But like I said, I wasn’t perfect.
Hoping to at least lighten the mood a little, I nudged him in the side. “Hey, listen. Thanks for coming to check up on me and putting up with me while I just off-loaded all my stupid stuff onto you like that. You know you can tell me your stupid stuff anytime you need.”
“Yeah, I know.” He smiled at me. There was something withdrawn about it, which I assumed was due to the lingering awkwardness of him mentioning our kiss. We were close, but I didn’t know him as well as I did Lee: he wasn’t always as easy to read.
“Speaking of coming by the beach house,” I went on, “you’re definitely coming by for Fourth of July, right?”
Levi sighed. “I…”
“Oh, please? Please, please, please? The whole gang is coming! Everyone’s going to be there and it won’t be the same without you! Please, Levi?”
He made a show of sighing and rolling his eyes, and then broke into a smile. “Of course I’ll be there. Anything for you, Elle.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
That night, after I helped clean and close up the restaurant, I sat back on the rocks for a while, where just a few hours ago I’d taken a long-ass break from work to have an admittedly very one-sided heart-to-heart with Levi.
I checked my phone, having ignored it until now.
A few messages from Lee, but none of them too important or pressing.
A couple from my dad. How about dinner next week with Linda? Did I mind that she would be joining us for Fourth of July? He really thought I’d like her if I got to know her but he understood I had a lot going on right now and he understood this might be weird for me….
Two from Levi. Some baking joke in meme form, followed by: Glad we got to chat earlier! Hope your day got better x
Nothing from Noah, but I was surprised to see one from Amanda. In all caps.
WILL YOU AND YOUR DUMBASS BOYFRIEND PLEASE SORT YOUR SHIT OUT. I CAN’T KEEP LOOKING AT HIS STUPID POUTY FACE. ALSO I’LL BE BACK AT THE HOUSE TOMORROW AND WILL BRING MORE WINE—SHALL WE KICK THE BOYS OUT AND HAVE A PROPER GIRLS’ NIGHT?
Then: Sorry for all the caps, his stupid face and all the whining just make me kind of nuts. Like, why is it so hard for him to just TALK TO YOU?????? Also, you SHOULD TALK TO HIM TOO. Love ya! xxxx
I laughed a little. There was a definite irony to be found in the fact that while Amanda had been such a big part of me breaking up with Noah last year, she was the one trying to help pull our relationship back together now and looking out for us. She really was a sweetheart.
And…I really did need to talk to Noah and clear the air.
I was just turning my car on when a headlight swept around the corner of the road and the familiar noise of Noah’s motorcycle drew near. I blinked, startled, killing the engine and jumping out of my car as he parked his bike and climbed off, tossing the helmet aside.
“Noah—”
I barely got his name out before he crossed the distance between us in a few strides, wrapped his arms around me, and pulled me into a searing kiss that set my entire body on fire. All the tension and the irritation that had been hanging around me for the last couple of days went up in the flames, too, scattering like embers on the breeze, and I forgot everything that had been bothering me as his mouth moved over mine.
When we finally stopped for breath, I uncurled my fingers where they’d fisted in his jacket.
“Hi,” I whispered.
He chuckled. The sound reverberated through his chest against my palms. “Hi.”
“Is this the part where you apologize and I apologize and we try not to do this again?”
He smirked, his mouth still against my skin. “It is. Should I have music? Roses?”
“You’re telling me you didn’t bring a boom box, John Cusack?”
“Who’s John Cusack?”
I laughed, nudging my lips back against his. Eventually he drew back, holding my face in one hand, the other brushing stray hairs back where they’d fallen out of my ponytail.
“I know the bucket list is important,” Noah told me. “I know this summer is important for you and Lee. I know it’s a big deal, you not going to Berkeley. I promise you, I know. It’s just…I miss you?”
“Are you asking me or telling me?” I couldn’t resist saying. He was too easy to tease sometimes—and teasing Noah was too familiar a habit to let go of, even during a more serious conversation like this one.
He groaned, leaning down and pressing his forehead to mine, his eyes shut. “I get it, I do, but it’s hard seeing you make so much time for Lee when I want to spend time with you. I know it sounds stupid, because I see you every day and we sleep in the same bed together, and it’s not like we’re never around each other, but it just feels like it’s been a while since it was just us two, you know? Without a whole crowd hanging around us, or without you needing to run around looking after your brother or doing stuff with Lee or working. And I’m not trying to say you shouldn’t do those things…but I miss you.”
“I miss you, too,” I told him. I knew exactly what he meant.
“And it’s hard for me to watch you running yourself into the ground, trying to make everyone happy.”
“I’m not…”
Okay, maybe I was. A little. Just a very little.
I smiled, nudging my hand against his chest again.
“I can’t wait for next year.” He sighed. “I know we’ll both be busy with classes and stuff, and you’ll have new friends to hang out with, and maybe work, but…it won’t be so crazy.”
“Yeah. No flash mobs or race days.”
“And like I said, we could…we could maybe see about living together. I know it hasn’t been, like, the easiest thing, but I don’t think we’ve done that bad, right?”
“Even though I stole your side of the bed?”
Noah laughed. “Yeah.”
“Yeah. I don’t think we’ve done too bad.”
“I’ve missed you,” he breathed again, kissing my nose and drawing a giggle out of me. “I hate fighting with you like that.”
“Me too.”
“But I will fight for you,” he told me.
I was touched, and the intensity of his gaze along with the sincerity behind his quiet words made my heart skip a beat—but I still snorted with laughter and buried my head in his chest. “And you think I’m the cheesy romantic.”