Chapter 7
Hey Beautiful
They talked for hours, and she really enjoyed his company, making her realize just what she’d missed all these years. Now, in the comfort of her own room, lying in bed, with the promise of tomorrow still lingering on her lips she could dream of nothing else.
The good night kiss he promised her, and oh boy, did he deliver. Sweet and sensual, the gliding of his lips against hers, the little nips that ignited her desire and enflamed her even further, her whole body trembling in his arms, while he held her tighter. She felt safe and secure, protected within the shelter of his arms, his strong hard biceps enveloping around her smaller form, shielding her from the world around them.
She traced her swollen lips with the tips of her fingers, trembling at the sensation it invoked through her entire body. She was fast becoming aroused just at the thought of his lips on hers, the masterful way he played with her senses, his tongue skillfully seducing hers to follow his lead, causing desperate moans to escape her mouth, inciting her even further.
She slid her hand lower, enveloping her right breast, pinching her nipple until it stung just a little bit, adding to her stirring arousal. She moved her hand downward, across her belly and her throbbing pelvis to the spot where she needed it the most. Her clit pulsed in anticipation and when she finally touched it her lower body lifted from the bed in pure delight. She rubbed it faster and harder, chasing that final euphoria before she crashed back to earth.
She stimulated her left breast by pinching her nipple and squeezing her breast tight, massaging it with urgent strokes of her hand. She felt elated, so close to the pinnacle, it was almost frustrating, she desired it so much she moaned in despair, pressing her hand harder on the little nub of ecstasy pulsating wildly at the center of her core.
She imagined Noah’s eyes staring down at her, his hand in the place of hers, his biceps flexing from the strain of holding himself above her, so he could observe every reaction her body made. She quickened the pace, the thought of Noah being too much for her already overstimulated senses. She let go, her whole body shaking in rapture, she squeezed her thighs tightly, closing them, and trapping her hand between their quivering form, eliciting another bout of shudders.
She exhaled loudly as her lifeless limbs fell back on the bed, little quakes still racking her body. She rolled on to her side in a fetal position, embracing herself, still too shaken to get up at the moment.
When she finally composed herself enough to get up, she showered and changed the bedding, since she practically destroyed it when she climaxed and leaked the gargantuan amount of her body’s essence on the sheets. Do not want Andrea to notice that one. Talk about embarrassing.
What if she asked who she was dreaming about? God. She seriously did not want to explain anything right now. She’d probably end up blabbing it all out. Sorry Andrea, but the hot bod starring in all my filthy fantasies is no other than your incredibly delicious sexy as Hell brother. Yeah, that would go over well. Not.
She was just about to make herself mad with worrying about all the consequences with this little adventure she was embarking on with Noah when her phone beeped, announcing a text.
She saw Noah’s name and almost fainted. He’s texting. AAAAAH. She wanted to scream out loud but managed to contain herself to just a little squeal.
Noah: Hey beautiful. 
Oh, my. He called her beautiful. With a smiley face. How sweet is that. Another squeal. Yeah, she knew she was being immature and was acting as if she was still in high school, but so frickin’ what. Noah Crawford just called her beautiful. That definitely deserved a squeal. Ok Sophie, focus here.
Noah: You okay? About everything we talked about tonight.
Sophie: Hey. Yeah I’m ql.
Okay, what now. She had to say something else, but what?
Sophie: I had a really nice time tonight.
Seriously. That sounded like she was fishing for compliments.
Noah: I had a great time too.
Why was this so awkward? When they talked at dinner the conversation between them was flowing without any effort whatsoever. No awkward silences or thinking about what to say next or what not to say. They just talked. And laughed. They laughed a lot, especially about all the mischief she and Andrea used to get into. Or still do.
He didn’t need to know that though, they’ve gotten better at hiding things through the years, not wanting to get caught doing something they shouldn’t. Especially Andrea. That girl was as wild as they come. Her parents still thought of her as their innocent little princess though, boy would they be in for a surprise, if they ever found out the crazy things she did, and talked Sophie into tagging along, most of the time anyways.
Sophie: Sorry. This is kind of awkward. I don’t know why, but I have no idea what to say.
Noah: No need to say anything. I just wanted to wish you good night. And see if you’re still interested in having lunch with me tomorrow.
Tomorrow? They’d discussed about having lunch or dinner together again, but he said he’d let her know when he was available. But awww. He wanted to see her tomorrow, how frickin’ amazing was that.
Sophie: Sure. I’d love to. Where do u want 2 meet?
Noah: I’ll send a car for you. At 1, if that works for you?
Sophie: Absolutely. I can drive myself though. U don’t have 2 send a car.
Noah: I insist.
Noah: My driver will meet you at your apartment at 12:45.
Sophie: Yes, sir. If you insist.
Noah: Brat. 
Sophie: You have no idea.
Noah: Oh, I think I do.
Noah: Good night sweet Sophie. Dream of me.
Sophie: Always. Sweet dreams***
She couldn’t believe she just sent that. Always. God, so pathetic. What will his reaction be? Would he think she was just saying that or that she actually fantasized about him. Which she did, regularly. Almost every night, actually. Don’t tell him that, Sophie. He’ll think you’re a weirdo. That and the fact you Google him five times a day. Forget weirdo, that’s borderline stalker material right there.
***
Her alarm clock was ringing like crazy. She barely had a cognizant thought in her head when she heard the annoying sound. She had an unbelievable dream too, argh, dammit. She slammed her hand on the alarm clock, propelling it to fly straight across the room.
That stopped it from ringing.
She was not a morning person, at all. There was nothing she hated more than getting up at the crack of dawn. Seriously, what was she, a rooster? Actually, since she was a girl that would make her a chicken or a hen, right?
She shook her head to wake herself up. Okay, that was a pointless twenty second conversation. With herself. She really needed to wake up and get out of bed. She had school, a morning class which was beyond boring, and to top it all, the professor who taught it was a ginormous chauvinistic ass. Yaaay. No wonder she was stalling. She would rather stay in her comfy warm bed and fantasize about Noah some more.
Andrea pounded on her bedroom door, yelling for her to get up, reminding her of the morning class. God. She groaned and put her pillow over her head to silence the outside world for just a few more seconds.
“Sophie, You up?” Yelled Andrea.
“I’m awake. Not sure about the up part yet.” She mumbled from underneath her pillow.
She could hear Andrea laughing outside her door at her grumpiness. Andrea was like an energizer bunny, you know, from those Duracell commercials. She on the other hand could barely open her eyes in the morning.
“I’ll have coffee waiting, and that protein stuff you like so much. Don’t say I don’t love you Soph.” Andrea really was great, a lifesaver. They would never get to class on time, if they waited for Sophie to make breakfast. She liked smoothies with fruit, a few vegetables to console herself she was being healthy, and her protein powders of super-foods. She didn’t like the taste of coffee though, she only drank it out of necessity, otherwise she’d never get through the morning, or stop herself from falling back to sleep in the middle of class.
Okay. Time to get up, she really needed to pee.
She went through the motions, showered, washed her face and teeth, got dressed in a pair of skinny jeans that hugged her butt just right, matched it with a loosely fitted blouse in baby pink that fell off one shoulder, exposing the strap of her bra, which was okay since it matched the color of her blouse, she paired the outfit with some ballet flats in navy blue with little pink flowers on top. Yeah, she loved pink, so sue her.
She picked up her books and bag and headed to the kitchen where Andrea was already waiting for her.
“Here you go.” She handed her a cup of coffee that already churned her stomach. Yuk. How people raved about this stuff was beyond her.
“And now your smoothie. Here.” She gave her the to-go bottle, because they were already late.
She opened it and inhaled its strawberry aroma. “Mmm. A delicious gooey bit of heaven. You should have some, it’s so good.”
She was moaning so loud Andrea started laughing at her. “I already had some, and it wasn’t orgasm worthy. At least not for me, but by the way you sound, maybe you should go and change your panties.”
“Oh, shut up.”
They both laughed at their teasing. “At least you’re awake now. I swear how you get straight A’s is beyond me.”
“Hey, I study my ass off. And you know I’m more of a night owl. I just can’t get why classes need to be so early, it’s college, they should start at noon at the earliest. Most people go out, party, drink, do some other stuff.” She looked pointedly at Andrea. “And they need time for sleep. Why is it so hard for people to understand that, not everyone goes to sleep at nine.” She groaned.
She looked at Andrea questioningly. “And how are you so chipper this early, Miss go to sleep at three o’clock in the morning. Seriously, you’re like an alien robot, ‘cause no normal person can do that, once maybe, but all the time. I honestly don’t get how you can manage that. I mean you don’t need any sleep at all. How is that even possible. I need eight to ten hours minimal. And you… You get like four, five hours and you’re fine, no you’re better than fine. You’re…” she waved with her hand towards Andrea. “You. Jumping up and down when it’s barely light out. Seriously.”
Andrea just laughed, chipper and enthusiastic as always.
“Come on, we got to go, grumpy. Drink your smoothie. It’ll make you feel better. Otherwise you’ll bite someone’s head off. And we wouldn’t want that, now would we. Especially if that person was the prof. The ass that he is, he’d fail you for sure.”
Yeah, that was just what she needed. A failing grade to ruin her perfect GPA. That would make her parents happy. If they would even notice. They weren’t all that interested in her school life. All they wanted to see were the results at the end of each semester. As long as she continued to get straight A’s, it was all good. It was bragging material, their perfect daughter with her perfect grades, always so busy studying at Harvard, or so they claimed to anyone who would ask why she wasn’t home very often.
Who would want to be, perfect in public and messed up in private. That was her life at home. So no, she spent as little as possible of her time at home. She was sick of the constant arguments, even though they were divorced they still fought like a married couple wanting to kill each other. To say that her life growing up was not great would be a major understatement.
Her role models regarding family dynamics and how to do things right, were the Crawford’s, that should speak for itself. Her parents on the other hand should be the guidebook on how not to behave in a marriage and a family unit, or just how not to act in general. Especially not towards the people you supposedly love.
Yeah, her life at home pretty much sucked. But she decided a long time ago that would not define her, and most of the time it didn’t. However, old wounds open up from time to time and she’s left bleeding once more. Trying to put one foot in front of the other, looking ahead, no matter how hard it is or how brutal it gets.
She was tough, and she thrived in challenging situations, she just kept telling herself that, and then there was Andrea, always there, always a shoulder to cry on, always the person she could rely on. Her best friend since she could remember.
She shook her depressing thoughts at Andrea’s voice telling her they would be late and to get a move on.
She was right, the prof would definitely single them out, if they interrupted his lecture. She did not need the hassle of working twice as much for a grade, or God forbid, if he’d actually fail her and she’d have to retake the exam again. Not to mention how a failing grade would screw with her postgrad applications.
***
Class was actually fun for a change, they had the TA, because the prof was sick with the flu or something like that, so the morning started off okay. And she had lunch with Noah to look forward to, only Andrea wanted to do something, because Adrian, her boyfriend, had practice. How would she make something up without causing Andrea to be suspicious about who she was meeting. Damn it. Things were never easy.
She texted Noah.
Sophie: Hey. Andrea wants to do lunch. What do I do now, she’ll get suspicious if I just say no.
Noah: Tell her you’re busy and to butt out. Or you can use the f* word.
Sophie: Be serious. I’m not telling my BF to f* herself. Get real.
Sophie: Tell me something I can actually use.
Noah: Just tell her the truth. That you’re meeting me to discuss mom and dad’s party.
Sophie: That’s no help. She’ll want 2 come 2.
Noah: No she won’t. Trust me.
Sophie: How do u know?
Noah: I know my sister. The path of least resistance.
Sophie: What?!!
Noah: We have our thing to do and she has hers, she won’t touch ours, that’s why she assigned it to us. So she won’t have to do it. Just trust me. Tell her that and she’ll find something else to do.
Sophie: Okay. But if she tags along…
Noah: Stop worrying so much. Even if she does, so what. We just won’t talk about us. She doesn’t know anything. Relax.
Sophie: Easy 4 you 2 say. I’m lying 2 my BF.
Noah: Sophie.
Sophie: What?
Noah: Do you not want to do this? We can still be friends.
You and your stupid mouth. Look what you did, he’s changing his mind and you waited for this, oh, just forever.
Sophie: No I’m ql. Sorry. Just panicked 4 a sec. I’ll tell her.
Noah: If you’re sure. I want to keep this between us for now. At least until we see where it leads, after that we’ll discuss it further.
Sophie: OK. No worries. Bye.
Noah: See you later. Everything will be okay, you’ll see. I promise.
Sophie: I know. C u later.
So that was that. She almost blew it. In the future she needed to control her anxieties better, and when in doubt, keep her mouth shut, otherwise she’d only make it worse.