I breathe in deep. Up this close I can smell the salt water that has dried on her skin mixed in with her floral perfume. She smells like adventure and the outdoors and it only pulls me in more, until she hiccups again and it breaks the moment between us.
She steps back, shaking her head slightly and my arm drops by my side, feeling the loss of her body as if I’m the ocean and she’s the sand—you can’t have one without the other. Looking left and then right, she wraps her arms around her waist and I frown at the change in her demeanor, wondering if I overstepped some unwritten line.
She looks up at me and I clear my throat as I open the car door for her, trying to distract her as I tell her, “I know you don’t want Tris knowing about today so I can drop you off at the end of the driveway.”
“Honestly, Nate, you don’t have to.”
I place my hand on her waist, pushing her forward and waiting until she finally lifts herself into the seat. Shutting the door, I walk around to the driver’s side, giving her a small smile as I start the engine and reverse out of the parking spot before pulling onto the main road. When I turn my head to look at her quickly, she has a small smile on her face. The thought that it was me that put it there sends a fire lighting inside me.
I want to make that smile appear every day.
Pulling up to a stoplight, I turn to face her, taking note of her shoulders that are drawn down and the way she’s moved closer to the passenger door—a complete contradiction to the smile that was just gracing her face a few minutes ago. Her head is turned but I can see her reflection in the side mirror. Her blank gaze doesn’t seem to be staring at anything in particular as her hand runs up and down her forearm in an unconscious gesture.
I lift my hand off the steering wheel thinking to entwine our fingers together, but I stutter in my movement. I want nothing more than for her to tell me everything she’s thinking, to show me what she’s feeling by looking into my eyes, but I know I won’t get anything out of her now she seems to have gone inside her own head.
Did I do something wrong?
The light turning green makes the choice for me and I blow out a breath, placing my hand back on the wheel and putting my foot down on the gas pedal.
The large houses start to come into view, each of them getting progressively bigger as I drive closer to Tris’s house, eventually coming to a stop at the end of the long driveway. It’s the first time I’ve come here and not driven right up to the house and let myself in like it’s my second home.
She doesn't move for several seconds, not until I clear my throat. “Home sweet home.”
“What—” She cuts herself off as her head whips around, seeing where we are. “Oh.” Leaning down, she picks up her bag off the floor, her hand reaching for the handle before she finally looks at me again. “Thanks for today.” She pushes the door open, getting out and starting to close the door. Before it fully closes she grins, her eyes flashing with the same light that was there when she was learning how to surf. “By the way, don’t think I’ve forgotten about you buying this stuff. I’ll pay you back.”
She shuts her door and walks around the front of the car, giving me time to roll down my window. “Hey!” She turns around, her almost dry hair blowing gently in the breeze. “What stuff?” I wink and drive off without giving her time to answer, but I look back in my rearview mirror, my heart beating loudly in my chest at the smile on her face as she watches me drive away.
I place my coffee cup in the dishwasher before picking up my cell. I received more information about Pete for Tris yesterday, but I don’t want to lure him into a meeting for that because I know he’ll ignore me and send Catiya or someone else in his place. So like the intelligent guy I am, I use my best tactic to get him to agree to meet me: annoyance.
We haven’t seen each other since the cookout, and again, he isn’t answering any of the messages I’ve sent him. He’s still pissed I didn’t tell him about Harmony being back in town, but now he knows, I’m starting to think Charlotte may have been onto something about her being the start of his healing.
Amelia told me he’s letting the kids go back to the art studio and even went there himself, and it sparked an idea stemming from Charlotte’s.
I type out a message on my cell and send it to Tris.
NATE: Lunch date? ;)
I then open Facebook and find Harmony’s profile, clicking on messenger and asking her to lunch as well but not telling her a place or time just yet. I need Tris to agree first.
Opening my messages back up, I know he’s seen it but hasn’t replied, so I type out another.
NATE: I know you’ve seen my message. I’ll message you once a minute until you answer.
I flip through the newspaper before sending another with a random fact I pull off one of the pages.
NATE: Did you know that Oklahoma declared watermelon a vegetable and that they’ve made it their official state vegetable?
I smirk as I look down at my watch, waiting for a minute to be over so I can press send on my next fun fact of the day.
NATE: Did you know that having no friends could be as deadly as smoking? That’s what Harvard University said. Apparently there's a link between loneliness and the levels of a blood-clotting protein which can cause heart attacks and strokes.
This time I actually chuckle to myself as I grab my keys to my car so I can drive into the city. I can see him now going out of his mind with my messages because they’re annoying him so much, so I’m shocked when I receive a reply telling me to meet him at Zanders at twelve thirty. I was expecting to have to work a little more to get him to meet me, but I’m not taking his reply as gospel and having him stand me up. I’ll go to his office and walk him there myself.
I get in my car and a message pops up from Harmony.
HARMONY: Sure. I’ll be in the city around twelve. Where?
NATE: Twelve thirty at Zanders? It’s a favorite of mine.