Chapter 110: Just You and Me

NORA’S POV

I stood there for a second, looking down at Knox with my heart beating fast against my ribs.

"Knox, you have a bruised shoulder," I argued, though my voice didn’t have much fight left in it. "If I sleep in your bed, I might accidentally bump into you."

"Then stay on my right side," he said, not letting go of my wrist. "Come on, Bennett. Stop fighting me. I’m too tired to argue."

I looked at him, seeing the exhaustion lined around his eyes, and sighed in defeat. "Fine," I murmured.

Kicking off my boots, I set them neatly by the door, and pulled off my thick knit sweater, leaving me in my soft cotton t-shirt and black leggings.

I walked around to the uninjured right side of his bed and slipped under the blankets.

The sheets were warm, smelling faintly of cedar and clean soap, with a trace of the minty liniment the trainers had rubbed into Knox’s neck.

Knox pulled the duvet up over my shoulders with his good right arm, then slid his arm around my waist, tugging me closer until my back was resting gently against his chest.

"Better," he murmured into my hair, letting out a long, relaxed breath.

"Are you in pain?" I asked softly, keeping my body carefully still so I wouldn’t jostle his left side.

"The pills are kicking in," he said, his voice deep and rumbling against my spine. "Just a dull ache now."

We lay together in the quiet room.

Down the hall, the front door clicked open and shut as the rest of the guys finally returned from the diner, their muffled voices and laughter drifting up the stairs. But they kept it low, knowing their captain was upstairs recovering.

Soon, the house went completely silent again.

I turned over carefully on the mattress, facing Knox so I could look at him in the faint sliver of light coming through the cracked bedroom door.

His eyes were open, watching me.

"You really scared me tonight, Knox," I whispered, the memory of him lying face-down on the ice making my throat tight all over again. "When you didn’t move... I thought you were dead. I dropped my sign and I couldn’t even breathe."

Knox’s fingers tightened slightly against my waist.

"I know," he said quietly. "I’m sorry, Bookworm."

"You don’t have to apologize. Colin Oliver was aiming for your head."

"I knew they were going to play dirty," Knox murmured, looking down at our hands between us. "My dad had been in my ear all week, the scouts were watching from Section 104, and I just wanted to win the game. But when I hit the glass and everything went black..."

He paused, his jaw tightening slightly before he looked back up into my eyes.

"When I opened my eyes through the fog, the only thing that made me push off that ice was seeing your hands against the glass."

My chest ached with something so warm and sweet it made my eyes sting.

"I spent my whole life trying to prove something to my father or some scout in the stands," Knox continued. "Tonight, none of that mattered. The only person I gave a damn about was you."

He shifted slightly on the pillow, reaching over with his right hand to take my fingers, lacing them with his own.

"That fake dating contract hasn’t meant a damn thing for weeks," Knox said, looking straight into my eyes.

"It hasn’t," I agreed softly.

"And everyone on this campus already thinks you’re my girl."

"Priya definitely does," I whispered with a tiny smile.

"I don’t want to just pretend or assume it anymore," Knox said, his expression completely serious, stripped of all his usual cockiness. "I want to ask you properly."

He squeezed my hand.

"Be my girlfriend, Nora. For real. No rules, no fake dates. Just you and me."

A slow, happy smile spread across my face. "I thought I already was, Sheridan," I teased gently.

"Bennett," he warned, though a faint smirk touched his lips. "Give me a real answer."

"Yes," I replied in a completely certain voice. "Of course yes."

Knox’s smirk softened into pure, open relief. He reached up with his good hand, cupping the side of my face and tilting my chin up.

He leaned in and kissed me.

The kiss started sweet and slow, a gentle press of his lips against mine that tasted of lingering peppermint and pure warmth.

Then, as the relief washed over both of us, the kiss deepened. Knox parted his lips, pulling me closer against him, his tongue brushing softly against mine in a rhythm that made my head spin.

Heat rushed through my veins, making my heart race.

Lost in the feeling, I shifted closer on the mattress, sliding my left hand up his bare chest to pull him tighter against me.

And my palm pressed right down against his swollen, bruised left collarbone.

Knox flinched hard and a sharp, ragged gasp tore from his throat. "Fuck..."

I froze, terror shooting through me like a bolt of lightning.

"Oh god!" I gasped, jerking my hand back like I’d touched a hot stove. "I’m sorry! I’m so sorry, did I break it?!"

I scrambled up on my elbow, my eyes wide in horror as I hovered over him.

Knox was lying flat on his back, his jaw clenched and his eyes squeezed shut as he rode out the sudden wave of pain.

"Knox? Are you okay? Should I get you to a hospital?!"

Slowly, Knox opened one eye, looking up at my panicked face. A crooked, pained grin started spreading across his mouth, and he let out a dry, wheezing laugh.

"You’re lucky you’re cute, Bennett," he groaned, shaking his head against the pillow. "Are you trying to finish what Boston started?"

The relief of hearing him joke made my shoulders drop, but I immediately scowled, swatting his good arm.

"I was trying to be romantic, you idiot! You’re the one who pulled me closer!"

"Yeah, but I didn’t tell you to use my collarbone as a handbrake," Knox teased, chuckling softly before wincing again.

"I am never kissing you while you’re injured again," I muttered, pulling the blanket back up over his chest.

"Don’t make promises you can’t keep," Knox murmured.

He reached out with his good right arm, wrapping it around my waist and pulling me gently back down onto the mattress beside him, tucking my head securely under his chin.

"Try again," Knox whispered, pressing a soft, lingering kiss against the top of my head. "Just keep your hands off the damaged goods."

I laughed quietly into his chest, wrapping my arm carefully around his waist and resting my cheek against his warm skin.

"Deal, Sheridan."