Once again I have an opening, and a very large part of myself wants to scream to her that she wasn’t wrong about the spark because I felt it in the bathroom too. Suddenly, I didn’t know who I was, or where I was. I just knew Natalie. She was the person I needed to take care of. I was marked. Hers.
Of course, I was the idiot who forgot to ask for her name or number. Anything that could have helped me track her down, really.
The next few days, I searched for her everywhere, even when a blizzard blew in. Caden gave me so much shit, saying I waswasting my time trying to find someone who probably didn’t feel the same way about me. But there was this undercurrent in my bones that whispered if I could just find her, every frozen finger and toe would be worth it.
A few days into my search, I got a text from Caden saying, “Come back to the room, I have a surprise.” I sprinted back. When I got there, Natalie was there, sitting on my bed, waiting for me.
Everything in my chest that had been screaming for the last few days quieted. Until the plot twist that ruined my world. Natalie thought Caden was the person she ran into in the bathroom, not me. He looked at me, a twinkle in his eye like the annoying two minutes younger fucker he was, as if to sayI told you.She can’t even tell the difference between us.
My heart sank. She didn’t feel the connection. For her there was no magnetic pull. Not like there was for me anyway. There could be a room full of burnt-fiery copper haired women, freckles slathered on their cheeks copies of Natalie and I’d know my Natalie every time.
I gather the cookies and my courage.
But when I turn, she’s already sliding off the counter.
“I need more alcohol,” she says, stumbling slightly. “I’m still having feelings.”
I catch her before she can fall. One hand under the plate of cookies, the other around her waist. She smells like sugar, cocoa, and my ruin.
“Easy, killer. Couch,” I say, my voice rough. “I’ll get us some beers. We’ll need them to finish this movie.”
I nod to the screen whereSalem Wish Trialsis paused on the screen for our brief cookie hiatus. Natalie was eye-fucking a batch they made in the movie, and suddenly I was overwhelmed with the need to get some for her.
Natalie peers up at me beneath her long eyelashes. “You still want to hang out with me? Even with my terrible movie taste and long-winded history rants?”
God yes, I want to watch terrible movies with you for the rest of my life.
“Yeah, D’Amore. I like hanging out with you.”
Her eyes widen. “You do?”
I shrug and dip my head into the fridge. “Don’t know why that’s a surprise.”
“Because you hate me,” she says, a hiccup breaking her words apart.
“Pretty sure that’s always been a one-way street.”
When I turn, she’s impossibly close.
“Wait, you’ve never hated me?” she asks.
I meet her eyes, slow and steady. “Nothing could be further from the truth.”
“Oh. Right. That makes total sense.” She takes the beer from me and chugs it. “Grab some paper towels or something. I think my brain might actually explode.”
“Hopefully the movie will quiet your mind.” I nod and walk to the couch.
She follows me. “Are you aware you have an incredible ass?”
I blink. That last beer caught up fast.
“Thank you,” I say. “I was wondering when you’d notice.”
“I had. Before. But the hockey game made it… obvious.”
I motion for her to sit and tuck her into the blanket.
“Ah, suddenly you attacking my face makes perfect sense.”
