Chapter Thirteen Noah
Chapter Thirteen
Noah
Noah was trapped. What had started as a simple act of kindness had escalated out of control. There was no way he could uncuff
from Celine now, not when they had been voted the most popular cuffle. Not when they were supposed to have an intimate one-on-one
fireside chat tonight that thousands of people would later watch from their homes.
He supposed he could still dump her since, technically, there wasn’t anything stopping him from doing whatever he wanted.
But that could potentially create a lose-lose situation. He would embarrass Celine, and he could quite possibly make things hell for himself. There were too many dating shows out there with contestants getting
villainized all over social media just because they’d been honest about how they felt. Noah didn’t want to be that person.
Sweat prickled his forehead as he warily glanced at the camera. He couldn’t remember the last time he was this nervous about
being recorded.
“Hey, Noah,” Celine said when they started filming. “How are you doing?”
Get ahold of yourself, Noah thought, shaking his head from side to side.
“I’m doing great,” he lied. “How about you?”
Seemingly oblivious to Noah’s inner turmoil, Celine beamed. “Amazing! I’m so glad we’re getting this cute date.”
Movement in his peripheral vision made him look up. Mia was staring at him from behind the camera, like she always was. She’d
strangely been more smiley than usual today, but now, when their eyes met, she furrowed her brow and jerked her head at Celine,
as if telling him to pay attention to the date.
Noah glanced back at Celine, just as she said, “So I know we talked about a lot during our first date. But one thing we didn’t
talk about is our hobbies. What do you like to do besides school and work?”
He nodded, grateful to all that was good that at least this question was one he could answer easily. “I like watching movies and TV shows, especially Hollywood ones, which is how I ended
up going to film school here. And I like dancing, working out, and making content, so in my free time, I’m always going to
the gym or driving around, scouting new shooting locations around SoCal.”
Celine stared at him like he’d sprouted an additional head.
“Um,” she said. “So basically, you have no other hobbies besides work?”
“Well, like I said, I like to work out and dance . . .” He trailed off, remembering how he’d definitely made videos of himself doing both. “Ah. Yeah, I guess I don’t have much of a life beyond watching and making content.”
Noah saw some movement again. He looked at Mia out of the corners of his eyes. She was covering her mouth, and her shoulders
were shaking. Was she . . . crying? No, she was laughing. Mia was laughing at him. For what? For being honest?
Anger flashed inside him. The urge to get up and call it quits, to loudly declare to the camera that he couldn’t do it anymore,
rose up in his chest. But just as he was about to stand, Celine said, “I like watching movies, too, but older ones, like Roman Holiday and Singin’ in the Rain. They’re comfort watches for me on hard days.”
Okay, now Celine had Noah’s full attention.
“You love old classics?” he asked, looking back toward her. “I like those, too. I watch everything, really, from horror to
rom-coms to anime. But I have a special love for old Hollywood movies, too, since I grew up watching them with my mom. What’s
a recent favorite movie of yours, though? Like, from the last ten years.”
Celine scrunched up her face in a cute way. “Ooh, if I had to pick . . . Does it have to be a rom-com?”
“No, any movie.”
“Okay, then, A Star Is Born. The one with Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. Not really a comfort movie, but still good. I cry every time I watch it. And the music is amazing!”
Noah smiled. “Oh, yeah, of course. I really thought that movie deserved more Oscars.”
“You don’t agree with the Oscars?” Celine asked in a teasing way. “Who do you think you are? Snob!”
Noah gave her a mischievous grin. “Hey, when you watch three to five movies every week for school, you form opinions, okay?
I talk about cinema all the time with my fraternity brothers, even the ones who aren’t in film school. I even talk about movies
while playing beer pong.”
“Critiquing cinema, the classic frat boy pastime.”
“Obviously.”
Celine giggled again, and Noah felt his shoulders loosen up. The date was going a lot better now, which was a huge relief.
Maybe he’d been too harsh with her the previous night.
After all, Celine was gorgeous. Her pink sweater dress perfectly complemented the rosiness of her cheeks, and her knee-high
white boots made her legs look flatteringly long. She had good taste in movies and was funny, too, sometimes. So what if she
talked with her mouth full during meals and sometimes steamrolled him in conversations? No one was perfect.
The best part was, once things really got going between him and Celine, Noah didn’t think once about the camera, nor the audiences that would watch them tomorrow.
Or about Mia behind the camera, laughing at him.
Instead, as they continued talking, Noah’s eyes lingered on Celine’s bright eyes and pink, glossy lips.
He had watched enough dating shows to know that, technically, kissing on a second date wasn’t too fast. But watching people
kiss on TV felt drastically different from being the person to actually do it himself.
Out of nervous reflex, Noah glanced up. And almost jumped out of his skin when he saw Mia glaring at him from behind the camera. He shook his head and looked away.
Trying his best to pretend the camera wasn’t there, Noah gently brushed Celine’s hair away from her face and cupped her chin
with his other hand. Softly, he said, “I know it might be too soon. And feel free to say no if you’re not comfortable with
it yet. But can I kiss you?”
Celine nodded, a smile blossoming on her face as she peered up at him through her long eyelashes. When her eyes fluttered
closed, Noah leaned in and let their lips brush together in a light, soft kiss.
Celine let out a small gasp, and as she kissed him back, Noah did his best to keep his thoughts focused on the here and now.
And not the fact that tens of thousands of people were going to see this moment tomorrow. Or the fact that Mia was still there,
watching from behind the cameras.