I know that would throw a lot of people off. Making them think he's just some player. Believe me, I've thought about it. A lot. Why should I hold out for Noah when he hasn’t been holding out for me?
But I think that if I had any sort of sexual confidence, maybe I would be doing the same thing. Maybe I would be out on the prowl, hunting down my next lover instead of studying with Sammy Hammy. I can’t be jealous of Noah’s sexual conquests. Besides, I could have been doing the same thing.
I groan. “There's nothing here, Noah,” I say, spinning around. He's holding up a Stormtrooper costume. “No,” I say. “We’ve already been Han Solo and Chewbacca.”
“But you could wear some Princess Leia bondage getup.”
I roll my eyes. I guess it would make up for the fact that I was the one dressed as Chewbacca. I was head to toe fur that year. No wonder I can't get a boyfriend. “I always wear the least appealing half of our duet.”
“That's not true,” Noah says, laughing.
“Yes, it is. You're always the cool one. I'm always the awkward half.”
“Like when?”
“Well, you got to be the alien and I was the UFO,” I say back at him.
He crosses his arms, smirking. His shoulders are wide and his muscles tense, and my belly flip-flops. Noah has always been fit, but the bicep situation ever since he joined the Navy is next level. And it is working. Well.
“If I remember correctly, you were Red Riding Hood and I was the Wolf,” he says.
“Yeah, but we were in fourth grade, and I was in a cape that went down to my ankles. Now, I could be a sexy Red Riding Hood.”
“A sexy version of Red Riding Hood?” he asks, laughing. “I can’t really imagine you in a sexy Halloween costume, Lucy.”
I scoff. “What's that supposed to mean? I could totally pull off a sexy Halloween costume.”
“I don't know. I prefer you to be less on the nose about how pretty you are.”
I laugh. “Oh, you think I'm pretty now?” I say, patting my heart.
“You know you're beautiful,” he says, “and besides, you were the chick in our chick magnet costume.”
“But I was dressed up like a chicken. Not sexy,” I say.
He laughs. “Fair enough.”
“Well, what about a video game costume?” I suggest. “We could be Tim and Tom Nook from Animal Crossing.”
Noah looks at me perplexed. “I have no idea what you're talking about.”
I smile. “How long were you on that boat exactly?”
“Too long,” he says. “Being in the Navy was always my dream but I don’t know anymore. Dreams change.”
I twist my long hair into a bun. “For some people, I guess.”
“Your dream never has changed, has it, Luce?”
I shake my head. “Nope. Though if I don't pass this test, I'm not sure I'm going to be the nurse I always imagined. Hey, speaking of video games, what about Mario and Luigi?”
“I thought you wanted a sexy costume?” Noah chuckles. “Maybe we return to an old school costume like the one we wore as kids?”
I cringe. “I don’t know. Our middle school costumes were rough. Do you remember when we tried to pull off bacon and eggs?”
He laughs. “And the following year we went with milk and cookies. We were determined to get the food items to work.”
I shake my head. “They never really hit though, did they?”
Noah laughs. “I think we really hit our stride in high school,” he says.
I can’t stop laughing. “Agreed. The Wayne's World costumes were my favorite, not to mention the Ghostbusters.”
Noah shakes his head. “No way. Senior year, Goose and Maverick. That's where it was at.”
I smile, warm fuzzy feelings in my tummy, and it's not just because of this delicious pumpkin spice latte. It's because the shared history I have with Noah means everything to me. I grew up with my aunt after my parents passed away when I was little. But Noah was my family. He was my one sure thing. Steady, always there for me.
“What?” he says. “You look upset all of a sudden. I thought you loved Top Gun.”
“No,” I say, “I was just thinking about how much I care about you and our friendship.”
“I care about our friendship too, Lucy.”
I smile. “Thanks, Noah. I missed you last year.”
“I'm here now,” he says. He gives my shoulders a squeeze. “Now we can stand here and be sentimental or we can focus. I'm going to channel a costume that's an actual option.”
He gives me a smile that I’ve seen a million times before but this one, damn, it gets me in all the right places. My insides melt and I want to shout how I feel. I want to be Natalia, able to argue her way into Noah’s pants. But I’m not her and never have been and right now we are in Costume Corner and it’s time to get a Halloween getup with my one and only best friend.
“Okay. I can focus,” I tell him, smiling right back. “How about…” I pull out a Stranger Things ensemble. “This?”
“It's a little overdone, isn't it?” he asks.
I nod. “Agreed. We just need something a little bit more creative, like when we were Christopher Robin and Winnie the Pooh. That was a good costume.”
Noah smiles. “Our first costume.”
“I love that you loved that book so unabashedly,” I say to him. “Most third grade boys wouldn't be so proud of the fact that they were imaginary friends with Christopher Robin.”
“Yes, but as we well know,” Noah says, “I wasn’t most third grade boys.”
“You weren’t, were you?” Sighing I continue to scan the racks. A flapper costume. A Cookie Monster. A cheetah. None of it gives me good vibes.
“So what's it going to be?” he asks. “There are honestly hardly any options.”
I groan. “I’m sorry we came so late. I should have made it a bigger priority. I've just been so stressed about school.”
“Don't apologize,” Noah says, understanding where I'm coming from. “I’m so proud of you, Lucy. You’re going to be an actual nurse. It’s incredible.”
“Speaking of… what about this?” I pull out a nurse costume and doctor scrubs. “We could be a nurse and a doctor?”
“Me, a doctor?” He chuckles. “I don't think so. Besides, you can't wear that.”
I laugh. “Why not?”
He smiles. “Because, Lucy, that is not just a sexy Halloween costume. It's a trashy one. No way.”
“Are you telling me what I can and cannot wear?”
“Maybe,” he says. “But I mean it.”
Irritated at the statement, I bite my bottom lip. “I’m going to try it on,” I say, lifting my eyes and handing him my half-filled coffee cup. “Just give me a sec.”
I carry the costume toward the dressing room knowing that if I want Noah to notice me, I have to turn it up a notch.
Maybe a sexy Halloween costume is just the ticket.
Chapter Three