Miracle- Noah Sebastian (SEQUEL TO THE GREY)

three

*Noah's POV*

We kept painting after that and getting significantly tipsy.

I was trying my damndest to paint some Japanese cherry blossoms, like the ones we saw on our first date. While it isn't incredible, since I chose a very dainty flower, I think the premise is there. I confidently put down my brush, glancing up at her, thinking about how if anyone even tried to, they could never possible capture her beauty into a painting; it's an aura, it's the way that her eyes light up like they are right now when she realizes that I'm looking at her, and how she reflects what she's feeling so well. Her entire demeanor is so open and relaxed after we talked, and I feel a lot better, too. I want to love her like she deserves, and now that door is open.

"How did yours turn out?" She cut through my thoughts.

"I think Picasso needs to retire now," I responded, my voice getting thick from champagne.

"Well, I have news for you," she said sarcastically, making both of us laugh far too much. "Show me!" She taunted, so I dramatically flipped my canvas to face her. She gave an impressed nod. "Japanese cherry blossoms?" She asked curiously, the champagne also apparent in her voice. I just nodded. "Good job, I love it."

"I know you're gonna blow me out of the water, show me yours," I said as I took another sip of my champagne. She flipped her canvas around and I choked, astounded that it looks exactly like the photo I took. "Holy shit, that's incredible," I tried to say through coughs, making her laugh. I rounded the table to sit on her bench and kiss her as a thank you. It started to get a little heated again, and I was trying to restrain myself, so I did what any sensible person would do and got some paint on my finger and put it on her cheek. She pulled back, wide eyed and mouth open in shock.

"How dare you!" She said jokingly, gathering some paint and doing the same to me. I gave her the same energy back, looking shocked and ready for payback. She gathered that I was ready for war and started to run around the yard to try and escape me, so I grabbed a couple of tubes and chased her. I'll give it to her, she started running zigzags like I was an alligator or something, and it was working through the champagne haze. I caught up to her and picked her up to where I threw her over my shoulder before gently setting her down in the grass and straddling her. "Noah! No!" She screamed through laughs, but I was fully coating my palms with paint and painting any bare skin I could find: her face, her neck, her arms. She grabbed my arms and strong armed me off of her, taking the control and straddling me for payback. She even lifted my shirt to paint my torso! Even I didn't go that far. She fell off of me in a fit of laughter, me laughing with her. I see now that I accidentally chose the color of her eyes with the paint I grabbed: it was a light blue that had some grey in it.

We laid in the grass for a while, but I took out my phone and took some pictures of this moment: us laying in the grass, faces barely recognizable from the paint, some paint even in our hair, us laughing loudly, unable to stay serious. I want to feel like this moment forever. I tossed my phone to the side and rolled on top of her to kiss her, unable to hold back anymore. She reciprocated, and this kiss was more light and playful than the ones prior today. I pulled away before I went too far.

"So, I'm sorry, but not sorry," I said through a chuckle. "Let's go take showers," I offered. I didn't want tonight to be over, but I didn't want to stay covered in paint, either. I helped her off of the grass, deciding to deal with the table later, leading us into the house. Orie was on the couch when we came in, laughing maniacally at us once he took in our appearances, but not offering anything else to the interaction.

We got up to my room and I was rejoicing that I had my own shower. I grabbed a change of clothes for both of us. "I bet you're glad you didn't wear the shirt you liked now, huh?" I teased, earning a smile out of her. "You can have the first shower, the towels are under the sink," I said as I handed her some sweatpants and a t shirt with a smile. She smiled back gratefully, probably respecting that I didn't assume that we were going to shower together. She shut the door behind her and I heard the water running. I realized that I can't really sit anywhere right now except for the floor since it's hardwood, so I sat and pulled up Twitter, checking for COVID updates, which is only getting worse.