Now #2
I didn’t want to let go of the love I had for him, but I had to. I didn’t have a choice. If I could go back in time, I’d do the same thing all over again. All I wanted was for him to be happy, and I knew I had to vanish from his life for that to happen.
“Noah told me he has basketball practice three out of five days during the week. Do you know if he has practice tomorrow?”
“I know he has practice on Friday.”
“How do you know that?” I lower my eyebrows.
“I sleep over at the apartment sometimes, and I’m around the guys a lot.”
A grin spreads across my face. “Ah, I see. Are you going to be busy on Friday afternoon?”
“I have a class late in the morning and another in the early afternoon.”
“Will you come with me to see him as moral support?”
She nods. “Yeah. Let me know on Thursday if this is something you really want to do.”
“Okay. Not to change subjects or anything, but I was apprehensive to come here because Noah was being so ominous about everything.”
“Speaking of Noah, I’m not waiting to text him.” Dani picks up her phone off the coffee table, opening the FaceTime app and tapping on Noah’s name.
The phone rings for a few seconds, making a whoosh sound when he picks up. “Hey, Sunshine.”
“Hi, Moonlight.”
“And to what do I owe the pleasure of this video call?”
“Did it ever occur to you to let me know that Violet was coming over to our apartment?”
“Surprise!” A giant smile gradually appears on Noah’s face.
“You know you’re in so much trouble, right?”
“You can teach me a lesson later.” He winks at her.
Dani rolls her eyes. “Noah!”
I cannot believe what I’m hearing right now.
This isn’t the same Noah and Dani I grew up with. It’s going to be an adjustment, hearing them be sweet to each other rather than constantly arguing.
I think I’m going to throw up.
I fit my face into the frame, so Noah can see me. “You’re a lucky man today, Noah Kaplan.”
“I can’t believe you would think I’d send you to someone you don’t know. Have a little more faith in me, Violet.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.”
“Did my girlfriend give you some expert advice?”
“She did.” I slowly nod my head.
Silence consumes the apartment for a moment until Noah clears his throat and speaks up. “And?”
“You can’t talk me out of doing this.”
“I figured. You’re not the only stubborn woman I know.” Noah’s eyes land on Dani, his lips transforming into a smirk.
“Watch it. Do you want to get into more trouble than you’re already in?”
“I think you know the answer to that question.”
Dani lets out a quick and breathy laugh.
I interrupt Dani and Noah. “Should I leave you two alone, so you can get whatever is going on here out of your systems?”
Dani and Noah exchange glances at each other and burst out laughing. I can’t help but join in because the laughter is so infectious. As the laughter grows quieter, I release a soft breath.
“When are you going to see him?” Noah asks me.
“Friday after basketball practice.”
His shoulders tense up, making it clear to me that he’s not on board with this. Not surprising since this is his best friend we’re talking about here.
“I know you don’t approve of me doing this, but I don’t care. You’re not going to stop me.”
“Trust me, I know when I shouldn’t intervene with a woman on a mission, even if I don’t love the idea of the mission itself.”
“Mm-hm.”
“Okay, I’m hanging up now,” Dani says to Noah.
“Why? I missed your beautiful face.”
“You saw my beautiful face this morning.”
“Am I not allowed to miss my girlfriend, even if I saw her a couple hours ago?”
Dani smiles. “I never said that.”
I can’t believe I’m witnessing the two people who absolutely despised each other when they were kids be all lovey-dovey with each other.
It makes me miss what it feels like to be in love. That feeling in the pit of someone’s stomach and being loved by someone so desperately that they miss you, even when they saw you just hours ago.
I want to be loved like that again, but only with Grayson.
“Bye, Princess.”
“Bye, Lover Boy.” She presses the red button, and Noah disappears from her phone screen.
“I cannot believe this.”
“What?”
“Seeing you and Noah like this is weird, but it feels right.”
“I know. There’s a part of me that doesn’t believe any of it is real. He’s a pain in my ass sometimes, but he makes me so happy. I think I’m the happiest I’ve been in a long time.”
“I can tell. I miss that feeling.”
“And what feeling is that?”
I shrug my shoulders, shifting my mouth over to one side of my face. “Being in love.”
“I’m sure you do.” A tender smile slowly grows on Dani’s face. “Okay, here’s the plan if everything goes accordingly…” She changes the subject. “I’ll meet you at Tidal Wave Arena at around 4 p.m. on Friday. How does that sound?”
“Yeah, that sounds great. Thank you so much for doing this. I know showing up to your place like this was unexpected, so this means a lot to me. I don’t know if I’d be able to do this alone.”
“Of course, I’m happy to help. I know this isn’t going to be easy, but I’ll be here for you every step of the way.”
I’ll be here for you every step of the way.
I’m not used to hearing that.
When somebody grows up in a well-to-do family like I have, they learn to appreciate what you have and be immensely grateful for it, even though most of the things I had were handed to me. Luckily, I didn’t succumb to Rich Asshole Syndrome, unlike my mother and my brother, Blake.
Blake is the king of assholes. The only similarities we have are the fact that we both have blonde hair and blue eyes. Otherwise, it feels like we’re not related.
I promised myself I’d never end up like my mother and Blake. My mother married into wealth. All she cares about is being the richest person in Sunset Cove.
My brother is the definition of a privileged person, but he did have this rebellious phase in high school.
And I remember it all too well because he was there through it all.
My first crush.
The first boy I fell in love with.
The first boy whose heart I broke.
And that boy happened to be my brother’s friend.
Grayson Becker.