Crossing lines (Noah and Aiden) novel Chapter 129

Chapter 129

Noah

How fucking blind was he? I told him I wanted to be with him, I’d made a point of being close to him, and it hadn’t even been my damn idea to come to this party. I got it-yeah, I needed to be accepted, needed to bond with the team, blah blah. And I did. I really needed and wanted that.

But still.

I’d risked being called a faggot by my teammates-and worse. After all, Miguel already knew my secret. But still, like an idiot, when a beautiful, popular girl came at me and put me on the spot, I’d gone running to him. And what did I get? Him pretty much making it clear I had a choice to make.

God, did he not see I’d already made a choice? I chose him.

Or maybe he knew I had, and he just wanted to make sure I understood what that meant. That I was willing to go the distance. And I obviously knew what it meant to be caught with my coach. Or I thought I did.

I mean, what was the worst that could happen? People knowing we were together? Teammates teasing me, locker-room jokes, girls not lining up anymore? So what? And for Aiden-what could happen? He’d have to prove it was consensual, which I’d happily shout from the rooftops. That I was over eighteen- which I was… That was it, right?

So I asked him, desperate. “How would I be throwing it all away? What’s the big deal?”

And his answer, even though it wasn’t the first time I’d heard it, hit me differently this time.

He said, steady and cold, “We’ve gone through this, Noah. I’m your coach. That makes it abuse of power in their eyes-even if you beg me for it. I’d lose my job, my career, my name. And you? You’d lose the team’s respect. Scouts would call you a distraction. A liability. No matter how good you are, they’d say you only got here because you were in my bed. You will be the whore, instantly devalued by everyone, everywhere. And legally? It doesn’t matter that you’re over eighteen. Colleges have rules we have both signed-coaches can’t sleep with players. It is against the law. If this ever came out, it would end both of

us.”

It felt like a punch straight to the gut.

“That’s the big deal,” he finished. “It’s not just a game we’d lose. It’s everything.”

And that’d been it. I’d been left with the decision. A decision that didn’t just involve me but both of us. Granted, whether I went for a damn walk with Lexie or not wasn’t going to instantly brand me as gay and Coach’s fuck-boy. But eventually, something would.

And if we could never be together while we were both under contract, and for as long as our careers lasted, then what the hell were we even chasing? Secret sex in the showers, the basement, dark corners of the club? Weekend escapes with Aiden and weekday silences, sneaking glances across practice fields?

My chest ached. Confused. Torn.

Lexie probably thought I drowned in the toilet bowl by now. Maybe I should’ve stayed there.

But when I stepped out, she was standing across the room talking to a group of girls. She looked up, caught sight of me, and giggled. “Noah! Where were you? Ready for that walk?”

Shit.

“Yeah,” I muttered, forcing a smile.

We slipped out into the night, circling the gardens, the campus grounds lit with strings of party lights. She slipped her arm through mine, leaned in just enough to make my pulse pound.

“You were incredible today,” she said, eyes bright. “My dad was seriously impressed. He came to the game and couldn’t stop talking about you.”

* “Really?” I asked, half-flattered, half-nervous. “I’m glad you guys enjoyed it.”

1/2

4:54 pm P P ·

Chapter 129

༠.་།

“He’s a huge fan,” she said. “And he wasn’t just impressed-he was shocked. He said you’ve got something special. He even mentioned private sponsorship. He knows people who’d be dying to meet you.”

Chapter Comments

1