Our evening was over. I never wanted it to end. What would happen the next time we saw each other?
“Do you want to come inside?” Nathan asked, cutting the engine.
I looked over at him and blinked. My heart began working double time.
It was crazy late. Marley was passed out. My kids needed to go to bed an hour ago. And Nathan wanted me to come inside?
“I do,” Olivia answered before I could get a word out.
“Yeah, can we watch a movie or something?” Oliver asked.
“Sure,” Nathan said, staring right at me.
There it was again—that serious, uncertain gaze. He’d taken his aviators off to drive and was back to wearing his prescription glasses.
“Do you want to watch a movie, Jenna?”
I heard his question. I also heard what he wasn’t saying.
Come inside. I don’t want to watch a movie.
“Sure. I’d love to.” I smiled at him.
We could talk. We could figure out what was happening between us. Or, something else maybe? The way he was looking at me…
I threw the door open and stumbled out of the truck.
After gathering both bags, ignoring Nathan’s protest about it, I trailed behind him and the kids and stepped inside the house. I dumped the bags near the front door as Nathan flipped on the lights. Marley was still asleep on his shoulder.
“Go sit down,” I told my kids.
Oliver and Olivia rounded the couch and sprawled out on separate ends. They yawned and blinked tiredly at the TV.
“What movie do you want to watch?” I asked no one in particular. I stood in front of the couch and scrolled through Netflix at lightning speed. I could feel Nathan’s stare on my profile.
“Here. This is good.” I cued up The BFG. I knew Oliver and Olivia enjoyed that. Dropping the remote on the love seat, I looked between the two of them and said, “You guys stay here, okay?”
“Okay, Mom,” they both mumbled, eyes heavy-lidded and glued to the screen.
I crossed the room and entered the kitchen, following Nathan up the stairs. He didn’t ask me to follow him. In fact, he didn’t say a word to me. My feet moved without prompting. I knew Nathan didn’t want or need help putting Marley to bed. That wasn’t why he’d waited, and it sure as hell wasn’t why I’d suddenly become his shadow.
One, Marley was already asleep. And two, Nathan was perfectly capable of putting her to bed even if she were awake right now.
Come inside. I don’t want to watch a movie.
Instead of following him into Marley’s room, I stepped inside the bathroom across the hall, closing the door behind me and flicking on the light. After relieving myself, I washed my hands and stared at my reflection in the mirror.
My hair was still tied up in a knot, but it looked messier than usual, with several pieces falling around my neck and in front of my ears. I pulled the tie out of my hair and ran my fingers through the strands, smoothing them out. Then I rubbed at my nose and cheeks, trying to remove the excess lotion that hadn’t been absorbed. My skin looked pink from the sun and my lips were cherry-Popsicle stained.
I quickly wiped at my mouth, which did absolutely nothing to the color; then I flicked the light off and opened the door, stepping out into the hallway.
Nathan was slouched against the opposite wall, and our eyes met instantly as I emerged, as if he’d been staring at the door. Waiting.
“Hey, sorry,” I said, smiling at him. I pulled the door closed behind me. “Do you want to go downstairs?”
“The kids are asleep.”
“Mine too?”
“Yeah. I checked. They’re out cold.”
“Oh.”
We stared at each other across the small space. I could hear my breathing. I could hear his.
God, he looked so sexy. Relaxed and maybe a little tired. His hat and glasses removed now, hands shoved in his front pockets and head tipped back. The hallway lighting was dim above us, a soft amber glow, but it was enough. I could see him clearly.
I lowered my eyes to his neck. His Adam’s apple was even more prominent, courtesy of his stance. If Nathan stayed there and remained still, I could’ve openly gazed at it for hours.
I wanted that, and I didn’t. I could stare at him later. After. Right now I needed him to move.
There was only one reason we were both up here.
“They’re heavy sleepers,” I shared, my breath quickening. “Um, my kids….so, if we wanted to talk or…anything, they wouldn’t hear it.”
I was provoking him. I wasn’t sure if it was needed or not, but what if it was, just like earlier at the pool?
Jenna, I need you to ask me.
I wasn’t typically this forward, but it came easily with him. Around Nathan, my shyness slipped away.
“Or anything,” he repeated, testing out that option on his tongue. He tilted his head to the side. “You’ve become my favorite person to talk to. Did you know that?”