I WOULDN'T MIND

six. stanford

▬▬ LOLA WAS IN AWE. Her feet planted in the middle of the living room as she looked around her new apartment. It wasn't anything too fancy, but Emmett had managed to find a place that had almost everything on her list - not that her list was long.

Large windows / natural light: check.

Washer and dryer: check.

Dishwasher: check.

Two bedrooms: check.

Two bathrooms: check.

It didn't have much shelf space though, which was on her list. But Cori told the girl that IKEA was just down the road and Emmett also offered to pay for shelves. But the main selling point was that it was mostly fully furnished. It had everything she needed, all but personal things to really make the place her own. But that could be fixed no problem.

"It's still so-" she turned, her wide eyes narrowing to slits as she pressed her lips into a thin line. "Really?" She raised an eyebrow and the couple turned towards her. Cori was perched on the island in the kitchen, her hands embedded in Emmett's hair, her ankles crossed behind him, her heels pressed into his ass to pull him closer to her. And he stood between her thighs, his hands under the shirt she wore, his fingers digging into her sides as he tried to make sure no space was between them at all.

"Sorry." Cori mumbled, letting her arms and legs fall from around her boyfriend, but he stayed close to her.

"No sex in my kitchen."

"We'll just go to the bedroom, then." Emmett lifted Cori up, tossing her over his shoulder, forcing a squeak from her lips. Then he started across the apartment.

"No!" Lola stepped in front of him. "We have to get to Noah's game. It'll be starting soon and I don't want to be late. You two little deviants aren't doing anything that will make me miss his first game."

"Deviants?" Cori echoed, still dangling over her boyfriend's shoulder, one of his arms was wrapped around her thighs and his other hand rubbed up and down her calf.

"She's not wrong, Shortcake." Emmett shrugged.

"Guess not." The girl mumbled, a small sigh leaving her lips. "Well, I guess we should get going. You checked the forecast, right?" She asked, not bothering to fight Emmett as he started towards the front door.

Lola followed behind them with her new set of keys spinning around her finger. "Cloudy. Slight chance of rain."

"Perfect." Cori hummed before patting Emmett's back. "You can put me down."

"Nope." He hummed, turning his head to kiss her thigh, her jeans the only barrier between his lips and her skin. "I like this too much."

Lola laughed as Cori rolled her eyes, pressing her elbow into the boy's large shoulder and resting her chin in her hand. "You two are insane."

"Makes life interesting." Cori smiled and the need to blush rose up as Emmett's hand moved up and down her jean clad legs, kneading here and there like he physically couldn't stop himself.

>>>>> • <<<<<

▬▬ THEY DID, IN FACT, get to the game late. The stadium was packed. People bundled up in raincoats and ponchos were watching the field, completely invested as a guy in a maroon jersey tackled the guy in a blue jersey and the crowd went wild. Cheering and shouting as they jumped to their feet.

"That's Noah!" Lola shouted over the roar of the crowd as they took their seats, they were just behind the Stanford team right on the sidelines. Her finger was pointing right towards the player that happily jumped away from the other team, a large 23 on his chest. Even under his helmet, Cori could see his wide smile as the other guys on the team smacked his shoulder pads in celebration.

"Freshman, Noah Bridges, with another tackle!" The announcer all but cheered, it was clear which team he was rooting for. "This kid has got some talent, ladies and gentlemen. It's his first game and let me tell you, that coach has got to be proud."

"I forgot how much I like watching him play." Cori mumbled, her smile fading a little as the teams lined up again. She had never missed a game, even going as far as to wear his jersey and paint her face. It was technically what the guy's girlfriends did but she wanted to show him that she was rooting for him. She had even drug Carter to a few games, though he refused the face paint.

Emmett wrapped his arm around her and pulled her into his side just as the ball was snapped and Noah made a beeline for the quarterback on the opposing team, easily pushing through their defense.

By the end of the game it had started raining, but even that couldn't ruin the mood. The Stanford team jumped and cheered, their helmets raised into the air and the cheers and shouts from the crowd only spurred them on in their celebration.

"Hey! Bridges!" Lola cupped her hands over her mouth, shouting as loud as her lungs would allow and his head snapped up. His eyes instantly landed on her and a wide smile pulled at his lips as he pushed his sweat and rain-soaked hair off of his forehead. He broke away from the team, letting his helmet hit the ground as he jogged over.

He jumped, his hands gripping the high wall, then he hoisted himself up. One arm slipped around Lola's waist, the other holding him up as she wrapped her arms around his neck, her fingers laced through his dripping hair when their lips met and a series of wolf-whistles erupted from the guys on the team.

"What are you doing here?" He mumbled against her lips, not ready to pull back yet. The blonde giggled and pecked his lips once more. "I thought you were coming down next week."

"Plans change." She shrugged. "I wanted to see your first game. I also brought people with me." His eyebrows pinched, clearly having missed the two vampires next to her. Her eyes darted to the side and he turned his head, his eyes going wide.

"Cori!" He exclaimed and she grinned as she moved towards him, wrapping her arms around him. "How've you been, Pipsqueak?" He asked as she pulled back.

"She's a deviant." Lola answered before the little raven haired girl could, getting a glare from her best friend. "They both are." She added, her hazel eyes jumping up to Emmett, who simply smirked as he wrapped his arm around Cori's waist and pulled her into his side.

All Noah could do was laugh. It was nice to see them again, to kiss Lola again. He would never admit it, but had been lonely since leaving for college. And it wasn't like he didn't have friends, he got along with the guys on the team pretty well and his roommate, though he wasn't on the team, invited him to parties. But it was nice to see his people.

>>>>> • <<<<<

▬▬ "AND THEY CALL US DEVIANTS." Cori mumbled, looking up at Emmett. The second they had gotten back to Lola's apartment she had claimed she wanted to give him the grand tour, but that pretty much started and ended with the master bedroom.

"We could go. We do have a hotel room." He raised a suggestive eyebrow at her, his thumb moving over her side as his hand dipped under her shirt. The only reason they had still hung around was that all they had heard thus far was Lola giggling and the repeated I missed you from Noah. And, well, Cori hoped that they'd remember they had company because she really did wanna spend time with Noah before she and Emmett left. "We'll see them tomorrow. We should let them catch-up."

"Okay." She hummed, giving him a smile. "But I'm leaving a note." She muttered, easily finding a pen and piece of paper before quickly scribbling across it: see you tomorrow. going shopping for bookshelves, don't forget - love, cori p.s. you are also deviants.

She laid it on the counter, sitting Lola's phone on top of it so she knew she'd see it then she and the burly vampire left.

⚘‎ nova speaks┆noah my baby boy!! when i tell you i love him with my entire heart! adding him and carter to the series was possibly the best decision i have ever made.

i know they aren't in this book much, but they add so much to the series and it's kind of hard for me to even grasp that they weren't in the original version of the series

anyways, thanks for reading! i appreciate every single one of you!

thank you so much for getting this series to 2k reads! it honestly blows my mind that this book – this entire series – has blown up the way it has!

and i just really wanna let y'all know just how much i really do appreciate all of you!