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Noah raises his eyebrows, the smug expression radiating superiority while he rests his arm on the back of the carriage.
“I don’t like to lose.”
I roll my eyes, smacking him on the chest lightly causing him to scowl.
“Charlie is so determined. She’s like cupid reincarnated,” I tell him, hoping he understands Charlie's passion to spread love in this world. “If she thinks she can get you to settle down, have babies so she’ll have nieces or nephews, she’ll make it happen.”
“Cue the baby talk,” Noah groans. “I’ll keep the charade up, so she thinks I’m serious. But don’t you dare tell her otherwise. Whose team are you on, anyway?”
I let out a long-winded sigh. “You’re preaching to someone who thinks love is a giant fucked-up ball, and relationships are—”
“Unnecessary?”
“Trouble.”
The Ferris wheel begins to move again until finally, our carriage is at ground level, and it’s time for us to hop off.
We hit up the arcade, passing the time with some old favorites while we laugh over our competitive streaks. Noah doesn’t treat me differently because I’m a woman, and his competitive streak only wants me to prove him wrong for once. We argue while lost in the world of Pac-Man, battled each other at pinball, and then, I challenged him to dance revolution. At first, he argued and said not a chance in hell, but with a much-needed push of calling him a loser, he relented and won the goddamn competition. The guy can dance.
“So, you can move. Big deal,” I complain.
“You’re such a sore loser,” he gloats, jabbing my ribs with his finger. “Just when I thought you were unbreakable, I broke you.”
Catching my breath, we leave the arcade and step back outside. I quickly check my phone, noting the time. With an early morning flight, it’s almost time for me to leave if I want to catch any sleep.
“I should probably go,” I tell Noah.
“Wow, I knew you were competitive, but now you’re bailing on me because you lost?”
With a wide grin, unable to hide my true feelings, I push him toward the edge of the pier trying to spook him.
“Don’t get so cocky. I’ll be back, and your arse is my target.”
“You think you’re so fancy with your British arse talk,” he mocks, throwing an accent to imitate me. “I expect you back here. I’ll challenge you, but I’m pretty certain those legs of yours can’t keep up with me.”
“Hey,” I shout, oblivious to the people surrounding us. “I’ll have you know I work out a fair bit. Maybe it’s your big mouth that distracts me with all your smack talk.”
Noah snickers. “Oh yeah, that’s it.”
I lace my arm into his as we walk toward the end of the pier for one last look at the view. Even though I haven’t spent a lot of time around beaches having lived on the mainland for most of my childhood and young adult life, something about the view of an ocean always conjures comforting ideas into my head. It’s renewing my soul, my values, and standing here with Noah makes it all the more evident.
The past two weeks have been exactly what I needed. Charlie is right. Being surrounded by family and friends eliminates the loneliness which surrounds me in Manhattan. I’ve slowly found a piece of myself, learned not to take things so seriously, and somehow being with Noah restores my confidence.
I left New York City with uncertainty of who I was anymore, but I’ll be damned if I’ll return the same woman.
Noah places his hands on my shoulders, relaxing me with the grin spread wide across his face. It’s incredibly easy to see how women fall at his feet. The arrogant bastard is so damn good-looking. Yet deep inside, the comfort he gives me is more than I could’ve asked from someone who, to begin with, was supposed to be a hook-up.
“Why are you smiling like that?” I question, running my tongue along my teeth. “Do I have food stuck in my teeth? A bird shat on me? I knew those damn seagulls would get to me.”
He shakes his head, pursing his lips. “You’re going to be okay.”
“Huh?”
“You’re going to be okay,” he repeats, keeping his gaze fixated on me. “You’re going to go back, be the fierce boss you were born to be. And then, you’re going to be okay. You don’t need him, and you’ll be just fine.”
I stare into his eyes, searching for any sort of reasoning to his words. “How do you know?”
“Because I know.”
