Cupid's Daughter

Chapter 23~ The Best Bet

I could count on my fingers the amount of minutes that passed before the tapping came; the little tap tap tap on my bedroom window that made my heart speed up and my belly do flip-flops all at once.

There was only one person it could be, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to face them or not.

I sat on my bad and nibbled on my bottom lip, desperately trying to think of a way out of this situation. I could always just ignore him and pretend I wasn't home, but then again my bedroom lights were on.

Maybe I caught Mononucleosis. What was the nickname for that disease again?

Oh yeah, the kissing disease. Well that won't work. 

My phone buzzed in my pocket as I panicked, and I pulled it out quickly to check the message, hoping to find some reason not to let Noah inside within the message.

Noah: Stop ignoring me and/or thinking up excuses for not letting me in. I'll smash the window if I have to...

I couldn't help the involuntary smile that found it's way onto my face. Darn him and his ability to know exactly what I was thinking. With a sigh that could blow a tree over I stood up and slid the window open without looking down, wiping my sweating palms on my jeans. I sat back down on my bed and stared at my blanket as he entered through the window, and the tension in the air was almost palpable.

"Hey Little Cupid." I heard his voice before I saw him, husky and low from crying.

I didn't say anything as I turned to face him, chewing my lower lip raw.

Noah rubbed a hand over his face and through his hair as I watched him intently, wondering what on Earth was going to happen next. What if it was all just too much drama, or weirded him out that I liked him and he didn't even want to be friends anymore? What if he was mad that I had sprung that on him when he was so upset? Or what if he—

"I can almost see the wheels turning in your mind right now." Noah said gently with a small smile of amusement that didn't seem to be able to reach his eyes. He sighed at my lack of response and lowered himself onto the bed next to me staring at my hands which were locked together on the blanket.

We sat in an uncomfortable silence for a few moments, unsure what to say to each other. It hit me that this was the first awkward silence we'd ever had together; we've always been talking or scheming or laughing.

"Why did Sabrina break up with you?" I blurted out quickly, trying to ease the tension between us. "When she broke up with you that night at the diner, she said it was because you were flirting with another girl; but if she was only dating you to cover up her relationship with Charles, why did she care if you flirted with other girls?"

Noah shot me a sideways glance and picked up my teddy bear, fiddling with its fluffy coat. "She wanted to go public with her relationship with my dad and she was looking for an out with me. I guess when she realized that dad wasn't going to out their relationship to the world she decided it was a good time to get back together with me." He said bitterly, and I nodded slowly, not knowing how else to respond.

So many lies. So many games. No one deserved to be treated like this.

After another moment of silence Noah groaned and sat up, turning to sit opposite me so that we could see each other properly. "Issy about what you told me earlier..."

I cut him off before he could continue. "Look, that was totally and completely selfish of me to say that when you're going through such a hard time, and to be honest I didn't really mean it. I was just caught up in the moment, so we can just pretend that it never happened and all will be good in the world." I lied, feeling my face heat up with shame. The more I thought about what I'd said to him on the football field, the more embarrassed I felt.

Noah shook his head, locking his gaze onto mine. "Except it won't be all good. Because you meant what you said Issy, I know you did. I saw it in your eyes. You meant it, which means that the world is not good."

Crap, I'd ruined everything. The friendship we had formed—even if it was complicated and messy—was gone because of my inability to control my emotions. I'd been self-centred and made his life that much more difficult because I couldn't keep my mouth shut.

He probably thought that I was just as bad as Sabrina; too much drama and hassle.

I looked away as tears burned behind my eyes, but a second later his strong hand lifted my chin up gently, forcing my gaze back to him. "And it's not good, Isabelle, that you have no idea" he leaned towards me, my eyes trained on him, "that I feel the same way about you." He breathed.

I blinked.

Wait... what?

"Huh?" Was the only appropriate response I could think of at the time which, looking back, probably didn't make me sound like the sharpest knife in the drawer.

Noah laughed breathlessly and leaned a little closer to me, his finger still under my chin as he closed all but inches of the distance between us.

He was so close I could smell his aftershave and minty breath, and I could feel myself trembling as his hand slid up from my chin to caress my cheek.

Was he going to kiss me?

Oh God, was he about to kiss me?

Please be about to kiss me or else this would be super awkward.

I licked my lips subconsciously as he left but a centimetre of space between us, and I could hear my breath shaking as he stared at me with those huge brown eyes.

He was going to kiss me!

He was going to—

"Wait." I whispered, the sound so quiet it almost didn't escape my throat.

Like the gentleman he sometimes was, Noah paused and looked at me expectantly, his eyes smouldering.

I looked away. "I can't, Noah. You can't." I gulped nervously and tried to slow down my heart. "You're in love with Sabrina, Noah. Whether she hurt you or not, love doesn't just go away. I may not watch my mother's show or talk to her all that much and I may not have ever been in love before, but I do know that much. You were in love with her."

Something pulled at my heartstrings as I spoke, and I had to fight the urge to cry. Here I was in my room with the most amazing boy trying to kiss me, and I was telling him not to. What was wrong with me?

But deep down I knew I was doing the right thing; I was saving both of us a lot of heartache. "I think you're amazing, but I want you to want to be with me. Only me."

Noah pulled away and smiled sadly, knowing that what I was saying was true. I wiped away a tear that escaped from the corner of my eye and laughed quietly, not knowing how else to express my sadness.

All of a sudden Noah grabbed my hands and held them between his, bending down to kiss the top of them. "Let's make a deal." He said with a small, handsome smile toying at his lips.

I narrowed my eyes and sniffed. "What?"

"Let's make a deal." He repeated, his smile turning into a wobbly grin. "You go back to New York and I'll stay here. We stay friends and I support you from a distance while we give each other space." He watched me through guarded dark eyes. "If, one day, when we're both healed and happy alone, and it's meant to be— we're meant to be, we'll give it a shot."

I stared back at him , feeling touched by the gesture. Friends with Noah from a distance was never going to be enough, but for both of our sakes it had to be. At least for now. I wiped my face dry as I nodded.

Noah's eyes reared up again as he shook his head and pulled me into a hug.

He kissed my hair softly.  "You have no idea how amazing you are, Little Cupid."