chapter 14

I watched the waves pass the side of the boat as we flew along the water on our way back to the shore. It was about eight in the evening, and after a long day on the boat, we had decided to head home. Although Miles had brought some snacks to eat on the boat, he had clearly underestimated my ability to eat pringles by the tube. We had decided to head back and grab some dinner at Julie's.

Turning my head around, I locked eyes with Noah. "Look at the sky," I yelled over the wind, looking upwards. The sun had started to set, and the sky was ablaze with orange and pink stripes.

"It's beautiful," Noah said, blue eyes transfixed on the sky. The colours of the sky bathed his skin in a golden light and I couldn't help but let myself take in his beautiful features. My eyes wandered from his strong jawline to the curvature of his neck and down to his angular collarbones. I felt my breath hitch as his eyes found mine, inquisitive but non judgmental. I bit my lip.

"Lois, you run your pretty little ass over to the car and get the heating on." Miles said, interrupting my brief moment with Noah as we pulled up to the shore. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm fucking freezing."

I instantly snapped my eyes away from Noah and found my cheeks start to burn, embarrassed that Noah had just caught me practically drooling over him. As soon as the boat reached the shore I took the car keys from Miles and walked over as fast as possible.

Unlocking the car, I slid myself into the passenger's seat and slammed the door shut. Miles was right, it was cold now the sun had set and I had to play around with the fancy controls on the dashboard for a few minutes to find out how to turn the heating on. A few seconds later, my seat started to warm under my skin and I relaxed into it, realising I must have pressed a button for heated seats.

The passenger door swung open, and Tyler stuck his head in.

"Hey, Lo, thanks for putting the heating on but I shotgunned this seat so I'm going to need you to move-" He said, a small smirk crossing his face.

"Are the back seats heated?" I asked, turning to Noah, who had climbed into the backseat.

Noah shook his head. "Nope."

"Well I'm not moving anywhere then." I said decisively, folding my arms.

Tyler sighed. "Okay, Lois, just remember I tried to do this the nice way..."

"What-" I said, but before I could finish my sentence, Tyler had lunged at me and had lifted me out of my seat and over his shoulder.

"This... is... so... not... fair," I moaned, punctuating each word with a soft punch to his back. Tyler let out a low chuckle into my ear at my feeble defensive attempts.

He eventually deposited me in the backseat.

"Sorry, Lois, it's nothing personal. Just shotgun rules." Tyler said, shrugging as he climbed into the HEATED front seats. I scowled.

"I never get bridal carried when I break shotgun rules," said Noah from beside me. There was a strange quality to his voice, and when I twisted my head to look at him he wouldn't look me in the eye.

Tyler chuckled. "My bad, you'll get one next time."

Miles clambered into the driving seat, oblivious to the previous exchange. He relaxed back into his seat. "Ah, heated seats. Thanks, Lo!"

Tyler turned to give me a wink and I flipped him off, scowling.

***

"Fuck me, this burger is divine," Miles moaned, eyes screwed up in enjoyment. "This shit is the food of the gods. The gods! This burger is meant for Zeus himself."

We were back in Julie's pub. True to his word, Noah had bought us all a round of drinks at the start of the night. However Miles and his limitless credit card had ensured that we had not gone thirsty, and it was safe to say that we were all fairly smashed.

I let out a small giggle and Miles opened his eyes in surprise, as if he didnt realise other people could hear him. "Lois, did you make this burger?"

"No, Miles. Julie did."

"Oh Julie!" Miles sighed, "of course she did! I'm going to go and find her right now and tell her about Zeus and her burger." He stood up abruptly before stumbling away, a half eaten burger in his hand.

"I should probably go check he's okay," Tyler said, eyes following Miles as he unsteadily made his way through the crowded pub to the bar.

"Good luck," I said as he stood up, giving Noah and I a quick wave before he too disappeared into the throng of people.

"So, did you enjoy your first motorboating experience?" Noah asked innocently. I burst out laughing as his face dropped in horror as he realised the innuendo.

"I enjoyed my first time on a speedboat," I corrected, still chuckling.

"What was the highlight of the day?" Noah asked, raising an eyebrow. "I only want to hear it if it involves me."

I laughed. "I loved piloting the boat, that was sick." I looked at Noah, eyes wide. "Did you realise that that's what boat drivers are called? Pilots? Tyler told me! Isn't that so cool!"

Noah's attitude shifted, and he sulked back into his seat. "Oh Tyler told you did he?"

I was about to respond when Miles strided back to the table and collapsed into his seat.

"I love Julie, she's amazing," he said, picking a cold chip off of his plate.

"Yes, she is," I smiled at him. "Now Miles, you know that little square of plastic in your hand? I couldn't possibly-"

"Take my money!" Miles cried, pushing the credit card towards me. "And buy me another drink while you're at it."

"Thank you!" I said, making a mental note to get Miles a glass of water, as the last thing he needed right then was anything alcoholic. Clutching his card tight in my hand, I stood up from my chair.

"Do you want me to get you anything?" I asked Noah.

"Another beer, please," he said. Miles started to sing a painfully loud rendition of 'Mr Brightside'. Noah looked at me in horror, "and a gag for Miles."

Letting out a small laugh, I turned and made my way over to the bar.

"Lois!" I heard a voice shout my name. It took me a second to realise that it was Liam standing there. I had never seen the boy without Kate and he looked strangely out of place without the lanky blonde girl by his side.

"Hey, Liam, I haven't seen you for ages!" I said, giving him a hug.

"How are you?" He asked with a smile.

"Good, good!" I replied, "And you?"

"Great, just out with a couple of friends," he motioned to a group of boys behind him who were ordering at the bar. "Who are you here with tonight then?" He asked, scanning the room.

"Not Kate, if that's who you're looking for,"

He let out an unconvincing laugh. "I don't know what you mean."

"Drop the act," I said, surprising myself with my tone of voice. "Everyone knows you like her."

Liam looked at me with wide eyes. "Really?" I nodded. He cleared his throat. "Do you think she knows?"

I shrugged. "I don't know."

Realising I had made it to the front of the queue, I ordered my drinks at the bar and then turned back to Liam, who was wearing a strange expression on his face.

"Do you think she likes me?" he finally asked. I rolled my eyes at him.

"If she doesn't like you, I'll- I'll-" I looked around wildly, trying to find something gross thatI could leverage with. My eyes settled on Noah, who was sitting at the end of our table. "I'll lick Noah's toe."

Liam laughed. "I'll hold you to that." He motioned back to his friends, who had moved to a table at the other end of the pub. "I'd better go,"

"Yeah me too." I smiled. "It was nice seeing you, Liam."

"See you around, Lois."

I headed back to the table, expertly balancing two pints of beer (one each for Noah and I) and Miles' glass of water in my hands.

"Someone take a picture!" Miles yelled, looking around for someone to fulfil his request. "We need to document this moment- it's not every day Noah loses at ringo!"

I felt Noah stiffen beside me. "I only lost because Lois played dirty," he said defensively, shooting me a glare.

I sent him a wink. "You know you loved it."

"I hate to interrupt you lovebirds," said Tyler, who, upon Miles' request had found an unsuspecting customer to take the picture, "but we're trying to take a picture here."

I rolled my eyes but smiled for the camera. As soon as the flash went off, I knew I wasn't going to like it. Grabbing the phone out of Miles' hand, my suspicions were confirmed.

"Eww!" I said, scrunching my nose. "This is being deleted right now."

Before I could press the delete button, Noah had pulled the phone away from me. He inspected the picture.

"There is literally nothing wrong with it," he said, rolling his eyes at me.

"It's awful," I complained. "I need a nose job. And some lip filler. You know what, I just need a whole new face," I said jokingly. Noah seemed to take my complainings a lot more seriously than I intended, as he looked down at me with scrunched eyebrows.

"I think you look cute."

I swear to god, my heart stopped beating.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

A short chapter for you guys today, but hope you enjoyed nonetheless! 

The song doesn't really go with the chapter but it has actually been in my head for days so I just had to include it!

How is everyone's quarantine going? How have you been spending your time?

Lots of love,

Kirsty x