The Grey- Noah Sebastian

thirty four

*Noah's POV*

I threw my cards on the table, but I'm not surprised that she's not immediately collecting them. I'm just accepting small victories as they come.

We spent the day all hanging out, feeling like all of the puzzle pieces were all back together. We cycled between different video game tournaments and doing different things outside. It felt like we were in a constant corn hole tournament outside, while we were also in a MarioKart tournament inside. Sutton is shockingly very good at both of these things, handing our asses to us. I have never been more attracted to her.

We decided to do a cookout, the main idea being to make tacos, so we pulled chicken and steak to grill and cut up for that vision. I was outside grilling with Orie, all of us were quite a few beers in. He caught me watching her run a lap around the couch in victory, Jolly slumping in defeat from another MarioKart round. I laughed at the sight. "She really is the coolest," he interjected.

"Isn't she? Have you seen the art she made for the merch?" I asked, and he shook his head. I gave him an incredulous look and pulled up my email, flipping through the designs for him.

"No fucking way! Those are amazing. So we're firing Nic, right?" He joked.

"Yes, that's why she's moving here," I said seriously. I killed off my beer, feeling my filter wearing off. "I want her back so bad, man," I finally said out loud.

"What's stopping you?" He posed.

"Well, until today, it was the fact that I was here, but after she moves, it's her call. It's always been her call." He looked at me like I was the most stupid person on the planet. "What? You can't force someone to want something, they have to want it for themselves. We had a lot of shit to fix with ourselves, and I think we did good at that," I said honestly.

"Do I need to swap into Cupid mode?" He offered, making me laugh.

"No, man, I don't trust you with that task," I said honestly, him putting his hand over his heart in offense. Nic came out, bringing us another round of beers. "Nic, would you trust Orie to set you up with a romantic partner?"

"Absolutely not," Nic said immediately, making us both laugh.

Orie put his other hand over his heart, flinching back like he got shot. "I've never been more hurt!" He said dramatically, making us both laugh. I pulled the meat off of the grill since it was ready and brought it inside, hearing the MarioKart music going, seeing that Jolly and Folio were playing, both of them losing to the computer characters. I looked around and didn't see Sutton, so I wandered around the house to try and find her. I eventually found her in the studio, playing on the piano we had in there. She was actually really good; she surprises me every day.

I was quiet to not disturb her, not wanting her to stop, but also trying to absorb what she was playing. I think she was playing Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls, which was a beautiful classic, and oddly relatable in this moment. Her eyes were closed, showing that she was truly a pro at this, and also really feeling what she was doing. She finished, letting out a deep breath, clearly needing that.

"That was amazing," I said, watching her jump out of her skin. I knew that there was no way to not scare her, so I just had to go for it. She calmed down and turned to face me with a small smile. "How long have you been playing?" I asked.

"I used to play for a long time, until I moved out of my dad's place. I kind of just never justified getting a piano or keyboard after that," she admitted.

"Then that was extra incredible after being out of practice," I said with a reassuring smile. We held each other's gaze for a moment, me still standing in the doorframe while she was still on the bench. "Oh, yeah, the food is ready," I said, remembering why I came to find her. She closed the piano back and joined me to go to the kitchen. I wish that I could kiss her.