Present Perfect(75)

Noah glanced over at the bag he had thrown on Lisa’s bed. “Hold this on your ankle for a second. I got you something.”

He got up to grab the bag. I had no idea what he would have gotten me. He came and sat back on my bed, keeping the item hidden behind his back.

“Well, what is it?” I wasn’t a very patient person.

“Close your eyes,” he said. I did as I was told. “Don’t open them until I say so.”

“I won’t.”

“Promise?”

“Mmmhmm.”

“Say it.”

I couldn’t stop my laughter. “I promise I won’t open my eyes.”

“Good.” There was silence for a few seconds. “Okay, open your eyes.”

My eyes opened and the first thing I saw was the beautiful boy sitting in front of me with a shy smile on his lips. I followed his gaze as he glanced down. He was holding a box of chocolate snack cakes, a container of chocolate frosting, and a plastic spoon.

“Hey bestie. It’s great to have you back,” he said.

“It’s great to be back.”





We ate cake and frosting, well I ate frosting, while we caught each other up on our lives. Noah loved school. Although he loved baseball, he opted not to play this season even though coach begged and offered him a scholarship. Noah’s parents had been saving for his college since the day he was born. Scholarship or not, his tuition was paid for.

Noah said the reason he didn’t want to play was because he felt he needed to concentrate on his classes. Although he didn’t say it, I think the main reason was because of his dad not being here. Spending time with his dad sharing their love of the game was always a happy time for Noah. I don’t think his heart had healed enough to be able to go out on the field knowing his dad wasn’t in the stands cheering him on.

I told him Emily had moved back to Charleston, was a paralegal at a law firm downtown, and had gotten her own apartment. I talked about adjusting to life away from home, but how much I loved my classes. I filled him in on Lisa and he was anxious to meet her. It was as if the six months apart had never happened. We talked just like we always had. Both of us avoided the subject of Brooke and Matt as long as we could. We were enjoying being together.

Noah was leaning back against the wall massaging my hurt ankle that rested in his lap. We both startled when his phone chirped with a text. He looked at it and smirked.

“Brooke?” I asked.

“Yeah. She sent me a picture. Looks like they’re having a good time.” He typed a quick reply then tossed the phone on the bed.

“You can go if you want. I’m fine. Thanks for taking care of me…”

“Would you stop it. I’m not going anywhere.”

“I don’t want to cause any problems for you, Noah,” I said.

“You’re not.”

“Are you in love with her?” The words flew out of my mouth before I knew it.

A knot immediately formed in my stomach and twisted tighter and tighter with the passing of each second of silence. My teeth started to grind together and my body tensed.

He slowly let out a deep sigh. “Honestly? Between my dad passing away, taking care of my mom, and missing you, I haven’t thought about my feelings for Brooke. I know I sound like a dick.”

“You’re just being honest. You’ve had a lot to deal with this year.”

“She tells me she loves me all the time. I never say anything back. I just smile and change the subject. I care about her.”

“I shouldn’t have asked you that.”

He had a genuine look in his eyes and said, “You can ask me anything, Tweet. I just don’t know how to answer you right now.”

“Fair enough.”

“So who was that Smurff*cker you were with at the party?” he asked in a calm controlled voice.

He started working his jaw and the veins in his neck started popping out slightly. He was trying hard not to show his anger or jealousy. He was trying to stay in the friend zone.

“His name is Matt. And you know I don’t refer to Brooke as Princess Bitchella.” I smiled at him.

Smirking, he said, “You’ve been thinking on that one for a while, haven’t you?”

“Nope. Actually, it just came to me.”

“Matt…” He said the name like it left a bad taste in his mouth. “Is he your boyfriend?”

“Yes.” This was the first time I admitted to anyone, even myself, that Matt was my boyfriend. I wanted Noah to know I had moved on too.

“I heard what he said to you, Tweet.”

“How long had you been at the party? I walked all over that place and never saw you.”

“I had just walked in when I saw you and Matt.” I could see a slight cringe cross his face. “Has he forced you to do anything you didn’t want to do?” he asked.

I shook my head. “No,” I said with a hint of defensiveness in my voice.

I shifted my gaze down. It was sort of a lie. There had been two times when Matt pushed me to have sex with him when I told him I didn’t want to. He didn’t hurt me, but I did have a bruise for a week on my upper arm where he had grabbed me.

“He’s not usually like that. He was drunk. He’s a theater major and is under a lot of pressure with this upcoming production...plus with classes…” I was rambling and fidgeting with the hem of my shirt. Noah placed his hand on top of mine, stopping my fidgeting.