• • •

It was funny how things worked out.

Three weeks ago, Noah was complaining about not being called back to practice. Now, as he sat on a bike with his legs burning, he tried to remember why he was in such a rush to return.

His personal trainer and the facility's strength and conditioning coach were night and day. He had no preference toward either, but apparently his body did.

"Time."

Noah held in his sigh of relief as he decreased the speed. It didn't matter anyway. This was a superset. He didn't even give a damn that his legs shook while he walked to the barbell.

"The fuck are you doing, twenty-two?! Get your hands off your fuckin' hips!"

He dropped his hands. "My bad."

Coach Jack had been with the organization for nearly fifteen years and was damn good at his job. He seemed to have a passion for making you feel like you were dying and then watching you not die.

Sick ass shit.

For whatever reason, Jack had decided Noah needed to improve his endurance. As if he hadn't spent the better part of his adult life running from men who weighed upwards of three hundred pounds.

Noah stared at the barbell, wondering if he could get away with taking some plates off. When he glanced over his shoulder and saw he was being watched, he decided against it.

"Eight reps." Coach watched him closely. "Slow on the way down."

He hadn't even done three deadlifts before he started wondering what the fuck he was paying his personal trainer for.

When he finished the last one, he dropped the bar with a grunt, fighting the urge to sit.

"Thirty seconds—Walk it off."

"Thirty?"

Coach stared, "You want twenty?"

Noah started walking.

At least Coach's reputation seemed to be worth it. Carolina's roster was filled with older players who often made it through a whole season, a stat worth mentioning when other players around their age would be out midway.

He didn't think twice about being yelled at when he knew an injury could make the front office start discussing your contract.

And that extension Noah had just signed? Gone.

Besides, he liked it here. The coaching staff, the organization, even the city itself. Granted, it took him a while to settle in, but once he started actually responding to people instead of grunts, the transition got considerably easier.

Noah's time was up, apparent in the way Coach started screaming his number from the other side of the field.

He rolled his shoulders before bending to grip the bar. By the time he finished his final set, sweat had soaked through the back of his shirt.

Jack reached to dap him up, "Good work today."

"'Preciate you." Noah spoke through labored breaths. 

"Get some rest this weekend. I'm on your ass, Monday."

He'd probably have nightmares about it.

He stood there for another moment, hands dangling at his sides as he attempted to regulate his breathing. There was a difference between being in shape and being in football shape, and he wasted a lot of time sitting on his ass watching TV.

"Your ass look like you 'bout to pass out," Seth observed.

"I'm finna die."

He laughed, "They want their money outta you."

"You make more than me and they got you over there doing fucking pressers."

"The face of the team and all that."

Noah snorted.

He couldn't deny that Seth was a great face for the team. Noah didn't understand how he could give a perfect answer to every question—even the stupid ones.

But still, "Work out with the RB's on Monday."

Noah doubted if he would show up. He really just wanted to see what he'd say.

To his surprise, Seth shrugged, "Most I got in me is 'bout two or three sets."

"Fasho'." Noah didn't let the surprise show on his face. "I'm thinking one, max."

On the way to the showers, Seth brought up an invitation that Noah had forgotten about.

"It's his fucking bachelor party," He complained. "Who don't show up for that?"

"He just turned twenty and getting married—I don't support that shit."

Seth laughed, "He was scared; told me to ask you."

That made Noah hesitate.

The bachelor party was tonight, which would've been fine for any other Friday.

But, today was the last day of school. Knowing Laken, she'd want to do something. Noah wanted to be there.

There weren't any concrete plans yet, but the group chat had been throwing ideas out since last week.

He thought about it, before responding to Seth, "I'll let you know some."

• • •

"Why is he getting married at twenty?" Laken questioned.

Her voice was low, courtesy of the half-full class she had. Some parents had decided to keep their kids home on the last day, but the rest were sitting in her classroom.

"That's the same shit I said." Noah laughed. "But I didn't tell them yes or no, tryna see if you had some you wanna do tonight, or if it's cool to push it to tomorrow."

She didn't mind either way, "Just come home tomorrow."

"Do you wanna come out here? It's some weird shit—a joint party, so you can come with me if you want to."

"Not you calling it weird." Laken laughed, "I think it's cute."

"If you say so."

She debated whether she wanted to fly there or wait for him to come back, "What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to come, but if you wanna wait til tomorrow, I'm not fucked up about that either."

Laken didn't know why it seemed like a big deal, or if she was making it one, "I'll book my flight."

"You won't do no shit like that," Noah disagreed. "I got it."

She glanced up from the paper she was drawing on, and her students were watching her.

Her voice dropped to a whisper, which still seemed loud in the dead silent room, "I gotta go. Just let me know."

"I'll send it to you in a minute—I love you."

It wasn't possible for her voice to go any lower, and yet, "I love you."

The line went dead and Laken engaged the nosy children, "Y'all worse than the FBI."

"Where you going?" Malik asked. "School just got out."

"Who said I was going somewhere?"

Brielle repeated her words back to her, "You said 'I'll book my flight'."

"No, I didn't."

None of them believed her, and that was fine. They were kids—it didn't matter. Especially not today.

Besides, she needed to text Kelsey and ask her what she should wear to the function.

Their first outing as a couple.

Truthfully, 'couple' sounded generous, since they'd been moving unusually slow.

Slow.

It wasn't that she minded, but he hadn't slipped back into the romantic role as soon as she thought he would.

The nigga still acted like her friend.

There were kisses, touches, but mostly talks. Long talks where they recapped the time they'd spent apart. Laken never spent the night and Noah never asked.

Laken didn't know how to feel about it. She wondered if Noah was waiting on her to do something first, or if she was even ready to do anything.

Surprise! She was.

She realized that about a week post breakup, and then had another meltdown when she thought that was too soon.

Wes had followed through on having her things delivered, but not before she'd reached out to ask that he send everything to her new apartment.

His response came twenty minutes later:

Wes: Okay. I'll have them update the address.

thank you. how are you?

He left her on delivered.

That was okay, though. Or it was after Kelsey told her she was a delusional bitch.

She didn't want them to be friends, they didn't even have to ever talk. But she wondered what the narrative was when he told people. If he told people at all.

True to his word, Noah sent the flight confirmation within minutes. After checking the time, she sent a message:

you got a lotta faith in me to make a 6pm flight.

noah: You wanna see me just as bad as I wanna see you. You'll make it.

She would, actually.

• • •

Noah stood in the grocery store searching for anything he thought Laken might want to eat.

His fridge was pitiful, and that was fine when it was just him. He mainly ate meal prep, or ordered out. He wasn't sure if she'd want to go out or stay home.

He realized his cart was entirely too full for one day, but she had to be the most indecisive person he'd ever met and would wake up tomorrow not wanting to go back.

The problem with that was that he didn't know if her favorite food was the same. He didn't know if she'd grown out of waking up in the middle of the night to eat PopTarts.

Noah was prepared for all scenarios.

Checking the time, he realized he needed to leave if he wanted to make it home and put the groceries away before going to pick Laken up.

It seemed like time was working against him, though.

The line was long and the cashier looked like he didn't want to be there, evident in how slowly he scanned everyone's items. When Noah finally made it to the front, the man did a double take, "Yo—I mean—" He paused, "Can I take a picture?"

Noah glanced at the line behind him, "I don't think that's...smart?"

"Nah." He pulled his phone out. "It's cool. They good."

They didn't look good. In fact, the older lady behind him had the nerve to mug Noah like he was the one asking for pictures.

He didn't even work there.

Noah forced a smile as the man took a selfie of them, "This shit crazy. Nobody gone believe me—you wanna use my employee discount?"

"I'm good." Noah cleared his throat, "Good looks, though."

They talked the whole time he scanned, but at least he seemed to be moving faster now. When the total finally appeared, Noah almost asked for the employee discount.

Never in his entire adult life had he spent an hour in the grocery store.

He kept his head down as he walked out, but the damage had been done. It seemed like all it took was one person to see he was willing to take a picture before the chain reaction began.

Noah spent ten minutes getting to his car, another five to put the bags in the trunk. He exhaled when he got behind the wheel, and felt like even that cost him time.

• • •

Laken had her face pressed into the barf bag, trying to breathe. They called it turbulence—it felt like hell.

She always got sick on flights. Take off, landing, sometimes in between. Being in a rush to pack had caused her to leave her Dramamine behind, and she was paying for it.

The pilot was talking about landing in ten minutes. She was seconds away from just free falling from the plane. It had to feel better than this.

Somewhere between squeezing her eyes shut and the flight attendant asking if she was okay, the seatbelt sign went off. Laken was in the front, but she still didn't stand until the plane had emptied.

Laken didn't even think about going to baggage claim. She found a small convenience store and nearly snatched the medicine off the rack.

One for her purse, one for her carry-on, and one to leave at Noah's place—this shit would never happen again.

It didn't hit her that Noah was waiting for her until she grabbed her luggage from the carousel. That was a lie. It hit her earlier, but she couldn't even properly focus on being nervous because she was sick.

Now that she was on land, she remembered she was nervous. So, she got nervous again.

Not seeing him, but trying to understand how they'd act outside. Did he want to hold hands? Sometimes she got the urge to kiss him—could she do that?

It was too up in the air, but it wasn't anything she could solve now. Laken pushed the thoughts away as she exited the airport, pulling her phone out to call him.

Except, Noah was already standing there. His smile made her smile, and her heart rate sped as he got closer to her, leaning to kiss her.

Apparently they could kiss.

"Why your eyes red?" he asked while taking her suitcase.

"I got sick. Literally crying and throwing up."

He waited until they were in the car before asking, "You left your medicine?"

"Tryna' rush to see your ass."

"I feel special." Noah intertwined his hand with hers, brushing it against his face, "Thank you."

Apparently they could hold hands, too.

• • •

Domestic was the word that Noah would use, but that didn't sound right.

Maybe something like...normal. A very new, very sudden normal that involved him watching Laken get ready.

And yap.

"Are they both twenty?"

Noah shrugged, staring at Laken's ass. "I don't know nun about her."

"You didn't look up her page?"

"I think that's some women shit—y'all nosy."

Laken couldn't help but laugh, running the flat iron through her hair, "It's called being prepared."

He thought about it, trying to recall if he'd ever heard anything about her during practice, "I think she the same age as us?"

"What?"

"Shit, I think that's what they said." Now he wanted to know, "Let me look."

She was all over his teammate's page, and Noah found her in no time. He only scrolled a few pictures before finding a birthday post.

"Nah. She not our age."

"'Cause I was finna say."

"She twenty-seven."

Laken dropped the flat iron, "Oh please. Because that makes it better?"

"Everybody want a cougar. I know he beating the brakes off that pussy."

"I hate niggas—Let me see her."

While she commented on the pictures, Noah went back to staring. His bathroom smelled like her perfume, a scent that made him want to fuck her.

Immediately.

However, he'd be stupid to ignore the glaring problem between them. Their hold on each other wasn't healthy. They did whatever they wanted because they knew that, at the end of the day, it was them over everybody.

That had to stop—not the love, but the games. Laken told him it wasn't a game to her, and he hated that she felt she even had to voice that; that it crossed her mind.

The way she found herself back in his life, in his bathroom, wasn't the best decision for either of them. He had no love lost for Wes, and he'd never tell Laken this, but he felt bad for him.

All to say, this was the last chance they had.

He had to do it right.

There wasn't a blueprint for shit like this, and if there was, Noah was sure it didn't start with having sex with your engaged ex. He did that already, so now he had to skip down a little. He was making it up as he went, and thought that slow was best.

Laughable, really. Sex was never the problem. All the other shit was.

• • •

A valet with a friendly smile opened her door before taking Noah's keys.

Laken adjusted her dress as she took in the scenery, appreciating the obvious effort that went into it. The building still resembled a warehouse, but the dark brick, large windows, and black-framed glass doors gave it an almost artsy look.

"This is cute," Laken said, easily slipping her hand into Noah's when he reached for it.

Noah was looking at the cars along the curb. "The whole team in this hoe."

"It's been so long since I've been around football players—don't start that talking about the game shit."

"That's college, when it's fun." Noah grinned, looking over at her, "We do not be tryna' talk about work."

"Damn. I knew you should've gone pro your second year."

"And leave you 'round all them horny ass niggas?" He nodded at the person near the door. "Never."

Laken was still laughing as he led her towards the party. There weren't many traditional tables. Instead, couches and chairs were arranged in small groups around the perimeter, leaving the center open. People were scattered throughout, some standing around with drinks while others occupied the lounge areas.

That was all the time she got to take it in.

"Ain't no motherfucking way."

Noah smiled as an insanely huge man approached them, "Chill, chill—you making me feel famous."

Whoever he was, his eyes slid to Laken almost immediately, "What's up? This your girl?"

"Yeah. Laken."

"Just call me Lake." She reached to shake his hand as a smile took over his whole face.

It was almost childlike, and it didn't fit his stature, "Lake, huh?"

"My actual girl." Noah tilted his head, "Don't play with me."

"Oh, shit." His smile was still in place, but it calmed some, "I'ma stick with calling you Laken."

Laken wasn't sure why the clarification was needed until she asked Noah.

"What's a lake?" He wasn't loud, his eyes still roaming around the room.

"A body of water."

His voice went lower, "And what's wet like water?"

She hesitated, "I know he wasn't about to make a coochie joke."

"He wouldn't make it to you, but thats where it was going."

"You know what, bring back the game talk—I prefer that."

Noah shook his head as he laughed, "Word finna spread. Don't worry 'bout it."

She wasn't above jokes, but also didn't make a habit of making them outside of her close friends. Noah's teammates were looser than any group of people she'd been around in a while.

That was just one interaction, though. She couldn't lump the whole team in.

After a few more times meeting people, Laken realized something.

She absolutely could lump the whole team in.

Some stopped by the table they were at and spoke. Others ignored Laken completely, only talking to Noah.

They all had one thing in common:

A stupid fucking smile.

She didn't want to ask Noah because he didn't seem bothered by it. Still, she wanted to know what was so funny. Eventually, he stood up and walked over to them while Laken examined the women he left behind.

They weren't rude, but they weren't necessarily friendly. She knew some of the faces because unlike Noah, she'd looked up half the team and found their wives, girlfriends, whatever partner they had.

Laken had always been called 'stuck-up', so she decided to initiate a conversation. "Where are y'all from?"

After a few of them named their hometown, Laken tried to keep it going, and it worked surprisingly well. Before long, she was genuinely laughing with them.

It almost felt like she hadn't been invited by Noah, sort of like she was fitting in perfectly with them. Adding drinks to the mix helped a lot, especially because they started leading the conversation.

Within an hour of her sitting there, she'd learned nearly every piece of mess they could think of. She hadn't digested so much information in such a short span of time since she crammed for finals.

She found out how the bride ended up with the rookie. Why the quarterback kept popping out kids. How the big man who greeted them found himself heading toward his third divorce.

"You good?" Noah  had found his way back over, his lips near her ear, "You want another one?"

"No. I wanna be like you and drink water all night."

"Is that your way of telling me you need water?"

"It is." Laken smiled brightly, touching his face, "Thank you."

• • •

"How you just pop up with..." Seth gestured to the table, "That, and act like nothing."

"You talking like she an animal."

Noah had given Laken her water and returned to his spot. The attention was back on him.

He actually hated this part.

Clearly, he knew what Laken looked like—he didn't like being reminded of it. It wasn't that he always found it disrespectful. It was just an awkward conversation where he had to act like he didn't mind.

Honestly, he was ready to go. He'd stayed over his usual time limit of an hour, but Laken looked like she was having fun while he was participating in a deposition.

"Ain't that the same girl from when you was in college?"

Noah glanced over at the DB, "Yeah."

"I knew I remembered her. She was with you on draft night."

Back then, the media coverage was worse than it was now, courtesy of being a second-generation athlete. Before, after, and during the draft, if he went outside, there was a camera.

ESPN had even managed to make Laken part of the coverage. Noah never understood why. He was the one getting drafted, but apparently, finding out her family owned the second-largest grocery store chain in the country was worth an entire segment.

Grown ass men sitting in a circle talking about a 'power couple'.

"It's all making sense." Seth lifted his glass towards his mouth with a smile, "That's why you was out here demanding trades."

"My agent did that—said I needed something new."

He walked himself into the next joke, he couldn't even be mad when someone said, "Nah, you needed that old thing back."

They continued to talk. He stopped engaging; not that they needed it. If anything, it made them go harder. He never thought he'd see the day when he was happy a rookie was walking up to him.

"I 'preciate you coming." Jalen wasn't drunk, but he still stuttered, "Pull up to the wedding too."

"All good—send the invite." Noah was watching a dancer swing her body around the pole.

"I already did."

Noah looked back at him, "Can't lie, I never saw it. You only got one dancer?"

"You know how much just one cost? Shit, I almost climbed up there myself."

Noah was embarrassed that he choked on his water laughing.

"You good, Unc?"

That made him choke harder, and when he finally caught his breath, "Unc?"

Jalen scratched his head, "I mean... yeah."

"I'll beat yo' ass."

Seth intervened, pointing towards the bride, "Wife-to-be said it's time for the toast."

"We already toasted." He frowned, "We gotta do it again?"

"First rule of marriage, you gotta do it as many times as she says do it."

If Noah had to drink apple juice while everybody else was toasting with champagne, he'd be asking questions too.

Despite him clowning Jalen for his decision to marry so young, Noah acknowledged the couple seemed happy.

"Are you ready?"

Noah turned to look at Laken, "Been. I thought they was gon' keep you all night."

"They tried." She looked happy about it, "I told them we can do something next time I'm here."

They weaved through people on the way to the door, stopping what felt like every other person so Laken could say bye to someone or exchange numbers with someone else.

By the third stop, Noah was starting to wonder if they were ever going to leave. He'd never spent time around the wives or girlfriends, so he didn't know if it was normal for them to like someone so quickly.

"Bring your friendly ass on," he whispered, wrapping his arm around her. "Before I carry you outta here."

"That's hot. Do it."

He didn't get a chance to. Jalen stopped them with his fiancée in tow. "We gotta take pictures before y'all leave."

Laken agreed, making Noah hold her phone up as a mirror while she checked her hair and makeup. Noah mugged Jalen throughout—it was his fault for stopping them.

A flash went off, but they'd been going off all night; Noah didn't even look up.

When Laken was satisfied with looking the exact same way she'd looked all night, Noah pulled her against him, smiling for the camera.

• • •

i added a character list 🫣 go look at my fav couple to ever write.

thanks for readinggg 💕