“Before you ask, yeah, I remember.”
Prove it. “You’re going to need to repeat it so I know for sure.”
“Christ, woman.” He frowns. “I told you I loved you. That it was love at first sight…”
“Second sight.” I can’t help it. I smile. The memory of that night gives me a warm and fuzzy kind of feeling. Why can’t things with Nate be like that? It always feels as though it’s always a struggle. One misunderstanding after another.
“Right.” He smirks then. “Second sight.”
I wait for the rest.
“I said I thought you’d have amazing tits.” He glances down at my shirt. “I was right about that.”
“Thank you.” I mean that. It’s nice to get a compliment about my body for once.
“No. Thankyou.” Nate chuckles. “I think you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Your hair always looks silky and shiny.” He reaches out and touches a strand that has escaped my ponytail. “…and I know whenever you get mad at me, leave me, I feel terrible.”
I seem to recall it was more likeIf you leave me, I’ll never feel better. But it’s close enough.
“Now, it’s your turn.”
Oh boy.
I pat his thigh. “All done.” He’s got a number of bandages on each knee. I didn’t have the large ones, so I had to make do with a multitude of small ones.
Using the edge of the counter, I pull myself up until I’m standing in front of him.
“Aren’t you going to say anything?” Holy Moses, he sounds sad.
“Yes. I’d prefer not to do it on my knees, though.”
He smirks. “Maybe you’ll want to do that some other time.”
“Perhaps.” Holding out my hand, he takes mine.
Standing, he winces but follows me out of the bathroom and into the living room. I point to the sofa. “Have a seat. Let me get you something to drink. Water, beer, or wine?”
“Water is good.”
I pull a cold bottle of water from my fridge, and I grab the glass of white wine I poured myself before all this bike drama happened. In the living room, I hand him his water and make a conscious decision to sit in the chair beside the couch instead of on the sofa next to him. I know what’ll happen if I sit next to him. I’ll want to touch him. And since he’s still wearing only his underwear and a T-shirt, the urge to do that is even stronger.
He's quiet. Waiting, I suppose. Not knowing where to start, I go with, “Thank for saying that back there.” I motion to the hallway. “If you’ll let me get this out before you say anything, I’d appreciate it.”
“Okay.” He nods once.
“There’s a lot.”
“Understood.”
I hope he stands by that. Leaning a little forward, I rest one arm on my knee and the other on the arm of the chair. It’s the one clutching the white wine. Sipping from my glass, I set it on the coffee table in front of me.
I begin. “My marriage wasn’t good. Travis was a manipulative jerk, but I let it happen.” I half expect Nate to interject here, but all he does is lean back, his eyes on me. “I blame myself for how I reacted to him and how I let it go on for years. I should have left him a long time ago, but I was scared. I’d been with him for years. The unknown and that fear I just mentioned kept me tethered to him.”
I pick up my glass and sip again.
“As I told you at your house that night, it was the suspicion that Celeste was putting something in my food and Travis’s disbelief that was the last straw. I’m not sure what her motives were for doing that, if she thought it would expedite the end of the marriage or not, but that’s what happened. In any case, she helped get my butt in gear and start thinking about my life beyond marriage.”
I sit back in my chair and cross my legs. I feel more relaxed. This is getting easier. “The move here was a big decision but one I don’t regret because it was the fresh start I needed, and being with Laura was a huge support. I lean forward a bit. “And then I met you.”
