Three years after his mother's death, Noah Reed is lost once again. Unsure of where to go after running from his problems for so long, he ends up back home, wanting a place to finally settle down. He's ready to tie up loose ends and to try and corre...
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"You did what?" Jess exclaims in shock.
"I was drunk!" I defend myself, though I have to admit that's not much of an excuse. "I had too much wine, and Noah was there, and I—I don't know!"
"Let me get this straight." Jess's expression is impassive as she studies me. "You had too much wine and somehow managed to get Noah alone . . . and kissed him?"
"You make it sound like I jumped him," I mumble, blowing an unruly strand of hair out of my face. "But, yeah. I guess that's basically what happened." I wince as details come to mind, unable to look at Jess as I admit, "I might have also told him I loved him."
"What?" Jess cries, eyes going wide.
I bite down on my lip, feeling ashamed and embarrassed and more than a little disappointed with myself. Although it's been a full day since my last interaction with Noah, my mind is still a little hazy. It's hard for me to recall exactly what happened after I followed him out onto the balcony at Mia and Thorne's apartment. What I do remember only further shames me, as I can recall bits and pieces of kissing Noah Reed, and then blurting that I love him. His reaction to my outbursts has been completely wiped from my memory, though I don't consider this to be a bad thing. I can only imagine how mortified I'd be to find how Noah handled those incidents, whether it be for worse or for better.
"Well," Jess mutters.
"Well what?" I question, rubbing my throbbing temples as I rack my memory for any other embarrassing details I should remember from yesterday.
"Well . . . do you love him?" Jess asks.
I stare at my best friend incredulously, blurting without thinking, "No! Yes! No! I don't know!" I sigh as I fall back onto my bed, hiding my face behind my hands so that Jess can't see the way my cheeks burn with shame. "I really don't know how I feel about Noah, Jess," I admit.
"I don't know what to say," Jess mumbles, tone laced with surprise and understanding. "This is . . ."
"Terrible, I know. You don't have to tell me."
Jess frowns as she studies me. "Actually, I was going to say that this is great. But if that's how you feel . . ."
I furrow my eyebrows in confusion. "How on earth can this be great? I mean, I drunkenly kissed Noah and then told him I love him. He probably thinks I'm insane. Or obsessed with him. Not to mention, I'm practically dating Dylan. What I did is basically cheating." With this realization, I find myself hiding my face once again. "Oh my God. I almost forgot about Dylan."
"If it makes you feel any better, I literally forgot about Dylan."
I shoot Jess a withering glare.
"Sorry. Not helping." Jess crosses over to my side of the room, sighing as she takes a seat next to me on my bed. "Look, if you want my advice, I'd say to follow your heart. I know that sounds cheesy, but it's true. If your heart is leading you to Noah, maybe you should listen. If your heart is telling you to stay with Dylan, then that's not something you should ignore. Hell, maybe your heart is even telling you to just take some time to yourself for a little while. All I'm trying to say is that whatever you're feeling the strongest, your instinct is usually right about."
