Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 67801 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 339(@200wpm)___ 271(@250wpm)___ 226(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67801 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 339(@200wpm)___ 271(@250wpm)___ 226(@300wpm)
I kicked the ball at the net with everything I had. And promptly fell on my butt.
“Thomas!” Noah was at my side a moment later, brushing grass from my T-shirt as I stood. “You okay?”
I fixed my crooked glasses and gave him a sheepish look. “I’m fine. There must be an art form to kicking. Learning to moderate force and tempo will take some practice.”
“Moderate…” He cocked his head curiously. “What are you doing here?”
“I joined your team.”
The wide O was back. He recovered faster this time, waving his friends off and pulling me to the far end of the net.
Noah raked his teeth over his bottom lip, adding, “I don’t understand.”
I swiped my palms on the Lycra sports shorts Ezra had insisted I needed and swallowed hard.
This was it.
This was my chance. I had a short speech planned and his undivided attention for a limited time. I cast a quick glance at the group of men huddled around Coach Kevin, then met his gaze.
“I love you.”
Noah blinked. “You…”
“I love you,” I repeated. “I think I always have. I never wanted to date you. I wanted you to be mine. All mine. I never thought it was possible. You’re so…extraordinary—the brightest star in the universe. You are my sunrise, my moonset, my most complex equation, and the only solution.”
Noah’s nostrils flared. “Thomas.”
“It’s true. You told me I could do better, but you are better. You told me I deserved someone with less baggage, someone less complicated, and that’s not for me. All I want…all I’ll ever want is you, Noah.” I traced his jaw and cupped his chin. “I want a chance to make you happy. I love you. I love—”
He launched himself into my arms and crashed his mouth over mine.
I kissed him as if my life depended on it, chuckling into the kiss when he wrapped his limbs around me. Catcalls and wolf whistles drifted on the breeze, but I barely noticed. I could have stayed here all day and all night…just like this.
Eventually Noah slipped to his feet and caressed my cheek. “I love you too. You know, I was going to drive to your house after practice and throw pebbles at your window. Or maybe show up in the front row of your first class on Monday to tell you…I’m ready to start over.”
“Yeah?”
He nodded. “Yeah. It’s time to let go. I want a real life…with you.”
I pressed kisses all over his face. “Yes, yes, yes.”
He touched the piece of tape holding my glasses together and smiled affectionately. “I love you. Be patient with me, Professor. I’m rusty and awkward and I think my issues have issues, but God, I’m so fucking grateful I stepped on your glasses. And I’m so glad you’re mine.”
“All yours.”
He stepped out of my arms and kissed my knuckles, inclining his chin toward our modest yet enthusiastic audience. “I can’t believe you signed up for soccer.”
“Temporary madness. I’ll let Coach Kevin know that I’ve decided to pass on the opportunity.”
“Oh, no, no. Come play with us. I’ll teach you everything you need to know. And in exchange, I’ll want to know about every planet, moon, and star in the galaxy. How many are there? How long would it take to reach them? What are the chances we’ll ever know if there’s life out there?”
“Every planet, moon, and star? That’s going to take a while,” I singsonged.
“A lifetime, eh?”
“At least.”
Noah beamed at me, slipping his hand into mine before guiding us toward the center of the field.
There’s something extraordinary about walking hand in hand with the person you love. It’s a love song, a poem, a sonnet, a perfectly tuned instrument, and the solution to a complicated equation all in one. My heart soared into the stratosphere, leaving me light-headed and breathless.
Beginnings weren’t always marked on clean slates or blank pages. Oftentimes they came with a slew of preconceived notions, previous heartaches, and undefined insecurities. The beauty lay in untangling the complicated and finding a clear space where something new could grow.
This was our clear space. Our beginning.
Was I nervous? Not really. Sure, a lot of people would say we didn’t make sense. They might think we were a mystery, and maybe they’d be right. But we knew who we were. The professor and his dashing date, the nerd and the jock…or just two men on a new path.
Together.
EPILOGUE
“I love you not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you.”— Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Noah
“The unusual complexities of this planetary nebula will take years to untangle. Let’s take a look at its shape…”
I slid into an empty seat in the back of the lecture hall and stuffed my bag under my feet, resisting the urge to unzip it and make sure I hadn’t forgotten anything. Champagne, check. Birthday streamers, check. Skimpy Speedo and lube, check, check. Now I just needed my sexy professor to wrap up his spiel about space dust and release his students so we could get this party started.