That smile clenched the deal for MC. She had, of course, been interested in Noah. He was kind, gentle, funny, and loyal to a fault. But she had been in love with Bobby. She had chosen Bobby again and again. But that choice was no longer available. Her heart felt sore in the aftermath of her time with him. It had been such a tremendous let down after the giddy, playful excitement of the love they had created together. She hadn't been trying to meet anyone in the months since they had broken up. But seeing that smile from Noah...it made her feel warm, and safe, and happy. It was like a hot compress to a muscle that had been tensed up for too long. She felt something inside her relax.

She stretched up on her tiptoes and placed her hand on his cheek. He leaned down to meet her in a kiss. She felt his body relax as soon as their lips touched. They sank into the kiss as she ran her hands over his broad, elegant shoulders. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to him. His tongue gently brushed against her lips and she responded by deepening the kiss. She raked the fingernails of one hand across his neck and into his hair. They kissed for a long time, neither feeling the pressure to rush things. The tenderness and intimacy of the moment reminded him of sitting in the hideaway with her, with no sound but the music she was creating.

Eventually she pulled away and looked at him. "I can't believe I just kissed Noah."

"So, do you think you'll choose me at the next recoupling?" he teased.

"Well, I'd like to, but Hope always seems to snatch you up before anyone else gets a chance."

"Ahh, Hope," he sighed heavily.

"Yeah, you thought you were going to get out of that conversation, didn't you?"

"I had...hoped."

"Wowwww" she replied, detaching herself from him. "Well it was so great seeing you, Noah, but I really must be off," she said in an over-the-top shmoozy tone, as she walked towards the door.

He grabbed her around the waist as she attempted to pass him, laughing, and pulled her to him, her back pressing against him. "Oh no you don't."

She leaned her body back against his, and the playful embrace quickly changed in tone. He nuzzled his head into her hair before kissing her neck, then her jawline. He wanted to breath her in, pull her even closer to him. He heard her release a soft sigh. He whispered in her ear, "Oh MC, you know I just like you so much." He risked sliding a hand under the hoodie she was wearing, and she felt his long, graceful fingers run across her stomach just below her belly button. Electricity shot through her. She felt his tongue draw her earlobe between his lips, and her eyes rolled back in her head. She played at a fake faint and made him catch her. It made his heart leap a little to see her playful side coming out again.

As he lifted her up, she smiled at him. "Okay but you're really not getting out of telling me about Hope. I can outlast you all night"

"Oh you can, can you?" he said with his brows furrowed, mischief in his eyes, and a small smirk. That look had always melted her, even when they were just friends.

"You heard me." She raised an eyebrow.

He relented at last, sighing. "Okay, but we may need to open another bottle of wine for this."

"Suits me! I'll put on another record!" she said brightly.

Noah proceeded to tell MC the unsurprising story of the end of his relationship with Hope. Once they weren't under the watchful eye of millions of viewers and the stakes weren't so high, things started to fall apart. Those cracks that they had seen during their time at the Villa were exposed as the chasms they actually were. Hope didn't find the allure of their "day 1 couple" status as romantic outside the villa, especially when they didn't win the money. Watching himself back in the Love Island episodes forced him to realize how toxic their relationship was. The pressure of being a "power couple" in the Villa had led Noah to accept things he normally wouldn't have accepted. To bend in ways he shouldn't have.

Hope had expected Noah to move to London, and she wasn't very understanding that he had a job that was important to him, even if it didn't make a lot of money. It was a community he was a part of. Then there was the issue of their future plans. They realized the kids thing would eventually become an impasse. He couldn't expect her to change her mind on it. She couldn't expect him to change his mind. They broke up about 8 months after the show ended.

MC looked at him sadly, "I'm sorry we didn't realize how unhealthy that relationship was for you both. The way everyone talked about you guys...as THE couple in the Villa. It must have felt like a lot of pressure to perform. It makes me so sad to think you were going through that, and we were such good friends, and we didn't do anything to help. I was constantly encouraging you both to stay together!"

"You were just being a good friend to Hope."

"But you were important to me too. And I knew Hope really liked you, but that doesn't excuse the behavior."

"Well, thank you for saying that. I used to look at you and Bobby and get so jealous. You were good to each other. And you know... I was...mostly jealous of Bobby." He could feel his face reddening.

"You really used to think about what it would have been like if it had been us coupled up?"

"I used to, and I still do." He said bravely.

"I did too. I do too." She was lounging across the chair in a funny way, with her legs over the arm of one side. She cradled her wine glass in one hand, while she looked at him. He loved how she was always sitting on furniture like a little kid. Her feet tucked up, or lying over the back of the couch. He'd even seen her lay upside down on the couches in the villas a few times. She'd told him, "I like being upside down," without further explanation.

The sound of her voice snapped him back to the current moment. "You know, we were always choosing other people back then. And then those people stopped choosing us back." She was looking out the window in an unfocused, middle-distance kind of way.

"MC." He hesitated. She shifted her gaze to him. What he wanted to say was so overdone, but so true. It was probably a terrible idea to say it, but his inhibitions were down and the cards were on the table, so to speak. "I just...really...want to choose you now." The words came out in slow, thoughtful sighs. "I'm hoping that we...choose each other...from now on. Can we—do you want to try that?" he let out a little helpless laugh, his eyes almost pleading.

When he said those words, it felt like someone lit a flame inside her chest. It was a bit cheesy, but so endearing from him, who rarely put himself out there enough to be considered schmaltzy. Yes. Yes. That was what she wanted too. More time with him. She hadn't realized how much she had missed him. If Bobby had been her blazing sunlight, Noah was her shade. The cool indoor relief of her home. He was home.

She leapt up and crossed the room to him, straddling him and pressing him back against the couch. She straddled him the same way she had that night in the heart rate challenge. A few loose strands of hair fell around his face while she pressed her forehead against his. "Yes." She said as she pressed a kiss to his lips.

He moved his hands over her body, gratefully. It felt like he had been holding back all night, trying not to touch her like this. His hands slipped under the hoodie again, but this time deeper, his touch more urgent. She rolled her hips against him, provoking a moan from Noah. His hands trailed down her back and to her ass, which he gripped tightly as he pulled her harder down onto him. She pulled off her hoodie, so she was wearing only those baggie sweats and a strapless bra. He marveled at her beauty. Then began showering her with warm kisses, on her neck, then her collar bone, between her breasts. She wrapped her arms around his neck, clutching his hair in both of her hands. He rolled her over onto the couch, so he was holding himself above her. He stopped to look into her eyes for a moment. Her face looked bright, and happy as she returned his gaze. He had suddenly been struck by a fear that he was moving things too fast, too soon after things had ended with Bobby. But she didn't look unsure. She looked calm and fully present, maybe for the first time all night. She lifted herself up slightly and planted a long, tender kiss on his lips, as if she knew he needed the reassurance. He rolled to one side, pulling her into a spooning position. He wanted her so badly, but kissing felt like the right place to stop tonight.

They laid like that for awhile, both drifting off to sleep. When Noah woke up, unsure of how much time had passed, the first thing he saw was her cello case leaning against the wall. The memory of the night rushed warmly over him, and he squeezed her tightly, as if to say thank you for this moment.

She stirred with a little moan. "Oh I must have drifted off. I'm sorry."

"No, don't be. I did too. It was nice...I don't want this night to end."

She rolled over so that she was facing him and snuggled her head against his chest. "Me neither."

"Would you like to stay over?" he asked hesitantly. He badly wanted her to stay, but didn't want her to think he was expecting something from her. So he added, "I won't try anything, I promise."

"Oh, well that's a bit of a disappointment." She ran her fingers along his back fondly.

Noah didn't know how to respond to that, so he just waited for her to speak again.

"But, yeah, I would love that if it's okay with you. I don't want to mess up any plans you have for tomorrow or anything. Do you have to work?" Even though it was a small thing, he was touched by her consideration of him, her thoughtfulness about his work. It wasn't something he had gotten much from Hope.

"Yeah, but if you leave, I won't be able to stop thinking about you, and I won't get any rest. You'd really be doing me a favor."

"Oh well, in that case. Sleep hygiene is very important to me, so I can't say no to that."

They made their way to the bedroom. She went to the bathroom to take her hair down, and when she came out, she saw that Noah had gotten her a glass of water, and a toothbrush. Her heart warmed at the sight.

They fell asleep almost immediately after crawling into bed. They rested back to back, their legs tangled together. He smiled at the feeling of her foot gently pressed against his calf as he drifted off.