Page 60 of Overeager
For once, Noah didn’t rush to take Eli into his arms. He stayed where he was, standing by the door, his intense gaze focused on Eli.
Eli stopped his pacing, and they faced off. At least, that was what it felt like. The tension between them was strange and heavy, and Eli didn’t know exactly what to ask.
Does your brother really hate me?The answer to that was obvious.
Have you forgiven me for Richard?That one was less obvious but also possibly irrelevant, in light of what had just happened.
What came out instead was “I thought your brother was unpresented.”
Noah ran a hand through his curls, his brow furrowing into a confused frown. “He is.”
“He smells like an alpha.”
Ash had been emitting a dark, woodsy scent. Definitely not the neutral notes of an unpresented male.
Noah let out a breath. “Those are Ryder’s pheromones. People can be … weird about the unpresented thing, and he gets protective. It’s a besties thing.”
Eli wasn’t so sure about that. It hadn’t smelled like a “besties thing.” It had smelled more like a claiming.
But he wasn’t going to argue the point. Not now, after what had just happened. He cleared his throat, wishing Noah was closer but too unsure to bridge the distance between them. “How—how did it go?”
Noah gave a bitter laugh, leaning back against the door. “Well, he’s not gonna call the cops.”
It was obviously a joke—Noah was well above eighteen—but it made Eli’s stomach twist anyway. Eli was scum, wasn’t he? Or Noah’s brother thought he was, at the very least.
Whatever Noah saw on Eli’s face had him stepping forward, his hand held out in a placating gesture. “Eli, no. It’s okay. He’s pissed, but that’s just Ash. He’ll calm down, and we’ll have a real talk.”
Eli started twisting his hands again, unwilling to accept the reassurance. “That’s two people who know now, Noah. Your brother and his friend. Twostudents. Ones who don’t like me very much right now.”
Noah ran a hand over his face with a wince. “Is now a good time to tell you Chase knows too?”
“What?” Hot, fresh panic ran through Eli’s veins. He hadn’t been expecting that. Chase was in hisclass, for fuck’s sake.
“I didn’t tell him, but he … figured it out.”
“And you didn’t think to tellme?!” Eli didn’t exactly screech the words, but it was a close thing. He knew he should take a breath, try to lessen the rising panic, but he was too flustered by what was beginning to feel like hit after hit after hit.
Noah’s answer was decidedly calmer, if just as devastating. “Like you didn’t think to tell me about Richard?”
It felt like a low blow, even if it was a fair one. “I guess this is the thing with a secret relationship,” Eli mused, feeling like his brain was separating from his body. “You get too used to keepingsecrets.” He let out a bitter laugh, his shoulders sagging. “Jesus, I’m going to get fired.”
“Chase won’t tell anyone. And I’ll convince Ash. We’ll get through this, Eli.”
“Wewill?” Eli shook his head. “It’smyjob on the line, Noah.” He thumped a hand to his chest, old wounds coming too close to the surface, making him feel too raw and too tender. “Mycareer.”
He’d been so close too. They’d be making the official decision after spring break, but it was basically a formality at this point. Eli had only needed one more week of classes, his heat to get through, and he would have at least had tenure. A leg of sorts to stand on if things went sideways like this.
“It’s your career, yes. But I’m your partner.” At Eli’s silence, Noah narrowed his eyes. “Youdosee me as your partner, right? You see this as long-term? Or is this just some sort of distracting fuck while you wait for your tenure to go through?”
His words fell like a slap across Eli’s face, and Eli blanched accordingly. “What did you just ask me?”
Were those Ash’s words Noah was giving voice to, or was that somethinghe’dbeen feeling? Had Eli been envisioning a future together while they weren’t actually on the same page at all?
“Shit.” Noah ran his hand through his hair again, tugging harshly on the strands. “I’m sorry. Fuck. I didn’t mean that. I’m all worked up. Richard and then this. And you smell—” His face fell, shoulders dropping as he crossed his arms. “Maybe we need to take some space.”
Space was the last thing Eli wanted. It felt like all this might be falling apart, and he wanted Noah closer, not further away. Even with the jumble in his head, the panic and the misery, he wanted Noah to hold him, to tell him things were going to be okay. He wanted to be bathed in some of that eternal optimism Noah usually carried around so effortlessly.
But Noah had never asked Eli for space before—if anything, it had always been the opposite—so if he was saying he needed it now …
