Crossing lines (Noah and Aiden) novel Chapter 263

Chapter 263

He wasn’t looking at his players.

He was looking at me.

And I felt it-like something inside me had been dead for weeks and was suddenly breathing again.

Aiden Mercer.

My coach.

The man I loved.

And in that moment, with the stadium roaring around us, the world finally made sense.

I didn’t wait for anyone. The moment the whistle blew and the scoreboard confirmed the win, I walked straight toward him. My

teammates surged in around me, hands raised, helmets slamming together, shouts echoing through the stadium-but they were

background noise. The stands erupted and people flooded onto the field, students and fans spilling over the barriers like a living wave.

The whole world felt like it was collapsing inward, but my focus didn’t waver. I only saw him.

Aiden met me halfway between the sideline and the end zone, without hesitation or caution. He wrapped his arm around me and pulled

me into his chest, holding me like something he’d been dying to touch. My helmet was the only thing that kept our mouths from meeting,

and the ache of that almost knocked the air out of me. His voice came low, too soft for anyone else to hear, too intimate for the center of

a stadium. “I am so proud of you,” he murmured, breath unsteady. “Jesus, Noah. I just-fuck-I love you.” My eyes closed for a heartbeat.

Just long enough to feel it.

Then chaos hit. Someone drenched us in freezing sports drinks-players laughing, shouting, spraying water everywhere. Arms wrapped

around my neck. Helmets clanked. The moment was gone, broken open by joy and noise and celebration. Aiden stepped back just enough

to be appropriate again, but his eyes stayed on mine. The look we shared held everything the world wasn’t allowed to see.

Then my teammates lifted me off the ground and carried me across the field, chanting my name, chanting Wolves win, the stadium roaring

around us. When they finally put me down, the reporters swarmed. Microphones shoved forward. Cameras flashed. Voices called over one

another, asking how it felt, how I did it. I kept my breathing steady and answered what I could. “It was a team win,” I said. “Every single

guy on that field earned this. I didn’t do it alone.”

Someone asked what changed-how I pushed through when everything seemed impossible. “I had a coach who believed in me,” I said.

“Who never let me slack. He rode my ass harder than anyone ever has.” Some reporters laughed, assuming intensity. Some didn’t get it.

But Aiden did. I saw him turn his face away, shoulders tightening to contain a laugh-because we both knew what those words meant. And

so did William who stood just outside the camera arc, jaw clenched, eyes fixed on me, calculating every second. But for once, I didn’t feel owned. I didn’t feel caged. I didn’t feel controlled. I simply looked away.

My gaze found Lexie next. She was cheering, smiling, giving me space. And something inside my chest tightened-not with dread, but with the quiet, steady knowledge that I owed her the truth. Not today-but soon. I didn’t want her father’s wrath, I didn’t wanna break

her, but I didn’t want to lie anymore either. She deserved more than this arrangement. If we both had to pretend together, at least there

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Chapter 200

would be no cheating on my part. One way or another, that conversation was coming.

But not tonight.

Tonight, there was only one thing that mattered:

We won.

Aiden and I had survived.

And we were done suffering in silence.

I already knew exactly where I was going.

And who was waiting for me there.