Page 28 of Between the Flames

CHAPTERFIFTEEN

There was something, in fact, that I hadn’t seen before and that something was the charm that Noah exuded when he was genuinely happy. As children, we were pretty happy most of the time, but the happiness of adult Noah was far more exhilarating than that of young Noah. Adult Noah was constantly up for adventure, and I was having the time of my life as we rebuilt our friendship from the ground up.

Between weeknight dinners and exploring the surrounding cities on the weekends, we saw each other anytime we weren’t at work. Some days we’d keep it simple—picnics at the park where we’d lie around for hours with the grass between our toes, or miniature golfing on Friday nights where we’d get stuck behind all the teenagers on their dates. Those were my favorite, actually. Noah and I would narrate our version of what they were saying and try to pick out which bored parent on the sidelines was there to chaperone. Sometimes we’d eat street tacos way too late at night before walking through downtown Ridgewood, window shopping all of the closed storefronts. Other times, though, Noah craved an adrenaline rush. I can’t say I always loved this side of our adventures, but I always gritted my teeth and went along for the ride. Both in the figurative sense and literal. One night, we raced his unmarked squad car. I’m pretty sure we could have gotten arrested for that. Where I drew the line was when Noah wanted us to go skydiving. I told him I would watch from the ground and hold a sign that read “I’m free, free falling.” He roared a laugh at that one, but never made himself the appointment to go.

Reconnecting with Noah meant also reconnecting with Noah’s family, and I was instantly swooped back into their family as though I had never left. I also gave myself the title of stepmom thanks to Wexley, Noah’s boxer. We quickly became best friends, and I loved to tease Noah over the fact that if he and I ever stopped talking again, Wexley would rather live with me. We play-fought over our custody agreement frequently.

Before we had realized what had happened, seven months flew by us as if our lives were suddenly in a state of fast forward, the days passing by in a content blur. Being in Noah’s presence required zero effort, and I felt genuinely happy again.

One night, while eating Chinese food at his place, Noah stopped talking and suddenly fell deep in thought. He didn’t do it often, but it was a telltale Noah sign that he was about to say something he wasn’t sure about. Whether it was good news or bad would be reflective on how he started off his sentence, so I held my breath as I waited.

“Do you remember my brother’s wedding? When we were eleven?”

That was so long ago, but I guess I could remember bits and pieces of it. I remember I was in it as the flower girl, and that I hated my dress.

“Yeah, I remember. Pretty ironic that I was the one taking you to jail back then, eh, Detective?” I snorted, remembering how much I loved to pretend to be a police officer and take him to jail as a kid. Forget the dolls and dress up, I only wanted to play cops and robbers with Noah.

He rubbed his hand along his chin, at war with himself. He licked his lips before proceeding. His voice was practically a whisper when he asked me, “Do you remember our pact?”

“Why?” I dabbed the corner of my mouth with a napkin before setting it down on the table.

“Do you remember what the pact said?” he asked, his tone serious.

“Yeah...we said that if we weren’t married by the time we were 26, we’d marry each other.” Sucking in a sharp breath, I realized that we are 26 right now. I was about to be 27. I looked at him with wide eyes, feeling a cool tingle run from my chest down to my toes.

Crap.

Noah reached his hand out quickly to mine and rubbed his fingers over my knuckles. He met my eyes and laughed loudly, seeing the panic all over my face.

“Relax Elle, I am not proposing. Well, I’m not proposing marriage. I think we should see if our relationship could be more than just a friendship, though. Our shit track record began in high school, and clearly we haven’t leveled up since.” He rubbed his hand over his face. “Look, I know we both have our baggage. There are skeletons that even you don’t know about, but you’ve always helped keep me grounded—even when you weren’t in my life. Why not see if we can be a little light in each other’s darkness?”

I eyed him with skepticism, wondering if I wanted to cross that line with him. We were practically dating anyway… could there be something else there? I hadn’t felt the rush of passion with Noah, but he was comfortable. Fun. He felt like home. And that had to count for something, right?

Wordlessly, I nodded in agreement at everything he was saying.

“Want to see if we have the chemistry to back this?” He gestured between us.

“Okay.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, I think we should.”

He stood, pulling me up with the hand he was still holding, and pressed me tightly against his body. His fingertips grazed my cheek as he tucked a lock of hair behind my ear, his closeness sending a rush through me as he commanded my attention.

“Can I kiss you?”

“I would be disappointed if you didn’t,” I told him. “We need to test out this chemistry theory.”

Wasting no time, his large palm fisted my hair, tilting my head back as his lips met mine. The kiss started slow and sweet, a world of difference from our very first kiss when we were young. Craving more, I deepened the kiss and his tongue quickly found mine. Noah’s mouth explored, his tongue caressing mine, and his lips felt pillowy against mine.

He was a great kisser, and while I think we both knew the fireworks weren’t exploding instantly, I could still feel the tingling sensation of little butterflies as my body melted into his. A light moan escaped my lips and Noah started moving me backward, guiding me to his couch before he spun our bodies and sat down, my body following his so that I was straddling him.

We spent a long time kissing, touching, and exploring before Noah eventually led me to his bedroom and made love to me for the first time.

Everything about that moment was sweet.

Noah had been sweet.

Sweet had been just what I needed in my life. And I think he needed it too.

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