By the time I made it back to work, the dinner rush was in full effect. The place was a madhouse; all the tables were full, and the bar was packed, making me feel even more guilty for leaving like I had. I should’ve been there, and I hated that I’d left them in the lurch. I rushed into the staff room, put on the ridiculous new uniform, and started towards the front. When I walked by the bar, it was clear to see that Tony was struggling. Several customers were leaning over the bar, complaining, and calling out his name. He was trying his best, but it was a lot, even for the most experienced bartender. Without asking, I slipped through the counter gate and got to work. I took orders and served the drinks I knew how to make, leaving the others up to Tony. The pace was hectic with no time for mistakes. I was a little frazzled, but I loved it. In a matter of minutes, Tony was caught back up, and it was time for me to go back out front. I started through the gate, but I stopped when Tony called out to me.
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for the hand.”
I smiled. “Anytime.”
“I’m glad to see that you’re back, but don’t pull that shit again. If you need to leave, you come to me.”
“Understood. I’m really sorry about that.”
“Come in early tomorrow. It’s time to start training you to run the bar.”
I’d been wanting to get behind the bar since the first day I’d started, and there was no hiding my eagerness. “Really? That would be awesome.”
“Don’t get too excited,” he chuckled. “It’s going to take a lot of work, and maybe even some classes if you choose to stick with it. Now, get your ass to work before Brooklyn has a come-apart.”
“On it.”
After I sorted my tables with Brooklyn, I went straight to work. Even with the large crowd and constant back and forth to the kitchen, I couldn’t get my mind off Nathan. I hadn’t expected things to take such a dramatic turn, especially after how I’d felt earlier in the day. But I’d taken a step back, looked at things from a different angle, and I’d found a glimmer of hope that things might just work out. I was happy, and apparently smiling like the Cheshire Cat when Ava came up behind me.
“So, I’m guessing things are better now,” she teased. “You look downright delighted, which is surprising after the way you jetted out of here.”
“Yes, things are better.”
“Are you going to tell me what happened, or am I going to have to guess?” When I didn’t answer, she gave me a mischievous look. “Well, if you ask me, it looks like my girl got laid, but then again… it could’ve been one hell of a margarita, the kind that makes you forget all your troubles. If it’s just a margarita, I’m gonna need to know where I can get me some of that.”
“Let’s just say I was upset about a few things, and now, those things don’t seem to be as important as they were a few hours ago.”
“Yep, you got laid. So, who’s the guy? I didn’t realize you were seeing someone.”
“Aren’t you full of questions today?”
“Come on, you’ve gotta give me a little something. Between work and school, I haven’t been on a date in months. Hell, I haven’t even watched a good chick flick in weeks. My sex life has withered away to nothing. Let me live vicariously.”
A part of me wanted to tell her everything, from beginning to end. I hadn’t talked to anyone about Nathan, not even Josie, and it wasn’t easy keeping it all bottled up inside. I wanted to tell her how my heart skipped a beat whenever he looked at me, how I could feel him even when he wasn’t in the room, and how just the sound of his voice soothed my ravaged soul. I wanted to tell her everything, but I couldn’t get her warning out of my head. She’d told me that Nathan was off limits, and while I had no idea why she’d said it, I doubted she’d understand. “It’s complicated.”
“I’m good with complicated. That just means there’s more meat to the story. Dish it.”
“Have you ever met someone that makes you feel like you’re the most important thing in their world? Like you have something special inside of you that you never knew existed?”
“Um... No.”
“Well, it’s an unbelievable feeling. Don’t settle for anything less, Ava.”
With that, I turned and got back to work. The rush never slowed, making the night seem to fly by. Before I knew it, I was in the car with Max on the way back to the condo. He was quiet, even more quiet than usual, which made me wonder if something was wrong. I was tempted to ask, but before I had the chance, he’d pulled up in the parking garage and gotten out of the car. He walked over to me, opening my door, and then led me over to the elevator. The question lingered on my tongue, just waiting for me to ask, but something told me to leave it. When we got to the top floor and the elevator doors opened, I turned to him and said, “Thanks, Max.”
He nodded, and then he was gone. When I walked inside the condo, the lights were on, but there was no sign of Nathan. I hadn’t forgotten that he expected me to come to his room. In fact, it’d been on my mind every moment since I’d left him earlier, but I was in need of a hot shower. I went straight to my bathroom, turned on the water, and as soon as I was undressed, I stepped inside. I hadn’t even washed my hair when I heard the shower door squeak open. My breath caught in my throat as I saw a naked Nathan standing there in all his wondrous glory. The water trickled down his chest as he stepped towards me. His eyes were filled with desire as he growled, “I’ve been waiting for you.”
I loved that look in his eye. He looked at me like I was the sun, and everything revolved around me. I thought back to him telling me that he didn’t buy into love, but there was something in his eyes that gave me doubt. “I hoped you would be.”
His hands slipped around my waist as he leaned towards me and pressed his lips firmly against mine. The kiss was hungry and full of desire as he pulled me closer. I wound my arms around his neck as his calloused fingertips roamed down the curve of my ass. There was something about him that made the rest of the world disappear. It was just him and me, and nothing else mattered. A soft whimper escaped my lips as he deepened the kiss. Water cascaded down our bodies as he lowered his hands to my thighs and lifted me, pressing my back against the cold, wet tile. Seeking more, I released his mouth and tilted my head back, letting the water flow down my breasts. He trailed kisses along the curves of my neck to my collarbone, and ever so slowly, he moved his hand up and down my slick side. His fingers brushed against my breasts down to my hips, and I groaned with pleasure as his hand found its way between my legs. His fingers slipped inside me, moving ever so gently as he whispered, “You don’t know what you do to me.”
“Tell me,” I gasped as he moved faster inside me.
“I haven’t been able to get you out of my head…. I’ve been thinking about all the things I’m going to do to you, and all the ways I’m going to make you come. You’re mine… all of you.”
Hearing him say the words sent me over the edge. My hips jerked forward as my body clenched firmly around his fingers. I was floating on the high of my release, relishing the moment of bliss, when I felt him lower me to my feet. With my eyes still closed in a haze of pleasure, I hadn’t even noticed that he’d lowered himself down to his knees before me. His mouth came closer, and with one flick of his tongue, my hips jolted forward. My hands dove into his hair as I shamelessly pulled him closer. My body went into complete sensory overload, and he had just gotten started. What began in the shower moved into the bedroom, where he spent the entire night exploring every inch of my body.
By the time he was done, we were both exhausted and wondrously sated and collapsed on the bed. He laid his head on the pillow as I curled into his side, resting my head on the crook of his arm. We lay there motionless for several minutes, trying to catch our breath. I’m not sure what spurred the thought, maybe it was feeling the connection between us growing, or maybe I just needed him to know. Either way, I looked up at him. “Nathan?”
“Um hmm.”
I propped up on my elbow, so I could look at him as I said, “When my parents were killed in that car crash, I was worried I’d never find real happiness again. I was young, and they meant everything to me. I thought my chances of a good life died with them.” I took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled before I continued, “I had some good days, but they were never enough. When those people took me and tried to sell me off to some stranger… I thought I’d run out of chances, but then there you were.”
His voice was soft and low as he whispered, “Tristen.”
“I just wanted to tell you, I’m happy… really happy, and it’s all because of you.”
He didn’t respond. I didn’t expect him to. He told me he’d tell me what had happened to him, and I trusted that he would when he got ready. I closed my eyes as I listened to the relaxing rhythm of his heartbeat, and even though I tried to fight it, I drifted off to sleep. I woke up the next morning in an empty bed with a note from Nathan on my pillow letting me know he’d gone to work. I was disappointed, but not surprised, as I crawled out of bed and headed to the shower. By the time I was out and dressed, it was almost noon, and I was starving. With my stomach growling, I headed towards the kitchen. When I got to the refrigerator, I found another note. It was from Max. He’d gone down to one of the other apartments to take care of something.
I’d just finished making a bowl of some healthy, multi-grain cereal when Max walked in sporting the same serious expression he’d been wearing all week. Getting right down to business, he asked, “Are you working today?”
“Nope. I have the next two days off, but I have a few errands I need to run.”
“What kind of errands?”
“I need to go by the bank, and then over to the college… and maybe by the mall.”
“The mall?” he groaned.
“I’ll be fast. I promise.” I put my bowl of uneaten cereal in the sink and started for my room. “Oh, and we’ll need to stop for lunch!”
“Cereal not your thing?”
“Not that kind of cereal. It’s awful, like something my grandmother might eat if she was constipated.”
I could hear him chuckling as I walked into my room and grabbed my purse. When I came back out, he asked, “Where to first?”
“The bank, and then you pick where we go to eat -- preferably a place without rabbit food.”
“I think we can manage that.”
After I deposited my paycheck, Max took us to a diner in town for a cheeseburger and fries. Once we were done, he drove me over to the college campus, so I could finalize my enrollment. After I got all that sorted, we got back in the car and headed towards the mall. “Do you have any idea how long it’s been since I’ve been inside a mall?”
“That long?”
“I was probably seventeen, and I’d only gone because I had to. My sister wouldn’t stop nagging me to take her and some of her friends. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Those girls were out of their minds. They had no rhyme or reason to anything. They went into every damn store and tried on every fucking thing they had, and I had to sit there and watch. It was not my idea of a good afternoon.”
The wide-eyed, goofy expression on his face made me laugh, but not the cute giggle kind of laugh. I let loose an obnoxiously loud, and apparently contagious, guffaw. When he heard me snort, Max started in, and in a matter of seconds, we were both laughing hysterically over nothing. Once we’d caught our breath, I looked over to him and said, “Why didn’t you just go to the men’s section or something?”
“I couldn’t leave them. My sister was just eleven or twelve at the time, and I figured I needed to keep an eye on them. Besides, my mom would’ve had my hide if something had happened to them.”
“That was sweet, Max. You were a good brother.”
“I’m not so sure Anna Kate would agree with you on that. I could be a real pain in the ass.”
“You? Surely not.” I smiled. “Do you have any other brothers or sisters?”
“No. Just Anna Kate, but she was enough. Trust me.”
The last few times I’d seen Max, he’d seemed preoccupied and worried, so it was good to finally see him smiling. I liked the more laidback version of him, so I decided to resist the urge to ask him what had been bothering him. Once he’d parked the car in front of the mall, he reluctantly followed me inside. As promised, I tried to make the trip as painless as possible, but it wasn’t easy. Each store brought new ideas, making me want to expand my wardrobe even more. I tried to limit my shopping to just some new jeans and shirts, but I found myself wishing I had time to check out the other things on display.
“I’m sorry, Max.” I told him as I rushed into my favorite store. “I’ll try to hurry.”
“You’re fine,” he groaned. I grabbed a few jeans and headed into the dressing room. I’d only tried on the first pair when Max called out to me. “We need to go.”
“Why? Is something wrong?”
“No.”
“Then why do we need to rush off?”
“Nitro wants me to bring you over to his mother’s place.”
I stuck my head out of the dressing room, and my voice rose several octaves higher as I asked, “His mother’s? Why?”
“He didn’t say.”
“Okay. Give me two minutes.” Trying to contain my panic, I closed the door and took a deep breath. Meeting his parents was a huge step. I knew things with Nathan had taken a turn, but I didn’t think we’d reached that definitive point in our relationship. My heart pounded with nerves as I took off the new jeans and changed back into my clothes. As I took the pants up to the cashier, I looked over to Max, “You think everything’s okay?”
“Everything is fine. You’ll like Clara.” As soon as I’d checked out, I followed Max to his car.
My mind raced as we drove out onto the main road. It was a short trip, and I hadn’t had time to truly prepare myself before Max pulled into the assisted living complex. Nathan was waiting for us out front and watched as Max parked the car next to him. As soon as I got out, he gave a quick nod to Nathan and pulled off, leaving me and my overactive nerves behind. Nathan reached for my hand and led me up to the front door. Before he opened it, I gave his arm a quick tug. “What are we doing here?”
“Just checking in on her.”
“And you suddenly thought it would be a good idea to bring me along?”
A mischievous smile spread across his face as he answered, “Yep.”
“Nathan.”
Before I had a chance to protest any further, he opened the door and shouted, “Mom?”
“Come on in, sweetheart. I’m in the living room.” We stepped inside a quaint little kitchen with tall white cabinets and pale, sage green walls. The fresh scent of chocolate chip cookies lingered in the air as we continued into the living room. His mother’s eyes lit up as she saw us coming through the doorway. She came over to Nathan with a big smile on her face and her arms opened wide. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming by? I would’ve fixed dinner.”
“That’s exactly why I didn’t tell you,” he told her as he hugged her.
She smiled as she turned her attention to me. “And you brought company.”
“I did,” he smiled. “I’d like you to meet Tristen.”
“She’s beautiful, Nate.” Her eyes were blue like her son’s, but that was the only similarity I could see. She was a petite little thing, barely coming up to my shoulders, and her hair was short and full of beautiful, wavy curls. As if she already knew me, she reached for me, hugging me tightly as she said, “It’s so good to meet you, Tristen. You can call me Clara.”
“It’s nice to meet you, too, Clara.”
“What a nice surprise. I can’t remember the last time Nathan brought a friend—”
“You want something to drink?” Nathan interrupted. “Coffee or some tea?”
“I just made a pot of tea.”
“I’ll get you a cup.”
“Come have a seat, Tristen.” I followed Clara over to the sofa and sat down next to her. “Tell me a little something about yourself.”
“There’s not much to tell really,” I answered as Nathan returned and placed the cup next to her.
“Nathan, don’t you think you should offer Tristen something to drink as well?”
A boyish grin crossed his face as he turned and looked at me. “Can I get you something?”
“Sure. A cup of tea would be great.”
“You got it.”
I was amused as I watched the big, self-assured man scurry off to the kitchen to fetch my cup of tea, and I couldn’t help but smile.
He came back in the room, and after he placed my cup on the table, he sat down next to me. “Thank you.”
Nathan looked over at his mother and asked, “Has Colton gone back?”
“Yes, they left early this morning. He seemed really happy, don’t you think?”
“He did.”
“I’m glad you were able to spend some time with him.”
Nathan’s expression was less than sincere as he answered, “Me, too.”
As they chattered back and forth, I looked around at all the pictures on the walls and side tables, seeing Nathan’s childhood displayed across the room. I picked up one of the pictures of him with an older man and smiled. “This is such a great picture. Is this Nathan’s father?”
“It is. That was taken at his high school graduation.”
“I’m sure he’s pleased with how well Nathan is doing.”
“Yes, dear. I’m sure he would be very proud if he were still with us, but… I like to think he’s still watching over us. Our own guardian angel.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize,” I replied as I looked over at Nathan.
“Nathaniel James.” Her voice was full of surprise as she turned and looked at her son. The air suddenly felt heavy as she said, “You haven’t told her?”