.o0o.

Elle

The morning dragged by at a crippled snail’s pace. Every tick of the clock seemed to hang there in mid-air. People talked and joked around like they didn’t have a care in the world. Didn’t they understand? I had better things to be doing.

At lunch, Jeanna and I got there first and were sitting at our table. I couldn’t stop myself from constantly glancing at the door. What was taking him so long?

Jeanna shook her head after the twenty-third time I had looked that way.

“You know, you’re acting like a thirteen-year-old girl waiting for your favorite boy band to come swoop you up and take you to their castle.”

“That makes absolutely no sense,” I said as I forced myself not to look. “You’re mixing metaphors again.”

“It makes sense from over here,” she said with a frown. “And you’re mixing gasoline with electricity.”

Shaking her head, she leaned forward. “So from pretend to the real thing. You know, that doesn’t happen in real life. It only happens in fairy tales. And you’re not exactly the Cinderella type.”

All I could do was shrug my shoulders. She’d never understand.

Jeanna gave me a long look and slowly shook her head again. I’m sure to her, I was a lost cause and couldn’t be saved until I came out the other end.

Then I knew. Somehow I could just tell. Nate had stepped into the dining area.

Looking up I saw him, carrying a tray of food. He looked his usual awesomeness. Tight T-shirt. jeans that highlighted the important parts. Broad shoulders and wide chest. The boy was a walking advertisement for pure male strength. The kind that turned my insides into silly putty.

“Hey, guys,” he said as he slid in next to me. “Jimmy is at the lab again. I made sure he got something from the vending machine, but I couldn’t get him to come for lunch. Something about a calculation he was running.”

I smiled at him as I leaned my head on his shoulder and relaxed. Jeanna rolled her eyes at me. Making sure I saw.

Nate continued on, “Jimmy did tell me that you spent Sunday smiling all day and that it bugged the heck out of him. And yes, he did use the word heck. He hasn’t picked up all of my bad habits yet.”

I blushed, but really, I didn’t care. How could I blame Jimmy? It was because of him that I was sitting here next to Nate. Taking in his leather and sandalwood scent. Resting my head on his shoulder like it was my favorite pillow.

“This is just too sickening,” Jeanna said as she pushed herself back from the table and got up. “You guys are worse than a Hallmark commercial.”

She gave me a look like she seriously doubted my sanity. All I could do was raise an eyebrow. What did she want from me?

Shaking her head, she turned and stomped off.

“What’d I do?” Nate asked with a frown.

“Nothing,” I said as I touched his arm. “She’s not mad. Envious maybe, but not mad. Not really.”

Nate nodded as he slipped an arm around my shoulders and asked. “So, you come up with your rules yet?”

He gave me a strange look and for the first time, I realized he was a little nervous.

Smiling to myself I said, “Sure, and they are not up for negotiation. If you don’t like them. Then I’m afraid this will just not work.”

“Oooookay,” he said with a hesitant stare.

“Rule one,” I began. “You are not allowed to talk to Cindy Havers. In fact, you are limited in who of the female persuasion you do talk to. Preferably under twelve and over thirty.”

He nodded slowly. “That’s cool. There are plenty of hot chicks over thirty.”

I slapped him on the shoulder. If this kept up I was going to have to get myself some boxing gloves.

“Two,” I continued. “You have to kiss me at least once a day with that famous Nate Clark kiss of yours. The one that sends me into another world.”

He smiled and nodded. “I can do that if I have to. I’m willing to make that sacrifice.”

I hit him again. He laughed and rubbed his shoulder. “We really are going to have to work on this violent nature of yours.”

“Three,” I said, ignoring his comment and fighting not to rub my aching hand on my jeans. “Is that you must promise to stay out of trouble. If you get expelled. It will ruin my entire day. Well, at least part of it anyway.”

He pursed his lips as he considered my demand.

“Remember, non-negotiable.”

He laughed and nodded. “Okay, I can live with those.”

“And number four …”

“Hey, I only had three rules.” He interrupted.

“No, you had four,” I said. “The Elle must have a great and beautiful day rule, remember.”

He looked at me for a long second. “Yeah but that is a standing rule. It applies whether we are a couple or not.”

“Wow, that was cheesy,” I said as I shook my head. “Even for you.” Deep down though, my heart jumped and my feet curled up.

He laughed. “What, you want to rescind the rule?”

“Not on your life,” I said quickly.

“Okay then,” he said with that gorgeous smirk of his. “What is this rule four?”

I paused for a moment, this might actually be too much for him.

“Once a day, you have to tell me something about yourself. Something I don’t know.”

His fork halted in mid-air as he pondered my rule. I could see the gears grinding away in that head of his. Sharing intimate details, that had not been on his radar.

I held my breath and waited.

“Maybe we could change it so that we both have to share something,” he said like it was some great sacrifice or something.

I laughed. Like I had anything secret to worry about. Not.

“Okay,” I agreed. “And we start now. What is your middle name.”

Nate’s shoulders relaxed when he learned I wasn’t going to press him on his deep and darkest secret. What he didn’t know was this was but the first day.

“Henry,” he said. “Nathan after my grandfather, Henry after my dad.”

The sadness in his voice when he mentioned his dad pulled at my heart.

He smiled as if nothing was wrong and said, “My turn. What is Elle short for,” he asked. Elsbeth? Elisandra? Elvira?

“Eleanor,” I said as my cheeks grew a little warm.

“What, your mom was a Beatles fan, she named you after Eleanor Rigby?

“No, Eleanor Roosevelt,” I said as I quickly looked down at my food.

He laughed. “Why am I not surprised. And let me guess, Jimmy is named after Jimmy Carter.”

All I could do was nod my head.

He paused for a moment then said. “If we ever have kids we’ll have to name our son Ronald. After Reagan.”

I laughed hard, “My mom would disown me,” I said. Then his words actually sank in. It was like someone had dropped a ton of mashed awkwardness over the both of us. We both realized it that the same moment.

He got a scared look. Like someone was threatening to tell the world he was a nice guy. I pulled away from him, unable to look him in the eye. Suddenly, the room felt hot and my world couldn’t settle back to normal.

“Hey Eleanor,” he said. “It was only a joke. Remember, no talking about kids until the fifth date.”

I laughed and nodded. “Okay, we can do it on our fifth date,” I said then realized what that sounded like and what I might be committing myself to. “To talk about it,” I added quickly.

He laughed. That was the thing about Nate, he laughed easily. Nothing was ever so important or so dumb that it couldn’t be laughed at.

“And another rule,” I said. He raised an eyebrow as he finished chewing his sandwich.

“You are not allowed to call me Eleanor. Ever.”

He smiled, “Okay, Elle, I won’t call you by your name.”

I relaxed.

Then he reached over and gently caressed my cheek. “But just so you know. I sort of like it, and might use it on accident. But only at special moments. When it’s just you and me.”

Swallowing hard, I tried to make my mind work as I stared into his silvery blue eyes. Suddenly, I desperately wanted him to call me Eleanor. But only him. It would always be only Nate who could use my name because it would always only be Nate who knew the real me.