Present Perfect(15)

“Okay, I’ll see you then,” I said, breathlessly.

Taking a couple of steps back, he took his Red Sox cap off, ran his fingers through his hair a couple of times, turned his cap around, and put it back on. We never took our eyes off of each other.

Noah’s Adam’s apple bob up and down a couple of times as he swallowed hard, and said, “Thanks again, Tweet, for helping me out. I’ll see you tonight, okay.”

“Okay…yeah…tonight…see you then.”

I watched as he walked out the room, letting out a deep sigh once his perfect ass had disappeared from view. I needed to get a hold of myself and get Noah out of my system. I won’t risk losing my best friend just because of a stupid girly crush.





The adrenalin was pumping so fast through me after leaving Noah’s house I needed to keep moving, so I hopped on my bike, and went for a long ride. Cycling had always been my stress reliever. Whenever I had a problem or just needed to clear my head, cycling was my therapy. I loved the solitude, the freedom, and the control I felt when I was out for a ride.

When I got home I showered and dressed quickly in my pale green maxi dress and sandals. I put my hair up in a high ponytail and threw on a pair of small silver hoop earrings. I wasn’t trying to dress special. The temperature was still hot in Charleston. I would feel cooler in this dress with my hair up.

After getting dressed, I still had a lot of nervous energy. There was no point eating supper because I felt like I was going to throw up at any minute. My stomach was in a constant state of flip-flopping. Adding food into the mix would have been disastrous.

As I walked into the park, I saw Noah standing at our spot. His back was to me. I could tell he heard me approach, my steps crunching on the gravel that surrounded the picnic area. When he turned around and saw me, his eyes looked as if they had doubled in size and it looked like his mouth formed the word, ‘wow’. I shyly smiled at him. He looked perfect in his baggy black shorts that hit him just below the knee, showing off his tan muscular calves. His broad chest was covered in a white Nike t-shirt. He had on his black and white Nike shoes, and as usual, his Red Sox cap, turned around backwards.

As he stepped away from the table I couldn’t believe my eyes. Dinner for two had been setup; a red and white checkered tablecloth, paper plates, sodas, and napkins had all been placed on our table, at our spot. In the middle of the table sat a candle in a red glass holder, just like at the pizza place. Noah’s iPod was playing our favorite music.

He was standing with one arm behind his back. As he approached, he brought his arm around, and handed me the most beautiful bouquet of wildflowers I had ever seen. No one had ever given me flowers before.

“These are for you,” he said, smiling at me.

I took the flowers, brought them up to my nose, and inhaled their sweet scent.

Noah stood rocking back and forth on his heels with both hands in his pockets. He was nervous and adorable. “You look really pretty, Tweet.”

My face began to heat up. “Thanks. What is all this?” I was completely overwhelmed that he went to all this trouble for me.

“I wanted to thank you for helping me out. I know it’s a lot to ask.”

I smiled even though I could feel tears forming behind my eyes. I wanted so much for this to be a real date and not just one friend helping out another. A feeling of sadness overtook me as I reminded myself that this was just Noah’s sweet way of thanking me and knowing that tomorrow night another girl would be having a real date with him.

Lightening the mood, he walked over to my side, nudging my arm with his elbow. “Stop standing there being such a girl,” he teased. “It’s just our regular old table. Sit down.”

“Thank you, Noah. This is…it’s…” For the first time in my life I was at a loss for words.

Sitting across from each other at the table, we stayed quiet, looking at each other, and listening to the music. It wasn’t awkward at all. It felt comfortable and natural.

“Can I ask you something?” I said, breaking the silence.

“You can ask me anything, Tweet.”

“Do you think it’s weird for us to be best friends?”

“What do you mean weird?”

Shrugging my shoulders, I said, “Beth thinks it’s weird.”

He reached across the table, took hold of my hand and laced our fingers together.

“It doesn’t feel weird to me. When I’m with you everything feels perfect. I can’t picture anyone else being my best friend and I don’t want to.”

Looking down at our joined hands, my pulse quickened. I had to keep reminding myself that this was not a date, I was not his girlfriend, and would never be.

I cleared my throat and whispered, “I feel the same way.”

A tear rolled down my cheek as I let out a deep sigh. I tried to wipe it away before Noah noticed it, but I wasn’t fast enough.

He brought my hand up to his lips and placed a soft kiss on the palm of it, never taking his eyes off me. “Don’t cry, Tweet.”

There was something in the tone of his voice and the look in his eyes that made me think he wanted to tell me something, but didn’t know how to say it. Noah knew me better than anyone else and could read my thoughts and feelings. No doubt he could tell I was getting all girly and mushy with the dinner, the music, the flowers, and him. He was trying to figure out a way of letting me know, this was just a thank you and not a date, without hurting my feelings.