the beach | noel miller

xix

Noel wakes up first to find that they swapped positions mid way through the night, instead of his head on her chest it's the other way around.

He'd smile at the sight if his arm wasn't so fucking numb.

"Rose" he whispers.

Noel debates whether or not to just yank his arm from under her, the reaction would probably be lethal though.

Shaking her lightly she finally opens her eyes, "I'm sorry but I can't feel my arm" he tells her, still whispering hoping that she won't be mad at the wake up call.

Instead Rose lets out a sleepy laugh before realising their position and holds her head up waiting for him to move his arm.

The only thing that has moved is his numb arm and nothing else, they're still cuddling.

"What's the time?" she asks, still half asleep.

He reaches for his phone, "uh 7:45"

She groans not really knowing if it's a protest out of how early it is or how late. Rose knows there's a good chance she won't fall back asleep so she turns on her side facing Noel.

"Hi" she says.

He smiles at her doing their thing.

"Hi."

They talk about nothing in particular for a while, both of them not in any rush to get up - or sneak out anyways.

"I wanna go surfing" she tells him, voice still hoarse from the lack of hydration.

"Today?" he asks.

She nods, "I should probably check the weather"

"You don't need too its hot as fuck in here"

"Because i'm here" she says cashing in the cheap joke.

Noel finds a pillow at the end of the bed and throws it at her while she gets her phone. He starts talking about a tweet he found before he abruptly stops knowing that the girl next to him wasn't listening.

The look on her face is a mix of amusement yet fear before she starts laughing nervously.

"What?" he asks.

She shakes her head before handing him her phone to show him the number of texts Kelsey left her last night.

Noel's face showcases the same reaction that she had before handing her the phone back, "we already called it right? that she liked us together?"

Rose nods sitting up, "I mean yeah but-" she shakes her head not finishing the sentence.

"It's weird right?" she asks, wanting reassurance.

"Oh fuck yeah but it's just her so.. probably not?"

Rose chuckles before sighing, "she's 100% gonna be awkward now."

They laugh at the situation before Rose thinks, "dude what if she told Cody?"

He raises his eyebrows, "she's not a snitch."

Rose, who's trying to be serious can't help but laugh at the vocabulary.

"She probably thinks we're fucking" Rose says nervously picking at her nail polish.

He grins but doesn't say anything seeing that girl in front of him is obviously anxious about it.

"It'll be fine she didn't even see anything bad, plus you know she'd never ruin a chance at a relationship with you."