“I know that, dummy.” Natalia rolls her eyes with a hint of an amused tilt of her lips. “But why?”
“I just want to take you somewhere nice,” I say. “Change up the environment…I don’t know. I already bought our tickets.”
“Oh. Well then…thank you,” she murmurs. “What movie are they showing?”
“Grease.”
Natalia nods slowly, like she’s processing the information. “I like that movie,” she whispers and tears her hair net off her head, her curls cascading down her back. “Okay.”
My brow arches. “Okay?”
Another nod. “Okay. Um, what time?”
“I can pick you up at seven.”
“Okay.”
I really try not to grin. I swear I do. “Okay.”
But Natalia frowns at me and I wish I could heal her heart.
“It won’t be awkward?” Natalia asks quietly, her eyes looking down at where she toys with her dainty rings. Her hands can’t seem to stay still as she pushes hair behind her gold-bedecked ear, displaying all her intricate piercings and jewelry.
My legs move before I even bother to command them, stepping into her space. My hand rests on the table, right at her hip, and my thumb touches the fabric of her jeans. Being a selfish man, I brush my thumb over her hip.
“Why would it be awkward?” I ask quietly, searching for her eyes and waiting until she looks at me.
She continues fighting to avoid my gaze as best as she possibly can, but she eventually relents and I’ve never been more grateful for it. “Because…of what happened.”
“You mean because we had sex,” I say.
Beneath her constellation of freckles blossoms a shade of pink across her cheeks.Seventeen freckles.“Yeah,” she rasps. “That.”
“Was it…” I groan quietly and scratch the back of my head, grimacing before I can even finish the question. “Was it bad?”
Now my body flushes and it’s too hot in here. Natalia would not have to ask if I thought it was good or not because it’s all I have literally been able to think about since then. After she left, all I wanted was to hold and kiss her, slower. Make love to her the way she deserves to be made love to, because damn it…
I should have kissed her slowly. I should have taken all the time in the world until she is the only thing I can hear, taste, see, and breathe.
“No,” Natalia mutters, tapping her fingernails. “No, it…”
“It...”
She sighs through her nose. “Do we really have to talk about it right now?”
Yes, I want to know. Ineedto know.
“No,” I say. “No, it’s okay. Whenever you’re ready.”
“Okay.”
“Seven?” I ask.
“Seven,” Nat confirms.
“Okay,” I breathe and lean forward to brush my lips over her head.
“Okay.”
