“Hey, isn’t that Councilman Gutierrez?”She nodded towards the bar.
Nate felt his hackles rise up automatically.Gutierrez was the person who’d run against him for mayor two years ago, and despite having five years more experience and age than Nate, he’d lost and taken a seat on city council instead.The man had never failed to bring up Nate’s younger age as a detriment anytime he was asked about his opposing candidate, but apparently the people of Applewood felt differently.At least theyhad.Now it seemed as though no one wanted anything to do with his campaign promises.
Turning slightly, Nate flicked his gaze to the bar, spotting the man wearing a red and white striped shirt and hat while standing in front of Lottie as she mixed drinks.He must be with the group of people dressed as a bunch ofWhere’s Waldos, and while Nate was still in his work clothes and looked more put together, he couldn’t help lamenting that even in his lame costume, the man looked well-suited to the equally festive Lottie.
Gutierrez was a few years older than her, but was attractive enough with his light brown skin and inky black hair.Nate had known that they were friendly since it seemed that Gutierrez was always the one to give Lottie the inside scoop on town business for her newsletter, but Nate couldn’t help but wonder if there was something more between them, something romantic.When Lottie tipped her head back and laughed at something the man had said, the answer to the question no longer mattered.All that mattered was that Nate broke up whatever was going on between them before it even started.
Knocking his stool over in his haste to end their interaction, Nate stalked up to the bar, drinking in the sight of Lottie as she did a spin in her pink and red baseball uniform.She was and always had been the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, made even more so by her sense of style.For some, the 1940s look wouldn’t suit, but it fit her so perfectly that Nate sometimes found himself daydreaming of the two of them as lovers back in that time, separated by war instead of by his own uncertainty and stubborn refusal to let himself love her the way she deserved.
He arrived at the bar at what would now be the end of their conversation, with Gutierrez smiling at Lottie as he took a sip of his drink.“Aren’t you going to ask me what’s going on in Town Hall?”
Before Lottie could answer the man’s question, Nate slapped his hand down on the bar, the loud smack drawing both of their attentions over to him.“No,” he replied, his voice as harsh as he could make it.“She won’t be.”
Lottie bit her lip, her white teeth digging into the red the same way it had that night all those years ago.Nate felt himself stirring at the thought of being with her again, but the councilman spoke, obliterating any lust he felt in that moment.
“Evening, Mayor.”Gutierrez’s eyes flicked between the two of them before he raised his glass in a toast.“Talk you to later, Lottie.”
Nate scoffed.“No, you won’t.”Gutierrez was gone by the time he’d spoken the words, but he’d needed to say it anyway.Nate had grit his teeth as he’d watched Lottie date any number of people over the years, but he would be damned if he sat back and watched her with the man who’d tried to take the mayoral election from him.“A minute of your time, Charlotte?”
Lottie smiled brightly despite the obvious upset in his low voice.“Anything for you, Mister Mayor.”She tossed her tea towel onto the bar before nodding at the other bartenders.Nate saw Felix flick his gaze over to them with concern, but it clearly wasn’t for him.Waving his brother off, he followed Lottie into the back room that currently served as storage while his brother expanded his business into the space next to it.Lottie pushed open the door to the back room, looking over her shoulder at him with trepidation.“What can I do for you, Mayor Kemp?”
Nate crossed his arms over his chest, hating the way that she used his title.Banishing the desire to hear his name on her lips again, he steeled himself as he gazed upon her beautiful face.“I thought we agreed that you would stay away from my people.”
Lottie snorted lightly, something that both irritated and endeared her to him.“The councilman isn’t your people, he’s his own person.Besides, you specifically told me to stop badgering people,” she reiterated.“I was just having a polite conversation with Anthony.”
Nate scoffed even as hearing her call the man by his first name made him sick to his stomach.“Sure.Just like you have polite conversations with everyone in town before reporting on it in your little pamphlet.”
It was apparent from the rise in her shoulders that his comment about her newsletter had hit home, and as much as Nate hated himself for disparaging her, it always seemed like his only recourse.She was always so calm in his presence when he felt like his world was upside down and inside out.It wasn’t fair.
She raised her brow in challenge.“There’s nothing wrong with talking to people in town or sharing that information with others if I have their permission, which I always do.”
“You never have my permission, and yet you write about my office all the time.”He could never bring himself to actually read the words, but he’d heard from enough people around town to know it was true.Nate backed Lottie up against the wall for the second time that day, wanting more than anything to close the final gap between them while knowing he shouldn’t.
“I would be able to do it in a more informed way if you would just give me an interview like I’ve been asking for years.Why won’t you ever talk to me?”Lottie reached out, her fingers lightly brushing against his like they had that morning.“I miss you, Nathan.”
Nate’s eyes flicked to their barely joined hands before shooting back up to hers, and he couldn’t take it anymore.His lungs felt as if they would collapse under the heavy weight of need that rested on his chest, the blood in his veins turning to lava at even the briefest touch of her skin to his.Nate had wanted her for so long, and giving her up and maintaining the ruse that he hated her had been so hard.He was strong, but he wasn’tthatstrong.The bungee cord that connected him to her had stretched as far as it could go, and he was finally allowing it to snap back, if only for a moment.
Nate stared at her face a few seconds longer, needing to catalog her features again, Lottie raised up on her heels, and after a brief moment of hesitation, brushed her lips against his.She backed away, but before she could get far, he crushed their mouths together.Lottie’s hands flew into his hair, her fingers tugging the strands in a way that made his head tingle with pleasure.His own gripped her hips as ground his hard cock against her, the pressure feeling wonderful, but it wasn’t enough.It never would be because he needed all of her.
As he pressed himself against her, instead of subsiding, the need within him grew out of control.Hiking her leg up over his, Nate pushed himself further toward her until she gasped.Driving his tongue into her mouth, he continued to taste her, lick at her teeth and nip the scarlet red lips that starred in his nightly dreams.As he tasted her, every one of his senses was saturated with all things Lottie.The feel of her soft body against his, the smell of cinnamon in his nose, her whimpers music to his ears and her blissed-out expression the only thing he wanted to see for the rest of his life.
The room they stood in began to dim and the edges of the world blurred around them.Other noises faded and Nate felt everything else slipping away again as his insides tried to claw their way out of him and bury themselves in her.Every part of him wanted to live inside of Lottie forever, forget all his responsibilities and do nothing but worship her endlessly.That final thought froze his insides and had him preparing to push her away again.In the never-ending battle between his heart and his brain, the more logical organ always won out.Breaking the kiss, Nate stumbled backwards, nearly tipping over a barrel as he fled from the one person he wanted to be with more than almost anything.
His eyes found hers, the same starless eyes he’d stared into the first time they’d been together pointed right back at him.Nate tried to ignore the pride he felt at seeing her kiss-swollen lips and disheveled hair just as he ignored the look of longing on her face.Hardening himself against her, Nate put back on the same mask he’d worn for ten years and stepped toward the door.
“This never happened,” he choked out.“And it won’t happen again.”
Lottie blinked rapidly before looking to the side, her arms wrapped around her middle protectively.Nate loathed himself even more when he spotted the move.It broke his heart to see her that way, even more so when he reminded himself that he’d been the cause.When she looked back at him though, any hurt had been replaced with anger.Lottie approached him with purpose, bumping her chest against his.“You’re right.It won’t happen again, but it did happen.Just because you’re too frightened of what you want, what youfeel,doesn’t mean you can erase the past, or the present.”The fire in her eyes burned away again and was replaced by sadness.“What are you so afraid of?”
Nate swallowed down the truth, that he was afraid of losing himself in another person, that he wasn’t strong enough to be everything he needed to be for himself and her, and spoke words that would rebuild the wall that was necessary to maintain between them, the one they’d nearly sent toppling to the ground with one kiss.
“You never let up, never leave well enough alone.I ask you to stay clear of my office, and you can’t help yourself.”He pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling more tired than a man of only twenty-nine years had any right to.“Just do me a favor and stay away, Charlotte.It’s what’s best for both of us.”
Lottie’s thick swallow was audible in the quiet of the room.“I’m sorry I’ve been such hardship to you, Nate.”Hearing her call him what everyone else did broke him in a way he hadn’t expected, but just like him, she seemed to be doing what was necessary.After gazing down at her feet, Lottie met his eyes once more, though they looked much shinier than they had moments ago.She looked as heartbroken as Nate felt, and his resolve to keep them both feeling that way wobbled once more.“I won’t bother you again.”
Turning quickly, Lottie brushed past him without another word.All of the oxygen seemed to be sucked out of the room with her, and Nate rested his hands on his knees to try and fill his lungs that were on the verge of collapse.
Sometime later, Nate felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Felix staring at him with concern.“Everything okay?”
