The Kissing Booth 2: Don't Kiss & Tell

Chapter 15: Dancing in the rain- Elle's POV

After our Harry Potter adventure, Lee and I headed back to the hotel to crash for the night. We were absolutely exhausted. I knew there was a lot on Lee's mind, but I let it go. I absolutely love the kid, but I wasn't in the mood. 

Lee wasn't the only one with a lot on his mind. Noah's final words of 'I'm not giving up' kept playing through my head. I wasn't completely sure what that meant. I wasn't even sure what he actually wanted. Was he trying to establish a friendship or was he aiming for more? Would I ever want more?

I guess the better question was the validity of his story. Did any part of his story make sense? I so badly wanted to believe that it did. Even if Noah and I had no future, I wanted to believe that he wasn't a cheater. That part alone tortured me. Nobody wants to be the girl that got cheated on. Nobody wants to be the girl that got left behind either, but that isn't as bad. 

As I was on the brink of sleep, my phone lit up up and vibrated. I looked over enough to see that it was a text. I closed my eyes and tried to ignore it. After 5 minutes my phone went off again letting me know that the message was still there. I really needed to turn that I-phone feature off. I keep forgetting. 

I groggily grab my phone and squint my eyes trying to read who the sender was. Normally I would've just ignored it, but it could've been one of our parents. Since Lee had been avoiding his phone all day, mine was the main form of communication. My tired eyes couldn't see correctly, so I sat up in bed. I looked at the phone in confusion and rubbed my eyes. When I looked down again, the name was still there. My phone said that the sender was none other than one Noah Flynn. 

A few nights ago, I had deleted his text before I had read it. I regretted that now. It probably would've shed some clarity to our current situation. 

I sat and looked at the screen. I couldn't decide what I was going to do. Part of me knew it was best to leave all of it alone until I got home. This time was about having an adventure with Lee. Worrying about Noah seemed counter productive. The irrational side of me was dying to read it. Despite everything, it felt so good to see his name on my phone. I knew he said he wasn't giving up, but I didn't expect him to act on it so soon. That was uncharacteristic for Noah. 

I knew I should've left it alone and read it when I got home, but I couldn't help myself. After about five minutes of staring at my lock screen of myself and Brad, I decided to open it. At first, I unlocked the screen with my eyes closed. I was nervous and my heart was pounding. My reaction told me that I obviously still had feelings for him. 

I opened my eyes on the count of two. That was always our thing. I was rewarded with a short paragraph. One that made me smile. I could picture him trying to say this to my face while rubbing the back of his neck in nervousness. I could also picture him sitting at his desk writing it with the same expression. 

"Shelly, Thank you for talking to me today. I'm glad I got to see you before you left. I know things seem complicated, but I meant it when I said I wasn't giving up. Please be safe and sleep well." 

I loved the text message. It showed me that he cared. It also left me with unanswered questions. The biggest one I kept asking myself was "what was he not giving up on?" Was it friendship or a relationship. Being cryptic was Noah's strong suit. He hated talking about the things he called "emotional crap." Getting him to tell me that he liked me was like pulling teeth. He just expected me to know what he was thinking. This feels no different.

This time, I'm going to leave it all up to Noah. I'm going to let him come to me when he's ready. I'm not going to fish for information or probe him for answers. If he has something to tell me, then he can tell me. I was the one that put in all of the effort last time. I'm the one that put my relationship with my best friend on the line. I'm the one that made the phone calls and text messages. I'm also the one that jumped on a plane in hopes of strengthening our relationship. All of that blew up in my face. Noah needs to say what he needs to say in the way he needs to say it.