Island Vibes

16. stop

I tried to suppress all the weirdness of coming to terms with crushing super hard on Noah with being as polite and colleaguey as possible. I'd focus on work, and Noah would be a minor distraction – nothing more. There was so much to be done that it wasn't exactly difficult to busy myself with it all, anyway.

For example: the paint I'd chosen from the catalogue had arrived earlier that morning. It was a clean, cheerful, pale blue that I thought would be a great way to perk the place up. I'd ran it past my parents on the phone before complaining grouchily about Noah (because I couldn't help myself) and they'd liked the sound of things. They kept telling me they'd be happy with whatever I chose, but I wasn't so sure. It was true that I was probably more uptight and detail-orientated than both of them, but I didn't buy that they'd like the finished product of the café even I made a mess of things. I wanted to get it right.

Similarly, I wanted to get it right with Noah.

I might have been complaining about him to my parents, but... he wasn't all bad. The carrying-me-up-a-hill incident had been a highlight, and, if we were being honest, his only downfall was being horribly committed.

I beat him to the café that day and had a coffee and a patch of drying paint waiting for him.

I grinned and picked up the extra cup from the bar as he strolled in, offering it out to him with a gentle shake, as if to prove that it did indeed have a delicious caffeinated liquid inside.

"For moi?" Noah said theatrically, putting a hand to his chest in faux-surprise.

"For... you, yes," I smiled, wishing I knew more French. "You carried me up a hill because my sandal broke. That's worth a coffee."

"Man, if I'd known it'd get me free coffees, I'd have been carrying girls up hills this whole time," he teased. "What a way to make a living."

"Well, what a way to earn a cup of coffee," I corrected, trying to steer clear of the temptation to flirt and ask him about whether I'd be the best out of all of those girls he'd hypothetically be carrying. I reminded myself: I was only trying to offer him a kind gesture as a thanks – it didn't have to mean anything.

Noah nodded as he swallowed a mouthful of still-steaming coffee. "Mm, right, coffee, a living, that's what I said," he grinned. "You think I could function without this shit?"

I chuckled and then gestured with my own cup over at the tins of paint that had arrived. "We have a lot to do," I said. "So... drink up. And, you know. Thanks again." I took a big swig of my drink so I didn't have to make any weird grateful eye contact with him.

"You're the best, Cal," he said, smiling so genuinely at his caffeinated gift. That was probably the first crack that appeared in my chipper, professional resolve. He was too precious. Oh no. "Everyone really missed you at the party. Even Brie asked after you," he smirked a little at that, no doubt remembering the first time I'd met the two of them.

"Oh, did she?" I knew why, after all, because Brie knew two things about me: I'd puked in Noah's bath, and I didn't want Noah to know I'd puked in Noah's bath. She'd probably asked after me to see if he'd heard yet.

"Yeah, I think she's warming up to you, y'know. Who wouldn't?" Noah winked, and that professional resolve of mine cracked even further.

I wiped the stupid grin off my face and cleared my throat a little, trying not to be charmed.

"Um," I eloquently began, "the paint..." I said, nodding over at the big strip of pretty pale blue I'd already put on the wall.

Noah made an ahh sound and moved closer to it. He stood facing the patch, and I joined him. We considered it for a long moment, as if it were an artwork in a gallery, and we were serious critics trying to garner deeper meaning from the masterpiece in front of us.

"Looks good," Noah said, after another gulp of coffee. I wasn't sure how he was drinking it so fast. It was so hot it was practically still bubbling.

"How many coats do you think we'll need?"

Noah frowned, thinking about it.

"Two? It's actually got decent coverage."

"Mm," I replied, and we both took a sip of our drinks, then.

After a few seconds, Noah burst out laughing.

"Can you believe your parents trusted us with this whole place?"

His eyes had scrunched up into the crescent moon shapes they always made when he cracked up like this. He looked too happy to be real, like no one should be able to be that amused.

It was infectious, because I started laughing too. Bye bye, professional demeanor.

"Honestly? No," I chuckled. "But what I really can't believe is that they hired you," I said, jabbing his arm gently.

"Well, I'm offended," Noah said, putting his coffee-less hand on his hip and giving me a look. "Unless what you mean is that you can't believe they hired someone as thoughtful, funny, and attractive as me..?"

He drew his sentence out, pitch raising up high and hopeful as his eyebrows did the same.

I laughed and threw out a casual "You wish," but then my good mood started to fade, the smile dissolving from my face.

Noah was still grinning when he turned to me and said, "What? What's wrong?" but I struggled to grin back at him, because I was too busy having an epiphany.

"I think..." I began, not entirely sure this was a good decision. "I think I need you to stop saying stuff like that?"

Noah tilted his head, confused, and unbearably cute.

"Yeah, I mean," I continued, giving a small defeated sigh, "you have a girlfriend, you know? This is like, beyond unhealthy."

"Cal..." Noah began, shaking his head. "It doesn't mean anything-- Melissa is the coolest girl in the world, okay? It's totally fine--"

"No, it isn't," I laughed, because even though I felt like garbage having to rain on Noah's friendly, flirty parade, I hoped we'd still work well together, and I hoped this would fix my current situation. I'd gone into the day so sure I could focus, but Noah was... Noah.

"Cal," Noah repeated, a smile mingled with disbelief on his face.

"I mean, it's okay," I said, rolling my eyes as if to say duh, "but I can't deal with all the flirting. This has to stop."