Present Perfect(74)

He twisted from side to side looking around, swinging me back and forth. We both started laughing.

“I don’t see her around. Besides, she wouldn’t want me to leave you out here. She’s not like that, Tweet.”

I didn’t respond. I knew Brooke was his girlfriend and he was supposed to stick up for her like any good boyfriend would, but I didn’t want to hear him do it.

We headed toward my dorm. “Oh, by the way, I live on the fourth floor.”

“Ok.” He was starting to breathe heavier.

“And there’s no elevator.” I smiled at him. The look on his face was priceless.





We wake up one day surprised to find ourselves in a less desirable situation that we don’t remember consenting to, but we stay in it because for some reason we feel obligated. As time passes, we convince, fool, and talk ourselves into believing things are normal. It’s not until we see the dream that we lost that we realize what a nightmare we’re in.





When we got to my dorm, Noah was relieved when he found out I actually lived on the second floor. I loved being in his arms again as he carried me all the way back here. I wished I lived further across campus so I could have stayed wrapped in them longer. I was sitting on my bed waiting for him. He had gone to the convenience store across the street from my dorm to get ice for my swollen ankle.

There was a soft knock on the door as it slowly opened. Noah carried in two bags, one was a shopping bag and the other was a huge bag of ice.

“Dude, that’s a lot of ice,” I teased.

“I know, but you have ginormous ankles.” I laughed out loud. “It’s nice to hear that again.”

“What?”

“Your laugh.”

He tossed the shopping bag on to Lisa’s bed then walked in the bathroom with the bag of ice. He returned with a towel wrapped around some of the ice. I moved over giving him room to sit.

He held the ice to my ankle. “Does that feel alright?” he asked.

I nodded. “Thank you, Noah. Sorry you had to carry me all the way here.”

“No problem. You aren’t as heavy as you use to be.”

I grabbed the pillow from behind me and hit him with it. He started laughing. I missed his laugh too.

“Are you saying I was fat before?”

“No!” He paused for a moment. “You have some awesome curves in all the right places, though.” I felt tingles as piercing blue eyes scanned my body and the corners of his mouth curled up.

We sat in silence as Noah glanced around my room. He took a deep breath before his beautiful light blue eyes landed on me. Those eyes could always make me melt.

Clearing his throat he said, “Um…Tweet?”

“Yeah,” I said.

He took a big gulp of air. He was so cute when he was nervous. “I’ve missed you.” He looked down and shook his head slightly. “No, I’ve more than missed you. It’s like when my dad died.” I felt a surge of pain run through me remembering what I had done to him during that time. “I couldn’t imagine a life without him in it. I couldn’t bring him back, so I had to adjust. Even though I’ve started to adjust there’s an emptiness that I can’t fill. You and my parents have always been the three most important people in my life.”

His eyes started turning liquid blue. They conveyed such a concentration of pain and to know I was the cause of part of it made me ashamed.

“Not having two of the three most important people in my life anymore…I’ve just been going through the motions each day, mainly for my mom’s sake. Being here with you, smiling and laughing, it’s the first time I’ve done that since you left that it wasn’t fake. I need you back in my life.”

I knew my answer should have been a definite no, but I had spent six months without him and all it did was make me miss him more. Having his arms wrapped around me, being here together is the first time in months that I haven’t hurt and felt lonely.

“What about Brooke? How do you think she would react with me being around again?”

“I think she’d be fine with it…eventually. Besides, Brooke doesn’t dictate who my friends are.”

Brooke has had six months with him without me being around. If she hasn’t managed to establish a solid relationship with Noah by now then certainly me being around won’t make a difference. Plus, I’m an hour and a half away, so I won’t be seeing them every day. It would be wonderful just to be able to talk to him again.

“You don’t hate me for what I did?” I asked, glancing down at my lap.

Noah placed his finger under my chin, lifting my gaze up to meet his. “I could never hate you, Tweet. I severely disliked you for a while.” He winked at me.

“I’m sorry I hurt you like that. I was just wanting…” My voice cracked with emotion. I was remembering that horrible day when I left him in the park and now he’s forgiving me.

“I think I understand why you did it. I promise I will stay completely in the friend zone. I will not tempt you at all with my body.”

I shook my head and chuckled. “Okay.”

“Really?” I nodded my head. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m so glad you fell.”

“Yeah, me too.” Two of the biggest Kool-Aid smiles ever appeared across both our faces.