CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
NOAH
Things started out great. They became rocky as time went on, and then they healed as time continued further. Noah obviously had to interact with Tara once he moved up here. They sort of went to the same school. He didn’t foresee the two of them being best friends, but he knew that Timothy and her would always be friends. Phillip mentioned with a frown a few months back that it was obvious the once close group had grown further apart after Timothy moved back. None of them seemed to be rather saddened by this.
Collin, in a bizarre turn of events, was going to school out west. He received a partial basketball scholarship at a school out there. As for Phillip, he was going to be going to school with Timothy. He lived in the dorms. Noah could definitely tell that he was dating someone, but Timothy was insistent that Phillip would have told him.
As for the blonde girl herself, Tara, she ended up going to school somewhere in Massachusetts. Timothy will text with her on occasion but not really.
It was weird to find out that Lily was pregnant. Noah kind of figured that she would end up barefoot and pregnant, but he had hoped that there was potentially a chance she would maybe at least graduate college first. Clearly, that was not going to be the case for her. She wasn’t even the only girl who was knocked up. Apparently, both Amy and Luna from the counseling office were engaged, and one of them was rumored to be pregnant. It really didn’t shock Noah at all. It had shocked him more when he had found out that Sasha finally decided to get the hell out of Dodge. He was so happy for her to finally be gone. She deserved more.
The blond boy sat down at his desk. Their new shared bedroom was half the size of Noah’s room back in Kansas. He opened his email. It had gone off earlier, but he wanted to be able to give this message his all. He knew what it was, and he didn’t want to spoil anything. Noah read over the message about five times over. Timothy walked in. Noah handed him his laptop, “Read this for me.”
“Ok, fine, but can you go look at the TV? I swear my grandmother’s soap opera is haunting me right now. The channel won’t change, and it is flickering back and forth to the same scene, Vivica will be back… Vivica will be back… Vivica will be back… It sounds like some kind of creepy omen,” Timothy explained. He sat down at his desk chair and looked over the message. Noah ran out into the living room, quickly fixing the TV from glitching. He ran back into their bedroom. Timothy was staring at him with the biggest smile ever, “Congratulations.” He got up and hugged his boyfriend.
“Do you think it is too soon?” Noah asked. He wasn’t sure if he was ready, but he took a whim and sent in the submission.
Timothy was clearly crying into Noah’s shoulder, “I think it was the perfect time. You deserve this so much.”
At the beginning of the summer, he had submitted his manuscript to about fifty or so different book agents. One of them finally responded today. As of today, Noah Peters was going to be represented and on his way to a book deal. “This is just everything.”
His boyfriend looked at him, “Is it everything you always wanted?”
“No,” Noah smiled, “I got that the day I met you.”
The two boys looked at one another for a very long minute. They both were saying it without saying it. They were in love and ready to spend the rest of their lives together. They kissed. The kiss would go on for a while before turning into something much more.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First and foremost, my friend and business partner Nikki Baker. We met one another in the Youtube comment section of some Broadway musical clip over ten years ago. I was living in Kansas at the time. We plotted against the world in order to forge our careers as we switched from wannabe actors to actual writers.
My artist Luviiilove… You just manage to knock it out of the park time after time. We both know I wasn’t originally going to have you do the cover for this book. I wanted to distinguish the difference between, Between Heaven and Hell and this novel. Then I realized that interviewing and testing out new artists is annoying especially when I know you always deliver at 250% capacity. I came to you asking for a “simple” looking cover and you knocked it out of the park big time! The moment I saw this cover was the moment my confidence in not only this book but for all of the upcoming year (2021) would be in mega drive. Get ready because we have several projects to prep for!
Thank you to Josh Patterson for forcing me to believe in myself and just allowing me to be me around you. Even if that person confuses the heck out of both of us.
For Mercy Rogers. You continue to be a light in my life. Thank you for being there and supporting my career along the way.
A special thanks to Ryan Welsh, Thomas Fitzgerald, Buff Faye, and Carol Roth for words of encouragement and support in general.
Finally, to my readers who are either new or are joining me from the Between Heaven and Hell series. Thank you for picking up this novel.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
L A Michaels is a Michigan native growing up in the Rochester Hills, Troy, Lake Orion areas. They currently live in Warren. L A has also lived in Wichita, Kansas, and Rock Hill, South Carolina, over a two-year period during their teenage years. An avid reader, soap opera fan, comic book fan, and history buff.
Follow L A Michaels on the following platforms:
Instagram: lamichaelsauthor
Twitter: lamichaels1995
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GoodReads: L.A. Michaels
Follow the cover artist “LuviiiLove” on their DeviantArt page as well!