29. Chapter Twenty Nine
“Iswear the clock is moving backward.” Nate complains as we load yet another bag of bricks onto the back of the van.
“Fucking tell me about it,” I groan as I use the bottom of my t-shirt to wipe away the sweat from my forehead. “Two more hours and counting.”
“Technically…” Nate replies looking down at his watch, “... it’s only one hundred and thirteen minutes.”
I playfully slap him around the back of the head.
“What?” he laughs. “I”m counting down the minutes. I”m taking Bella on a hot date tonight, so the sooner I get home the better,” he laughs as he rubs the back of his head.
“Again?” I question as I think about the fact I”ve not seen Riley since last weekend. “Didn”t the two of you go out just a few days ago?
“That wasn”t a date,” he laughs, shaking his head at me like I”m a complete idiot. “We literally met up at the library to study.”
That”s the same thing, isn”t it? They went to the same place and spent time together. What makes that any different from when they meet for shitty walks in the woods?
“Wait, you do know what a proper date is, right?” Nate questions as he stops what he”s doing and leans against the van.
“Yeah, of course,” I lie.
“You sure, dude? You have that same confused look on your face, as I have a calculus problem I have to work out.”
Shit, am I that obvious?
“Oh fuck off and get back to work,” I snap as I turn away and go back to what I was doing.
Me and Nate don”t really say much for the rest of the shift, as we’re both racing to complete everything on time so we can start our weekend. Before long, it”s time to finish and head home. I went in to work with Nate this morning, seeing no point in us both driving the two hours to get here and then doing it again on the way home when we obviously live together.
I do my rounds quickly ensuring everyone has packed up properly and that nothing is being missed then head over to find Nate.
“Yes Princess, I can”t wait to see you either,” Nate coos in that sickly sweet voice he uses whenever he”s talking to Isabella. “I know, but I”ll be there soon, and then we can grab the late showing.”
I make my way towards the driver’s side out of habit but Nate shakes his head and points towards the passenger’s side. For fuck sake!
Reluctantly, like a scolded child I do as I”m told, knowing I”m never gonna win this argument. I drop myself into my seat just as Nate gets into the driver”s side. Why the fuck does this asshole always insist I ride shotgun? Sure, I”ve had the odd beer here or there before work but so what? It”s not like I”m drunk! But no, this ass seems resigned to demanding I stay a fucking passenger whenever we share a ride.
I sulk in my seat and as soon as Nate climbs in, his phone connects to Bluetooth.
Princess fucking Isabella’s perky as fuck voice beams through the speakers. “So there”s this super romantic movie playing at ten, it”s from a book me and the girls have been reading.” I can”t help but roll my eyes at the thought of that. “Or we can watch an action or a horror movie if you”d prefer,” she offers.
“No baby, that movie sounds great. You might have to explain it to me a little though,” Nate chuckles softly, and I notice a cheese eating grin on his face, but have no idea why.
The conversation goes back and forth for a couple more minutes before he finally hangs up. We drive for a few more minutes, listening to the radio before the questions in my mind get too much for me. I turn down the radio, earning me a raised eyebrow and a side glance from Nate.
“You okay?” he asks.
“Why the fuck did you agree to watch some shitty chick flick? She literally offered you an out and you didn’t take it. And even worse, it’s a book chick flick. You don”t even read, do ya?”
My mind briefly transports me back to the days when Nate truly couldn”t read, back in the days before we realized he was dyslexic. The hours I”d spent trying to teach him how to break down those words. How to recognize which letters were silent. And the many failed attempts he’d have trying to read and write his little letters to Isabella when we were young.
“No, but she does. And whatever this book is, it obviously means something to her if she wants to see the movie, so as her boyfriend, that”s what we”re gonna do,” Nate says casually.
“Yeah, but why? If she wants to watch it, she can watch it. Why would you watch a movie you have no interest in? One that’s gonna be all mushy and shit?” I ask, generally confused and kind of horrified by the notion.
“You really are a clueless asshole aren”t ya, Gabe. She’s my girlfriend, which means whatever makes her happy, I”ll do. I don”t know the movie or plotline, that”s true. But I know it will make Bella happy. I know she’ll sit there with a huge smile on her face the whole way through the movie and I know that by the end of the night, I”ll probably get to kiss my girl a few times,” he says with a smile.
Really a kiss? The boy is putting himself through a few hours of boredom and annoyance for a kiss?
Nate looks over again shaking his head at me. “So what would YOU usually do then, oh wise brother of mine?”
“Nothing. Just do whatever I want I guess,” I shrug.
“I pity your girlfriend, you self-centered ass,” he laughs, as he takes his hand off the steering wheel ever so briefly to give me a little shove.
We sit in silence for a couple of minutes before I pipe up again.
“So are all dates supposed to be cheesy and boring? Can”t you just meet up and do shit and that”s a date?” I ask as I think about Riley and the fact I”m seeing her tomorrow.
“Honestly Gabe, I swear you”re an alien sometimes.” Nate sighs.“ Okay, what do you usually do then? What”s your idea of a date?”
“Well, until Riley, I”ve never dated anyone. Just met up for sex. Does that count? People fuck on dates don’t they?” I ask honestly as I scratch my head.
“No… well, I guess technically, yes… but that”s not the date part.” Nate mumbles, sounding a little flustered. “The date is what happened before. It”s the planning, the attention, the romance. That”s what makes the date a date. Anything else is just, well, extra. But you don”t need it,” Nate blushes and I can”t help but smirk.
“So you don’t like to fuck on your dates then, no?” I tease. Knowing full well this question will fluster him even more.
“No.” Nate mumbles before I cut him off.
“So you’re saying you don’t want to fuck your girlfriend? That”s odd,” I add.
“Urgh ... ah, I do…” Nate starts, sounding expectantly flustered.
“So you don”t find your girlfriend sexy? You don”t think about ripping her clothes off and having your fun with her?” I tease.
“That”s more than a little odd.”
“Well, of course I do but…”
“But what, Natey boy?” I laugh. “You”re a pussy that still hasn”t figured out how to close the deal yet?”
“It”s not like that,” Nate says as his whole face goes as red as a tomato. Man, it”s so much fun to tease him.
“Tell that to your poor blue balls,” I laugh again, as I reach for the radio and turn it back up with an accomplished grin.
We drive for a while longer and I can”t help but smirk as I see Nate continually giving me the side eye. I hear a buzzing from beside me and look over at Nate”s phone on the dashboard. Every couple of seconds it keeps going off.
“Do us a favor and see what that is,” Nate asks.
I reach for his phone and notice it says it”s from Isabella.
“It”s just her,” I say, placing the phone back down.
“What did Bella say?” he asks.
“What? You want me to read it?” No way in hell would I let anyone read my messages.
“Well yeah, I can’t I’m driving, duh”
I reach for the phone again and read the first message out loud.
“Hey baby,” I read before clarifying, “she said baby, not me.”
“Yeah, no shit Sherlock. What else did she say?”
“Hey baby, I can”t wait to see you. Pops says he will drop me at the movie theater so you don’t have to drive all the way over here to pick me up. The film starts at ten but I”ll meet you about 9:45 p.m. if you want so we have time to grab snacks.” What a boring ass message. Literally no sass or anything. If that was Riley, she’d at least have made it flirty.
Another message buzzes through as I”m reading. “What”s that one say?” Nate asks. When the fuck did I become a fucking personal assistant?
“It says.. I got this for you, what do you think?” I reply feeling confused. That is until it buzzes a second later telling me it”s a picture. I quickly cover the screen before I see something I REALLY do not want to see.
“It”s a picture!” I gasp. Shit, now I”m the one who”s flustered and embarrassed.
“A picture of what?” Nate asks, still not taking his eyes off the road.
“A..picture.. from your girlfriend,” I say slowly as I exaggerate each word to drive my point home.
“A… picture…of…what?” Nate replies in a mocking tone. Seriously, is this boy an idiot? A picture from his girlfriend. It”s blatantly gonna be naughty. And the last thing I wanna do is see a naked picture of my brother”s girl by accident.
“I don”t know,” I say in frustration. What sort of weirdo is my brother that he wants me to look? Does he have some weird fetish or something?
“Well then, looook,” Nate replies with a shake of his head.
“O-kay” I reply hesitantly as I remove my hand from the screen and peer at the photo nervously. What the fuck?!? It takes me a second to properly grasp what I”m looking at. “It”s a picture of candy… on a bed,” What the heck?
Nate peers over for a microsecond before telling me to hit voice note.
“No way, where did you find those?” he says excitedly. “You”re so adorable; bring them with you. Can”t wait to see you. Love you, baby,” he then hits the send button.
“What was that all about?” I ask as soon as he”s done.
“When we were kids her grandparents used to take us to a little sweet shop and she always chose those swizzle sticks. But the shop closed down years ago and we’ve not seen them anywhere since,” he explains.
“Ohh,” I sigh. “I really thought it was gonna be something else,” I laugh as I shake my head.
“What was?” Nate asks, sounding confused.
“The picture. I really thought it was gonna be some naked picture or something. I just saw the bed and panicked,” I say as I continue to laugh.
“Duude?” Nate laughs. “I did wonder why you were being so weird.”
“Well yeah. A girl sends you a picture of a bed; what else am I supposed to think?”
“I guess, but no, I can 100% guarantee Bella isn”t the sort to send me those kinds of pictures. And if she did, there”s no way in heaven or hell I”d be letting anyone else see.” He’s still laughing but I can hear a little seriousness in his voice as well as he says the last part.
“So, like never?” I ask. “You just know her pictures are going to be safe for anyone”s eyes?” I question.
“Well yeah.”
“So you never sext?” I ask. Feeling unusually inquisitive.
“I guess sometimes we flirt, yeah. But no, I don”t expect to just receive those kinds of pictures or messages, especially without some warning”
“What do you talk about then?” I quiz.
“I dunno. We talk about school and things we like. Or dates we’re going on. Or we send each other pictures of things we think will make the other smile. You know, just normal boyfriend and girlfriend stuff.”
“Oh,” I say quietly.
“There”s more to relationships than just sex, Gabe. Surely even you realize that,” Nate finally says after a few minutes of silence.
I spend the rest of the car journey thinking and looking through my own phone. I click on Kelly, Sophie, Lucy, and a few other girls on my phone and after a quick scroll realize there”s nothing in any of the threads that are about anything other than sex. Sure there are lots of pictures, great pictures in fact. Although they no longer excite me as much as they used to. But nothing of any substance, that is, until I get to Riley’s. There”s a mixture of morning messages from her. Or random ones telling me about her day or asking about mine. And a few pictures, which are sexy but not half as revealing as the other photos I”ve looked at. Yet these are the ones that make my heart pound and my dick start to swell. I click out of the messages quickly, not wanting to spend the last of my car ride beside my goddamn brother sporting a semi.
We finally pull up at home and both head inside. Nate rushes into the shower as I head to the kitchen to get a much needed beer. I hear Nate moving around in his room, then about half an hour later he disturbs me by rummaging around behind me.
“What the fuck you doing?” I finally ask.
“Looking for my wallet,” he replies, in a panic. “I think I might have left it in my coat at work.”
“Here,” I say, taking my wallet out of my back pocket and throwing it at him. “Take what you need.”
“I can”t do that,” Nate replies, handing it back to me.
“Nathaniel, take the goddamn money. You can pay me back Monday if it bothers you that fucking much.” I huff. Seriously, will he fuck off already so I can get back to my show.
“Thanks, bro. Love you,” he replies as he carefully takes out just a few bills. “I took $50. I”ll pay you back Monday, I promise,” he adds as he rushes out the door.
I continue watching TV until I receive a text message.
Smoking Hot Cock Tease
Hey, are we still on for tomorrow? It”s fine if not.
I read her message and for some reason feel slightly guilty. Me and Riley arranged to see each other tomorrow. A date, I guess you”d call it. Except I made no plans whatsoever for what we’d do on it. I was just gonna pick her up and then drive. Or she could come with me while I went to get a few parts for my bike as it needs a quick once over after I scratched it the night I got arrested.
Me
Yeah, I”ll pick you up around 10 a.m.
Pulling out my laptop, the one I hardly ever use, I begin looking for ideas. I try googling, ‘What do girls like to do?’ and get a bunch of random shit like ‘Get their hair and nails done’ or ‘go shopping’ pop up. Well that”s not helpful.
Next, I try searching ‘What can I do with a hot girl’ thinking maybe that will give me a better idea of things to do that don”t include trying to make them look better. And of course all I get is a bunch of sex tips. Pretty sure that”s not a problem we have. I can”t help but smirk as I think of all the different ways I”ve made Riley moan.
Finally, I search, ‘Fun things to do with a girl you like.’ Underneath a suggestion for ‘Top twenty romantic date ideas’ pops up.
I click on it, not expecting much, but am pleasantly surprised when I find what I”m looking for. I scroll through the list: picnics in the park. Lame. Painting and pottery making. Boring. Horseback riding. Weird. Hot air balloon rides. Unnerving. Cocktail making. Promising, but Riley made me promise not to drink and drive when she”s with me.
I almost give up until something jumps out at me. ‘Theme park’. Now that could work. It”s fun and exciting. Isn”t too girly. But it means she gets to see how brave I am. Winner!!