A/N - lots of stuff from The Beach House book again, from Noah's POV, with a couple of extras just because...
I generally give myself the first couple of weeks at the beach house to be lazy, before getting back into training mode again. Although, this year, there will be no football camp, just a couple of weeks of training and tryouts on campus before the semester starts. I know I'll have to be fit before I get there, but for now, I'm content to sleep in. I mean, swimming and running around on the beach playing volleyball and frisbee count as cardio, right?
I definitely get my heart rate up a few times, most of which Elle is responsible for. She's taken to using me as her own personal flotation device in the surf, which I'm more than okay with since it provides numerous opportunities for roving hands underwater. Then there was yesterday, when she crept into my room in the very early hours of the morning for an encounter that was, by necessity, very quick and very quiet.
This afternoon was probably the most heart-pumping moment, however. After another morning at the beach and lunch back at the house, Mom and Dad had gone out to see some friends and Lee had left to catch up with some of the guys from school who were staying further up the beach. Elle and I finally had the place to ourselves, and we made the most of it, our swim in the pool pretty much turning into skinny-dipping, before moving to the day bed.
We hadn't long finished fooling around when I heard a car pull up out the front. Then it was a mad scramble to find our swimsuits and get dressed before Mom and Dad wandered through the house and out onto the deck. We're both back in the pool by the time they get outside, and I think the fact that Elle's bikini top isn't exactly securely fastened at the back escapes their notice.
I do crack up laughing once they walk down to the beach, however.
"Shut up and help me!" Elle hisses, still holding the strings behind her back where she's leaning against the side of the pool.
"Alright, come here," I chuckle, motioning for her to turn around. "You know, I have more experience taking these things off than putting them on."
"Don't remind me," she says stiffly.
"I meant with you, you dork," I grin, tying the knot securely and turning her around by her shoulders to face me. "Normally you're begging me to take your clothes off, not help put them back on."
"Oh really? Begging you, huh?" Elle's trying to look offended, and failing miserably, her grin showing through.
"Yep," I smirk. "You're all, 'Noah, please' and 'Noah, hurry up'."
"Yeah, well, lucky I am, otherwise your parents might have walked in on a very interesting moment," she giggles.
"Very true," I smile, pulling her against me and lifting her up so she wraps her legs around my waist. I drop my voice a little lower, "For the record, Elle, I'm not complaining. As much as you want me, I can guarantee I want you more."
"More?" she whispers.
"Uh huh," I nod slowly. "Always."
Elle closes the small distance between us, kissing me fiercely, her tongue finding mine. When we finally come up for air, she's grinning wildly.
"Okay, I think we should get out of the pool now. It seems to be a bad influence."
"You go ahead," I say, releasing her and swimming away a little. "I think I need to cool down a little, maybe swim a few laps..."
"You have fun with that," she giggles, wading towards the edge and climbing up the steps. Watching her cute behind isn't helping me, so I dive under the water, heading for the deep end.
______________________________________________________
I don't think Lee could be more annoying if he tried today. Clearly he's hyped up for Rachel's arrival tomorrow, but honestly, he's being crazy erratic. Even Elle, who usually has infinite patience for Lee's weirdness, has had enough. We're sitting on our towels, drying off after another swim and Lee's phone won't stop pinging with text message after text message.
Elle snaps. "For God's sake, Lee, just go call her! Jeez!"
I can't help but chuckle at her total exasperation, but Lee's oblivious, just running off to call his girlfriend.
I turn to Elle after having a serious thought. "He's so in love, it's almost stopped being funny. How long do you think it'll be until I have to put on a penguin suit for the wedding?"
She laughs. "Hmm, I say two years."
"That long? Really?"
"Oh, come on. You know Lee. He'll want to make sure the flowers and the food and the cake are just perfect. And he'll want the perfect bachelor party too."
"Which, of course, I'd be in charge of planning," I say confidently.
Elle raises her eyebrows. "You think you'll be his best man?"
"Who else?" I reply. "I'm his big brother. I've got plenty of embarrassing stories about him. I'm the obvious choice."
"I think you'll find the position of best woman is already taken."
"Of course it is," I laugh, shaking my head. "I'm really thirsty. Do you want to grab a Coke from the bar?"
I know Elle loves the little tiki-style bar down the shore, and while I've taken her there at least once every summer since I was old enough to be trusted to watch her and Lee, this would be the first time I'd be taking her as my girlfriend. Which seems kind of important that it be just the two of us, without Lee tagging along.
"Sure," she smiles, standing up.
I grab a few bills out of my wallet. "Let's go."
It doesn't take long to walk there, but the queue's kind of long. We've been in line for a few minutes when Elle blurts, "Do you know those guys? Over there?"
I look around where she's facing and then back to her, but before I can answer, the bar tender looks our way.
"What can I get you guys?"
"Two Cokes," I reply, pushing the money across the counter. I look over my shoulder, unable to help the scowl on my face when I see the guys again.
"Noah!" Elle exclaims, swatting my hand. "Do you know them or what? They're still looking over here."
"Yeah, if it's the guy I think it is, I made out with his ex-girlfriend or something last summer. He tried to punch me, so, naturally, I acted in self-defense. Might not even be him."
I'm pretty sure it is, but I don't want Elle flipping out over this.
"What? When did - "
"You know all those beach bonfires and parties and stuff? You and Lee never went to them?"
Elle nods and I continue, jerking a thumb over my shoulder in the general direction of the guys. "I think it was at one of those."
"I can't believe..." Elle trails off, shaking her head. "You couldn't have just walked away?"
How come I feel so guilty about something that happened a year ago? Elle has this way of making me wish I was better than I actually am, and it doesn't feel great to disappoint her. I grind my teeth a little, not looking at her when I reply. "Point taken."
The barman saves me by setting down two glasses of Coke in front of us just then. Elle mumbles thanks and takes a sip of hers. It seems to ease some of the tension and we pick up our earlier conversation, but I see her sneaking glances at the guys we were talking about earlier. I can tell she's still a little on edge about it all.
I shouldn't have been surprised when we turned to leave and one of the idiots, the blond one, slams into me on purpose, apologizing sarcastically. "Whoa, sorry, dude. Didn't see you there."
That seems unlikely considering I'm 6'5". I'm generally hard to miss.
I find myself clenching my jaw for the second time this afternoon, unable to stop myself from shoving him back.
"Why don't you watch where you're going, huh?"
The guy scoffs, his two friends now standing on either side of him with stupid grins on their faces, too. "Right, right, sure."
I feel my hands starting to form fists, knowing this is probably going to turn into a fight, but Elle grabs my arm. "Hey. Come on. Let's just go. They're not worth it, Noah."
The blond guy glances at Elle and then back at me, sneering. "So, whose girl did you steal this year, Flynn?"
Whatever. If he's not man enough for his girlfriend, that's not my problem.
"Get over yourself."
I start to walk off, but the guy steps deliberately into my path, shoving me again.
"Come on, now," I say to him. "You really want to pick a fight in front of a lady?"
I'm goading him a little and it works, he tries to shove me again, but I sidestep him and he loses his balance, ending up face-first in the sand.
Elle grabs my hand. "Let's get out of here."
I nod, following her down the beach. I like my odds against one of them, but three? Might be a close call.
"You think you might've made out with his ex-girlfriend last year?" Elle asks.
"All right, all right. But in my defense, they weren't together at the time. If you ask me, he's just an asshole."
"And you feel the need to pick a fight with every asshole guy you come across? We both know you would've if I hadn't been there."
I tug her close to me, letting go of her hand so I can wrap my arm around her shoulders. "You really know how to guilt-trip me, don't you, Elle?"
"I'm serious. I need you to know you can't solve everything by throwing a few punches any more. I don't... I don't want you getting in trouble at Harvard."
"I do know. I get it, okay? My parents have been going on and on and on about it all summer too. No more fighting. No more being stupid or reckless or any of that. I know. I'm working on it."
Elle doesn't say anything for a moment, just looks up at me, kind of confused. I give her an awkward smile. The truth is, I'm kind of embarrassed that everyone thinks I'm such a screw-up. What started out as me sticking up for myself and others, kind of morphed into a reputation as a tough guy that then meant idiots wanted to test themselves against me. Violence begets violence, I guess. I don't go seeking it, though. It just always seems to find me. But I haven't been in a fight since Elle and I got together. That's got to mean something, right?
"Well, whatever they said, it's obviously made an impression. The old Noah would have punched that guy, and his friends. And I totally would have yelled at you for it, for the record."
"Oh, I know."
If there's one thing Shelly can be relied on to do, it's yell at me when she thinks I'm out of line.
We reach the spot in front of the house where we left our towels, and Elle settles back down onto hers.
"Hey, Elle?"
"Yeah?" she asks, looking up at me.
"I'm trying. To be a better guy. To not be so impulsive. I... I want you to know that."
"I know. I just - I hope you're not doing it for me. You know? Or not just for me."
"I'm not. Although you are a big factor," I tease. She raises her eyebrows at me. "Couldn't have you being mad at me, Elle."
"Make sure you remember that if there's a next time."
Okay, enough of this. "I'm going swimming; you coming?"
"No," Elle says lazily. "I'm gonna stay here. Finish listening to my podcast."
I just nod, bending to give her a kiss before walking down to the water's edge.
______________________________________________________
The next morning, I've already showered and dressed and am just hanging my towel over my door, when I hear Elle grumping at Lee before heading into the bathroom. The shower starts up and I seize the opportunity while everyone else is still in their rooms. I open the door and quietly enter, hearing Elle's annoyed sigh before she sticks her head round the shower curtain, shampoo trickling down the sides of her face.
"Lee, I don't care what time Rachel's coming, your hair gel can wait until I'm not in the - "
Her eyes meet mine and I have to laugh.
"I so need to take a photo of that," I chuckle, gesturing at her annoyed face and lathered-up hair.
"Oh, shut up."
"What's the matter, grumpy-pants, you don't want me to join you?" I smirk, starting to take off my shirt.
"Noah! Stop it."
"Stop what? I ask innocently, grinning while I undo my belt.
"You are not doing a strip-tease in the bathroom," Elle hisses, blushing as she disappears behind the shower curtain. "So not fair. Remind me why we thought we could handle not having any time to ourselves here?"
"What's the matter, Elle?" I laugh, enjoying how flustered she is. "Need a cold shower?"
She tells me to shut up again, but I can tell she's grinning as she says it. I stop trying to take my clothes off, buckling my belt again and stepping over to the sink to comb my hair and brush my teeth. When Elle steps out of the shower, she's already wrapped herself in a towel, which is a shame, but probably for the best. She bumps her hip against mine to move me over, but I only shift the bare minimum required, hovering by the side of the sink, my arms folded, watching her.
"What?" she asks.
I shrug. "Just thinking."
"About what?"
"I love you," I say simply, smiling.
I lean over to give her a quick kiss, but when I move to leave, Elle tugs me back by my shirt.
"Hey, you don't get away that easy, mister."
She kisses me full on the mouth, a smile forming on her face. Okay then. My arms curl around her waist and I squeeze her closer to me. Her hands find my hair, dragging through it in that way she knows drives me crazy, and I'm suddenly very aware that she's only wearing a towel.
And that Lee's only a thin wall away.
And that my parents are down the hall.
Ugh!
"Okay. I'm definitely going this time," I say, drawing away and giving her a last peck on the lips, "before I'm the one who needs a cold shower."
Honestly, this is torture.
______________________________________________________
Fortunately, Rachel arrives sooner than expected and Lee heads to collect her from the bus station, while Elle and I are curled up together on the sofa watching TV. It's all very tame, with my parents sitting together on the opposite couch, when we hear the Mustang pull into the driveway.
"Sounds like the other pair of lovebirds are here," Mom says, both her and Dad going to greet them. I take the opportunity of them being gone and Elle spacing out to change the channel to the NASCAR race. Unfortunately Elle chooses that moment to come back to reality.
"No way are we watching this. There's got to be something else on. Like cartoons."
"Cartoons? You're kidding me, right?"
Elle scowls at me and tries to grab the remote from the arm of the couch, but I'm too quick, snatching it up and holding it above my head.
"Noah!" she complains, scrambling up on the sofa, trying to make a grab for it. I keep moving it out of her reach, and she ends up falling across me, basically straddling me, our noses almost touching.
We look at each other for a long, long moment; I know this game, I know she's biding her time. We've been here many times before over the years, but now I have a different distraction technique I can use. With my free hand, I reach up to gently brush some hair behind her ear, letting my fingertips linger near the base of her neck. Then -
Elle shrieks as she falls back onto the sofa, trying to scramble away, but I'm too fast. I lie across her, pinning her down, tickling her ruthlessly. She's gasping for air, she's laughing so hard. She tries to wriggle, kick her legs, push me away, and in all her efforts, Elle's managed to wriggle to the edge of the sofa. I can work with that. I let us fall onto the floor together.
"Noah!" she shrieks. "Noah, stop it!"
I just chuckle, grinning while I keep on tickling her.
Until I hear Mom's voice call down the hallway, "Keep your clothes on!"
We both pause, Elle's face turning red, and I bite my lip, trying not to laugh. She swats my chest, but I can tell it's because she's trying not to laugh, too.
"Hey you guys," Rachel's voice sounds from the doorway, causing us both to look over at her. She gives us a small wave.
"Hey," we respond.
"Welcome to the mad-house. Sorry, sorry. Beach house," Elle grins.
"Rach, come on, my parents want to show you the beach," Lee interjects, wrapping his arms around Rachel's waist and dragging her away, out of the house.
Elle turns back to me, wiggling a hand free to run it through my hair, pushing it away from my face. The look on her face makes me smile down at her.
"So, tomorrow night."
"Huh?" she asks, confused.
"I was thinking we could do something tonight, but we can't because we're all going to this steakhouse, apparently, to welcome Rachel. But we'll do something tomorrow. Just me and you."
"Do you have anything particular in mind?"
I tap my nose. "I've got a few things up my sleeve."
"It doesn't involve a monster truck rally, though, right?"
I laugh and tweak her nose, causing her to scrunch up her face. "No, it doesn't. I know you, Elle. Trust me, you'll love it. If it goes to plan."
"Goes to plan?"
I shrug. "It's a surprise."
Elle groans then, frowning at me. "What's with you and surprises? Please tell me you've done something unbearably cute and set up another kissing booth, so we can, like, recreate all the magic of our first kiss."
I have to laugh. "Huh, that would have been an idea. Now I'm feeling like you're going to be disappointed it's not that."
"Can't you just tell me what we're doing if we're going to do something? It sucks not knowing. I feel like an idiot. I won't be disappointed if I know what the surprise is. You can't just tell me? Please?"
I grin at her impishly, "Now where's the fun in that?"
"You just like teasing me like this, don't you?" she pouts.
"Yup, pretty much."
Teasing Elle is something I've always done, but thinking of surprises for her might be my new favorite hobby.