After the hospital colleague had spotted us kissing at the charity drive, word had spread through the staff faster than I could contain it.
I encouraged Ember to have a day off if she needed one, but she insisted she was "fine", which had become her new favorite word. Or it seemed so to me.
I'd handled the fallout as best I could, but I hadn't seen Ember alone since that kiss.
We'd limited our interactions to emails and brief exchanges about scheduling.
The tension between us had grown unbearable, a live wire that threatened to spark every time we were in the same room.
Tonight, I'd finally texted her, asked if she'd come to my home after work to discuss it because if I had to live one more day in that office within reach of her without knowing where we stood, I was going to go mad.
She'd agreed, but I felt the hesitation in her single-word response of "Okay." When all of this exploded in my life, I never dreamed I'd be chasing down a twenty-something because I was falling for her.
Now here I was, planning secret meetings with her in my private residence to discuss how to handle gossip surrounding our non-relationship.
It felt like torture as I paced my living room waiting for her to show up until exactly seven thirty when the bell rang and I rushed to the door to open it for her.
"Hi," she said quietly. Her hair was down, framing her face, and she was stunning.
"Come in." I stepped aside to let her pass.
She hesitated on the threshold for a moment before entering, and I closed the door behind her.
When I turned back, she was standing in the middle of the living room, her arms wrapped around herself as though she needed protection from me.
So many emotions erupted at that sight, but I could only think so fast.
My brain stumbled over what to say and I ended up muttering, "Would you like some wine?"
"Please."
I crossed to the sideboard, poured two glasses, and handed her one.
She took it gratefully and sank onto the sofa, curling her legs beneath her and letting her shoes drop to the floor.
I sat on the opposite end, giving her space, but the awkward silence was killing me.
"Nate, I really think we should talk," she said softly, and I couldn't have agreed more.
"Yeah," I mumbled, setting my wine glass down. "It's gotten a bit hairy, huh?"
Ember chuckled and then laughed.
Then she laughed so hard she snorted and used a drink of her wine as cover, but I chuckled at her anyway. "What?" I asked, and she set her wine down and angled her body to face mine.
"Big Foot is hairy. This is more like the Kraken." The defeated way she said the words tore my heart open.
It was easy to see she was torn up by this too, probably tormented.
I couldn’t imagine going through what she went through and I'd been through a few things.
When Kristy and I were set to be married and she cheated on me, I lost it. Having your heart ripped out when you trust someone is next-level pain.
"Look, Ember, I know this is really complicated and it's made worse by the things you lived through, but I don’t want the town to pressure either of us into backing away from each other. I really like you." I inched closer on the sofa and she didn't shy away.
"It's just that the way they're talking about us makes me very uncomfortable. They have no clue that there really is something going on between us. They're just spreading rumors, but it kills me because there's truth behind those rumors." Her eyes narrowed as her forehead formed deep creases. "I hate beingthat girleveryone talks about."
"I will defend you," I told her, scooting close enough to take her hand and press it to my lips. I'd heard what men my age were calling me, a cradle robber and other, worse, things. But they looked at Ember like a child still growing up.
