”

“W-what?”

“Did you think we were going to spend the rest of our lives going behind her back? This isn’t fuckingBrokeback Mountain. Enough is enough,” I huff.

“Don’t compare our lives to a fucking movie, Noah,” he hisses. “Don’t insult what we have. It’s real. It’s?—”

“Over.” I nod once. “I can’t keep betraying Scarlett. She fucking deserves better! Why don’t you see that?!”

“I do see it,” Tyler says through gritted teeth. “I just—can’t help how I feel about you too.”

“Well, I’ll do it for both of us,” I reply, taking a step back. “Leave me alone, Ty.”

“Don’t do this.” He shakes his head. “You leave tomorrow. I don’t want to be on bad terms.”

“I’ll never be on bad terms with you,” I sigh. “Just—please, Ty. Don’t push this. We aren’t meant to be. You’re not leaving Scarlett, and I’m just a fool who fell in love with a taken man.”

“I wasn’t taken when it happened.”

“And yet here we are.” I smile sadly at him. “The stars haven’t aligned for us.”

“Fuck the stars.”

I nod but instead of replying, I go back to the rest of my friends.

Chapter 18

TYLER

24 YEARS OLD

It’s been years since Noah and I have been alone together. I wouldn’t even count the five minutes in the woods from last year. Ever since his parents died, Scarlett has refused to let us be together by ourselves. She hasn’t said as much, but it’s obvious by the way she takes the entire week off work every time he comes around. Which is why I’m surprised that Noah and I are on our first vacation without Scarlett in, well, ever.

It’s always been the three of us on vacation since we were kids. The Three Musketeers. But now this friendship trio has been broken, I can tell. And I also know that as hard as Scarlett tried to take the time off, work didn’t give it to her. Now that she’s a phlebotomist at the hospital, she can’t just take time off whenever she feels like it. Especially since she works full-time. I guess she could’ve rearranged her schedule to make it work if we had given her longer notice, but I won’t lie, I was hoping for this. Except Scarlett is fucking pissed. She won’t even talk to me and told me if I don’t go home today she’s going to change the locks. Not that I think she actually would.

I wanted to get Noah all to myself. Wanted to spend time with himwithouther. And that’s exactly what I’m getting.

Finally.

When he found out it was just the two of us, he was angry as well. He didn’t want to be put in this position, to choose between Scarlett and himself. But this is exactly where I wanted him. Us. Because last year in the woods shouldn’t have happened. He wasn’t supposed to end things between us, yet I was powerless to stop it the moment Scarlett all but dragged me into that tent.

I fucked up.

Noah is sitting on the sand, the waves lapping at his feet, while I stand across from him, arm outstretched toward him. My fingers spread wide as he stands up, half expecting him to not take my hand in his, but he doesn’t disappoint me. Instead, he takes hold of me in a firm grip, his eyes looking so fucking beautiful with the setting sun shining on them. His dark brown hair looks a little red with the glow of the sun, and his skin is tan. There’s a smirk on his full lips as he looks at me, and he pulls me deeper into the water until it reaches our knees. My linen pants stick to my skin now, and I shiver at the cold temperature.

I don’t know how long we stand there looking into each other’s eyes, or even who moves first, but we’re suddenly cupping each other’s faces as our lips meet for a soft kiss. I feel the stingrays swimming around our legs, and stiffen, but Noah just shifts his hand to the back of my neck and deepens the kiss. It’s distracting, and I completely forget about the outside world for what feels like forever but is surely only seconds. Noah sucks on my bottom lip gently, then teases me with his tongue. I open up for him, letting him in, tangling my tongue with his. Electricity courses through me, making me jump, and he chuckles.

It’s nearly night now, the sky somewhere between gray and black, and the beach is completely deserted. We pull away from each other at the same time a wave crashes against our legs, and I jump in surprise. The frigid water soaks the rest of my pants, and Noah grins. He’s wearing jeans, and he’s not faring much better than I am, but he doesn’t even act like it bothers him at all.

“Wanna get out of here?” Noah asks me, grabbing my hand again and squeezing it once. “We can get dinner.”

I smirk. “We’d have to change first.”

“Or we could just sit outside.”

“Why don’t we stay a little longer?” I ask him, “There’s no one else here and we could just sit down and spend some time together?”

Noah frowns. “Sure.”

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