From Mine to Ours

20: Need some help with that?

"Hey Noah..."

'Noah? Since when does he call me by name?'

"I'm running a bit late, I'm out with a friend again, so don't wait up for me, okay?" He hangs up before I can even get a word in.

I end up texting him, the need to look out for him still not dissipating despite my frustrations with his behavior.

'Have fun. Don't forget we're meeting up with some of our friends from college tmrw.'

If he comes back late, or drinks too much with this friend of his, he'll be so cranky tomorrow.

As I expected, I don't get a reply until a couple hours later, close to midnight.

'I'll be fine.'

A sigh leaves me, my head falling onto my pillow with a 'thump'.

The next morning I wake up with a grumble, already having a nagging feeling of how this day is going to play out. The very first thing I notice once I hop out of bed is Tyler splayed on the couch like a broken starfish.

You've got to be kidding me...

Checking the time, I take note that I can let him rest up for another hour or so before the others arrive to go out.

An hour passes quickly and I shake him awake with a coffee already waiting for him to hopefully soothe him at least a little bit. His bleariness fades quickly at the sight of me and he jumps up with more energy than I expected.

"Are we late?!"

I squint my eyes at him, pursing my lips at the bags under his eyes. "Good morning to you too, no we're not late," I mumble, smoothing out my shirt the best I can in the mirror.

"Why didn't you wake me sooner?" He comes up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"I wasn't sure what type of mood you'd be in this morning," I was expecting this behavior the least if I'm being honest...

He places a few kisses along the back of my neck and I hold back a sigh of contentment. I'm trying my best to keep a firm grasp on my annoyance at him this morning, at least until we have to leave. He's being so nice though...

"I missed you last night..."

"Did you?" I ask, not even thinking before the words leave my mouth.

"Of course I did, why wouldn't I?"

I shrug my shoulders, or I try my best with his head resting on one of them, "just asking..." I end up leaning back into him, my body and mind missing him more than I'm letting on. This friend of his is really getting to me and I don't know if mentioning it would cause more of a mess than I would want to deal with.

I want to trust him....

"Right, let's reveal your new account guys, shall we?" Jack comes up behind Lucy and I with star-shaped glasses hiding his eyes.

"I'm so nervous..." Lucy's arm wraps around my own and I nod my agreement.

This will be our first time doing a live stream and that is so nerve wracking! Turns out people are way more excited than Sarah originally anticipated, which pleasantly surprised everyone. The exposure we're getting is something we didn't expect either.

At first, my career here started with the mindset of doing my best to support this company with amazing ads, consistent social media updates, collaborations with as many people as possible and so much more. But I never thought that the 'so much more' would lead to this. I'm beyond happy and grateful, but my shock of where I am now is still very present.