The Kissing Booth: Adult Edition

Carry Your Smile

I guess I'm a little on guard with Noah, but can you blame me? Noah's already proven to me that to him, I'm never good enough. Not that I care- unlike Paris or Amsterdam, the piece of me he tore out isn't one I miss. But you....

"Huh, I wasn't expecting it to rain this hard," I stared at Marco from behind as he surveyed the sky outside my lobby. He'd come to pick me up after Noah dropped me back off at my building; I had still to tell Marco about it. Instead I just kept looking at him with sponge-like eyes. He checked over his shoulder behind to me. "Do you wanna wait or chance it? Elle? What are you looking at?"

But you....

I flinched, my train of thought instantly breaking. My eyes blinked a couple of times as I caught myself. "Huh? Oh! I don't mind chancing it, if you don't. Here, I actually think I have an umbrella," I pulled off my backpack and my hand dug around inside it. Marco watched me take out this cute light pink umbrella in its case. Grinning, I then held it out for him. "I bought this my first week here. It's a girly colour, but it'll keep the rain off. You can use it." "But, Elle..... What about you? You'll get wet then," Marco spattered frazzled. My grin grew as I shook my head. "That's alright; I don't mind. You use it, Marco." He gawked down at me for another minute before his eyes lit up. His gaze rolled back outside the sliding glass doors to the rain coming down roughly. "Why don't we share it?"

My eyes shot open wide in shock; my cheeks immediately sizzled a bright pink. "S-Share it?!" Now it was Marco's turn to smile. "Come on, Elle. We've kissed before; we can share an umbrella." Share an umbrella with Marco....? Oh god, my heart's going to explode! Still blushing furiously, my head fell down and I shyly walked over to Marco's side. Charmed by my coy reaction, he took the pink umbrella and opened it once the door slid to the sides. I couldn't meet his gaze when it reverted back down to me. "Shall we?" With his gentle prompting, I joined him under the umbrella's top, standing the closest I've been to Marco since that first hug a couple of weeks ago. My heart was pounding so hard, I was sure he could hear it.

What initially could have been a romantic situation turned out to be horrible. The rain picked up in speed, pouring down so fast and hard. Walking against it was a nightmare. I heard Marco let out a frustrated groan. The rain was so heavy, it started seeping through the umbrella's top. His hand clenched the now drenched handle. "This thing is useless," I think he said more to himself than me. "Let's take shelter until it stops," I suggested. He agreed and we found an awning to stand under. Marco shook out the umbrella, then closed it.

Of course I was going to feel bad. I'm the one who agreed to leave before it stopped raining; after living in Edinburgh, I should have known better. My eyes softened with sadness onto Marco. "I'm sorry, Marco." "Huh? Why are you sorry?" This obviously surprised him. "I thought my umbrella would be enough. Clearly I was wrong....." "No, you weren't wrong, Elle. You didn't know it would rain this hard. I'm just glad we're out of it now." Awe, Marco..... My stare lowered upon him; my lips parted a sliver.

"Mmmmm, I'm not sure how much longer it's going to last. Are you cold, Elle?" "Marco." This beautiful man paused so to look at me again. Our eyes glued onto each other's. I drew in a deep, deep breath. "Noah came to my office this afternoon." "He did?" Marco's face stiffened. I nodded gently. "He wanted to talk to me, so we went for ice cream." "Elle.....?" Marco's stare didn't break from mine. My bottom lip quivered a bit before I continued; my hands hugged myself so tightly. "I wanted to tell you, Marco. It didn't mean anything; nothing happened. But I wanted you to know, nonetheless." I guess that horrible year back in senior year of high school really taught me the value of good communication. I don't think I'd looked at Marco with such sincerity before.... "I don't want to keep secrets from you, Marco."

Marco didn't say anything right after this; he didn't say anything for a long time actually. Neither did I; the silence between us just felt so natural and comfortable. Instead of speaking, Marco merely, effortlessly stared down at me for I don't know how long. His eyes lowered onto me in the tenderest of ways. I didn't make a sound when he suddenly but softly removed his backpack and set it down at his feet on the pavement.

Marco proceeded to unzip and take off his jacket. He draped it overtop my head like a warm cover; I could feel his body heat on it. His coat contrasted to my dripping wet hair, but it did warm me up. For a few moments, Marco didn't remove his hands from his jacket, keeping its edges clasped in his palms. The whole time, our eyes didn't leave each other's. Ironically, neither of us were smiling; well, not on our faces anyway. Our expressions were solid and intense instead. I wasn't smiling just then, but I was so utterly, profoundly happy under that awning. Somehow, I could tell that he was too. We stood there, not making a sound and staring uninterrupted at one another; Marco's coat protectively covering me now. Yes, we weren't physically smiling, but we were- we were in a way I'd never experienced before. I couldn't take my mind off him. Marco....

I wish I could carry that smile of yours in my heart.