Present Perfect (36 page)

At 2 am, the door slowly creaked open and Lisa stuck her head in cautiously.

“You can come in,” I told her.

She staggered in, still feeling the effects of the alcohol, but more subdued. She walked straight over to her bed, her eyes half closed, never once glancing in our direction, and plopped down. “Lisa?” I said.

“Mmmhmm?”

“This is Noah.”

Her eyes shot open, she sat straight up, and turned toward us. “
The
Noah?” She smiled.

Noah glanced over at me looking curious to know what I had told her.

“Yes.”

Noah slid to the edge of the bed and held his hand out to her. “Hey, it’s great to meet you, Lisa.”

She reached and grabbed his hand. “Well, hellooo
The
Noah. It’s really great to see you…here…with Amanda.” She looked back and forth between us, grinning like a cat that had just caught the canary.

“I guess I should be going.” Noah stood and started collecting the trash from our snack.

Lisa stood and met him. “I’ll take that for you, so you can say toodles to each other.”

She walked to the other side of the room pretending to give us some privacy.

“I’m not sure what time I’m heading back tomorrow. I want to see you before I go, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to. You know?” A look of disappointment crossed his face.

“I know,” I said.

“I’ll definitely talk to you tomorrow.”

“And I’ll be home for Thanksgiving in a few days,” I said.

I guess we had stared at each for an abnormal amount of time because Lisa felt it necessary to clear her throat, loudly. Noah leaned down giving me a kiss on my forehead. I couldn’t help closing my eyes and savoring the feel of his lips on me again.

“Goodnight, Tweet,” he whispered.

“Goodnight, Noah.”

He turned to Lisa. “Goodnight, Lisa.”

“Goodnight,
The
Noah.”

He smiled as he glanced over at me. He grabbed his jacket and headed out the door.

Lisa watched Noah until the door closed behind him and then plopped back down on her bed. “Well, well, well…
The
Noah is licktastic,” she said, cocking one eyebrow up.

“We’re going to try and do the friend thing.”

“That’s good. Start off slow.”

“What you mean
start
off slow? We’re friends. That’s it. Nothing else is going to happen between us. Noah’s with Brooke and I’m with Matt.”

She made sure I saw her eye roll at the mention of Matt. “Sweetheart, there was so much eye fucking going on between the two of you, it was like an ophthalmologist’s wet dream. And I saw how you reacted when he kissed you.”

“How?”

“You didn’t just
breathe
him in. You inhaled him deeply. You didn’t soak him in. You ab-sorb-ed him in.” She laid back down.

“You’re still severely drunk.”

“Mmmhmm. INHALED DEEPLY!”

The next morning I woke up to the sound of my phone chiming with a text.

Noah: Mornin Tweet. How’s your ankle?

Me: A little better. Thx.

Noah: Not able to stop by. Sorry.

Me: That’s ok. Have a safe trip home.

Noah: Last night was amazing. See you in a few days. Look out your door.

Me: Ok. Just a sec.

I got up as quietly as possible so I wouldn’t wake Lisa up. It took me a few minutes to get to the door. My ankle was stiff and still hurt. I cracked the door open slightly. The hallway was empty. I opened the door the rest of the way, looked in both directions down the hall, but still didn’t see anything. My phone chimed.

Noah: Look down
.

I looked down. Sitting on the floor was a bag with my coat in it. He remembered to go get it from the frat house. The butterflies in my stomach woke up. I hadn’t felt them in months. Then I saw it. My cheeks started hurting because I was unable to wipe the ridiculous smile off my face. Sitting in front of the bag looking up at me was a windup yellow bird Koosh toy. I picked it up and texted him immediately.

Me: Thx for getting my coat back and for my tweet. I love it. ☺

Noah: ;)

I picked up the bag and headed back into my room. I shut the door and leaned back on it. I looked over at Lisa who was wide awake, sitting up in bed. “Noah brought my coat back.”

“That was nice of him. What else you got there?”

“It’s a little windup Koosh bird.” Her eyebrows scrunched together not understanding. “His nickname for me is Tweet. It’s a little tweet.”

“Well, dammit all to hell. If that isn’t the sweetest fucking thing I’ve ever heard of. I think I just had a little orgasm.”

“You’re crazy.” I put the bag on my bed, tweet on my dresser, and headed to the bathroom to take my shower.

As I closed the bathroom door, I heard Lisa yell, “INHALED DEEPLY!”

The smile never left my face for the rest of the day. I knew I looked like an idiot, but I didn’t care. I was going to enjoy it. I didn’t even see Matt that day because I knew he would try and ruin my good mood. I had been miserable for six months and deserved a little happiness. It was going to be a great holiday because I had my Noah back.

The capacity to forgive is endless, but how many of us take advantage and tap into it? Your true soul mate will always forgive, love, and support you unconditionally. If you let them slip through your fingers once, shame on you. If you let them slip through your fingers again, then you don’t deserve them.

I excused myself from the table so I could go text Noah. Standing in the stall of the ladies room, I sent for backups.

Me: 911! I’VE HAD 3 COSMOS ALREADY & HE’S STILL PUTTING ME TO SLEEP. HEADED BACK TO TABLE. CALL ME WITH A TRAGIC EMERGENCY THAT NEEDS MY ATTENTION. ;)

I couldn’t believe I let Lisa talk me into this blind date with her cousin. I knew she wanted Matt out of my life, but to go behind my back and set this date up was even extreme for her. She chose to inform me of my date while I was packing for my trip home for Thanksgiving break.

She was sitting back on her bed drinking Diet Coke and eating her second Pop-Tart while I shoved clothes into my suitcase without even ironing them first.

“Lisa, how could you go and set me up on a date? I know you don’t like Matt, but I
am
dating him.”

I was so agitated. I hated when I didn’t feel in control of a situation and her going behind my back was inexcusable.

“I know you’re pissed at me, but it’s just one date. I know you’re with asshat, and you and
The
Noah are satisfied with eye fucking each other. I just wanted you to see there are other options in the world. Think of it as a favor to sweet lovable me.”

I stopped packing and narrowed my eyes at her. It was hard to stay angry with Lisa. I knew her heart was in the right place.

“One date and Matt doesn’t need to know about it.”

“Agreed,” she said.

“What’s your cousin like?”

“I have no idea. I’ve never met him.”

“What?”

She popped the last piece of chemically laced cardboard pastry in her mouth as she raised her index finger to me indicating she needed a second.

“I’ve actually never met the dude. All I know is he just moved to Charleston, he’s 25, and is loaded. Even if he’s not for you, you’ll get a good meal out of it.”

I jumped up and down clapping my hands and sarcastically said, “Oh boy! A gourmet meal really does make this less humiliating.”

“Smartass. The guy has got to be pretty great. I mean, he is related to me and you know how awesome I am. Everybody loves me.” She cocked her head to one side and flashed me a huge toothy grin.

So here I am, spending part of my precious school break in one of the finest restaurants in Charleston, with a guy I don’t even know and don’t want to know.

I waited a few more seconds in hopes that Noah would reply. These past few days have been incredible. After we reunited last weekend, Noah and I have talked at least twice a day. Thank god for unlimited minutes. I waited another minute for a text. Nothing.