Chapter 33

Riley’s POV

Late that night—or possibly smack-dab in the middle of the next morning—Noah and I were spooning in his queen-size bed, sharing body heat like two needy otters. The clock on his nightstand glowed an obscene 3:17 a.m., but honestly, who was counting? We’d spent the past few days chattering non-stop about our childhood weirdness: my fear of garden gnomes, his obsession with floppy disks. Conveniently, we’d skirted around this very moment—our present reality, which was a dumpster fire of emotions and awkward “What now?” questions. But, hey, our wolves had bonded us, so escaping wasn’t an option. Shifting-head-over-heels, more like it.

I wiggled enough to face him. “Okay, so—your research was flawless. You’re a software engineering major, right?”

He let out a warm, teasing chuckle that tickled my eardrum. “Bingo. Point Riley.”

I poked his side. “And since you gave me that heavy envelope of cash—no offense—how’d you manage that? Also, how many s