Chapter 176: Over-caffeinated pogo stick

Noah’s POV

Cold hands touch my cheek, and I frown as I slowly wake up with blurry vision.

The sun is less intense, the tears on my cheeks are dry, and the sound of the rolling waves is soothing. Lucas has to be an angel, I’m so glad he brought out the blanket while we smoked our bubbles. Without the blue and red blanket under my back, I’m sure I would have been roasted by now.

I wonder what time it is.

"Battery low" the Bluetooth speaker says. What A Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong is playing and it makes me wonder how long I was napping for.

Damn, I’ve been falling asleep everywhere these days. If I didn’t know better, I’d think I was pregnant.

’Pup?’ my omega asks and my brows pull together to deepen my frown. I never want to think of pregnancy again. I haven’t gotten over the marks of that fake pregnancy Freya pushed me into.

’No pup’ I say in my head, and the hand on my cheek moves slowly like it’s caressing me. What the heck? Annoyed at him, I shut my eyes and move my head out of his touch.

I may be mad at Elias. I may have even shut my end of our bond just to be petty. But that doesn’t change the fact that I like being possessed by him as much as he enjoys possessing me.

I’m a proud nutcase.

"Lucas, stop messing around. What time is it?" I ask, opening my eyes again, and squinting to see his face clearly.

"Lucas isn’t here, Angel. It’s just me" Elias’s voice says and that’s when his scent hits me.

"It’s you" I say groggily and move my head away from his touch as if my omega isn’t screaming his name. How did I miss the scent of the only person I want to be with? His scent is the most recognizable thing in the world. He has that oddly perfect mix of ice and spice. Weird but flawless.

I clear my throat and change my expression to a glare. It’s my time to play Mr. cold and icy even though my heart is busy doing backflips and jumping all over the place like an over-caffeinated pogo stick.

"Where did you send Lucas? He’s my partner for the day, please leave" I say and break our eye contact. Those deep brown eyes are annoyingly captivating. And for heaven’s sake, what is my obsession with his eyebrows these days?

"Baby, I want to be the one who is your partner forever" he says softly as he brings his hand to my cheek and starts to caress it again.

I hate to admit that he gives me goosebumps. Can you imagine that? He makes me get goosebumps on a sunny day.

One day I’ll master the art of being mad at him, but that day is not today.

"You hate being forgotten" I say with a cracked voice as his touch warms me from head to toe, and he leans in.

"I do. I hate being forgotten" he confirms my words and I push him away slightly. I need space so I can think clearly. If Elias keeps staying this close to me, I’d lose the remaining specks of self-respect I have left.

"I also hate being left behind, Elias" I say firmly and he nods.

"I know. I know and I’m sorry, Angel" he says and rests his cold palm on my cheek. His tone and his expression are painfully lovesick.

Ugh...I’m tearing up again. I sniffle to avoid staining his hand with my snot, that would really suck.

"Come here, Angel" Elias says as he tries to help me with sitting up, but I refuse to let him lift me. I’m not that heavy, but because he knows I’m mad, he lets me stay on the floor.

"You don’t want to go home with me?" he asks in a voice I have heard him use before.

The way his brows draw together tells me he’s confused. He’s confused about my reaction. I want to soothe the crease with my fingers, but we still have to finish this fight.

"I will go home after you do what I want" I say.

"Anything" his Adam’s apple bobs as his dark eyes move from one of my blue eyes to the other. "I will do anything" he says.

"I...you want me to kneel?" he asks and I scoff.

"No, Elias. I don’t want you to kneel" I say and a soft breeze blows in our direction. I pause as the sound of a seagull joins the sound of the sea.

"Then what?" Elias asks, still looking all over my face like I’m a puzzle he’s trying to solve. "I want to hang out with you, I wanted to show you how badly I swim, I want to show you how to have fun and mess around like other guys our ages" I grumble.

"We can do that" he says with the most eager tone he can manage. He’s putting effort into it, but it’s not enough yet.

"But first...why did you leave me?"

"It was time to plan a meeting. Roman has agreed to help us expose his father’s partners, and there is that attack on the school, and I..." he starts to stumble all over his words.

He’s struggling with his words again.

"It’s okay, Elias" I say quietly, and he drops his head to my chest. He’s vibrating and it’s strange. His breathing shudders as he says something I don’t hear.

"Elias?"

"I’m in love with you" he says without lifting his head and I freeze. I thought my heart was overreacting before, but now...it’s acting in a way that isn’t normal.

It hurts. He’s only saying it because of that YouTube video. He’s only saying it to appease me.

"Elias, you don’t have to say those words just because I said them first. You don’t need to say words you don’t mean. You told me that you don’t lie."

"I love you, Noah. I’m in love with you" he says again and I force him to lift his head. My nose is starting to sting, my vision is starting to blur, and my chest is starting to tighten.

"Did you...did you hit your head on your way here?" I ask.

"No."

"I’m serious, Elias-"

"I figured I had fallen in love with you earlier, I just didn’t know what to do with myself...I’m a diagnosed psychopath and everything I feel is learned. I wasn’t sure of the new sensations inside my chest, but today, all the hours I spent away from you fucked with my head..."

"You love me?" I ask him with soft realization.

"I don’t know what to do..."

"Y-you...Elias, all you have to do is love me" I reply and his brows knit together.

"I’ve studied everything else but love" he says and I sniffle again to hold back the mucus and tears threatening to spill. I’m being told that I’m loved and my nose is trying to embarrass me.

"We can learn together if you want" I say, blinking rapidly to stop my tears.

"You’ll teach me how to love?"

"No. I’ll teach you how to love ME" I correct and his eyes flash red. I open my end of the bond and feel the small spark of emotions there. He’s still mostly blank, but there’s panic...that works, right?

"Kiss me" I whisper and he closes the distance between our lips.