Page 17 of The Breaking Pointe

sensitive little life

COLTON

Driving to Noelle’s house gave her a sure amount of time to educate me on who Lauren is, and what position she plays in her life. Roommate would be a very small title that sits amongst larger titles like best friend or platonic soulmate. Tony, her boyfriend, doesn’t play such a notable role, however he’s an annoying older brother type who used to be in a frat. Despite such odd traits, he and Lauren despise her past choices, which means I have a fifty-fifty chance of making a decent impression—and I can’t buy them drinks this time. The worst part of making the impression good is knowing that the ones closest to you are the ones who let you know your significant other is actually the hugest loser you’ve ever met. And in the world of women, you can multiply that by ten.

I’m not expecting Lauren to love me. Hell, she doesn’t have to like me, either, but if we could have mutual respect, I’d take that as an okay. But based on the twenty minutes of bragging

that Noelle did during our drive to her place, Lauren isn’t just anybody. She means a lot to her and plays an essential role in her staying in New York.

Which serves a purpose for me, as well.

“Okay, so Tony isn’t my favorite. He’s cool, but…you’ll see.”

Noelle shakes her head”

Ignore him. He doesn’t live here, but if nobody told you that, you would never know,”

she says, seemingly bothered by that as she unlocks the door.

I follow her inside, hanging closely behind as the door opens and she leads us in. The room is potent with the smell of chicken marsala. It smells good, too. There is light music playing and chatter commencing between two people. Lauren stands at the table, plating food. Tony paces around, shirtless, as he drinks a beer.

“Good, you’re back, Noelle. With company, I see,”

Lauren says, sizing me up”

Hi, Colton.”

She forms a small smile, continuing to put food on each plate as she takes a second to look at us.

“Hey, yeah—uh, this is Colton. Colton, meet Lauren, and that’s her boyfriend, Tony,”

Noelle says, looking up at me as she gestures to both of them.

I give a small wave, nodding”

Nice to meet you guys.”

“Cool, so there’s enough for everyone. Colton, get ready to

eat,”

Lauren says, sounding similar to my mother.

Noelle giggles quietly and looks up at me”

Here, let me hang your jacket up,”

she says, allowing me to remove it before she takes it.

“Yeah, man, get comfortable,”

Tony says, approaching us as he holds out his hand for me to shake.

I watch his body language, looking inviting but also performa- tive. I hold my hand out anyhow, linking it with his and shaking

it firmly. His lacked seriousness.

I saw his eyes avert themselves to my biceps, looking my body up and down almost.

“Damn, dude, you’re even more insanely in shape up close.”

He lets out some laughter.

Noelle rolls her eyes and says, “He’s a boxer. He works out. Something you never do.”

I half-smile, huffing out a forced laugh”

Just a little, nothing crazy.”

Tony looks at Noelle and begins to laugh”

Hey, man, thanks for the drinks that night, too. That was awesome,”

he says, slapping my arm, but then glaring at the firmness.

“I told you. You do have a type.”

He raises his beer to Noelle as he slowly walks away.

“Thank you, Tony. Your commentary is always exceptional,”

Noelle says speedily, turning crimson in embarrassment.

Her hand grabs hold of mine, leading me down the hallway to reach the bedroom that sits at the end. She pushes the door open, pulling me in swiftly so that she can close the door once again. As we enter, I’m able to take a good look around the room. Framed pictures of Audrey Hepburn. Different white lights dangling from the corners of the ceiling. Even a vanity—which in my opinion solidifies the theme. Everything is perfectly placed in its assigned spot. Neat. Clean.

She hangs my jacket on a hook that is nailed to the back of her door then takes her jacket off, hanging it up as well.

“Not gonna lie, I’m a little bit intimidated by your condo.”

She smiles a little as she begins to take her shoes off”

It makes all this seem like nothing.”

She laughs softly.

I smile”

I wouldn’t think that at all. Having roommates— sharing? It’s nice. My condo? Pretty lonely.”

She purses her lips before smiling and rolling her eyes”

Lis- ten, just gimme a few minutes to change. Hang out, take your shoes off, maybe?”

she suggests, picking bobby pins from her bun.

I nod as she smiles before going into what seems to be a walk- in closet. Doing as told, I shove my shoes off each foot, neatly pushing them to the side before walking to the bed and sitting on the edge. I begin to rub my hands together softly, looking around more. Gazing to my side, I see her nightstand. It’s occupied by jewelry, a candle, and some change. There’s also a framed picture, but it’s facing down. I’m normally pretty great at minding my business. You kind of learn it by default when you are the prime target for being picked on.

But with this, I’m genuinely curious. It’s facing down, so maybe it’s supposed to stay like that? Or maybe it accidentally fell. Who’s in the picture?

I turn my head to glance at the closet, seeing that she is still in there, hearing her shuffling around with drawers.

A little peek wouldn’t hurt, right?

Quickly, I lift the frame, taking a look at what is beneath it. Once I can make it out, I wish I would’ve let myself stay curious. In the picture is Noelle and Daniel, hugged up in what looks to be a black-and-white studio kind of thing. To add insult to

injury, they are kissing.

“Okay, I think I’m good!”

I hear Noelle call out, her footsteps making their way to me.

Softly, yet abruptly, I drop the frame back down, turning my body toward her.

“Ready?”

she asks, now standing in the doorway of the closet, grinning.

“Uh—yeah. Yeah, let’s go,”

I say, now standing up.

My stomach is in my ass at this point, but I’m still gonna pretend that I didn’t see that. A million questions are running through my brain, yet it really could just be nothing at all. After all, that is her ex.

But even still, after she told me all those things earlier, I can’t seem to fathom how someone like him could have been with someone like her. Or even equate to her level. From the sounds of it, the relationship wasn’t something to look up to. Instead, it’s doomed. Hence me being here with her, I would assume.

We go back to the dining room where Lauren has plated everyone’s meal and paired it with champagne. Everything looks delicious but tastes even more so. I even found it kind of nice how she gave Tony and me the big portions, while she and Noelle had regular-sized ones.

And of course, Noelle has her variation of chicken that isn’t actually chicken at all. It looks pretty questionable in my opinion, but she didn’t bat an eye. She even tried to give me a few bites— to which I immediately declined—but the gesture was so cute that I almost regret not doing so.

After dinner, while all of us clean the table and ready ourselves for a nice movie, conversation is ongoing and almost similar to a debate. I mostly listen, but it’s interesting to see Lauren be such an openly opinionated person. Noelle doesn’t agree with everything, yet it remains a civil, genuine adult conversation. They go back and forth with each other with elegance and respect—questioning each other, but not in a filthy, intolerant way.

Tony brings up the fact that the prices of things are too much. Or how he doesn’t like that certain people could live in such nice areas and be allowed to ruin them. Not holding back, just fully going in, even with Lauren disagreeing. With the political topics,

Noelle seems to be more passionate. She sounds like she means what she says when it comes to poverty or businesses going into the ground because of the economy, or anything related to the matter.

I thrive off that passion, and she has no idea.

Lauren, on the other hand, isn’t holding back when she speaks to Tony. It’s making for mild entertainment after our brief cleaning intermission.

“That’s because you’re a child of money,”

she comments, or, “You could never last a day in poverty.”

And he responds with a hand wave or by saying, “Yeah, yeah. We get it.”

It’s almost hard not to tense up by listening to his odd disinterest in the significance of it all.

They are relentless with each other. Like an old married couple. A vibe you could envy—if you are looking for competition with a partner, I guess.

Noelle chimes in here and there, agreeing with Lauren or adding on. She says, “They’re all money machines. Taxes are just a cash grab at this point. We have had potholes in front of the house for almost two years.”

I have to laugh.

They are conversing with one another in the way that sisters do. Honest. I feel normal, for once in a long time. Nobody is too high on their horse to accept how you feel around them. That, and it’s pretty attractive to see Noelle speak her mind. It could be the champagne, but it doesn’t matter. It’s nothing short of appealing.

She talks more and more as the mingling ensues. Everyone kind of does. Lauren tells me about her job as a vet technician. She relentlessly expresses her interest in that. Then Tony, who’s a statistical analyst. That would explain his sense of sarcasm

and lackluster personality.

It seemed like two movies went by like lightning. Somehow, I found myself a glass of champagne and two beers in. Not a lot. But based on the loose feeling in my body, it’s enough to have me buzzed, and probably warrants me walking home rather than driving.

Lauren is getting tired and confidently announces as such while the movie comes to a close. Tony is practically falling asleep in his seat. After a few minutes of small advances from Lauren, Tony gives up the fight and decides to go to the bedroom, her following after him not too long afterward.

“I’ll clean up more in the morning. You guys just hang out until whenever. I’m exhausted,”

she says, kissing Noelle’s temple and waving to me before walking down the hallway.

Now we are alone.

Noelle chugs the last bit of champagne that is in her glass, tilting her head back to get it all down. She then sets it on the table, bringing her knees to her chest, fitting her entire little body in the chair as she hugs her legs. Resting her chin on her knees, she smiles at me with glassy eyes.

“And then there were just the two of us…”

She sighs pleasantly”

Not gonna lie, that movie makes me emotional,”

she says, giggling quietly.

“Homeward Bound is like—one of the saddest movies known to man. Of course it does,”

I say in a mellow tone, watching her cheeks tighten and spring into a reddened color.

“My parents used to play it for me all the time, and it still affects me like it’s the first time. They said it made sense for adopted kids.”

She laughs softly.

My brows crinkle”

You’re adopted?”

It’s not that it’s a bad thing. I guess I didn’t expect that to

come out of her mouth, though.

“Yeah, but don’t ask me about my birth parents, because I have no idea who they are. My parents got me as an infant,”

she explains, waving a hand.

“I’ll hold all questions, then.”

I lick my lips, puffing out a small bit of laughter.

She scoots her body closer to mine, using my leg to lift herself up to my face and softly attach her lips to my cheek, sitting down afterward. If it were up to me, I would kiss her right now.

Hold her. Any reason I can think of to have more of a connection with her right now.

“What about your dad? I know your mom is around, but you haven’t mentioned him,”

she asks, still looking up at me.

“He’s not around,”

I say, feeling a coldness wash over my insides.

“Is he here in New York?”

she almost mumbles.

“He passed away.”

I slowly shake my head, assuring her”

Oh…I’m so sorry…”

Her head raises, and her mannerisms

become more alert”

I didn’t mean to change the vibes, I—”

“It’s okay, Noelle. It’s fine. My mom is a gem. She’s all I need.

Vibes are good.”

I smile, kissing her forehead and lingering for a second. I slide her body to the edge of the couch, finding that this is probably my warning to leave before I make things even more awkward.

Or before she begins to ask me more questions about that wretched man.

“I’m making you uncomfortable, aren’t I? You don’t have to leave…”

“It’s a little late, sweetheart. I don’t want to keep you up forever.”

I clear my throat between my words, fixing my clothes as I prepare to stand up.

“Well, wait—Colton.”

She grabs my sleeve to hold me in place”

You’re allowed to keep me up for as long as you want to. I wouldn’t mind you being the reason I’m a little bit sleepy tomorrow,”

she says, loosening her grip on me”

And you had a few drinks. That’s not very safe,”

she continues, listing reasons I should probably forget about going anywhere”

So stay,”

she says, finalizing her decision.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

I ask, only trying to solidify the deal.

“I’m serious,”

she states.

Reaching my hand out, I grab onto her waist, pulling her into my lap. My eyes slowly work their way up her body until I’m able to lock my eyes with hers.

The music continues to play in the background with different previews to movie options on the TV, slowly fading into the next. There is a weird tension between us, but the pressure is one- sided. She is nervous, I can tell. I just can’t figure out why. Or if it’s okay to take any next steps.

“So,”

I say, squeezing her waist softly, still looking up at her”

Hm?” she hums.

“Elle…can I call you Elle?”

I whisper shyly, taking in every twinkle in her beaming, green eyes.

She nods, looking sleepy and ready to rest her head on my chest.

“So Elle…how long are we gonna pretend like what happened, never happened?”

I quietly jest, holding some seriousness to the question.

“Well, actually, I dunno.”

She turns her eyes away now, tucking her hair behind her ears”

I honestly didn’t think you would take me seriously. I wasn’t sure what this was gonna be. I’m not even sure if I know what I want,”

she admits”

Or if it’s

safe to want you…”

Kinda brutal, but who am I to say what she needs. I just wanna be what she needs. For a little while, at least. My brain pokes me at her last sentence though, that there is something else going on.

“Noelle,”

I chuckle softly, “I haven’t stopped thinking about you. You pitched a tent in my mind, and I can’t get you out.”

She throws her head back, letting out a light but joyous laugh followed by a sigh, making me smile as I watch her, holding onto her body. It’s like she doesn’t care about gravity or anything else. Her hand moves to the sides of my neck, holding onto me as she sits on my lap. As her laugh fizzles out, she kisses my jawline softly, smiling widely now. Her amusement is wonderful. But I can’t help but wonder how she feels, if she feels the same. I mean, truly. A lot of people can say whatever they want and still not mean a damn thing.

“Did you think about me at all?”

I whisper as she kisses my cheek now, right near my ear.

“I think about you too much,”

she breathes out softly, running a few fingers through my hair, turning my head to face her now.

Our lips brush together softly as she lingers there.

“I just want to know that you’re feeling what I’m feeling…”

I continue to speak quietly”

So badly—”

Before I could go on, she shuts me up. Her hand holds my head securely, ensuring that I can’t escape her lips. But I don’t want to. Our lips begin to move in sync with each other, like they’ve been familiarized with every move we are going to make next. Perfectly synchronized with one another.

My nose fills with the smell of strawberries as I taste her lips, deepening the kiss. It’s tender. Delicate. I’ve missed it so much. I don’t think I even knew I wanted this, this badly until this

moment.

It’s the warm, fuzzy feeling that has me locked in. Her fingers still exploring my hair. She’s so effortlessly sensual and fiery.

Her lips begin to slowly part from mine. I don’t want it to end. My lips follow hers, hesitant to pull away, but letting her go anyway. She then rests her head on my chest, leaning into me. Wrapping my arms around her, I lean back in my chair, holding her. I could hold her all night. And I think I will.