Playing The Waiting Game

Chapter Three

June 8th 2015

After I told Elle everything that happened she encouraged me to go home and try to talk to Marina, but I refused. So no we sit on a bench at a local park, it's pretty hot out and I just came out of boxing so my body heat is out of this world.

"So what's the deal for this summer?" she asked as she licked on her favorite Cherry Popsicle, I turned to her for one moment to answer her question but realized I couldn't look at her while she was sucking on that popsicle. It ignited a fire in certain body parts that not had been used in a long time. It was childish yes, but I am a man. We can't help it. I turned away and folded my arms in front of my chest as I looked out on the view in front me, taking her question in mind. What was the deal for this summer? Confess my love for my best friend? I shrugged, "I don't know"

"Oh" she said quickly, and she went back to licking her Popsicle. I could hear her clearly enjoying it. The sucking noises and slurping ones she did almost made me self-combust right there and then. Steady breath's Max...

"What about you? What are you doing?" I asked in return as I sucked it up and turned to face her, I caught her in mid action about to lick off the excess red juice from the popsicle that was dripping onto the stick. Keep your hair on, Max. It's just a Popsicle.

I really was mesmerized, but I had to relax after all Noelle was a virgin. All these inappropriate thoughts of my best friend weren't right. She laughed as she looked at my facial expression. "Jesus Christ, Max. If you wanted some you could've just asked" she joked.

Oh. But it wasn't the Popsicle I wanted. I laughed just to blend in and didn't seem like a fool, as she shook her head. She finished the remainder of her Popsicle and chucked in a nearby trash can. "Nope, just spending it with my best friend" she giggled. How I loved that sound.

"Oh, he's pretty cool huh?" I suggested smiling.

She scrunched her nose up and looked ahead as she shook her head, "He's not all that"

I bumped my shoulders with hers and she busted out laughing. "You're not funny" I mumbled acting as if I was angry. "Oh c'mon you know I love you!" she said as she laid her head on my shoulder. My whole body tensed at her simple movement. God this girl could make me feel every possible feeling you could feel in this world. Hearing her say I love you, but not meaning it in any other way but "I love my best friend" killed me. I wish we were more than best friends. Noelle wasn't the relationship type of girl. The whole entire time I knew I'd only see her date one person in particular.

Jimmy Saunders. I hated that kid, truthfully I hated every kid that showed a slight of interest when it came to Noelle. Anyway, Noelle and Jimmy dated in the beginning of junior year; it was Noelle's first boyfriend. In my eyes he wasn't the one for her, and I proved to be right when he cheated on her with a friend of Noelle's. At the time I wanted to beat the shit out of him; and quite frankly I still do, lucky him he moved right after junior year was over. During that time seeing my best friend hurt killed me, I didn't know what else to do but console her I almost killed him when I found out but Noelle had begged me not too. She stressed that in the end it wouldn't be worth because she would be okay. The bad thing was that the betrayal didn't come from someone she expected, it came from a friend who she had trust in at the time. Noelle admits to once loving Jimmy, and I wonder that if Jimmy ever came back to Ocala would she run back? She also admits to forgiving Jimmy, she blames her friend for being such a 'hoe' but to me it seems as if they were both in fault, it takes two to tango. I don't really speak my opinion of the topic and we don't seem to come across it ever.

But here as I sit in front of my best friend, I still wonder. Does she love him? Will he ever come back? Noelle has always been the 'forgive and forget' type. She tries to move forward from the past and focus on the present. It was one thing I loved about her, something I lacked she had. Noelle deserved much more than what a cheating piece of shit had to offer, she deserved the sun, the moon, and the stars. Could Jimmy give her that?