When Hearts Play

What The Heart Craves

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The lunch rush had transformed the university cafeteria into a sea of voices.

Students hurried from counter to counter, trays balanced carefully in their hands as conversations rose and fell above the clatter of cutlery. Somewhere in the background, someone complained loudly about an upcoming test while another group erupted into laughter.

Jael sat opposite Chloe, absentmindedly stirring her fruit juice with the straw.

"You've been staring at that sandwich for five minutes," Chloe observed.

"I have not."

"You have."

"I was thinking."

"Which is exactly my point."

Jael rolled her eyes and finally took a bite.

Before Chloe could continue teasing her, the cafeteria doors swung open.

Almost immediately, the atmosphere shifted.

Noah walked in with the rest of the hockey team, their easy laughter carrying across the room. They headed toward the serving line, joking among themselves.

Noah looked relaxed in a way Jael hadn't seen before.

He laughed at something one of his teammates said, shaking his head as another nudged him playfully.

Then the girls arrived.

Almost as if they had been waiting.

"Hi, Noah!"

"Can I get a picture?"

"Will you sign this?"

One girl held out a notebook while another shyly asked for a selfie.

Noah smiled politely, signing a few pages before posing for a couple of pictures.

Jael looked away.

For reasons she couldn't explain, something twisted uncomfortably inside her chest.

She frowned at herself.

Seriously?

Why should that bother me?

It shouldn't.

So why did it?

Chloe noticed her expression but wisely said nothing.

At the hockey table, Emily arrived as confidently as ever.

Without asking, she slipped into the empty seat beside Noah.

"You're impossible to find," she said with a smile.

"I've been busy."

She began talking animatedly about an upcoming charity gala, but Noah's attention wandered.

His eyes drifted across the cafeteria.

Until they landed on Jael.

She was laughing quietly at something Chloe had whispered.

A small smile tugged at his lips before he even realized it.

His best friend, Ethan, followed his gaze.

"Oh."

Noah blinked.

"What?"

"So that's where your attention's been all week."

Noah reached for his drink.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Ethan smirked.

"Sure."

Emily continued talking.

Noah hadn't heard a word she'd said.

A moment later, he stood.

"I'll be back."

Emily frowned.

"Where are you going?"

He nodded toward the other side of the cafeteria.

"To say hi."

Before anyone could stop him, he walked away.

Jael looked up just as Noah stopped beside their table.

"Mind if I join you?"

She blinked.

"What are you doing here?"

"I figured tutors deserve lunch breaks too."

Before Jael could respond, Chloe looked between them.

Then a mischievous smile spread across her face.

"You know what?"

She gathered her tray.

"I suddenly remembered I promised to meet someone."

Jael narrowed her eyes.

"You absolutely did not."

"Oh, I definitely did."

Chloe leaned closer and whispered,

"Don't overthink everything."

Then, louder—

"I'll see you later, girl."

She disappeared before Jael could protest.

Noah laughed.

"She's always like that?"

"Worse."

He settled into the seat Chloe had just vacated.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Then Noah smiled.

"I understood today's lecture."

Jael looked surprised.

"You did?"

"I actually answered a question."

Her eyes lit up.

"Really?"

He nodded proudly.

"And for once, I knew exactly how I got the answer."

She couldn't stop herself from smiling.

"I told you."

"You were right."

"I usually am."

"Oh?"

She folded her arms.

"You disagree?"

"No."

He laughed.

"I've learned not to argue with my tutor."

She tried to suppress a smile.

Failed.

Their conversation drifted easily from lectures to professors, then somehow to cafeteria food.

"I still think this pasta is a crime against humanity," Noah declared.

Jael laughed.

"It's not that bad."

"It absolutely is."

"You hockey players just eat everything."

"We burn enough calories to deserve better."

For the first time since they'd met, talking felt effortless.

Across the cafeteria, Vanessa watched.

The smile on Noah's face wasn't forced.

It wasn't polite.

It was genuine.

Her own slowly disappeared.

At that moment, Chloe rounded the corner and accidentally collided with someone carrying a tray.

"Oh!"

She stepped back quickly.

"I'm so sorry."

"It's my fault."

The young man steadied his tray before looking up.

For a second, everything around him seemed to fade.

She was beautiful.

Not because she was trying to be.

She simply was.

Chloe blinked.

"I didn't see you."

"It's okay."

He smiled.

"No casualties."

She laughed softly.

"I'm Chloe."

He hesitated.

"Ethan."

"Nice meeting you."

"You too."

She hurried away before either of them could say anything else.

Ethan watched her disappear into the crowd.

One of his teammates nudged him.

"You all right?"

He didn't answer immediately.

Instead, he asked,

"Who was she?"

Back at the table, Noah and Jael were still talking.

"I've never seen someone explain economics using hockey," Jael said.

"I've never met someone who made economics sound interesting."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"You should."

The bell signaling the next lecture echoed across campus.

Students immediately began clearing their trays.

Noah stood.

"I'll see you after class."

"You don't have to."

"I know."

He smiled.

"I want to."

---

By the time lectures ended, the afternoon sun had begun to dip lower in the sky.

Jael stepped out of the faculty building, adjusting the strap of her bag.

A familiar voice called out.

"Tutor."

She turned.

Noah leaned casually against his car.

"Were you waiting long?"

"Long enough."

She sighed.

"Noah..."

He opened the passenger door.

"Get in, Tutor."

She folded her arms.

"Are we really going to keep doing this?"

"As long as you're tutoring me."

"I can get home by myself."

"I know."

"Then why?"

He smiled.

"Because I'm already here."

She couldn't help laughing.

"You're stubborn."

"I've been told."

Before she could answer, Chloe waved from her brother's car.

"I'll see you tomorrow!"

"Drive safely!" Jael called back.

Then she looked at Noah.

"Fine."

She climbed in.

The drive home was easier than the last.

They laughed about a professor's impossible assignments.

Argued over whether pineapple belonged on pizza.

By the time Noah pulled up outside her house, neither of them wanted the conversation to end.

"Thanks."

"Anytime, Tutor."

She smiled before heading inside.

---

That night, sleep refused to come.

Noah stared at the ceiling.

Somehow, every conversation he'd had with Jael replayed in his head.

Across town, Jael lay curled beneath her blanket, wondering why a certain hockey captain occupied so much of her thoughts.

Her phone buzzed.

Noah: Hey, Tutor.

She smiled before she could stop herself.

Jael: Hi.

Almost instantly—

Noah: Did I survive today's lesson?

Jael: Barely.

Noah: Harsh.

Jael: Honest.

He laughed quietly to himself before typing again.

Noah: I really did understand today's class because of you.

She stared at the screen.

No one had thanked her like that before.

Jael: You did the work.

Noah: Only because someone finally showed me how.

A warmth spread through her chest.

After a pause, she typed,

Jael: Do you have a game this weekend?

He smiled.

Noah: Saturday.

Jael: Nervous?

Noah: Every single game.

Jael: I thought captains weren't supposed to admit that.

Noah: Only to people I trust.

She read the message twice.

Then a third time.

Before she could reply, there was a gentle knock.

"Princess?"

She quickly locked her phone.

"Come in."

Her father peeked inside.

"You're still awake?"

"I was just about to sleep."

His eyes drifted to the phone on her bed.

Then to the smile she hadn't managed to hide.

For weeks, she'd buried herself in lectures and textbooks.

Tonight...

She looked lighter.

Happier.

He smiled to himself.

"Goodnight, sweetheart."

"Goodnight, Dad."

After he left, Jael unlocked her phone.

Another message waited.

Noah: Goodnight, Tutor.

She smiled and replied.

Jael: Goodnight, Hockey Boy.

Across town, Noah chuckled at the nickname before placing his phone on the bedside table.

For the first time in a very long while...

He fell asleep smiling.

Not everyone did.

Standing outside the hockey locker room earlier that evening, Emily had watched Noah grin at his phone when he thought no one was looking.

She had never seen that smile before.

And she knew exactly what it meant.

Her jaw tightened.

"Whoever she is..."

She looked toward the dark campus beyond the windows.

"...she's becoming a problem."