27| You've Gotta B Aggressive!

    I woke up on Sunday at 9, and only because Gracie was standing beside my bed shaking me to wake me up. Rude. I wasn't planning on getting up any earlier than 10 while on this trip. But apparently Gracie had other plans for me.

    "Come on!" Gracie whine. "I'm hungry and I need a companion!"

    I groaned into my pillow before flipping over and slowly sitting up. I rubbed my eyes and yawned. "Why can't you go across the hall and get Clay?"

    "He's already up!" Gracie said. "But I need a same-gender companion so that I don't go insane hanging out with a bunch of guys down there all by myself."

    "Ugh." I stood up and walked over to my suitcase to grab something to wear. "Fine. You win this time."

    Gracie clapped for herself and I made my way to the bathroom to change. I had my hair in wet french braids last night, and somehow they hadn't gotten messed up in my sleep. So I just left them in and changed into a my white swimsuit in case I wanted to swim later, with a pair of jean shorts over top.

    Gracie and I went downstairs and straight into the kitchen. Oh damn. I could smell the pancakes and bacon...

    "LOGAN!" Clay exclaimed, coming over and wrapping his arms around me in a hug that was way too tight. He finally pulled away, but there was a huge grin on his face as he walked over to the table and continued eating his breakfast.

    Noah was flipping blueberry pancakes on a skillet in the kitchen.

    He was making pancakes.

    Wow. He looked really good making pancakes.

    Did I just think that?

    I shook off my weird thoughts. The last thing I needed right now was more confusion when it came to Noah. So instead I just walked over and rested my arms on the counter across from him. "So you make pancakes?" I asked.

    "I do," Noah said, and then he leaned in a bit closer. "Don't tell the guys, but I only made them for you. I know how much a good blueberry pancake breakfast with bacon means to you."

    I smiled and shook my head. "Noah Locke, you are too good," I said, and then walked over to sit at the table with the others.

    The only people enjoying breakfast besides me and Gracie were Noah, Porkchop, Tanner, Charlie, and Chad. Apparently, a lot of the others were down at the beach already. I peered out of the window and saw a few of them playing sand volleyball. I definitely didn't want to do that. I needed a break from all things volleyball-related.

    "What's on the agenda for today?" Tanner asked.

    Noah walked over with a few plates of food, placing them in front of me and Gracie. He stayed standing beside my chair, keeping his hand placed on top of it. He was really close. Damn, he was close. I could literally smell his cologne, and it was something woody and citrusy all at once.

    JESUS. I NEED TO STOP.

    "I'm not sure," Noah said. "I was thinking we could head a bit further down to one of the bigger beaches for the majority of the day. There are some shops there, too."

    "Oh hell yeah," Chad said. "I'm in! Anything revolving around girls in bikinis! Am I right, Charles?"

    Charlie looked incredibly uncomfortable and gave a nervous smile. "Uh... sure," he said.

    Noah laughed. "Whatever, Chad," he said, shaking his head. He moved away from my chair to go shake Chad by his shoulders. "A ladies man, I'd say."

    "You know it, brother," Chad said, and Noah rolled his eyes.

    "Well I'm totally in for a beach slash shopping day," Gracie chimed in.

    "Me too," Tanner agreed. "Which means that, by default, Charlie is coming too!"

    Charlie just continued eating, but gave Tanner a thumbs up for approval. And then Noah turned to look at me.

    "What about you, Pierce?" He asked. "You coming or what?"

    I shook my head. "No, I'm gonna stay back. Porkchop and I are going to build that fort, aren't we?"

    "YAY!" Porkchop screamed. "Finally! Oh I am so excited for this, Logan! We are going to build the best freaking fort!"

    I laughed and looked over at Noah. He sent me a weak smile before saying, "Alright. Sounds good." He headed back over to his pancake-making station, but I couldn't help but feel weird about his sudden change in mood. It was almost as if he was upset that I wasn't going to the beach with the rest of them. That surely couldn't be it, could it?

    I shook off the feeling and finished my plate of pancakes. I have to say, they were delicious. I mean, they were super fluffy in the middle, yet crisp on the outer edges. Noah could make a damn good pancake.

    After everyone finished eating, most of them left and headed down to the beach to see if the others were on board with the beach-shopping plan. I stood up from the kitchen table and turned to face the only 2 people left besides me: Porkchop and Noah.

    "This is going to be the best fort ever!" Porkchop exclaimed.

    Noah smiled, but it wasn't his normal smile. It looked fake. "Cool," Noah said. "I'd love to stay, but I should go."

    "You could stay," I suggested.

    "A fort for 3!" Porkchop yelled, widening his eyes in excitement.

    "No, that's okay," Noah said. "I'd rather not." And then he brushed past me to make his way outside and towards the beach.

    I turned back to a slightly disappointed Porkchop. "That was weird," I muttered.

    Porkchop shrugged. "His loss. Do you want to collect the pillows or the blankets?"

✯ ✯ ✯

    "Porkchop!" I yelled. "You cannot use that lamp to hold the blankets up! That thing is probably like thousands of dollars!"

    Porkchop looked over at me and pouted. "But it's super heavy and it would be perfect..."

    "You know what else is super heavy and would be perfect?" I said, walking over and grabbing a couple of the books on the table. I went and placed them in the spot Porkchop was trying to put the lamp. "Ta-da!"

    He clapped his hands together. "You are a genius!" Porkchop yelled.

    I took a bow only to humor Porkchop, and he continued applauding me until I finished. Porkchop and I had been going strong at our fort making for nearly 2 hours now. Everyone else was still out at the beach as far as I knew, since Gracie texted me around 20 minutes ago to give me updates. I swear, she couldn't stop texting me with updates. Apparently, in her mind, she had to let me know what Noah was doing every 5 seconds.

I decided to check my phone while Porkchop ran downstairs to grab a few more blankets.

Gracie: Ahh! Noah is literally so upset.
Gracie: Logan, I swear. Literally even TANNER came up to me and pointed out how upset he is that you're not here.
Gracie: Ooh, he's mad, too.
Gracie: OMG. He is literally flirting with some random chick on the beach. That's how mad he is.

I rolled my eyes and set my phone in my pocket. So what did I care if Noah was flirting with some beach bimbo? I didn't even like him like that, and there was no way he liked me like that either. We were just friends now, and he could be mad all he wanted.

Porkchop came upstairs  holding a few more blankets. "It's almost finished!" He exclaimed. "These are for the inside. Did you get the pillows set up?"

I nodded. "Course I did," I said. "We are going to be in maximum comfort."

Porkchop grinned and then squatted down to place the blankets in the fort. He stood back up and suddenly there was a loud boom of thunder. I turned to the window and realized that it was lightly raining out. Huh. How did I not notice that?

Porkchop jumped at the sound of the thunder. "NO!" He yelled, and then immediately retreated into the fort. I chuckled a little, but then went and bent down to peer into the fort where Porkchop was now laying under a blanket.

"You scared of thunder?" I asked, and I saw his head bob up and down.

"It's just so loud."

I sighed and crawled into the fort, pulling the other blanket over me and leaning up against the wall of pillows I created. Porkchop sat up beside me. "Well, we're in a fort now. And guess what?" I said. "It's in Florida. A Florida fort!"

His face turned from fear to complete happiness in like 2 seconds. "You're right!" He exclaimed. "This is a Florida fort! How sick is that?"

I laughed. "Pretty sick," I agreed. I reached for the remote to turn on the TV that we were somehow able to trap in the fort. I switched it on and started looking through movies.

"THAT ONE!" Porkchop yelled, pointing at the screen to the movie 10 Things I Hate About You. "That one is my all time favorite. We have to watch it, Logan. It'll be even better in this fort!"

I groaned, but complied. There literally was no way to say no to Porkchop. He was too innocent for his own good. The movie started, and Porkchop cozied up beside me. He looked so at peace. It was kind of hilarious how such a big guy could be so happy because of a little fort.

✯ ✯ ✯

"GOD!" Porkchop yelled in a whiny voice. "It is so obvious that they should be together!"

I shrugged. "She's independent," I said. "Maybe she just doesn't want a relationship."

Porkchop scoffed. "She doesn't want a relationship with him? I mean, come on! He is the hottest guy ever! Just look at that jawline!"

I pulled out my phone which buzzed once again. Another text from Gracie. Apparently, everyone had decided to head to the mall when the rain started, and she still felt the need to update me on literally everything.

Gracie: He invited the bimbo to the mall. He has literally not left her side either.

I flipped my phone over, ignoring the text. It didn't bother me. Not one bit.

"Kat just needs to let her guard down!" Porkchop exclaimed.

"Or she just doesn't need a relationship," I argued once again. And then my phone buzzed one more time, but I ignored the urge to flip it over and see what Gracie texted me.

"Everyone needs love, Logan," Porkchop said. "Patrick may not be her favorite, but he clearly cares about her. And she just needs to let him in."

My phone buzzed again and my jaw clenched. I flipped it over to see the texts.

Gracie: Logan.
Gracie: Noah literally KISSED her. He just did that. He kissed that stupid blonde bimbo and he's still doing it! EW!

I felt my free hand clench up into a tight fist. But why? I wasn't mad. Was I?

"Woah," Porkchop said, and I turned to realize that he had seen the text Gracie sent me. "Noah kissed some random girl?"

"Yup," I said, clicking my phone off and setting it on the ground beside me.

"That fucking sucks."

"Why should it suck?" I asked. "I certainly don't care."

Porkchop sat up a bit more and reached for the remote to pause the movie. He moved to sit in front of me and sighed. "I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, Logan, but even I am not blind," he said. "You guys are like the real life Kat and Patrick from 10 Things I Hate About You!"

I rolled my eyes. "Please—"

He held up his hand, telling me to stop talking. "You 2 belong together, but you both make so many mistakes that push you away from each other!" He exclaimed. "Like I said, Kat needs to be able to open up fully to Patrick, but she's too stubborn. And Patrick is too stubborn in his own way, but it is so obvious that he cares! They belong together, Logan."

I groaned and laid my head back against the pillows. "Porkchop, why do you suddenly start being kind of smart?"

He shrugged. "Hey, I have my moments," he said. "How do you think I'm in AP Physics?"

"Clay, you're in AP Physics because you always answer B, and somehow you get enough to pass the tests," I said.

"That's true," Porkchop agreed. "But do you wanna know why I pick B, Logan?"

I groaned. "Sure."

"Because..." he drawled. "You've gotta B AGGRESSIVE!" He yelled, and then laughed. I just rolled my eyes. Of course he would say something like that. "Let's get back to you and Noah."

"Let's not."

Porkchop waved his finger at me, "No, no, no. We are going to discuss this because it must be discussed."

"It really doesn't," I argued. "Porkchop, Noah and I are friends. It shouldn't bother me that he chooses to make out with some stupid Florida bitch he doesn't even know."

"But it clearly bothers you," Porkchop pointed out. "Logan, I don't know if you know... but I am a hopeless romantic."

Oh, I know, I thought. I didn't just know because of his love for romantic comedies or cute gestures like building forts. I knew it because of his homecoming proposal to Gracie a year ago. He really went all out. He decorated the volleyball court with string lights and left a trail of rose petals from her classroom to the court. He spelled out "Hoco" in red roses, too. He was nothing if not a hopeless romantic.

"So I am fully qualified to be able to tell when 2 people are meant to be. Or when they have some serious chemistry," he continued. "And I saw you 2 at camp, and I've seen you 2 interact now. Not to mention what I saw yesterday playing hide and seek..."

"You noticed that?"

"Please! Of course I did! Noah's hand was all up in your business!" Porkchop exclaimed and I facepalmed myself. "He is so into you. And you're into him."

I couldn't help but think that Porkchop was right. I mean, I had felt so angry at Noah just reading the texts Gracie was sending me when I shouldn't have. Everyone's been telling me that there is something between us, and maybe they're right. I can't deny that I felt something when Noah jumped in that closet with me last night. There was some sort of... spark.

"If he was into me, then why would he go off and kiss some random girl today?" I asked, giving into the fact that I liked Noah.

Damn. I liked Noah. I actually liked him. As in, I didn't despise him or want to kill him. My usual instinct to punch him in the face when he came near me was replaced with some desire to be closer to him.

"Duh, it's so obvious!" Porkchop exclaimed. "He's upset that you didn't want to go to the beach."

So he was acting weird after I told him that I was planning on staying back with Porkchop. "So what are you saying?"

Porkchop chuckled. "Logan, Logan, Logan..." he drawled. "Noah clearly wanted to spend time with you today. You said you weren't going, he got upset, and then he took out his anger by kissing some random beach chick."

I groaned and put my head in my hands. There was no way this could be real, but somehow I believed Porkchop. And I was starting to believe that maybe Noah and I did have chemistry. Clearly there was something between us that I couldn't quite explain.

"So what do I do about it?" I asked, lifting my head up.

A wide grin spread across Porkchop's face. "There's only one thing to do," he said, reaching and grabbing me by my shoulders. "BE AGGRESSIVE!"

✯ ✯ ✯

Hehehe... something's brewing!!!

First of all, Porkchop is the ultimate romantic. And dang, he is wise when he needs to be. Never underestimate the power of Porkchop. NEVER. He is too good.

Second, oooooooooooh Logan admits she likes Noah. Noah obviously likes Logan, and we will get the chance to explore his point of view on her later on. Don't you worry. This is gonna be good folks.

However I must remain EVILLLL by making you wait for the moment Logan and Noah finally get together. Will it be next chapter? Perhaps the chapter after that? Only I KNOW. Muahahaha.

Okay sorry, I got caught up. Byeee.

BABY J💛