Chapter Twenty-Six #2
“But how can something between us work beyond summer?” Noelle asked. “We’ll both have a lot going on in the fall. And…and it’s not like we’ve been together for years and have the foundation to sustain long distance. I really, really like him, but what if our feelings aren’t enough for us to last?”
“Maybe they won’t be,” Tati said. “Or maybe they will. I think, at the very least, you should allow life the opportunity to surprise you. Don’t miss out on something good because you’re afraid.
” Tati lowered her sunglasses and raised her eyebrows.
“Girl, he has a boat. You don’t let somebody like that get away. ”
Noelle barked out a laugh. “I’m not with him because of his boat.”
“I’m joking, obviously,” Tati said, laughing too. “But y’all seem like you have a real connection, and he makes you happy. All I’m saying is maybe you should try and hold on to that connection a bit longer and see where it goes. I think you deserve to give yourself that chance, don’t you?”
Noelle let Tati’s words marinate. She’d made many points—points that Noelle agreed with. But she had to find the courage to give herself the chance and believe that things wouldn’t end in disaster.
“Look at you being all philosophical,” she said, wrapping her arm around Tati and hugging her close.
Tati smirked and turned her nose up in the air. “I’ve always been this way. You were just too busy being distracted by my other amazing qualities to notice. And you know I love you, but it’s too hot to hug.”
Noelle giggled as Tati scooted away from her.
The sound of her laughter caused Jeremiah to glance back at them.
He immediately mirrored Noelle’s smile. The guys waited for Noelle and Tati to catch up.
Jeremiah fell into step beside Noelle and wordlessly entwined his hands with hers. She welcomed the overjoyed butterflies.
When they returned to the house, they swam in the pool for a couple hours.
Amara eventually returned too, and she, along with Robin and the twins, joined everyone in the pool.
Evening turned to night, and Tati and André decided to begin the drive back home before it got too late.
Celeste, who’d been in her office most of the day, sent Tati and André off with boxes of Smith’s Sweets assorted snacks and apologies for not being around to properly chat.
“That is one bad bitch,” Tati whispered about Celeste as Noelle walked her to André’s car. Celeste stood in the doorway, waving goodbye, looking serene and elegant in her pale yellow wrap dress. “I want to be her when I grow up.”
Noelle laughed quietly. “Yeah, same.”
Jeremiah dapped André up and hugged Tati when they reached the car. “You’re welcome back anytime. For real.”
“Thanks, bro,” André said, taking Tati’s bag and putting it in the back seat.
“Yes, thank you, and we’ll certainly take you up on that offer,” Tati said, winking.
Noelle hugged her best friend goodbye.
“Remember what I said,” Tati whispered in Noelle’s ear. “Don’t miss out.”
Noelle stuffed her hands in her back pockets as she and Jeremiah watched them drive off. Don’t miss out ran on a loop in her mind.
“You okay?” Jeremiah asked. He placed a soft kiss against her temple.
She looked up at him. Heart full, she nodded. “Yeah.”
Before Harper and Ashley went to bed, Noelle helped them practice their talent routine once more.
It was a small thing for her to help them.
She was essentially there to supervise and give pointers on how to better execute a move or help with their transitions.
But they took the routine so seriously because they wanted a trophy, and they were so grateful for Noelle’s help. It warmed her heart.
“Will we see you after summer?” Harper asked, tugging on Noelle’s arm before they went upstairs to bed.
“Yeah, will we?” Ashley asked. “Promise you’ll come to one of our recitals this school year.”
“I’ll definitely try,” Noelle said. She was once again reminded that Jeremiah wasn’t the only Smith she’d formed a bond with.
When she made her way to his bedroom, Jeremiah was lying on the bed, fresh out of the shower, wearing a T-shirt and boxers. He was squinting at his phone as he typed quickly.
“I’m emailing Aaron,” he said. “Sorry, give me one sec.”
“You’re fine.” She sat on the edge of the bed.
From what Jeremiah had told her, Aaron often sent emails at odd hours, like on a Saturday night.
To Noelle, it sounded like Good Boy was Aaron’s baby, and he treated Jeremiah like the babysitter who could be trusted to make sure that the baby had fun, but he couldn’t be trusted to look after the baby’s actual well-being.
She hoped that Aaron would wake up and see that Jeremiah was an asset and not someone to be overlooked or undervalued.
While Jeremiah wrote his email, Noelle glanced around his room. She’d loved being here every weekend for the past few weeks. She loved being here with him. Her feelings for him grew stronger with each passing day. And it was time to face the truth. She didn’t want to lose him after summer ended.
Jeremiah tossed his phone to the side and folded his hands behind his head and grinned, giving her his full attention.
“Okay, future librarian,” he said, getting comfortable. “What are we reading tonight?”
Noelle smiled a little as the butterflies formed a chain link across her veins. There was so much that she wanted to say to him. She was unsure where to begin. She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose.
“What?” He sat up, frowning in concern. “What’s wrong?”
She took a second to remind herself of a couple necessary facts. It was okay that she’d fallen for him. It was okay that she wanted them to at least try and see where things went beyond summer. It was okay. She didn’t need to freak out!
“When you move are you going to start seeing other people?” she blurted.
Jeremiah’s expression sharpened in surprise. She’d surprised herself. That wasn’t how she’d intended to begin the conversation.
“No,” he said slowly. “That’s not even something that I’ve thought about.” His brows drew together. “Why? Do you plan to see other people?”
“No.” She shook her head fiercely, frustrated with herself for blundering this. “That’s not what I meant to ask. Can I start over?”
Jeremiah nodded. She took another deep breath. He waited patiently for her to find the words.
“What I want to say is that I know that school will be my biggest priority and you’ll be busy with work,” she said, “but when you come back to visit your family, and if I have time outside of school and work, I’d really like to see you too.
I know we said we’d just spend the rest of the summer together, but what if we tried to see what happened beyond that?
What if you come back to visit while I’m on a break?
I have a three-day fall break in mid-October, and—what? Why are you looking at me like that?”
Jeremiah was smiling huge. His shoulders shook as he laughed quietly.
“Babe, the only reason I said let’s see how things go this summer is because I thought you’d feel less pressure that way,” he said.
“I didn’t want to scare you by telling you that I wanted something more.
” He moved closer to her and took her hands in his.
“I thought you might need more time. But I fully intended to have this conversation with you before I moved. You just beat me to it.”
She blinked. Her relief manifested itself in a delighted smile. “Wait, really?”
“Yes, really.” He squeezed her hands. “I want you to know that I’m always gonna be respectful of your school schedule.
If that means flying back to see you while you’re on break, I’ll do that.
Or if you decide you want to spend a break with me in California, I’ll fly you out.
And maybe it will mean that some days, the most we’ll be able to do is FaceTime before you go to bed.
I’m not saying it won’t be hard. I don’t think long distance is ever easy, but you’re a priority for me, and I agree that what we have is worth preserving.
” His expression turned serious as he gazed at her.
“When you walk into a room, I feel like the sun is shining right on me. And you don’t even have to do anything; you’re just being yourself.
For two years, I dreaded coming back to Heart Beach, but with you here, I’ve looked forward to being at this house again.
I’ve been able to spend more time with my family.
I miss my grandfather, and I always will, but the pain of his passing eases more and more each day because being here brings me closer to him in a good way.
You said I gave you a gift, but you gave me one too. ”
Her heart melted as she listened to him. She was so touched, she suddenly felt like she might cry. She ducked her head to hide her face, and Jeremiah used his index finger to lift her chin so that she’d look at him again.
“So to answer your question, no, I don’t plan on seeing other people when I move,” he said. “And I ask that you don’t see other people either.”
Hope spread from her heart to every corner of her body. It was scary, a little like free-falling, but she wanted to believe that she and Jeremiah could have a future that worked for both of them. A future where they were somehow still together and happy.
“We’ll have to figure out how to tell your family the truth about me not being a librarian yet,” she said, biting her lip. “We should tell them sooner rather than later.”
“True,” he said. “Don’t worry. We’ll think of the right way.”
She was hopeful. And she wanted to be happy. That was why she said, “You’ve got yourself another deal, Jeremiah Smith.”
She launched herself into his arms and he laughed as he held her close and kissed her.
“I can’t believe you were nervous to tell me that,” he said as his lips brushed against hers. “I feel like I’ve been waiting for you for years. There’s no way I’m letting you go that easy.”
Her heart pounded. “I feel the same way,” she whispered.
Slowly and reverentially, he undressed her.
He worshipped her body with his hands and tongue.
And later, when he was deep inside of her, she felt the strength of their connection and just how much he cared.
She tightly wrapped her arms around him, grateful that she didn’t have to let him go, and that he didn’t want to let her go either.
In the middle of the night, Noelle woke with a start. She’d forgotten to schedule her advisor meeting with Professor Mathis.
She’d been so caught up in spending time with everyone on the boat and later in the pool, scheduling her meeting had completely slipped her mind. Shit.
She glanced at the time on her phone. It was a little after three a.m. Heart in her throat, she opened her email and clicked on the scheduling link.
Just as she’d feared, there weren’t any slots left.
She’d have to wait until the middle of the semester, but she didn’t want to wait that long.
She wanted to be one of the students who discussed their goals and set themselves up for success.
She needed to do everything right this time around.
She hopped out of bed and began pacing back and forth as she drafted an email to Professor Mathis, asking if there was a way that she could be added to a wait list on the off chance that someone canceled.
She was so busy staring at her phone, she walked right into the bed and stubbed her toe against the bed frame.
“Ouch,” she hissed, bending down to rub her big toe.
In bed, Jeremiah rolled over, mumbling something to himself in his sleep.
Noelle was in the middle of an academic crisis, and she didn’t want to wake him.
Better yet, she needed her favorite comfort food to deal with this.
And there were some salted caramel chocolate chip cookies right downstairs in the kitchen.
She threw on Jeremiah’s T-shirt and her pajama shorts.
She paused outside of the bedroom door and listened for Caesar in case he’d decided to make his way up to the third floor again.
She tiptoed downstairs, checking her phone every few seconds, praying that Professor Mathis had insomnia and would speedily reply to her email.
As Noelle entered the kitchen and reached for the light switch, she paused when she heard voices coming from the back porch. She squinted in the dark and made out Percy and Celeste sitting in the rocking chairs.
“I don’t know. It’s a good offer, Mom,” Percy said. “You want to retire. I want to be able to spend more time with my family. I want to be there for Robin with the new baby. I’ve felt guilty all year. At the very least, we should consider it.”
Celeste sighed. “I just keep wondering what my father would do. He had other plans for the company. He didn’t want us to sell.”
“I know,” Percy said solemnly. “But Pop isn’t here now, and times have changed.”
Noelle froze in place, realizing that she’d stumbled into a conversation between Percy and Celeste, and that they were discussing selling Smith’s Sweets.