“Hey.”
I jumped, twisting in the same motion to see him standing at the bottom of the stairs. The house was dark enough that he was mostly a silhouette, just broad shoulders and rumpled hair.
“Are you okay?” he asked as he came a few steps closer, his voice still rough with sleep.
My first instinct was to say I was fine, but as strange as it was, he was still CB, the person I’d been spilling my innermost thoughts to for years. He was also truly perhaps the only person in the whole world who knew exactly how I felt right now.
“Is it weird that I’m sad about this somehow?” I asked quietly, locking my phone again and setting it back down on the counter.
Nate was quiet for a few beats before I finally saw his shoulders rise in a shrug. “I think it’s a perfectly normal way to feel.”
He said it gently, but there was a hint of tension threaded into his tone. I waited for him to continue, to say whatever it was he seemed to be holding back, but it looked like I wasn’t the only one struggling with this whole opening up thing in person.
God, maybe we should just go back to texting.Wisps of fear and frustration swept through me.What if we’re never going to be as good together in real life as we were online?
“You should come back to sleep, Katie,” he said, saying the nickname slowly, like he was testing out the feel of it in his mouth. “We’re probably going to have a long day tomorrow.”
“You’re probably right. Mondays are always a bitch.”
Even so, I didn’t move. After a moment, he sighed softly. “Kate.”
“I’m not really tired.”
“That’s not the point.”
“I’m fine down here. I’ll be up soon. Don’t worry.”
He paused again, then suddenly closed the distance between us and wrapped his arms around my hips without hesitation. I yelped as he lifted me clean off the stool, the movement so quick and effortless that I absolutely had not seen it coming.
“Nate!”
He didn’t answer, just tossing me over his shoulder like I weighed nothing and striding back toward the stairs.
I squirmed and wriggled, grabbing his hips to steady myself when he started climbing. “Nathaniel Westwood, put me down. Put me down right now.”
“No.”
“I mean it.”
“I know.”
“This is caveman behavior,” I muttered, but gave up the fight as he let out a quiet laugh, one hand steady against the back of my legs as we ascended.
“You’ll survive, Katie. I promise.”
I sighed dramatically, but he set me down so gently on the bed that I couldn’t be mad about it. The sheets were still warm when I climbed back in. Nate followed a moment later.
He settled in behind me like he had before, one arm finding its way around my waist again and pulling me closer. Tiny little butterflies erupted in my stomach, wildly flapping their wings in approval.
“Sleep now, Kate,” he murmured against my hair, shifting until he was comfortable and my back was sealed tight against his front. “We’re going to figure all this out, okay? We just don’t have to do it at two o’clock in the morning.”
I sighed and cuddled into him, finally allowing my eyes to slide shut again. No doubt I wouldn’t fall asleep right away, but it was hard to argue when he was absolutely right—and even harder because now that I was back in his arms, I really didn’t actually want to leave again.
CHAPTER 35
NATE
Iwoke to my phone practically vibrating itself off the nightstand. My head felt heavy, thick with sleep and the dull weight of everything waiting for me on the other side of consciousness, but then the damn thing buzzed against the hardwood again, insistent to the point of absurdity.
