A LITTLE LESS SIXTEEN CANDLES; A LITTLE MORE TOUCH ME // Karl Jacobs X Reader

19

Two weeks later, you were dragging yourself up at the ungodly hours in the morning and lugging your suitcase down the stairs to Noah's car, where she was waiting outside, her luggage already loaded in the backseat. 

She popped the trunk as she rolled her window down. "Morning sunshine, ready for Mexico?"

You heaved your bag into the trunk and closed the door. "How are you so chipper this early?" You groaned as you trekked to the passenger seat and slid in.

"Because," Noah singsonged. "I get to go to Mexico and I get to meet your boyfriend! There's a coffee for you right there by the way."

In the cupholder between you and Noah, next to a half drank Monster, was your coffee order. You hummed gratefully and took it, sucking some of the liquid down. "Thanks."

"Of course." Noah said, pulling away from the curb and rolling her window up. In the rearview mirror, you watched your apartment building roll away into the background as you headed to the airport. 

"Can I put some music on?" You asked, setting your coffee back into the cupholder. 

"Yeah, sure. There's an AUX cord down there somewhere." Noah said. "Just no country."

You snorted. "As if I would ever." You dug around in the space between the center console and your seat until you found the little cord and plugged it into your phone. You opened Spotify and clicked on a playlist that you usually listened to in the morning to wake you up and hit shuffle, letting the upbeat sounds pump through Noah's speakers. 

"I can't thank you enough for inviting me, again." Noah said. She had been thanking you just about every other breath since you had asked her to come. "You really didn't have to."

"Karl said I could bring someone, and you were really the only person I would want to bring." You said. "And it's fitting, I think, since you were the one who pushed me to really try and talk to him."

"I kind of did, didn't I?" Noah said proudly. "I'm really excited to meet him though, you talk about him so much."

"He'll like you." You said with a smile. 

"I hope so." Noah said. 

As she drove, you drank your coffee and slowly woke up, watching cars roll by on the highway. It a few hours, you would be at a resort in Mexico with Karl. You hadn't even gotten to the airport yet and it already felt like a dream. 

Noah, humming along to the music, was grinning more than you had seen from her in a while. You were excited that she got to come along - this trip would be more than just a romantic getaway, it would be a good shared experience between you and Noah to look back on in years to come. And knowing her, you wouldn't have to worry about her being a third wheel - she would find someone to fawn over and flirt with while you were there. 

The ride to the airport wasn't too long, but you had fully woken up by the time you got there and Noah pulled into a parking space, switching off the car and popping open the trunk. You slipped out to grab your bags while Noah extracted her from the backseat. 

"Where did he say to meet again?" Noah asked. 

You pulled your phone out of your pocket as you closed the trunk, looking at the texts Karl had sent you last night. "He said he would be waiting by the entrance." 

Noah locked her car and slung her bag over her shoulder. She grinned at you. "Let's go meet your boy!"

You rolled your eyes, but started after her anyway. "He's not my boy."

"You didn't deny it the car this morning." Noah teased. 

"I was half asleep!" You shot back. 

You and Noah made your way to the entrance of the airport and stopped, Noah leaning against the wall to rest her bag on the ground. You scanned the area for Karl, trying to pick out his fluffy hair amongst the groups of people. 

You didn't see him until he snuck up behind you, grabbing your shoulders. You jumped and spun around to see Karl giggle. 

"Oh, Karl." You sighed with relief, laughing. "Jesus Christ, I thought it was some stranger-" You hit him playfully. 

Karl flinched and bonked you back before hugging you. "Are you excited?" 

"Of course." You said. "Oh, Karl, this is Noah. Noah, this is Karl."

Noah kicked off the wall and stuck out a hand to shake. "Nice to meet you. Y/N talks about you a lot." 

Karl grinned and shook Noah's hand. "You too. I really like you hair - my hair was pink a while ago."

Noah raised an eyebrow, and smiled at you. 

With Karl now, you headed into the airport and all the mess of checking bags and going through the detectors and security and finally making it to the waiting area by the gate, where you had to sit for a while before even boarding the plane. It wasn't as bad as it usually was though - maybe it was that Noah and Karl were already getting along like they had been friends for years, or maybe it was that you were actually looking forward to the trip, and not just flying for school or family. Either way, before you knew it, you were on the plane, looking for your seats. 

Karl found the row first. "Dibs on the window!" He scurried over to the window seat and plopped down. 

"Aisle!" Noah called, skirting past you and dropping into the aisle seat. 

You frowned. "Really guys?"

They blinked back at you innocently. 

You shook your head, climbing your way into the middle seat and sitting down. "Betrayed by my own two favorite people." You shook your head. "I can't believe this."

"I'll switch if you want." Karl offered. 

You shrugged. "It's fine."

"You sure?" He asked. 

"I'm sure." You said. 

You settled back into your seat with a smile as the plane prepared for takeoff, sandwiched between your best friend and your almost-boyfriend, with dreams of Mexican beaches in the corners of your mind.