The Beach House Read online

  “Just a mom’s perspective on things,” she said, holding her hands up in defense. Then she pushed herself off the bed. “I’ll let you get some rest. You’re probably asleep on your feet.”

  I managed a smile. She was right; another few minutes and I’d be sleeping standing up. It had been a long day.

  I said good night to June, and after she left I sat still for a moment, staring at the closed door. There were scratches on the faded wood where Lee and I had marked each other’s height every year. I stared at the notches blankly, a jumble of thoughts running through my head.

  It was going to work out for me and Noah, right? A long-distance relationship?

  There would be a hell of a distance between us, plus a couple of hours’ time difference. And being with Noah had almost cost me Lee’s friendship. It hadn’t exactly been easy to get to this point.

  But I didn’t want to lose Noah. I didn’t want us to break up. I wanted a long-distance relationship and for us to make it work.

  Did he feel the same way, though?

  June’s apprehension clung to me. I wondered if, despite having the best intentions, she’d made Noah doubt all this too.

  Because what if he didn’t want to give it a shot now? What if—

  “Knock, knock?”

  Lee. I got up, opening the door. He smiled that easy smile of his, holding a steaming mug in each hand. “What’s going on? What’s wrong?”

  I took the mug he handed to me. “Hot chocolate in the middle of summer?”

  “Of course!” he said, grinning. He sat down on his bed facing me, where his mom had been only minutes before. “Mom said you looked like you needed it. What’s up?”

  “Nothing’s up. It’s—”

  He groaned. “What’s my mom said to you now?”

  “Nothing! Well, I mean, no, she was saying…She didn’t say it in so many words, but she obviously thinks me and Noah shouldn’t try staying together when he goes to college, and I just…I don’t know! Does he even want to stay with me? He’s never had a long-term relationship, ever. He probably wants to break up at the end of summer so he can find some really hot, really smart girl who he actually sees and who doesn’t live all the way across the country, you know? It’s like—”

  “Whoa, okay, hold it right there or you’re going to lose me,” Lee interrupted. I sipped at my hot chocolate. “First off, he won’t want to break up with you. End of conversation.”

  “You’re really, really helpful sometimes, you know that?”

  “I do know that.”

  I shook my head. “You know what, it doesn’t even matter. Forget I said anything.”

  Lee looked ready to push it, to really talk to me. And he was my best friend. I could talk to him about anything.

  But not this.

  This wasn’t a conversation I had to have with Lee. It was one I had to have with Noah.

  So before he could open his mouth, I said, “What’s going on when Rachel gets here, anyway? Where’s she sleeping?”

  “My bed,” Lee told me. “I’m camping out on the floor in Noah’s room for a couple of nights.”

  “Oh, right. Okay then.”

  “You don’t mind, do you? Sharing a room with Rachel, I mean? You’re okay with it?”

  I looked at him over the top of my mug and smiled. Even if I’d hated Rachel’s guts (which was totally impossible, as she was really nice), I’d have put up with her for Lee. “Of course I don’t mind, Lee. Seriously. It’s going to be fine.”

  Wasn’t it?

  Chapter 4

  The next couple of days passed before I could blink. We’d get up late, go to the beach and bodyboard or swim, maybe play some Frisbee, have some lunch, and then either head back to the beach or stay around our little pool for the afternoon.

  And Noah and I managed to steal a few moments alone together. Although, the one time we thought we finally had the house to ourselves, his parents had come home early. We’d barely managed to grab our clothes from around the pool before they came through the house to say hi.

  By Sunday, Lee was acting like an excited puppy. Rachel was arriving the next day, and he was all over the place. He told us he was going to get ice creams but came back with a pair of flippers.

  I didn’t even ask.

  Lee was texting Rachel so much, I got totally exasperated with his phone bleeping every four seconds and eventually snapped, “For God’s sake, Lee, just call her! Jeez!”

  Noah chuckled, but Lee chirpily said, “Okay!” and was already pressing her number as he walked off.

  “He is so in love, it’s almost stopped being funny,” Noah told me gravely. “How long do you think it’ll be until I have to put on a penguin suit for the wedding?”

  I laughed. “Hmm…I’d say two years.”

  “That long? Really?”

  “Oh, come on. You know Lee. He’ll want to make sure the flowers and the food and the cake are just perfect. And he’ll want the perfect bachelor party too.”

  “Which, of course, I’ll be in charge of planning.”

  “You think you’ll be his best man?”

  “Who else? I’m his big brother. I’ve got plenty of embarrassing stories about him. I’m the obvious choice.”

  “I think you’ll find the position of best woman is already taken.”

  Noah laughed. “Of course it is. I’m really thirsty,” he said suddenly. “Do you want to grab a Coke from the bar?”

  A bit farther down the shore was a little beach shop, a surf shack and a bar. I loved the bar on the beach; there was something about it that made me think of the Caribbean. It had a thick straw roof shaped like a giant parasol, and the drinks were always served with little paper umbrellas in them.

  “Sure,” I answered.

  He dug underneath his towel for his wallet and took out a few dollar bills. “Let’s go.”

  It didn’t take long to get there, but the queue looked like it would take a while for us to be served. I was glancing around and caught sight of a few guys talking. They were looking at Noah. He had his back to them, so he didn’t see, but I got the sinking feeling they were talking about him.

  “Do you know those guys? Over there?” I blurted out. Knowing me, I could’ve been overreacting and just imagining that they were looking at him.

  Noah looked round, right at the guys who were staring at him. I guessed they were maybe around our age—soon-to-be seniors, or freshmen at college.

  I was about to grab Noah’s arm, thinking that it was stupid for him to look at them so obviously, but then I realized that he most likely didn’t give a damn whether he annoyed them or not. He turned back, not looking fazed at all, and before I could say another word the barman got to us.

  “What can I get you guys?”

  “Two Cokes,” Noah said, pushing the money across the counter. He looked over at the guys again, scowling at them this time.

  “Noah!” I exclaimed, swatting his hand when he didn’t reply. “Do you know them or what?” I sent another fleeting glance at them and said, “They’re still looking over here.”

  “Yeah, if that’s the guy I think it is, I made out with his ex-girlfriend or something last summer. He tried to punch me, so naturally, I acted in self-defense,” he said flippantly.

  “What? When did—”

  “You know all those beach bonfires and parties and stuff? You and Lee never went to them?” I nodded. “I think it was at one of those.”

  “I can’t believe…” I trailed off and shook my head. “You couldn’t have just walked away?”

  Noah set his jaw and hung his head. “Point taken.”

  The barman set two tall glasses of Coke in front of us. I mumbled thanks and took a sip of mine.

  We talked easily until we finished our drinks. But I couldn’t help it—I kept glancing
past Noah, my eyes flickering over to the boys who’d been looking at him before. One had a sneer on his face and the other two were laughing. It gave me a queasy feeling in my stomach.

  I was still taken by surprise, though, when we got up to leave and someone suddenly slammed into Noah. It was completely on purpose, but the guy—the blond guy who’d been sneering—backed off, saying in a sarcastic tone, “Whoa, sorry, dude. Didn’t even see you there.”

  I saw the muscle in Noah’s jaw jumping.

  He shoved the blond guy back—not even hard; it was like a poke more than a shove. “Why don’t you watch where you’re going, huh?”

  The guy scoffed, and his two friends had stupid grins on their faces too. “Right, right, sure.”

  Noah’s fingers were curling into fists at his side, then flexing out again. I grabbed his arm. “Hey. Come on. Let’s just go. They’re not worth it, Noah.”

  The blond guy looked at me, then sneered at Noah again. “So whose girl did you steal this year, Flynn?”

  Noah stared scornfully at the blond guy like he would a piece of dirt on his precious motorbike. “Get over yourself.”

  He started to walk off, and I was totally shocked for a moment: Noah Flynn, the most badass guy in the entire school, walking away from a fight?

  Wow. Maybe he really had changed.

  But the blond dude and his friends weren’t having it; the blond guy deliberately stepped into Noah’s path, shoving him again. I looked around, wondering where the hell Lee was when I needed him.

  “Come on, now,” Noah said. “You really want to pick a fight in front of a lady?”

  The blond guy made as if to shove Noah again to make his point, but Noah sidestepped and the guy lost his balance and went sprawling on his front, spitting sand from his mouth.

  Before he got back up or his friends decided to cause more trouble, I took Noah’s hand. “Let’s get out of here.”

  He nodded, and followed me down the beach.

  I looked back a couple of times, and the blond guy was shaking people off him, storming away. Despite not laying a hand on him, it seemed that Noah had damaged his pride a hell of a lot.

  “You think you might’ve made out with his ex-girlfriend last year?” I repeated, stumbling over my own feet somewhat before falling into step with Noah.

  “All right, all right. But in my defense, they weren’t together at the time. If you ask me, he’s just an asshole.”

  “And you feel the need to pick a fight with every asshole guy you come across? We both know you would’ve if I hadn’t been there.”

  Noah tugged me closer, letting go of my hand to wrap his arm round my shoulders. “You really know how to guilt-trip me, don’t you, Elle?”

  “I’m serious. I need you to know you can’t solve everything by throwing a few punches anymore. I don’t…I don’t want you getting in trouble at Harvard.”

  “I do know. I get it, okay? My parents have been going on and on and on about it all summer too. No more fighting. No more being stupid or reckless or any of that. I know. I’m working on it.”

  I was too surprised to say anything else for a moment. Noah sounded weirdly determined. He gave me an awkward smile, looking embarrassed. I’d never thought too much about what his parents might have said to him on the subject of getting into fights. This was the first I’d heard about it.

  “Well, whatever they said, it’s obviously made an impression. The old Noah would’ve punched that guy and his friends. And I totally would’ve yelled at you for it, for the record.”

  “Oh, I know.”

  We’d made it back to our spot on the beach by then. Lee was still nowhere to be seen. I settled back down on my towel.

  “Hey, Elle?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I’m trying. To be a better guy. To not be so impulsive. I…I want you to know that.”

  “I know. I just—I hope you’re not doing it for me. You know? Or not just for me.”

  “I’m not. Although you are a big factor.” His tone had turned teasing now, and I raised my eyebrows. “Couldn’t have you being mad at me, Elle.”

  “Make sure you remember that if there’s a next time.”

  “I’m going swimming; you coming?”

  “No,” I said lazily. “I’m gonna stay here. Finish listening to my podcast.”

  Noah nodded, bending to give me a kiss before he strode down to the sea. I watched him go, thinking again how he’d avoided a fight at the bar. I guessed he really was changing.

  Chapter 5

  On Monday morning, I woke up at what felt like the crack of dawn after a bad night’s sleep.

  I groaned, tossing about and tumbling off the bed.

  “Sorry,” Lee whispered loudly. “Did I wake you up?”

  “A rampaging bull in a china shop is quieter than you, Lee.” I rubbed my eyes and yawned. “What’re you even doing up already?”

  “Rachel’s coming today, and…” He trailed off, since that was explanation enough. Part of me thought it was adorable that Lee trying to tidy things so the room wouldn’t be a complete wreck when his girlfriend arrived, but I still narrowed my sleepy eyes at him.

  “What time is it?”

  “Seven.”

  That was when I threw my pillow at him.

  He laughed and caught it, tossing it back onto my bed. I shot him another glare for waking me up so early, grabbed my bikini and a pair of shorts, and went into the bathroom. I wasn’t going to be able to get back to sleep now, but maybe a shower would wake me up properly.

  I checked that both doors to the bathroom were shut; the only lock was on Noah’s door, and it had never worked properly. We had a very simple system—if the doors were shut, the bathroom was occupied.

  The bathroom wasn’t big anyway, but with Lee’s hair products scattered everywhere and my toiletries laid out neatly, plus Noah’s few things thrown down anywhere, it seemed very small and very cluttered. I shoved Lee’s stuff to the edge of a shelf to put my clothes down.

  I had just lathered up my hair when I heard a door open. I sighed sharply through my nose and stuck my head round the shower curtain, shampoo trickling down the sides of my face. “Lee, I don’t care what time Rachel’s coming. Your hair gel can wait till I’m not in the—”

  Noah took one look at me and started laughing.

  “I so need to take a photo of that,” he chuckled, indicating my annoyed face and lathered-up hair.

  “Oh, shut up.”

  “What’s the matter, grumpy-pants? You don’t want me to join you?” He smirked, making a show of starting to take off his T-shirt.

  “Noah! Stop it.”

  We wanted some time alone together at the beach house, but it wasn’t easy. Sure, his room might be right there next to mine, but the walls in this place were thin. And that didn’t exactly scream romantic or sexy to me. Not with my best friend and his parents around.

  “Stop what?” he asked, undoing his belt now, still grinning at me.

  “You are not doing a striptease in the bathroom,” I hissed at him, blushing and disappearing back behind the shower curtain to rinse my hair. “So not fair. Remind me why we thought we could handle not having any time to ourselves here?”

  “What’s the matter, Elle? Need a cold shower?”

  I told him to shut up again, smiling when I heard him laugh. It was maddening to be so close to him all the time and not really be able to…do anything. It wasn’t even easy to find somewhere else to sneak off to. And after our narrow escape near the pool the other day when his parents came back early, I was not about to risk getting caught again.

  When I stepped out of the shower, towel wrapped round me, I found Noah finishing up cleaning his teeth, his hair looking tidier than it had a few minutes before. I knocked my hip into him to nudge him out of the way so I could get to
my stuff.

  Noah just kind of hovered by the side of the sink, though, arms folded lightly over his chest and his eyes on me.

  “What?”

  He shrugged. “Just thinking.”

  “About what?”

  “I love you” was his simple answer, accompanied by a small, genuine smile.

  He leaned over to give me a quick kiss on the lips, only a light, little one. He made to leave, but I tugged on his T-shirt to pull him back.

  “Hey, you don’t get away that easy, mister.” And I kissed him full on the mouth, a smile forming on my face. His arms curled round my waist and he squeezed me closer. God, he smelled so good. Had he always smelled this good? I dragged my fingers through his hair, probably messing it up again.

  “Okay. I’m definitely going this time,” he said, drawing away and giving me one last peck on the lips, “before I’m the one who needs a cold shower.”

  * * *

  It turned out Rachel was arriving a few hours earlier than we’d expected, so Lee left to pick her up from the bus station. The beach house wasn’t really built for an extra person, but we’d make do having Rachel here too. Lee had an old airbed set up in Noah’s room he’d be sleeping on.

  I was cuddled up on the sofa with Noah, the two of us watching TV with his parents, when we heard Lee’s car pull up outside.

  “Sounds like the other pair of lovebirds are here,” June said, and she and Matthew got up to go and greet them. I listened to their conversation for a few minutes. Lee took Rachel’s bag through to the bedroom.

  I’d been cool with Rachel coming—but now that she was actually here, it felt weird.

  I shook myself. I couldn’t think like that. It’d be nice having another girl around for a change. And it might mean I didn’t feel so guilty about trying to get some time alone with Noah and not hanging out with Lee so much this year.

  I looked at the TV and saw that Noah had switched the channel, settling on some NASCAR program. I watched it for about twenty seconds, then said, “No way are we watching this. There’s got to be something else on. Like cartoons.”