A squeal of excitement

As Noah turned his chair around, he pulled on Laila's arm, causing her to lose her balance and land on his lap. With wide eyes Laila looked at the cheeky man in front of her and stared into his playful eyes as she tried to figure out what he intended to do. "W-what's going on?" Noah showed a flirtatious smile as he said, "Don't tell me you are planning to leave after getting me all warm om the inside?" Laila chuckled after hearing these words as this was finally something that the old Noah would have said as well.

As she hid her smile behind her hand, the other holding onto Noah's neck in order to not lose her balance, Laila said, "I just gave some cuddles and love in order to motivate you to work. I have gotten far too used to this lifestyle and I quite like being a princess without any blue blood. After living like this for so many years, there is no way for me to go back in my level of luxury. So, I can't have you slacking, just because you are working from home and don't have enough incentives to keep pushing yourself, potentially making us lose this comfortable living."

Noah gasped in shock as he jokingly replied to Laila's words, which were clearly a joke as well. "Are you telling me that you are only with me for my money? And here I thought it was because of my looks." After saying these words, Noah hid his face behind his free hand and pretended to be devastated by Laila's words.

Laila loved this moment between the two of them. It reminded her so much of their past selves. It was this banter, among other things, that Laila loved so much about Noah and about their friendship. Without thinking, fully caught in the moment, Laila ran her fingers through Noah's hair as she was laughing like she hadn't done in a long time. As she released her fingers from his soft, luscious hair and was about to pull her hand back to herself, Noah grabbed it with the hand he had used to hide his face and immediately his gaze was back on her. His piercing eyes locking onto hers and staring deeply at her as he had an intrigued smile on his face.

Being in such a moment with Noah, after experiencing such a loving first few hours and after sharing an amazing moment like they just had, brought Laila back to how she was feeling during the time she had almost shared her first kiss with Noah in her previous life. Back then she had been heartbroken by what Jake had done and Noah had been there with her every step of the way. He had shown her how else men could be and he had handled her sadness with the most loving and gentle care, expecting nothing in return.

So, when they had gotten in a few jokes and some teasing, she began imagining the two of them being more than friends. She imagined what it would be like to have Noah as a boyfriend instead of a boy like Jake. That was when the words in her mind, slipped out and Noah heard what had been hidden in heart. Even to her. Once the words were out, it didn't take much for Noah to make his move. Now that they found themselves in a similar mood once more, she felt her heart going back to her emotions back then and unlike their first few kisses in this timeline, she was actually feeling open to being kissed by Noah instead of just nervous. After batting her lashes a few times, lowering her gaze and lifting it back up, she slowly closed her eyes, which gave Noah all the answers he needed.

By the time that her eyes were closed, Noah's lips had already reached hers. As one hand was placed on the small of her back, Noah's other hand slowly let go of Laila's hand. He lifted his hand and brought it to Laila's face. He cupped her cheek and have Laila a kiss so soft and gentle, it made her feel like her heart was beating in slow-motion and her stomach had been filled with a thousand butterflies. This kiss was very different from the passionate one he had given her in the dining room but it certainly confirmed what she had been thinking back then. That he was one amazing kisser!

Like they had agreed on an unspoken cue, they broke up their kiss just as softly as it had begun and with just a few short inches between their faces, Laila had returned to lowering her gaze only to lift it back up just fractions of a second later. This time however she was not alone as Noah was doing the very same thing. Laila gave Noah another small and soft peck, before she got out of his lap and took a second attempt at walking out of the office, where Noah was supposed to be hard at work. Though he seemed reluctant and this time so did she, she walked away in small steps while looking back into Noah's eyes during every second of her long goodbye. With each step, it became harder for Noah to hold onto Laila's hand, which he had grabbed again when he realized this time she was leaving for real.

After only the tips of their fingers were touching, they shared a final look before both of them were left with just the lingering touch of the moment they had just shared. Laila gave Noah a final wave goodbye before closing the door behind her. She leaned against the closed door in order to process what had happened and what she herself had done, before walking away, barely containing her squeal of excitement!