Two Yards from Heartbreak

Chapter seven

The next few days felt like walking a thin line.

Noah and I were officially… something. We hadn’t put a label on it yet, but everyone could tell. He waited for me every morning. We held hands in the hallways. He kissed me goodbye after school like it was the most natural thing in the world.

And Jace noticed everything.

Friday after practice I was sitting on the bleachers packing up my tablet when he dropped down next to me, still in his practice jersey. Noah was still on the field talking to my dad.

“So,” Jace said, leaning back on his hands. “You and Brooks. For real now?”

I kept my eyes on my bag. “Why do you care?”

“I don’t.” He said it too fast. “Just curious. Never thought he’d actually go for the quiet one.”

I looked at him. “You really can’t stop, can you?”

He smirked. “Stop what?”

“Acting like you’re better than everyone.”

Jace laughed under his breath. “I’m not acting, Carter.”

Before I could answer, Noah walked up. He looked between us for a second, then gave Jace a familiar shove on the shoulder.

“You bothering my girl?”

The words came out easy, but I saw the way Jace’s jaw tightened for half a second.

“Just making conversation,” Jace said, standing up. “She’s all yours, Captain.”

He walked off toward the locker room without looking back. Noah watched him go, then turned to me.

“You okay?”

“Yeah. He was just being… him.”

Noah sat down next to me and bumped his shoulder against mine. “Ignore him. He’s been weird lately.”

“Weird how?”

“I don’t know. Distracted. More with the girls than usual. Like he’s trying to prove something.”

I didn’t say anything. Part of me already knew what that something might be.

That night Noah came over. My dad was in his office watching game film, so we stayed in the living room. We talked for a long time — about school, about the future, about how strange it felt that things between us had changed so fast.

At one point Noah took my hand and laced our fingers together.

“I want this to be real,” he said. “Not just something we’re testing.”

I looked at him. “It is real for me.”

He smiled, then leaned in and kissed me. This time it wasn’t careful. It was deeper, longer, the kind of kiss that made my thoughts go quiet. His hand slid to the back of my neck, holding me close.

When we finally broke apart, both of us were a little breathless.

“Stay a bit longer?” I whispered.

He nodded.

We ended up on the couch, my head on his shoulder, his arm around me. It felt safe. Warm. Like I could finally stop overthinking everything.

Then my phone buzzed on the table.

Noah glanced at it. I reached over and flipped it so the screen faced down.

But not before I saw the name.

Jace.

Noah’s body went a little stiff next to me.

“You can check it,” he said quietly.

“I don’t need to.”

He didn’t look convinced. “Ellie…”

I sat up and looked at him. “I’m here with you. Not him.”

Noah searched my face for a second, then nodded slowly. He pulled me back against him, but the easy feeling from before had cracked a little.

Later, after he left, I finally unlocked my phone.

Jace:

Hope Brooks is treating you right.

Would be a shame if he wasn’t.

And right under it:

Jace:

I’m outside.

My blood went cold.

I walked to the window and carefully pulled the curtain back.

Jace’s car was parked across the street. The engine was off. I couldn’t see his face clearly in the dark, but I knew he was looking at the house.

My phone buzzed one more time.

Jace:

Come talk to me.

Just for a minute.

I stood there in the dark, heart hammering, Noah’s kiss still on my lips and Jace waiting outside.

And for the first time I realized this wasn’t going to stay simple much longer.