Page 66 of My Kind of Trouble
Noa
Four days later, Noa and Alex stood on the kerb-side outside their hostel as they prepared to leave El Nido. The minibus that was collecting them for the airport spat and spluttered beside them as plumes of black smoke rose from the exhaust. After months of adjusting to Southeast Asian public transport, Noa ignored the small unease that the dilapidated motor created. But Alex’s stiff posture and assessing glare in the driver’s direction as he loaded their bags, told her that he still hadn’t quite accepted the differences here.
Noa hugged goodbye to Lola and Thea. She couldn’t believe how lucky she was to have met somany amazing people on this trip. Some, like Hattie, Marcus, Carly, and Bridget, had come and gone along the way. But these two were different. To have met them both on day one, to have connected as they did and have been able to spend her entire trip together, felt like they shared something so special. Something that not many people would understand. That linked them, and Noa knew they’d be friends even after they returned home.
Noa couldn’t help the few stray tears that tumbled down her cheeks as she prepared to get on the minibus. Lola gripped her tightly, then pulled away to look deep into her eyes.
With a very serious look on her face, she said, ‘You know, you’re crying now, but you can’t get rid of me that easily. I’m going to be in Freymoor all the damn time and, soon enough, you’re going to be crying because you’re so sick of me. Plus, you’ve got to keep me up-to-date on the whole Ryan showdown.’
They both laughed. This girl really was so much like Tes. She had a warmth about her, a lightness that seemed to make any heaviness slip away when they were around. She could use more of that in her life, and she was so grateful that they had met. She couldn’t wait to welcome her to her hometown and introduce her to her best friend. She had a feeling that they would either get on like a house on fire, or be so similar that their fiery personalities would clash. Either way, knowing that they were both part of her life now made going home seem less of a struggle.
As well as the friendships she had made, Noa knew she would take so much away from this trip.
Thanks to Alex, she was well on her way to ticking off her ‘30 before 30’ list. But not only that. Along the way, the list had become less important to her. She realised it was all thelittle moments throughout their journey that she would likely remember forever.
Before leaving Freymoor, she had felt a sense of failure, a sense of feeling behind in life based on some kind of schedule she had set for herself. At the time, she didn’t know if those expectations had been based on her own dreams, or based on what everyone was doing around her. Now, she was sure. She had let the people around her dictate how worthy she felt for far too long. Anyone from strangers on the internet to her ex-boyfriend had helped her create this unrealistic standard and timeline for herself.
But who said life ends at thirty, or where she should be by then? Who really cared, as long as she was living her life and happy, how she was living it? She’d let the ticking of time scare her for too long, and it was an anxiety she had shifted whilst being away.
She realised as she’d watched her new friends that everyone was on a different path, and there was beauty in that. Beauty in the messy and unpredictable parts of life.
She would never forget the lessons they had all taught her. She was going to take risks, and reach for her own goals, moving forward—something she had stopped doing somewhere along the line as she prioritised other people and their expectations. And, whether she achieved them or got knocked down and had to fight to get back up, this trip had taught her that she always would. But there were also people she wanted to have around to help her. Being strong and independent did not mean being alone, but knowing when to ask for help and learning to lean on the people who care.
The man beside her felt like one of those people. So, as she and Alex jumped in their cab and drove away, waving out of the back window, she let out a content sigh, ready for whateveradventure life had in store for her next. Because you couldn’t predict it or control it anyway, so she could only look forward to the ride.
As if sensing her deep in thought and not wanting to disturb, Alex placed a firm hand on her thigh, squeezing gently. In that moment, it really did feel like he was along for it, too. She couldn’t help that spark of hope that flared inside of her, that maybe, like the lessons she had learnt along the way, he would also be a permanent memento she would take home.
But was hope a fickle thing?
Refusing to let that thought take flight, or give her mind permission to overthink, Noa watched the moving picture that passed by her window, knowing that only time would tell.
Chapter 40
Alex
Holding a mug of steaming hot coffee in his hand, Alex leant against the windowsill in his living room, watching people go about their day on the street below. They meandered through Main Street, dipping in and out of the small independent shops, in what seemed like slow motion after the busy streets of El Nido. There was no rush. No blaring of horns or raised voices. And he was reminded of why he loved home. The peace and tranquillity of a sleepy town, nestled in the mountains.
What he did not love, however, was the space that Noa had put between them when they firstarrived home a month ago. Even though he’d done his best to bridge that gap over the last four weeks, and he knew they were moving in the right direction, he still couldn’t ignore what had felt like her initial instinct to run. Maybe that was his own fear, skewing reality and letting the past bleed into their future, but it played heavy on his mind.
The only thing he knew, though, was, unlike when he was twenty-one, he knew she had real feelings for him now. And, if she tried to leave him this time, he wouldn’t just watch her walk away again. He would put up the fight of his life. So, for the past few weeks, he’d been playing the long game.
Things felt a little tense and awkward when they first arrived home, like neither of them knew how they should behave. The feeling gnawed at him, and he ached to be close to her, but he fought to be patient, to give her some time to catch up with her friends and family.
Eventually, after a week of being home, he pressed Noa to come to his for dinner. He wouldn’t allow her any more time to overthink, and he certainly wouldn’t allow her to put any more space between them after the progress they’d made toward the end of their travels.
The feel of her lips was imprinted on his mind forever now. He still felt the ghost of them there, and he had no desire to go another eight years before he got to feel them again.Been there, done that, bought the ill-fitted and scratchy T-shirt!
He tried to cook her new favourite dish, Pad Thai, which, in reality, had been nothing like what they had eaten on their travels.
But Noa politely ate it and complemented him on his cooking the entire time. He had planned on talking to her after dinner about what was going on between them, but when she licked her lips clean after finishing, he lost any train of thoughtand, instead, fucked her on his small dining room table. Then, against his living room wall, and again in his bed, until they had crashed there and woken up wrapped around each other the next morning. All awkwardness and tension had dissipated, and they were just them again.
That thought had him smiling as he took slow sips of his coffee. The filter coffee he’d grabbed from the machine downstairs at The Brew didn’t taste anywhere near as nice as the sweet coconut coffees they’d been drinking in Vietnam, and Alex wondered if he’d be able to source that somehow.
The movement of the trees swaying outside his window pulled his attention back to the present. The leaves had started to turn dry in the summer heat, shrivelling in on themselves. When he first came home, he remembered thinking they were mocking the state of his and Noa’s relationship. But now, they reminded him of the passing of time and the changing of seasons, which he noticed so much less in the places they had travelled compared to here.
He'd always loved the changing of the seasons and, actually, found himself looking forward to when it would soon be autumn. The thought made him smile. That had always been Noa’s favourite season. He’d caught himself smiling a lot lately, usually triggered by thoughts of her. But, unlike before they left, these thoughts were welcome. As everything in Freymoor reminded him of her, he guessed his jaw would soon start to ache.
He hoped they’d get to do some of her favourite autumn traditions, like pumpkin-picking at Mr Morley’s farm, followed by carving them in front of a scary movie. Growing up, she used to insist that she, Tes, Ryan, and he take part in the activity. This year, he craved it.
