Kissing Booth: Another Take

Chapter 9

AN: Hi folks! It gets just a little PG-13 here but I promise when I post actual lemons I'll make it so you can skip over if you don't want it to read it :)

Italics are Selena Gomez- Back to You

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Noah's POV

I hadn't planned this. I had originally thought that I was going to let this slowly unfold and see where the week took us but I couldn't help but fall into our old patterns. Seeing her get along with my friends better than I did most times, dancing around like she used to do every time she kicked my ass in Monolopy again, her determined face trying to carry a bag twice her size. All of it was just too much for me to just sit back and let her just be my friend. I wanted all of her -- the fights, the dancing, the teasing, the laughing, the flirting, the facetime, the texts.

Took you like a shot
Thought that I could chase you with a cold evening
Let a couple years water down how I'm feeling about you

She hesitated in front of me so I took it as a sign to continue.

"Elle, I know I messed up okay. I was stupid and embarrassed that I was doing so poorly at Harvard. I shouldn't have hidden it from you ... and I know I should've reached out to you too. But it hurt my ego so bad to see you on Instagram so happy all the time."

Her forehead wrinkles at my admission, momentarily distracting her from looking at my lips. "I don't even post on social media..."

I sighed. Leave it to her to focus on that point rather than the fact I had just spilled my heart out to her. "Not the point Shelly," I quipped.

She bit her lip looking at me, her eyes swimming with what I'm sure was a spiraling of thoughts.

"Noah," she sighed again, "It wasn't just you, you know? The fact is I couldn't trust you."

I frowned.

"Maybe if I had trusted you I would've believed what you were telling me and if you trusted me maybe you would've told me everything... instead of thinking that I'd be anything but supportive."

"I've come a long way since we... ended things," she continued. "I mean really it was the worst and best thing to go through. It really forced me to figure out what I really wanted with life, and school and my friends." She bit her lip again, " And I thought I figured out what I wanted from you too but now... I'm not so sure."

"What do you mean?" I didn't really want to know the answer. It didn't sound too good for me.

"I mean," she explained, "I told myself I would be happy without you. That our relationship was just a season in my life to teach me a lesson." I nodded frowning, ignoring her eyes now. Got it, I knew where this was going.

And every time we talk
Every single word builds up to this moment
And I gotta convince myself I don't want it
Even though I do

Her hand reaching up to my cheek to make me look at her surprised me. Her thumb ran along where my jaw was flexed.

"But... seeing you. I'm not so sure. I think that maybe there's some unfinished business," she said with a sad smile. Her thumb found my bottom lip. I grabbed her hand from my face and wrapped my other arm around her, pulling her to me.

"Shelly," I said, loving how her small frame fit perfectly against me. She looked at me expectantly. "I'm going to kiss you now."

You could break my heart in two
But when it heals, it beats for you
I know it's forward, but it's true