Slight editing completed March 2020 to bring this installment in line with the rest of the series...
...
Noah rested his elbows in the warm sand, buried his feet, closed his eyes. He flopped his head back so that he could feel the full force of the sun on his face; relaxed. He stayed that way for a few minutes, enjoying the sound of the waves and the distant laughs and screams of people frolicking in the cool Pacific Ocean.
Eventually he sat up; placed his sunglasses back on; smiled the moment he caught sight of Luke. The blonde just missed a knock from a rather large wave by ducking quickly under it. Whenever Luke emerged from under the frothy water he would shake his head and use both his hands to push the hair back out of his eyes. It was incredibly sexy; Noah couldn't help but notice how tanned Luke was after a month in LA. It suited him, highlighting his hair and turning the hazel in his eyes almost red. Luke smiled when he caught Noah watching him; waved at Noah. Noah could definitely get used to the surfer-boy look! He lifted an arm to wave quickly back.
It was unbelievable how happy he was! When he thought back on all those empty months, when moments like these were just a dream, he could hardly believe his good fortune. Now that he knew how easily it could all be lost, he was going to enjoy and savor every moment of it. He would never make the mistake of taking anything for granted again.
He watched as Luke bounced his way out of the surf; ran up the sand bank towards him.
"The water's amazing!" Luke said breathlessly, collapsing next to Noah; lying back on his towel, letting the sun do the drying.
Noah turned on his side to face Luke; rested on his elbow; head in his hand. He studied the sparkling water droplets as they pooled in Luke's bellybutton; slid down his sides and, at that moment, couldn't help but wish he was one of them. Luke's stomach lifted up and down as he caught his breath back. He raised his left arm up and laid it across his eyes to block out even more of the bright sunlight, his fingers twitching every so often.
"I love you..." Noah said softly, almost to himself.
"Hmm?" Luke responded, lifting his arm; shading his eyes with his hand; squinting at Noah in such an adorable way it made Noah laugh.
"I love you," he said again; leaned in to kiss Luke on his salty lips.
"Me too…" Luke's voice was slightly throaty from the seawater. It made Noah want to jump him right there in full view of the public. "I love me too..." Luke grinned cheekily at Noah; winked.
Noah laughed; kissed him again. "Are you happy?" he asked when he could.
Luke studied him for a moment; pushed himself up on his elbows to meet Noah in a bottomless kiss so filled with intensity, it almost knocked Noah back into the sand. When Luke pulled back, he lifted Noah's sunglasses and said, "More than I ever thought possible!"
Noah traced the outline of Luke's jaw with his index finger for a while; said with sadness, "I just wish you didn't have to go…"
Before he could finish, Luke put his hand over Noah's mouth and said, "Oh, no you don't! We're not talking about that today! Today we have fun, remember? That was the deal!"
"Yes it was," Noah smiled, lifting the mood, "and do you know what else was part of that deal?"
"What?"
"Ice-cream! You promised me one!" Noah pouted his lips.
"You big baby!" Luke smirked.
...
"If only every Sunday could be like this one," mused Luke, as they looked out over the balcony at the view of the beach; soaked in the cool breeze blowing off the water.
Noah removed the spoon; mumbled with a mouth full of strawberry ice-cream, "No reason they can't be... once you've moved here for good that is."
"Promise?"
"What?"
"Promise that once I'm officially living here… with you…" and he smiled at that, "… we will do this every single Sunday!"
"Great idea Snyder, but what if it rains?"
"Details! Details! Okay then… every single sunny Sunday?"
They glowed at each other.
"I promise!" Noah replied.
"I'm going to hold you to that, you know?"
Noah reached across the table to take hold of Luke's hand. "So long as I'm spending days with you, I don't really care what we do."
"Me neither. Maybe we are promising the wrong thing then…"
Noah gave him a quizzical look, "What do you mean?"
"Maybe we should rather be promising to spend every Sunday together?"
Noah could feel himself melting at that. "That may just be the best idea you've ever had!"
"Deal then?"
"Deal!"
They shook on it; even though they knew it was impossible. Then sat in silence for a while. Noah couldn't take his eyes off Luke, who was scanning the horizon; his lips lifting slightly at the corners. "God, Luke, but you take my breath away..."
Luke squeezed Noah's hand; held his stare seductively as he took a sip from his chocolate milkshake.
...
Luke had Noah wedged up against the edge of the pier, their legs twisted together. They were completely oblivious to the crowd; to the high pitched tune playing from the merry-go-ride and to the general fairground noises going on all around them. As far as they were concerned, the world consisted of just the two of them. Luke felt like he could never get close enough… never get enough of Noah. Noah's hands had found their way under his shirt and were in the process of pressing indentations into his back. Their kisses were searing with heat and energy. He felt giddy, like a child on Christmas day.
He had been in love with Noah before but now… now it was like he was in love with Noah; on some cosmic plane he could never hope to understand. They were so much a part of each other, so connected. He opened his eyes for a brief second; spotted something in the corner that made him move and pull Noah by the hand after him.
"Hey," Noah complained at the sudden lack of contact, "where are you taking me?"
Laughing out loud, Luke turned and attacked him in another probing kiss, while at the same time steering him backward until they fell through the curtain of a photo booth.
"You're kidding, right?" Noah asked when he realized where they were, raising his eyebrow in that way that drove Luke crazy.
Luke just grinned at him; quickly drew the curtain, deposited some coins in the slot and pushed Noah down by his shoulders to sit on the stool. Luke launched himself at Noah; wrapped both arms around Noah's neck; lost himself once more in their kisses and their laughter. The booth lit up six times, immortalizing the moment.
...
"Luke! Stop! Stop right now! I mean it!"
"Come on, Noah! For me?" Luke pleaded, as he dragged a reluctant Noah closer to his intended destination.
"I told you! I don't do roller-coasters!"
Luke stopped; stepped back; surveying Noah critically with hands on his hips. "You know, I can't believe you once thought you'd make a good soldier! You're really a bit of a wimp!"
"Hey, low blow, Snyder!"
"Okay. What do I have to go to get you to ride the roller-coaster with me?"
"Hmmm," Noah contemplated; eyebrow quirking, "does this mean I can ask for anything?"
"Anything," and then, as Noah moved excitedly forward, "within reason!" Luke held Noah back briefly by placing a hand on his chest, giving him a playful look of warning.
Noah leaned in; whispered softly in Luke's ear. Luke's eyebrows arch up; eyes widen, "Well! I never knew you had such a dirty mind, Mayer! I'm quite shocked!"
Noah laughed out loud.
"Okay then, done!" Luke proclaimed and he stuck out his hand so that they could shake on it. "Although I think I might enjoy that more than you!"
"Cheeky!" Noah responded, smacking Luke once on the behind as they headed toward the dreaded roller-coaster.
"Great! We get to have the front." Luke looked like the cat that got the cream.
"Yeah, great..." Was Noah's sarcastic response.
As the roller-coaster started its long and slow ascent to the top, Luke looked over at Noah; smiled at how nervous he was. It was the cutest thing! He reached out; placed his hand over Noah's. His own hands were turning white from holding on so tightly. "It's okay, babe! I'm here! It will be fun!"
"You just keep telling yourself that, Luke." he replied. As the roller-coaster zoomed noisily down the other side, Luke heard him yell, "I DON'T LIKE ROLLER-COASTERS!"
...
Darkness had fallen by the time they exited the ride, and the pier was all lit up in multicolored lights. Noah was looking and obviously feeling a little green.
"Poor baby…" Luke said, placing an arm around his shoulder as they made their way back down the pier.
"I'm sure my payment will be worth it!" Noah winked sideways at him.
"Really sure of yourself all of a sudden, Mayer," Luke exclaimed, "are you sure you are the same Noah Mayer I took on the roller-coaster just a few minutes ago?"
Noah punched him playfully in the shoulder and they both laughed together, locking hands.
They were so focused on each other, they accidentally knocked into a large African American man. For a second, it seemed to Luke that Noah might know him. The other man looked worried, but Noah just politely apologized and they moved on.
"You know that guy?" Luke asked, looking back.
"I don't think so," he said with a shrug. "Hey, are you hungry?"
"Starving!"
"Well I seem to remember once promising you a hot-dog in LA."
"Actually you did!"
"Fancy one now?"
"Sure," Luke leaned up to kiss him softly on the cheek, suddenly remembering a goodbye that, at the time, could have been so final.
...
Luke realized just how hungry they both were after they devoured three hot-dogs each. They were delicious.
"Ready to go home?" he asked, as they both sat on the edge of the pier. He looked over at Noah when he didn't get a response; noted the distinct look of gloom on his face. "Okay?" He questioned softly, reaching out and rubbing Noah's arm.
"I'm scared to go home…" Noah whispered, sighed deeply, letting out a shuddered breath.
"Scared?"
"I don't want this day to end. I don't want you to go."
Tears were gathering in the corners of Noah's eyes. The sight made Luke shiver. He reached an arm around Noah; snuggled into his warmth. They sat swallowed by the night and the sounds of the fairground rides.
"I thought we agreed not to think about this today…" Luke said into Noah's shirt.
"I'm sorry. I can't help it. I don't know how I'm going to do this. I can't do this again..."
"Hey, hey, hey!" Luke placated, grabbing hold of Noah by his hands. Luke stared at him for a while before saying, "You know, back before your accident? Neither of us would have believed that we could just… break like we did."
"No."
"What I mean is, neither of us wanted it to happen."
"It was like fate." Noah contributed.
"Yes, exactly! The whole thing, all the events leading up to it, they all seemed to happen outside of our control. And that's why…" he hooked his eyes on Noah's; ran a hand down his cheek, "…that's why I think they were meant to happen. Everything we went through hurt… yes… it did hurt, a lot. But… but it's like we needed to go through it, you know? In order for us to get here… So that we could learn how to be together…"
Noah nodded; touched his forehead to Luke's.
"And right now? Right now in this moment? I just want to take you home... I want to show you how much I love you and… and I want you to know that… that this is it, Noah!" He caught a single tear as it rolled down Noah's face. "This is all that matters. Whether we are in the same town or not. We are together! In every sense. And we will find a way to work out the rest. I want you more than I've ever wanted anyone or anything in my life."
Noah kissed him quickly; drew him into a strong hug before replying, "Same here."