Chapter Ten

Elle

Smiling back at Mr. Tanner, I frantically tried to think of something to say. This was my chance to find out about Nate. Heaven knew, he’d never tell me anything. A desperate need built up inside of me to find out something. Anything.

“Is Nate really that good?” I asked, nodding at the picture on the wall.

Mr. Tanner scoffed, “Yes he is. Went to Nationals. But lost to the kid who is probably going to be world champ in the next few years. Yes, he’s good. But don’t you ever tell him I said so. You hear?”

I smiled, as I nodded my assurance.

“Unfortunately,” Mr. Tanner continued. “He’s good, but he’ll never be great.”

My brow narrowed in confusion. “Why?” I asked.

He got a faraway look for a second then shrugged his shoulders. “Nate’s a great technician. One of the best for someone his age. But he doesn’t have the artistic touch. Not in the ring.”

I continued to stare at him, it was like he was talking a different language. Technician, art. Those were not words I associated with boxing.

He noticed my confusion and said, “Let’s just say, he thinks too much. Plus, he’s missing one vital ingredient.”

“What’s that?” I asked as I leaned forward.

“A touch of mean,” the older man said. “All the great ones have it, but not Nate. It’s just not in him. Heaven knows, he’s got more than enough reasons. But it’s just not in him. Too much of his mother got passed along. She was just like my Mary, her sister. One of the sweetest people you will ever meet. Nate takes after her. That’s why he’ll never be great. Not at boxing.”

My heart cracked a little as I wished I could have met her. What would she have thought of me? What kind of woman could produce such a person as Nate? His uncle was right, I realized, Nate wasn’t mean. He might tease, but it wasn’t vicious.

“So, how’d you guys meet?” he asked me.

I smiled to myself, Nate hadn’t told his uncle about our arrangement. That could mean a dozen different things. Either he was embarrassed. Or he didn’t think it was important enough to mention. Or, maybe, just maybe, he saw it as something else. An opportunity.

“He helped my brother with some bullies,” I answered.

Mr. Tanner nodded his head, “Sounds like Nate.”

“What sounds like me,” Nate said as he walked through the door. The butterflies in my stomach took flight and my heart jumped into overdrive. He looked delicious. Tight black T-shirt, dark, wet hair, that looked like it desperately needed my fingers running through it. And best of all, a smile just for me that made my world feel special.

Nate stepped up behind my chair and rested a hand on my shoulder. It took everything I had not to lean into his hand and sink into oblivion.

“What is this old coot telling you?” Nate continued. “Because don’t believe a word he says.”

“We were discussing your many failings,” Uncle Jake said with a laugh.

Nate chuckled. I immediately saw where Nate got his teasing ability from. He and his uncle must go at each other all the time.

“Did Charlie pay you?” Uncle Jake asked Nate.

“Yes, one fifty, like we agreed, for three rounds. He wants me again on Tuesday.” Nate saw my confused expression and said, “Sparring, I get paid to help guys train for a fight.”

“Isn’t that dangerous?” I asked as I looked at him again, as if for the first time. I noticed a faint bruise on his cheekbone and wondered if it hurt.

Nate smiled as if I’d asked a stupid question.

“No, not really.”

“It can be,” Uncle Jake said, disputing his nephew. “But we limit how often, and Nate knows how to protect himself.”

I frowned, these people talked about getting hurt as if it were just part of everyday life. As if it was just one of those things. Suddenly, I didn’t like this world so much. The thought of Nate getting hurt sent a cold chill down my spine. No, that should not be allowed to happen.

“Hey, you hungry?” Nate asked me, “I’m starving.”

“You’re always starving,” Jake said. “You eat more than men twice your size.”

Nate laughed, “Ignore him,” he said to me, “he’s just jealous of my boyish figure and knows he needs to go on a diet.”

“Hey, I’ll have you know I earned these extra pounds. It has taken me forty-six years to get them and I’m not letting them go. Not without a fight.”

Nate laughed as he placed his hand on my lower back to show me out of the office. My body sparked where his hand touched. It took a lot of effort to remember my manners.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Tanner,” I said while my mind fought to concentrate on something other than the strong hand touching me.

“Nice to meet you, Elle,” he replied with a smile. “And Nate. Don’t forget, you’re opening in the morning.”

“Yes sir,” he said with slumped shoulders, but his eyes continued to twinkle. He wasn’t really upset.

“A diner okay?” he asked as we walked down the stairs. “There is a great one across the street.”

“Sure,” I said, suddenly wondering how a trip to the library had ended up with Nate and I going to dinner again. See, sometimes the world was a pretty cool place.

Nate held the door for me as we entered the diner. The cute waitress’s eyes lit up as soon as she saw Nate. A smile a mile wide and full of hidden meaning broke out until she saw me. Then it quickly sank back down to a disappointed frown.

“Hi Nate,” she said as she tried to turn on the charm.

He nodded and said, “Hi Joleen.”

My insides turned over until I realized that he wasn’t even paying attention to her. Instead, he was looking at me, as if actually concerned that I liked the place or not.

A new first, I realized. A boy I was with was hot enough to attract someone like her, but he still focused on me. A sense of pure power washed over me. I could get used to this, I realized.

After we were seated across from each other in one of the back booths. The waitress took our order, all the while, shooting Nate meaningful glances. I swear I was getting ready to rip her face apart when she finally finished taking our orders. - two cheeseburgers, an order of fries and two milks for Nate - a salad for me. We settled back and looked at each other.

“So, what did you want to talk to me about?” Nate asked.

Suddenly my stomach turned over in full fear. What had I wanted to talk to him about? What possible excuse could I have for interrupting him at his work? Of going into his uncle’s place, chasing after him like a lost puppy. God, I sounded so lame. So, of course, I said the first thing that popped into my mind.

“Um … I was wondering if you wanted to come to dinner tomorrow night?”

Wow, where had that come from?

“I … um … sort of owe you.” I continued, desperately searching for some reason to be so stupid. “For taking me out last week. Besides, my mother has sort of been suggesting it. And I really want you to meet my Nana. She’s really a great cook. Of course, if you’ve got other plans, I understand. I mean, meeting my family was not part of the agreement. Especially not this early. So you don’t have to.”

Why was I babbling?

Nate stared back at me for a long moment then finally nodded his head. “You know, meeting parents wasn’t really part of our deal.”

My heart sank. Right, the plan. Everything revolved around that darn plan. I had to force myself to not frown.

“Okay,” he said, surprising me. “I can’t say I’m looking forward to it. Your mom reminds me of a lioness with a toothache. Not someone you want to upset. But fine, I can come.”

I laughed. He was right about Mom. “She’ll be nice, I promise.”

He smiled and cocked an eyebrow as if he didn’t believe me.

“So, tell me about your Nana, it sounds like she’s important to you.”

I paused for a moment as I tried to figure out how to describe my Nana.

“There’s a famous picture, seen all over the world, from the sixties. A teenage girl, young, beautiful. Flowers woven in her hair. Dancing in Haight Ashbury Park. Free, innocent. That is my Nana.”

Nate nodded as if he knew the picture I was describing.

“I mean literally, that was her in the picture. Sixteen, she’d run away from home. Joined a bunch of hippies. Ended up living in a commune up by Point Reyes. Had my mom a few years later. Moved down to San Jose and opened an organic bakery. Used to deliver to Google before Google was Google. Knew Wozniak before Apple took off. She’s got a hundred stories about Silicon Valley in the early days.”

Nate smiled, “She sounds great.”

“She is,” I said as my heart filled with love for the one person in this world who was okay with me being me.

“What have you told your mother?” he asked as the waitress delivered our food.

I hesitated until she had left, no way was I sharing details of our life with her.

“Nothing,” I said in answer.

“So, she doesn’t know that this is all fake, just to fool Jimmy?”

My stomach lurched as I desperately fought to keep a shocked expression off my face.

“No,” I managed to say as I studied my salad. I knew that if I looked up at him he’d see the pain his words had just caused. It’s not his fault, I reminded myself. This was all my idea. He was the one doing us a favor, remember that Elle, never forget that this isn’t real.

Suddenly, the world didn’t seem so wonderful.

“I was asking,” Nate continued. “Because I don’t want to misinterpret any adoring looks you might throw at me across the dining room table. You know, for Jimmy and your mom’s sake.

“Don’t worry, I won’t throw you any adoring looks,” I mumbled.

Nate smiled and started in on his second burger. “So tell me, what’s the deal with your mother. Jimmy said she didn’t want him going to college.”

I nodded, as I fought to get my heart back together. “Yes, high school is sort of a compromise. If she had her way, he’d stay at home forever. I think it’s a control thing. But she also realizes that this is a once in a life opportunity. For people like Jimmy, they do most of their great work real young.”

Nate nodded. “I’ve got to say. Jimmy’s not as much of a dork as I would have figured for someone as smart as him.”

I laughed. “You don’t know him. The boy has trouble remembering to put on socks. Let alone making sure they match.”

“But I mean,” Nate continued, “he’s not as socially awkward as I would have expected.”

I shrugged my shoulders. “Einstein had girlfriends, Bohr and Plank both lived normal lives.”

“You really think he’s in their league?”

“Maybe,” I said as I stirred my salad looking for a tomato. “We won’t know for a few years. But Stanford seems to think so. They’re like bending a dozen rules to get him in.”

“And if he has any problems in high school. Socially I mean. Then your mom will use that as an excuse to keep him out of college and at home.”

I swallowed hard as I thought about how that would absolutely ruin Jimmy’s life. I mean literally. He would never become the person he should become. Just think, the world might miss a great discovery because my mom was a control freak.

Nate saw my frown and smiled gently. “Don’t worry, we’ll make sure that doesn’t happen.”

I looked up and saw that he got it. He knew how important this was.

Okay then, I thought to myself. We were a team. A team dedicated to seeing that Jimmy made it through high school. A team dedicated to getting him off into the world. We weren’t a couple, I reminded myself. Not really. And I was going to have to remind myself of that fact.

A team, not a couple. Believe me, there is a difference.