Bittersweet // Complete

30.

Chapter 30

When Thursday afternoon came, I found myself at Emily's house, surrounded by the other soccer girlfriends and Finn. Natasha was putting some glittery eyeshadow on me, while laughter and chatter floated around the room.

Only about half the team was dating someone, so we were six girls in her room, and one oddball Finn. He didn't seem to mind though. Busy with Emily in the kitchen, he was making cocktails for everyone. It was so visibly obvious that Daniel would fall for him, Finn was exactly the type of person he needed.

"You've got to tell me your tricks girl, how on earth did you trap Noah Sterling?" Nat asked, putting the finishing touches on my eyeliner.

I only smiled slightly, afraid to move when she had a brush near my eyes.

"Oh come on, is it the sex?" Clara chimed from the bed, making me blush.

"I- we haven't-" I stuttered, feeling incredibly awkward talking about it with these girls. They were practically strangers, and sharing such intimate details with them was unsettling.

Julie gasped, now involved too, "You haven't? This has to be some sort of record for Noah." The room burst into a fit of giggles, making me uncomfortable. I was really trying not to hold his past against him, but truly I did feel some kind of inadequacy in being with him. Knowing that he's hooked up with so many girls just threw those feelings in my face, and I wanted the ground to swallow me whole.

"You should have seen him last year," Clara giggled, "I don't think there was a single vagina on campus he hadn't touched."

I pursed my lips. Thank you for that Clara. I didn't need to know.

"And why not?" Julie looked up from her phone, "He's good at it."

Jeez Julie. It's not like his girlfriend is in the room.

I checked my phone so I had someplace to hide my shame in. My last message was from Noah, and it wasn't like anyone else would be in there.

Remind me Alex is my best friend when I beat him to oblivion

Come soon, I miss you!

Even Noah's adorableness wasn't enough to stop my heart from sinking as the girls discussed Noah and his previous... relationships, until someone brought up Jennifer Paxton again. Trying to appear disinterested, I kept my ears open to hear as much as I could about her. Natasha had known Jennifer for the short duration that she was with Noah, and apparently it was a whirlwind romance.

"Noah was so obsessed! But they were kinda cute, no?" Clara had a dreamy look in her eyes. Julie added, "I know! I used to find it adorable when he used to do that thing to her nose." She flicked Clara's nose making everyone giggle and sigh dreamily.

I swallowed. I thought that was my thing. It was ours. Apparently there was a lot more about Noah that I didn't know, and we still had a long way to go when it came to honesty. There were things I was hiding and things that he kept under wraps, and when the time would come, these secrets would uncover themselves as they may. I couldn't stress about this for far too long. At least, I knew I shouldn't.

I responded to Noah first, He's your captain, shh focus on your game

I miss you too, see ya!

Noah: what are you girls doing

Talking about your ex. Making myself spiral. No big deal. 

Girl stuff, I responded, putting my phone away as everyone was packing their things, ready to reach the grounds in time. Coach never allowed the boys to meet people before the match, so going early was pointless. One too many incidents of awkward boners and necessary cold showers, apparently. Clara mentioned that the girls always arrived after the anthem was played, so the schedule was micromanaged to get the timings right. Julie drove us to the campus in her minivan, and we parked exactly as the national anthem was fading away.