Hey guys! So this is the chapter before Noah and Lily make it to Michigan...Originally I was intending to make this the chapter where they make it, but I figured I needed to write Lily's side to the night they spent together, to make sure it didn't come across as one-sided. Anyways, I hope you enjoy! :)
Picture: Lily
Song: And Then You, by Greg Laswell (his voice is completely hypnotic)
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Lily POV:
I turned over and gently lifted Noah's arm from around my waist. The sound of his breathing echoed around the quiet room, letting me know that he was still fast asleep. Wrapping a sheet around my naked body, I eased out of bed slowly and walked to the window.
Opening the curtains slightly, I could see that the rain from last night had passed, and the sun was peaking out from behind the clouds, bathing the morning with a light that had seemed so lost in the storm.
As I watched the sun trying to break free, my mind wandered to last night, and how I had let my guard down. There was no way I could have stopped, as my feelings for Noah were like nothing I had ever felt before; but it also scared me.
Everyone I had ever loved had either left me or hurt me, and I had never told anyone that I loved them; no-one except my little sister. And the thought of losing Noah caused an ache in my heart, that I knew would never truly go away.
"Why did I say it?" I whispered to myself, leaning my forehead against the cold glass of the window. "I promised I'd never say it, damn it!"
Closing my eyes, I knew that it was true, that I was falling in love with him. I'd promised myself I wouldn't let anybody in, but somehow that annoying guy had gotten under my skin. And now I couldn't imagine a life without that floppy hair, and that smirk that made my heart beat a little faster every time I looked at him.
I heard the bed squeak behind me and I spun around, my eyes landing on Noah standing by the side of the bed in just his shorts. That same floppy hair I was thinking about just moments ago was sticking out in all directions, and he had a small smile on his face as his eyes met mine.
"Hey," he said, almost sounding nervous. "You should have woken me."
I shrugged, pulling the sheet around me tightly as it began to slip down. "I thought I'd let you sleep," I smiled softly. "And I was just looking at the weather."
"How is it?" He asked, walking slowly towards me as his eyes travelled up my body. "Could we leave soon or is it still too bad outside?"
"Take a look for yourself," I said, shuffling to the left as Noah came up to my side and pulled the curtain back, glancing out the window.
"Looks good out there," he nodded, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye. "We should be able to leave any time."
I just stared as he shut the curtain and turned to face me. He lifted his hand and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, a small smile playing at his lips. "So, last night...." he trailed off, eventually dropping his hand and staring at the floor, like it held some kind of hidden secret.
"Last night," I echoed, not sure what he wanted me to say.
"Did you mean it?" He said suddenly, snapping his head up to look at me. "What you said, did you mean it?"
The intensity of his gaze sent a flutter through my stomach. I had never seen him looking so unsure of himself, and it made me remember that this was just as new for him as it was for me. But as I looked in to his blue eyes and remembered what I felt for him when we made love, I knew that I wasn't falling in love with him; I already was.
"Yes," I smiled nervously, clinging on to the sheet as if it could give me some sort of reassurance. "I meant it. I meant every word. Did you?"
Noah suddenly reached out and grabbed my hips, pulling me towards him in one swift movement so my hands were spread out on his bare chest. He grinned down at me and kissed me lightly, before cupping my cheek.
"Your damn straight I meant it," he whispered, his eyes twinkling with what could only be relief as he leant down to kiss me again.
Laughing softly, I dodged him and stepped back. An annoyed look crossed Noah's face as he watched me. "Oh so now you're not the kissing type?" he mumbled, cocking an eyebrow at me.
"No, I happen to enjoy your kisses," I said truthfully, sighing as a smug look crossed his features. "But we need to get on the road if we're gonna make it by tomorrow evening, so I'm going to go and have a shower."
Turning around, I walked to the door and pushed it open, stepping in to the bathroom. Still clinging on to the sheet wrapped loosely around my body, I spun, intending to shut the door behind me. But instead, I crashed in to a rock solid chest taking me by surprise. I yelped, not realizing Noah had been behind me. As I looked up at him, I wondered how he moved so quickly, and so quietly without me noticing.
"And what do you think you're doing?" I smiled, trying to step back, but finding myself blocked by Noah's muscled arms wrapped around me tightly. "You know I'm trying to have a shower, right?"
"I do know," he nodded, completely deadpan. "But what makes you think you'll be taking it alone?"
I felt myself blush bright red as I stared up at him. And before I knew what was happening, he kicked the door shut behind him and grinned. I opened my mouth to try and protest, but I closed it just as quick, knowing that I didn't really want him to leave. Suddenly, he flicked his right hand out and opened the sheet, watching as it fell to floor, leaving me standing before him with nothing but a smile.
He gulped, raking his eyes over every inch of me, and I could feel my cheeks heating. My hand reached out to shield my scar, like an unconscious reaction that I just couldn't stop. But Noah shook his head and took hold of my hand, preventing me from doing so.
"You're even more beautiful than I remembered," he whispered, stepping out of his shorts and wrapping his arms around me. "It's kind of ironic, don't you think?"
"Ironic?" I breathed, my desire going in to overdrive as I pressed against his bare chest. "What's ironic?"
"Well," he laughed softly, nuzzling my neck. "One of the first times I saw you, stepping out of the shower in just a towel, you said I'd have to dream to see you like this - "
"I remember," I interrupted, threading my fingers through his hair as he licked my earlobe gently.
"Now here we are," he chuckled, reaching down to take hold of my hand and pulling me in to the shower. "You find me irresistable, and you're about to take a shower with me."
"Certainly looks that way," I smiled, closing my eyes as he reached past me and turned the nozzle, causing the water to shoot out of the shower head.
My hair was immediately plastered to my forehead, and I savoured the warm feeling of the water cascading down my body. For a brief second, everything fell away, but when Noah wrapped his arms around me again, I was snapped back to the present. Before I could even open my eyes, he spun us around so I was backed up against the wall, with nowhere to go.
I looked up in to his eyes, shielded from the water as it pelted against his back. "Oh jeez," I laughed. "Are you turning in to a sex fiend?"
"Oh honey," he smiled, winking at me. "I've always been a sex fiend, and I've been waiting for you for a long time. And now that I've got you, I intend to take full advantage."
I laughed, amazed at how something so simple could change everything. Just one guy, who loved me despite my issues, could make me see life for what it was; something to hold on too. And as Noah leant down trailing kisses along my collarbone, I knew that at that moment, life was good.
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Noah POV (The following day, 4pm):
"Hi, could I get two Pepsi's please," I smiled at the old man behind the counter as I reached for my wallet. "And a cheesburger."
"Sure, that'll be seven dollars," he replied, handing me the two pepsi's and taking the money.
Handing over some change, I glanced over my shoulder to see Lily sitting at one of the tables, shielding her eyes from the sun. As we had driven further North, inching ever closer to Michigan, the storm had dissipated and the sun broke out from behind the grey clouds.
There was still a slight breeze, and the wind whipped Lily's hair above her shoulders. I smiled as she reached up and attempted to smooth it down, failing completely. The roadside cafe we were at was a welcome break, seeing as we had been driving for almost ten hours.
"Here we go," the old man said, snapping me back to reality.
Turning back around, I took the cheesburger and shoved the two Pepsi's under my arm. "Thanks a lot," I smiled before walking over to Lily.
I set the drinks down and collapsed in to the seat opposite, already druelling from the smell of the cheeseburger. Lily leant forward and put her elbows on the table, smiling at me. "Looks like we're almost there."
I nodded, realizing the same thing. "Another couple of hours and we'll be at the lakehouse. Actually we could there by seven tonight if we - "
Suddenly, my phone started vibrating from my pocket. Reaching down, my hand closed around the mobile and I pulled it out, grinning when I saw the familiar number. "It's home," I said to Lily, smiling at the excited look on her face.
I pressed the answer button and put it to my ear. "Hello..."
"Noah sweetie," my mum's voice echoed through the phone. "How far away are you? You promised to keep me and your father updated but you haven't called us once. You're always useless at that sort of thing, no matter how many times we tell you, you just keep on - "
"Mum!" I interrupted, practically shouting down the phone. "I'm sorry but I guess you could say that I got a little bit distracted."
I winked at Lily across the table, smiling when a red tint appeared on her cheeks. She frowned at me, trying to look annoyed but it just made her look even cuter. I realised my mother was saying something over the phone, but I was so distracted by Lily that I hadn't heard a single word.
"Sorry mum," I muttered in to the phone. "Could you repeat that, I wasn't listening."
"You never listen," she snapped. "I was just asking what time you think you two will get here?"
"Well once I've eaten my burger, we'll get back on the road and we should be with you around 7pm tonight," I smiled, hearing JJ in the background. "Maybe three or four hours tops."
"Wonderful! I can't wait to meet this girl that Jackie keeps talking about," she said. "She sounds like the perfect girl for you."
"Oh she is, trust me," I smiled, looking up towards Lily.
My smile faded as my eyes landed on my cheese burger, sitting on its plate right in front of her. It was half eaten, and Lily had a satisfied look on her face. My mouth fell open accusingly as I pointed at her, and then to my half eaten burger.
"Mum, I have to go," I mumbled in to the phone. "I have a serious issue I need to take care of. We'll see you soon."
"Okay honey, be careful," she replied, before a click came from the other end of the line, signalling she had left the call.
Snapping my phone shut, I shoved it in to my jeans pocket and turned my attention towards Lily. She was staring at me and was biting her bottom lip, an obvious attempt at trying to hold back the laughter. I cleared my throat and glared at the plate.
"You ate half my burger," I mumbled sadly. "You know how much I was looking forward to it. Looks like I'm going to have to punish you later."
I heard a gasp of surprise and I grinned at Lily, amused to find an interested look on her face. "Punish me, huh?" She said, a small smile on her face. "You'll have to catch me first."
"I hope that's a challenge," I whispered, wriggling my eyebrows goofily.
She burst out laughing and slid the burger towards me, nodding at it. "Just eat the burger will you, we've got a few hours to drive yet."
Sighing, I picked up the rest of it and devoured it hungrily, the days worth of driving finally catching up to me. After a couple of minutes, I stood up from the table and took hold of Lily's hand, pulling her up beside me.
"Shall we get going then?" I smiled. "I think I've had enough of all this driving."
"Me too!" Lily said as we approached the Harley.
I had been driving for most of the journey, so I was pleased to see Lily kick up a leg and straddle the bike at the front. "You're driving?" I asked, praying she'd say yes.
"Sure, you've been driving for hours now. You can catch a break while I take us the rest of the way."
Sighing gratefully, I got on the bike behind her and slipped my hands under her red t-shirt. I heard Lily mutter something but I smiled to myself as she pulled out of the lot. A few more hours and we'd be at the lakehouse, and Lily could finally meet my family.
Something I had been waiting for, for a very long time.