Elle's POV
Lexi and Darren's wedding was on a beautiful late October day. The ceremony was perfect and afterwards I went to the reception with Allie and Brynn, a couple of friends from work I had met through Lexi. It seemed funny to me that this woman I met at Noah's suggestion had become such an awesome friend to me. As much as I wanted to ask Lexi about Noah, we never talked about him again after that first day we met at work. Lexi did a wonderful job planning the wedding and reception and it's fun to see all the details she has been telling me about for weeks come to life. After getting our drinks at the bar, Allie and I were heading to our table and stopped to congratulate Lexi and Darren. After I gave Lexi a hug and congratulated her, Allie tapped me on the shoulder. "Look at that hot guy walking in right now!" Allie and Brynn have been scoping out all the guys at the reception, I'm starting to get worried they are going to try to set up with someone tonight.
I look in the direction Allie indicated and do a double take. Noah Flynn is walking directly towards me. Suddenly the room is quiet and it's like everyone else disappeared. I watch him walk towards me as if I'm in a dream for a split second before I remember that he is friends with Darren and Lexi and is here for the wedding, he isn't here to see me. I'm surprised Lexi didn't mention that he was coming. I turn quickly, so my back is to him just as I hear Darren say, "It's about time you showed up!" There are quite a few people standing around us trying to congratulate the bride and groom. I'm trying to find a way out of this mob of people, so Noah won't see me yet. I need to prepare myself before I face him.
"I'm so sorry I missed the ceremony, my flight was delayed. It's so good to see you! Congratulations!" I hear Noah talking behind me. I turn one way, then another, finally I see a space between Lexi and Darren and I try to slip through without being seen. But at that exact moment, Noah moves from Darren toward Lexi and I run right into his chest. By reflex, he reaches down to steady me and looks into my eyes. I'm staring stupidly back at him, not sure what to do.
"Shelly." Noah whispers in shock to me at the same time Lexi is saying "Oh, Elle! You two know each other from high school, right?" Lexi's voice got quieter as she realized Noah had called me Shelly. She and Darren look at each other, then again at me and Noah. I can't stop staring at Noah, but finally pull my focus away to face Lexi, who has a really confused look on her face. Crap, I really should have told her about me and Noah. As soon as I pull my eyes away from him, Noah also seems to remember where he is. He finally let go of my arms that he had been holding onto since I ran into him. He leans down to give Lexi a hug and tell her how happy he was for the two of them.
Lexi turns her attention back to me. "You're Noah's ex-girlfriend Shelly?" I need to give Lexi an explanation.
"Elle is short for Rochelle, but Shelly was my nickname as a kid. I'm sorry I didn't tell you the whole story about me and Noah, I didn't want to talk about all the break-up stuff when we first met. I know I should have told you."
"That's fine, I understand. Although, you are definitely going to be telling me all about it when we have lunch at work after the honeymoon!" Lexi smiles at me. "I put Noah at your table, since you knew him from high school. I know he probably knows some of the Harvard guys here too, but I didn't know he was coming until a couple weeks ago and this was the easiest way to make the seating chart work. I hope this won't be a problem for you guys." Lexi looks a little worried as she explains this to me.
"Don't worry about it, we'll be fine. Now, go enjoy your day. Congratulations!" I'm not going to let her know how much his appearance is shaking me to my core.
I turn from Lexi and look into Noah's brown eyes. He has been staring at me the whole time I was talking to Lexi. He smiles at me and I can feel the butterflies in my stomach. How can he still make me feel like I'm a teenager with a crush? He is wearing an expensive looking blue suit and looks amazing. I'm not used to seeing him dressed up like this. I imagine his leather jacket and boots are a thing of the past now that he's has his high-powered job, he probably wears suits like this all the time. Although, I always loved his t-shirts and ripped jeans, Noah looks very sexy in a suit. Oh boy, I need to get these thoughts out of my head, I down the drink in my hand and smile back at him. "I think I need another one, can I get you anything?"
"Hey, um, Elle, what are you doing here?" Noah follows me as I walk as fast as I can towards the bar.
"You told me that I should meet Lexi. I did and we've become good friends. I didn't want to get into all our history, so I only told her that we went to high school together, now I feel terrible that I didn't tell her we dated. I don't want her to worry about this on her wedding day. So, please, act like you're happy to see me." Thankfully, we reach the bar and I order another drink, something a little stronger than wine this time.
Noah quickly places his order and turns to me, his smile showing his dimples. That was the smile I always felt he reserved for me, "I am happy to see you, Shelly, I don't need to act like it."
"Should we order shots, I feel like now is a good time for shots?" I'm trying to avoid looking directly at him.
"Don't you think it's a little early? They aren't even serving the meal yet."
But it was too late. I had already ordered a round of shots for our whole table, which one of the bartenders brought our way by the time Noah and I made it back to the table. We sit down next to each other by the place settings with our name cards. I introduce Noah to my co-workers and their dates sitting at the table with us. I guess some of my work friends thought it was a little early for shots also because we ended up with a couple extra. Noah and I both took a leftover shot.
Allie and Brynn are very interested in me and Noah. I hadn't mentioned him to anyone other than Lexi but they had seen the way we had been looking at each other after I ran into him, so I know they are curious. They immediately start asking Noah about himself and about how we know each other. Noah answers most of their questions and I give them some vague answers about our relationship and a pointed look. They both take the hint and stop asking us questions for now. I am going to have a lot of explaining to do when this night is over. Once their focus is off him, Noah starts talking to me.
"Think you can talk to me now that you've had some liquid courage?" Noah looks over at me, smirking. I guess I was obvious when I was trying to drink my way into getting comfortable being around him again, but at least I'm feeling more loosened up. Maybe a little too loosened up?
"Sorry, I know this is awkward. You probably have Harvard friends here, you could crash at their table. I'm sure you don't want to sit here with me."
"Are you kidding me? There is no place I would rather be right now."
The dinner is finally being served and I ignore his last comment. I'm not sure how to respond to that. We both make small talk with the people at our table while we eat. As the plates are being cleared from our table, Noah turns to me again.
"Didn't your boyfriend come with you?"
"Boyfriend?" I'm confused, although that may be the amount of alcohol I consumed so quickly in the short amount of time since running into Noah. "I don't have a boyfriend."
"What about the guy you brought to the family lunch?"
"You mean Aaron?" I start laughing. Aaron is a great guy, but definitely not boyfriend material, at least not for me. "He's out of town this weekend, but he's not my boyfriend."
"Oh, I thought since you brought him to meet the family that he must have been your boyfriend. It sounded like you guys have known each other for a while."
I look at Noah for a few seconds, not quite sure of the best way to respond to him. "We have known each other for a while. He was one of my first friends in Chicago. He was a big help to me in getting through my first few months at DePaul. I had a rough time for a while there, I'm lucky I found him." Noah got a sad look on his face when I mention the rough time, I'm sure he knows exactly what I mean. We're both quiet for a few minutes.
Noah seems to lighten up a little after I explained I wasn't dating Aaron. He couldn't have been jealous of Aaron at the family lunch, could he? He looks at me again with that smile.
"Shell, we haven't talked in 2 years. I think it's about time, don't you?"
I know exactly how long it has been since our last conversation, other than the Sunday lunch last month. Every word of that last phone call still echoes in my head. I'm not sure I am ready for this, though. Luckily, I'm saved by the bell, or in our case the clinking of the glasses and the start of the wedding speeches. Noah keeps leaning over to me and starting to talk, but I cut him off, saying we need to be quiet and listen.
We all watch as Lexi and Darren cut the cake and have their first dance. Noah leans over and whispers in my ear. "We need to talk, Elle. Darren and Lexi won't care if we're gone for a little bit. I'm staying at this hotel. Can we go up to my room for a few minutes and talk? I feel like I owe you some explanations and I think it's time that we cleared the air from our break-up. Also, I don't know how close you are to these guys" he said as he glances around the table, "but you've had a lot to drink in the last hour, I don't want you standing on any tables and starting to strip in front of your co-workers." With that last comment, he gives me another smirk. God, I've missed his face.
I don't respond to his comment about me stripping, Lee and Noah are never going to stop making fun of me for that. "Don't you have friends from Harvard here that you want to see?"
"There are only a couple here and no one that I was that close with. I can go over and say a quick hello and meet you in the hallway in 15 minutes. What do you say?"
"Sure, I'll go grab another drink while you're making the rounds and I'll sneak out."
Noah looks like he was going to make a comment about me heading to the bar again but thought better of it. Probably a good idea on his part to let it slide. I know I don't need any more to drink, but that's not going to stop me. The dance floor is starting to fill up and I notice Allie and Brynn out on the floor. I sneak out into the hallway without saying anything to my friends. I'll let Noah say what he has to say then come back before anyone realizes we were gone.
Noah looks sexy as hell as he walks out of the reception hall and towards me in the hallway. We're quiet as we walk into the elevator and down the hallway towards Noah's room. I notice Noah rubbing the back of his neck when we're in the elevator, he must be nervous, just like I am about this. My mind keeps telling me that this is a terrible idea. Luckily, all those drinks I had are keeping my mind from stopping me.
Noah's POV
I can't believe how lucky I am to run into Elle here. I hadn't planned on attending Lexi and Darren's wedding until I saw Elle at that family lunch. They were great friends but I hadn't been a fan of weddings since my relationship with Elle had imploded. Who wants to watch two people promise to love each other forever when the person you love won't even talk to you. Once I realized how strong my feelings still were for Elle and I knew I needed to see her again, I decided this would be my chance. I RSVP'd way late for the wedding and got Elle's address from my Mom. I made up some excuse to my Mom about wanting to send Elle something of hers I found when I moved back to LA. I would never hear the end of it if Mom knew what I planned this weekend.
My plan was to drop in on her between the wedding and the reception and hope that I caught her at home. I didn't want to give her any warning or I was afraid she would make up an excuse to avoid me. I thought for sure fate was working against me when my plane was delayed and I missed the ceremony and ended up late for the reception. I didn't have any extra time to go by Elle's. I thought maybe I would sneak out of the reception early and try to look for her. But then I walked in and there she was. Maybe fate is on our side.