Chapter 26 #2
‘Hmmm, now that I have this T-shirt I almost feel like I need to do something naughty just to live up to the expectations. Any ideas?’ He smirked.
My body wanted to scream, yes, I have many, many debaucherous ideas involving us in a bed together, naked, but I stopped myself from blurting that out just in time.
‘No shoplifting, running down the streets of Mykonos naked or anything that will get us locked up would be preferable,’ I joked.
‘Can’t promise on the streaking, but I’ll see what I can do about everything else,’ he chuckled. ‘Seriously though, thanks for the T-shirt and the mug. You didn’t have to. Just our postcard tradition is enough.’
‘I know, but I wanted to, so you’re welcome.’
Noah smiled at me and my stomach flipped right on cue.
My body was getting carried away at an alarming frequency every time Noah smiled or looked at me.
In fact, I was convinced that he could just stand in front of me and say absolutely nothing, and it would start melting like ice cream over a warm chocolate brownie. I needed to get it back under control.
As a much-needed distraction, I suggested we continue our tour of the shops.
Whilst the souvenirs Noah bought for Colin, his wife and a few friends and family fit into a small bag, my haul wasn’t so easy to carry, and when Noah saw the plastic bag handles cutting into my hands he went and bought me a sturdy Mykonos tote bag, then insisted on carrying everything for me.
Such a gent.
By early evening, we stumbled on a very exclusive area with loads of designer stores and expensive-looking jewellery shops.
‘I’m not sure this part is for us,’ I said, staring at the gorgeous window displays.
‘No?’ Noah teased.
‘Nope. And after being dragged around posh shops in Oia and missing that sunset, I think every time I see a designer shop, I’ll break out in a cold sweat!’ The corner of my mouth twitched.
I was joking of course, but one thing was for sure: exploring Chora with Noah was light years apart from my experience with my muppet match.
Everything was balanced. We didn’t just look in the shops Noah wanted to see or vice versa. We both took an equal interest in each other’s needs.
And everything was so easy. So comfortable. Not in a boring way. It was just relaxed. I didn’t have to worry about saying or doing the right thing. I could just be myself.
That sense of freedom was priceless.
‘And there I was hoping that you were a secret millionairess.’ Noah chuckled.
‘Sadly not. Although, talking of loaded peeps, Sammie let it slip that there’ll be some millionaires coming to the wedding on Saturday. And even a billionaire!’
‘Yeah? I didn’t know Stella and Max had minted mates.’
‘I think there are some guests coming from other resorts and some investors. This wedding is a big deal for the hotel.’
‘I can imagine.’
‘That’s why they were doing the experiment. Shame it didn’t work though.’ I sighed.
‘Is it though?’ Noah tilted his head.
‘For them it is. But maybe not for us.’ My voice trailed off and our eyes locked.
‘Agree.’
We were silent for a few beats, then Noah took my hand. The second our palms connected a jolt of electricity rocketed through me.
‘Come on,’ he said. ‘There’s some other places I’d like to show you.’
Noah took me to see the fragments of Chora Castle, then we had a drink on the terrace of a bar in Little Venice to watch the gorgeous sunset.
It was only when we went to sit down that I realised we’d been holding hands the whole time.
It felt so natural that I hadn’t even realised.
My stomach rumbled and Noah chuckled.
‘Sounds like someone’s hungry! Petros recommended a good restaurant, so let’s go there.’
‘Petros also gives restaurant recommendations?’ I raised an impressed brow. ‘Wow. That’s one talented bird!’
‘Not Petros the pelican!’ He laughed. ‘Petros the Love Alchemist! I texted him earlier because I remembered him saying that because our stay is all-inclusive, if we dine out at their approved restaurants, the hotel will cover the cost.’
‘Brilliant! Lead the way.’
‘Of course, my fair lady.’ Noah squeezed my hand and my stomach flip-flopped.
It was official. Holding hands with Noah had become my new favourite thing.
Noah followed the directions on his phone, then led me down a passageway.
The faint sound of music wafted through the air and the more we continued walking, the louder it became.
A restaurant suddenly came into view, which I would never have guessed was here from the narrow street we’d just walked down.
The place was packed with people dining at the tables outside and at the front of them were two men singing in Greek whilst one played the long-necked Greek guitar that Noah informed me was called a bouzouki (how he knew all this stuff was beyond me).
The upbeat, addictive music instantly had us both tapping our feet.
Fairy lights decorated the trees and the same pretty pink bougainvillea flowers that were in the Love Hotel Santorini and so many other places around the island, hung from the walls and pergolas.
‘This place is beautiful!’ I said just as a cat casually walked past us. Looked like cats were just as popular here as they were in Santorini.
‘It really is.’
‘Good evening,’ a smiley woman with dark hair greeted us. ‘Table for two?’
‘Yes, please,’ Noah said. ‘We’re from the Love Hotel. Petros said he’d mention that we were coming. I’m Noah and this is Ali, which is short for Alicia.’
The hostess scanned her clipboard. ‘There you are.’ She pointed to the page. ‘Follow me.’
She led us to the perfect spot that was relatively secluded but also gave us a good view of the entertainment.
‘Madam,’ Noah said as he pulled out a chair for me.
‘Thank you.’ I smiled. ‘I can’t remember the last time we went out to dinner. Just the two of us.’
‘Me neither,’ he said. ‘But the important thing is that we’re here now.’
‘Yeah,’ I replied, my eyes instantly drawn to his. ‘We should order,’ I said, thinking I couldn’t just sit here staring into his eyes all night.
An hour and a half later we’d devoured a mixed grill platter, sampled the local beer and ouzo, and were just polishing off dessert.
The entertainers were still going strong and switched to a happy, upbeat song.
A couple in front of us got up and started dancing in front of the performers.
‘Looks like they’re having fun!’ I said.
‘We should join them!’ Noah suggested.
‘What? No! We can’t!’
‘That’s settled!’ Noah jumped up then grabbed my hand, pulling me up.
‘Noah!’ I cried out. ‘What are you doing?’
‘Taking you to dance with me.’
‘But—’
I didn’t even get the chance to fully protest because Noah had already spun me around in front of the whole restaurant, which resulted in lots of happy cheers and cries of ‘opa!’ which I guessed was the Greek equivalent to ‘?olé!’
Although I thought I’d be mortified, once I relaxed and got into it, I couldn’t stop giggling.
More guests joined in and before we knew it, there were dozens of us on our feet.
As I danced with Noah, I belly-laughed so hard it felt like I’d done a thousand sit-ups.
The music stayed upbeat for several songs, before they switched the tempo to something slower.
I thought Noah would want to sit down, but instead he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into him.
The action was so swift it caught me by surprise, but the second that our bodies connected, I melted into him.
‘Hey,’ he said softly, gazing down at me. ‘You okay?’
I loved that he checked that I was comfortable with the close contact.
‘Yeah.’ I smiled.
‘God, you’re so beautiful, Ali,’ he said. ‘Do you know that?’
‘Um…’ I paused, not sure how to answer. ‘Thanks. You’re pretty fine yourself.’
‘Fine?’ He chuckled.
‘No! Not fine as in, okay. I mean, fine as in, y’know, “that man is fine!”’
‘Was that supposed to be an American accent?’ Noah laughed, still holding me tight.
‘What do you mean, supposed to be? I should get an Oscar for how accurate that accent was.’ I giggled like a schoolgirl. ‘Just to clarify, I meant fine as in hot. Or hunky as Sammie and anyone over the age of forty-five might say.’
‘Well, thank you. I’ll consider adding “hunky” to my LinkedIn and social media profiles.’
‘Oh great! If you do that, there’ll be an even bigger queue of women waiting to jump your bones.’
‘Ha!’ he scoffed. ‘You should know all about how it feels to have people lining up to date you.’
‘As if!’ I scoffed. ‘I’ve never had women or men queuing up for me.’
‘I was always in the queue,’ Noah said softly. ‘Waiting and hoping that one day I’d get an invite to leave the friend zone.’
‘Really?’ My jaw dropped.
‘Yes. I’ve always liked you, Ali. Watching you with other guys was torture. I always hoped that we’d have a chance, but when I overheard you saying to Kerrie that I wasn’t your type, I realised that nothing was ever gonna happen.’
‘But I only said that because I thought you didn’t like me!’ I protested, still trying to get my head around what he was saying. ‘I overheard you saying that you’d never go there with me because I was like a little sister to you.’
‘Let me guess. That was when I was with Melissa, right?’
‘Yep.’
‘She was convinced there was something going on between us. I knew she had friends at the party who were watching my every move, so when Colin asked me if I liked you, I guess I was trying to make it clear to him and anyone else who was listening that Melissa had nothing to worry about. And I genuinely believed that was true because of the number of times I’d heard you telling Sammie and your other friends that you weren’t interested in me.
What was it that you said? That you liked your men pretty and muscular and I was a nerd. ’
‘Shit.’ I winced. ‘I did say that. But I also said that was what I loved about you. And that even though you were cute, you meant too much to me to risk ruining our friendship.’
‘You did?’ He frowned.
‘Yeah.’
‘Oh. I didn’t hear that part.’
‘It’s true. And I genuinely had no idea you liked me,’ I said.
‘Well now you do.’
‘Yeah,’ I said. ‘I mean, if we’re being completely honest, I did think about us getting together.
Lots of times. I kind of went through phases where I thought we’d have a chance, then I’d get scared.
It wasn’t just because of what I’d overheard.
You saw what happened to our friends Simone and Taj and Phil and Margot.
They crossed the line and it annihilated their friendships.
Same thing happened when I dated Dale. I just didn’t want that to happen to us,’ I added.
‘It wouldn’t have. God. You have no idea how much I’ve wanted you.’ Noah stroked my cheek. ‘How much I’ve dreamt about you. You’re the only woman I’ve ever felt that spark with. That pull. It’s always been you, Ali. It’s only ever been you.’
Before I had the chance to reply, Noah crushed his lips onto mine and the second our mouths connected, everything else disappeared.
The kiss was urgent and frenzied like all of those years of pent-up longing were finally being released and smashing through the surface.
As our mouths moved against one another, electricity pulsed through my veins. My heart hammered against my ribcage, my stomach fluttered, my brain turned to mush and my knees went weak. I couldn’t believe this was finally happening.
I was kissing Noah. My best friend.
I knew it was a bad idea.
It was so, so wrong.
I’d told myself I wouldn’t cross that line again.
But I couldn’t bring myself to stop.
It felt fucking amazing.
I gripped the back of his head and Noah deepened the kiss, sliding his tongue into my mouth.
As our tongues flicked against one another’s, I let out a moan, then ran my hand down his back before reaching his arse.
‘Fuck, Ali.’ Noah growled, his hard cock pressing against my stomach. ‘We should stop…’ he pulled away slowly ‘…otherwise I’m gonna end up shagging you here in front of all these people.’
I almost told him to go for it because I didn’t care.
Wait.
People.
I sprang back then looked around. I’d completely forgotten that we were standing in front of a packed restaurant. I couldn’t believe we’d just snogged each other’s faces off in front of everyone.
‘Should we continue this back at the hotel?’ Noah suggested.
‘Yes,’ I said quickly. ‘Let’s go.’