Page 93 of Speed Crush
"And dreaming too far outside Cedar Falls feels like I'm betraying the roots that raised me."
Noah watches me, eyes steady.
“This isn’t betrayal, June. This is your chance to thank the people who raised you—by blooming to your fullest.”
I freeze. My heart stammers.
Because he sees it.
He sees my abandonment trauma wrapped in a learned pattern of protective gratitude.
He lets me take a moment to let his words sink in before he adds gently.
“And maybe... maybe your birth parents didn’t leave you because they didn’t want you. Maybe they left you by that firehouse because they wantedmorefor you—more than they could give at the time.”
He presses on.
“You, Juniper Kennedy—you’ve grown up so well. Lived with so much heart. Loved even better. And now?”
His eyes seek mine.
“Now you get to fly, beyond the mountain ranges of Cedar Falls, and live into your potential. Whatever that looks like. Whatever you want it to be.”
By the time Noah finishes, my breath is caught and I’m physically aching. It takes a few seconds to even release the sigh. And I start sobbing.
Heart-wrenching cries. Loud. Ugly. Unstoppable. Because that’s when it hits me—I’ve been holding myself back. For years.
Never letting go of my past, of how my life began.
Out of fear. Out of guilt. Out of some misplaced belief that I didn’t deserve more.
I never imagined having permission to want, until what Noah just said.
Now, because of Noah, I realize it was always within my power to find a new beginning.
And it's not too late.
Especially when this wonderful, beautiful man, looks at me like I’m already enough—like I don’t have to prove or earn my place, just claim it. Somehow, his belief in me made it easier to believe in myself.
He hugs me closer, “You'll be alright.”
“And if I don’t?” My one last defiant doubt slips out.
He leans forward, kisses my temple. “Then we figure it out. We make it work.”
My voice is softer than a breath. “We can really do this?”
He smiles—and it’s the kind of smile that settles into my bones and refuses to leave. Mischief threaded with honesty. Fierce devotion dressed up in cocky charm.
“I'll be on your ass, Songbird. Every step. Pushing you. Hyping you. Making damn sure you work your tail off—because you’re meant to shine, and I don’t want there to be a single ounce of doubt that you earned every bit of it.”
Then, more serious now, his voice lowers into something steady and sure. “Let’s build something that doesn’t box us in. We'll grow together. Have a life we chase side by side—messy, wild, and ours. Wherever it takes us.”
I lean into his side, nuzzling into his neck and murmur, “Just so we’re clear—if this turns into a montage of me in coveralls shouting lap times over engine noise… you’ll still love me, right?”
He chuckles, presses a kiss to my hair, and says, “Deal. But only if I get to be the guy who makes you late to pit lane because you can’t keep your hands off me.”
“Deal.”
