Page 54 of The Next Chapter
‘There you are.’
I jolt at the sound of Noah’s voice. ‘I wasn’t asleep or anything,’ I tell him, trying to rearrange my limbs into a position that’s slightly less sprawling in nature.
‘You totally were,’ Harper pipes up unhelpfully, ‘you were snoring and everything.’
Great. He caught me semi asleep. Again.
Probably not the time to reveal that in all other settings I have low key insomnia. No one would believe me anyway. On Skye, I’m halfway to narcolepsy.
Noah laughs softly as I squint at the clock in the bottom corner of the laptop. Jesus, two hours have passed since I last looked. Maybe I did take a nap, just a short one that lasted several hours. It’s all this island air.
‘How was your morning?’ I ask.
‘Good, thank you. I made a start on the article. It’s not due till the end of summer so there’s plenty of time.’
Noah doesn’t look like he’s been sat inside working all morning. But then, I bet he’s the sort of person who looks refreshed after a plane journey, not dehydrated and achy like the rest of us.
‘I need to go for a walk to check out another hidden gem tomorrow, if you’re still okay to help with the article?’
Hm. Confusing. Is he asking me out, or asking for help with the article? Because it sounds like the latter, but then he did just push his hair back where it’s flopped in his eyes. And Harper is mimicking sticking her fingers down her throat.
I ignore her.
‘Yeah, course, I’d love that! So long as I wouldn’t be imposing or anything. It’s totally fine if you change your mind. But if you don’t change your mind, then, yes, I’d like to come. Thank you.’
‘Fucking painful, mate.’ That’s Harper.
Noah smiles, which is a very generous reaction to my unprovoked outburst.
‘Do you have any Pringles?’ she asks him. ‘All she has is rabbit food.’
Noah looks down at the little spread on the table.
‘Are those crisps made of vegetables?’ he asks, outraged but slightly flushed.
‘I know, right,’ Harper once again unhelpfully interjects, before coughing and saying loser at the same time. ‘Earlier she tried to get me to eat a grass and hummus sandwich. And this lemonade doesn’t taste like Sprite at all. It isn’t even fizzy.’
I can’t help but notice that Harper is being far friendlier with Noah than she’s been with me, and he hasn’t even shared his Wi-Fi yet. It’s the whole slightly shy and disarming thing he has going on. We’re all powerless in the face of it. Even Harper.
‘It was rocket,’ I say, smiling through gritted teeth because I don’t want Noah to think I’m the sort of person who is mean to children. Especially ones who look so desperately in need of a friend like Harper does. ‘And it’s still lemonade.’
‘I did get some Pringles from the hotel shop,’ he tells her.
She lets out a groan of delight. ‘Lifesaver.’
My stomach drops a little. It’s not like it’s exactly a prerequisite to a relationship, is it? That you have the same taste in crisps. Not in the same way that, say, living in the same country and not lying to each other might be, but still, it would be nice to have one tiny little sign that I’m not the black sheep around here. Especially when it comes to Lola and Noah.
Noah goes to retrieve said stomach-falling Pringles, passing them over to Harper, who clutches the tube close to her chest. I add Pringles to the shopping list of food that I need. I want to be prepared in case she comes again. Like I would if she were actually a stray cat.
That feeling where my skin becomes too tight and my arms and legs get jittery comes over me again. It’s the point at which, if I were at home, I’d write a really great to-do list. Except, I’ve already done that today.
‘I’ve had an idea, for you know what.’ Noah says, looking at me.
My brain isn’t working properly, I’ve no idea what he’s talking about. Forming cohesive thoughts is like trudging through sludge.
‘You know what,’ I repeat back to him like an idiot.
‘My summer plan.’ He drops his voice, but Harper is deep in Pringle bliss. ‘I was looking in the archives. You know, the hotel used to host an annual race around the lake. Way back in the day.’
