A little nervous

Once she realized he wasn’t following, she took a step forward and reached out again, fingers dipping beneath his waistband, and Noah could feel himself shaking, just enough to make it obvious.

Jillian pulled back, grinning. “You’re nervous.”

“No, I’m not,” he said too quickly.

She raised an eyebrow. “Babe. You’re like... vibrating.”

Noah swallowed. Hard. “I just… I really want this to go right.”

Jillian tilted her head, the ends of her lips curling into a coy little grin, “Noah, babe, I’m naked from the waist down and I’m trying to drag you into a bed, I think it’s going pretty well?

He groaned, running both hands over his face. “Okay, okay—yeah. I’m in my head.”

“You are sweet.” She leaned in again, voice sugary in a way that was almost cruel. “But if you leave me here all worked up, I swear to God—”

“I’ll be back.”

That gave her pause. She blinked. “Wait. What?”

“I’m gonna find Jacob,” Noah said, already reaching for his shirt. “He might have something.”

Jillian made a pouty face—eyes wide, bottom lip out, “You’re seriously leaving me like this?”

“I’ll be back in five minutes.”

“You better be.”

Noah slipped back into his button-up, and went out the door, still buttoning the shirt.

The moment he hit the stairs, he could feel heat, the bass of the music was vibrating through his feet, and the air smelled faintly sour, like beer and vape juice.

Noah moved fast, nearly tripping down the stairs and only barely dodging a guy a throwing back a beer at the bottom of the steps.

“Jacob,” he muttered to himself. “Where the hell are you?”

He passed the kitchen. No luck. Stepped out on the deck. Just vape clouds and three dudes arguing about Marvel movies. He walked back inside, combing through the hall, passing strangers, and people he recognized from some of his classes.

Noah texted him. Waited.

No answer.

He almost turned back, half ready to just say fuck it and return to Jillian empty-handed—when someone clapped him on the shoulder.

“Noah, dude! Didn’t think you were coming!”

It was Josh (he had been in several of his classes, they knew each other pretty well, but never hung out, outside of class), mid-sip from a Solo cup, wearing a hoodie, despite how warm it felt.

Noah tried to play it cool. “Hey, yeah, I got here a little bit ago.”

“You see Melissa? I was chatting her up, but she disappeared on me.”

Noah smiled thinly. “Haven’t seen her, man. You know where Jacob is?”

“Uh…” Josh looked around like Jacob might materialize out of thin air. “Last I saw, he was out on the deck, I think.”

“Cool.” Noah answered, trying to remember if anyone out on the deck looked even remotely like Jacob, “thanks.”

But when Noah turned to go, another voice pulled him sideways. “Noah! Holy shit, is that you?”

It was Amber. From his freshman dorm. She was tipsy, and glossy-eyed. She practically collapsed into his arms, hugging him a little too long and asking way too many questions about his job that he didn’t want to answer. He nodded, laughed politely, and after several minutes, he tapped his phone like; oh sorry, gotta text.

Finally, he found Jacob posted up near the back patio, half-watching a game of King’s Cup and arguing with a girl in glitter eyeliner about whether Spotify had ruined music.

Noah pulled him aside. “Hey—do you have, like, condoms? Anywhere in the house?”

Jacob raised an eyebrow. “Uh... are you asking me to fuck you?”

Noah snorted. “Dude.”

Jacob held up his hands, mock-defensive. “Okay, okay. Try the bathroom, the one across from the kitchen. I think my brother left a box when he stayed here last month.”

“Bless you,” Noah said with genuine gratitude.

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” Jacob called after him.

Noah spun on his heel, heart hammering again. Half from the chase, half from what was waiting for him upstairs.

Jillian. Half-naked, still wearing that tiny crop top, probably still sprawled on the bed, her warm thighs spread open for him. He could picture her already—eyes lidded, that look that undid him from the inside out. He needed this.

He just hoped she hadn’t changed her mind.