Sophie waves me off. “You paid your dues tonight. Go be adored.”
I shake my head, but my pulse stutters as he offers his arm, polished and absurdly elegant, like we’re stepping out of a black-and-white film instead of a drafty apartment in Cambridge. He’s all quiet composure and tailored restraint, but his thumb brushes lightly against the inside of my wrist as I take his arm—like he has to touch skin somewhere, however small, to prove I’m real.
When we step into the hallway, he tugs me gently toward him and presses a kiss to my temple followed by my cheek. Then, finally, the corner of my mouth.
He holds out his hand. “Let’s go home.”
Home.There’s the faintest lift at the corner of his mouth as he says it.
From his tone, I can tell he’s pleased. Like the simple act of saying it aloud was a victory he’s waited patiently to collect.
Maybe that should unnerve me. Maybe it would, if it didn’t feel so good to be wanted so unequivocally.
So, I lean into him. It’s impossible not to. There’s something so effortlessly certain about the way he takes care of me—like every detail of my day, every step I take, is already accounted for in his mind.
But even as I let myself settle against his side, Sophie’s words from earlier echo beneath it all.
Two months left. Don’t waste them.
They reverberate in my mind even as I settle into the passenger seat, allowing Nathaniel to reach over and buckle me in before I can do it myself, as always.
“You have a good night?” he asks once we’re on the road.
I nod. “It was nice. We got Chinese this time. Caught each other up on spring break… Oh, did you get that very important thing you had to pick up?” I ask, half-teasing, half-curious.
“I did,” he replies smoothly, offering nothing else as he brings my hand to his lips.
I narrow my eyes but let it go. There’s something light in him tonight. A contained excitement. His fingers tap rhythmically on the steering wheel. Whatever it is, it’s making him more affectionate than usual—if that’s even possible.
I rest my head back against the seat, and a comfortable silence descends, but my mind refuses to settle.
“We also talked about Landon,” I confess eventually.
His fingers flex around the wheel. “What about him?”
“Sophie said he misses our friendship. That he knows nothing’s going to happen between us, but he still hopes we can fix things before graduation.” I leave out the part about Carolyn thinking we might’ve ended up together once. That feels…unnecessary.
Nathaniel’s jaw tightens. “And that matters to you?” he asks, voice low and even.
“Yes, because that friendship mattered once, and I’d like to end things on better terms. I don’t want to leave Halfordwith any regrets.” I take a long breath, trying to find the right words to put him at ease. “It’s not about chasing old feelings, Nathaniel. It’s about not carrying unfinished things into the next phase of my life,” I finish gently.
He doesn’t respond immediately, but tension radiates off him, sharp and quiet. Then, he says flatly, “Not everything needs to be tied off with a bow.”
I study his profile. His eyes are fixed on the road, his mouth drawn tight.
“You don’t really believe that,” I say.
He exhales slowly, like he’s trying to choose his next words carefully. “I believe he wants what’s mine. And if he tries to use this as an excuse to make another move on you, I’ll won’t let it slide.”
The knot in my chest pulls tight.
“I told you,” I say, “because I didn’t want to keep it from you. Not because I was asking permission.”
He doesn’t answer, but his grip on my hand tightens.
I’m surprised by how desperately he still holds on to me. By how even now, after everything, my reassurances never seem to reach the part of him that still fears losing me.
But I also understand. Because his obsession has always mirrored something inside me too—some deep, unspoken desire to be chosen, to be wanted beyond reason.
