TWENTY-ONE
Rose
“L ooks like the bluebells are blooming. I’ll have to take a photo for Kara,” Nate says as he pulls his truck up to a small wood-planked cabin with a green tin roof. Dozens of tiny trumpet-shaped blue flowers line the sidewalk up to the front door. They blow gently in the spring breeze, showing their color against their green foliage.
“Did Amber plant them?” I ask before I can stop myself.
Nate shuts the engine off and goes a little rigid. “Yes.”
I smile and reach for his hand. “They’re beautiful.” I don’t want him to think something like planted flowers will make me uncomfortable. I’m glad something she enjoyed so much still lives on.
Once he returns my smile, I open my door and turn my attention to the cabin. It’s small, but it looks incredibly well-kept. The exterior wood paneling looks newly stained, and the roof is in perfect condition. To our left and right are nothing but tall pines, and there’s not a sound to be heard, save for the birds and skittering squirrels.
“It’s so peaceful here.” I take a deep breath of fresh air.
“That’s what I love about it.” Nate climbs out and then opens the back door for Duke, who leaps onto the gravel and immediately begins sniffing everything in sight. He returned from the trainer’s last week and I fell for his charms much faster than I expected. He’s quite large, and a little intimidating, but only until he gallops over, leans against your leg, and looks up at you with the biggest brown eyes.
“How long have you owned this place?” I climb out and begin gathering my bags from the back.
He scratches his chin. “About four years. It was pretty run down when I bought it. I’ve put a lot of work into it.”
“It looks brand new.” I sling a bag over my shoulder.
Nate laughs and takes the bag right back off, hanging it over his own as he grabs another. “Hardly.” He heads toward the front door. “Duke, come.”
Duke immediately stops sniffing and follows at Nate’s heels. I don’t know how he behaved before, but it’s clear the training worked.
When we step inside, I’m greeted by a simple, cozy setup. The walls have the same stained finish as the outside, and long beams span across the entire ceiling. To the left is a small kitchen and dinette, and beyond it is a wood-burning stove facing a plump sofa and armchair. But what really catches my eye is the huge picture window on the back wall. It follows the vaulted lines of the ceiling, providing the most breathtaking view of Lake Mille Lacs beyond.
“This is gorgeous,” I breathe, drawing closer to the window. Apart from the overhang of a few trees, the view of the lake is completely unobstructed, and it’s so big I have to squint to even make out the opposite shore.
“That window is a new addition. The previous owners had just a few small ones across the back,” Nate says from behind me. “But the view deserved something grander.”
“Absolutely,” I agree, continuing to take it all in. Behind the cabin is a small backyard with a picnic table, fire pit, and a little dock with a metal canoe tipped upside down on the shore.
“This is Kara’s room.” Nate pushes open a door to the right. “But feel free to use it any way you need this weekend.” He pushes open the next door. “Here’s the bathroom.” And the final door. “And here’s my room.”
I follow him inside. The bed takes up almost the entire space, but there’s an antique dresser on one wall, and a window overlooking the lake on the opposite. It’s simple and masculine, but very tidy. There’s a photo of a waterfall above the bed and two small carved wooden wolves on the dresser.
“Your favorite animal. Did you make these?” I pick one of them up and trace my fingers across the grooves on its back.
“I’m impressed you remembered.” Nate chuckles. “But no. I don’t quite have the dexterity for details like that. I bought them from a guy down the street. His whole house is full of his carvings.”
I put the wolf back in place, sit down on his bed, and run my hand across the sage-green comforter. “Are most of your neighbors part-time residents like you?”
He sits down next to me. “It’s about fifty-fifty. There are a few from Minneapolis, St. Cloud, even Duluth.”
“And you know them all? Kind of like at home?”
“Most of them.” He nods. “We keep an eye on each other’s places when we’re not around.”
“I don’t even know my neighbor’s names.” I play with the cuff of my flannel shirt. I made a quick stop at Patagonia the day after Nate invited me here. I figured my Louboutins and pencil skirts wouldn’t make sense at a lakeside cabin, so I bought some flannel and fleece, and also a pair of weatherproof hiking boots.
“The culture’s a little different in the city,” Nate says as he reaches over and touches my shirt. “By the way, I don’t think I told you, but you look gorgeous in flannel. Is this new?”
I smirk. “You think I had this in my closet before you?”
He laughs and tugs on my ponytail. “The look suits you.”
I bite my lip and look up at him. “You’re into it?”
“ So into it.” He leans in and kisses me, just slow enough that I have to impatiently take the collar of his shirt and pull him closer.
“You don’t like me in heels?” I whisper against his mouth.
His teeth find my lip before his warm tongue replaces them. “You’re irresistible in heels. Why do you think I fell for you in the first place?”
I kiss along the edge of his bearded jaw. “I thought you fell for ASingleRose? Not the girl with the too-expensive shoes?”
“See, that’s where you’re wrong.” He cups my face and turns my gaze to his. “I was torn because I wanted both of you.”
I blink into his eyes, which are burning with hunger. “Well, here we both are.”
He smirks and presses his lips into mine again for a long beat. Then he retreats and pulls me up from the bed. “C’mon, I want to take you out in the canoe before it gets dark.”
I raise a brow while he chuckles, because I’d much rather stay here in bed with him than canoe around the lake, but I’ll play his game.
There is an evening chill growing in the air, but my thick shirt and boots keep me warm enough while we paddle the boat far out enough that the cabin is small in the distance. The lake is so calm; a smoothly rippling expanse around us. And just past the tiny line of trees on the other side, the sun hangs low in the sky, starting to cast an orange glow across the few sparse clouds.
We’ve pulled our oars in so we can sit and enjoy our surroundings for a while. Nate’s on the other end of the canoe, admiring the sunset, and the light touches the edges of his hair, forming almost a halo around his head.
“What if I don’t ever fit perfectly into this life you’ve created for yourself?” I ask quietly.
He turns to me. “You won’t.” It’s a troubling response, yet his expression is gentle. “But that’s a good thing. No two people fit together perfectly. I think we should both try to push each other out of our comfort zones.”
I tap my boots lightly on the floor of the canoe and cross my arms to hold in the little warmth my shirt is retaining. “Before me, did you want to be pushed out of your comfort zone?”
He adjusts the oar next to him. “I think, on some level, yes.” He looks out across the water. “But especially in the last few years, I’ve realized change is what it’s going to take to completely move on from the past.”
I rub my palms slowly up and down my legs. “Do you think you’ll stay in that house in Silver Creek?”
The warm glow of the sun touches his eyes as he shakes his head. “No, I’d actually love to build someday. Once I have enough saved up.”
“What kind of home would you build?”
He shrugs. “Probably a farmhouse on at least three acres?”
“A modern farmhouse?” I sit up taller and grin. “With white plank siding, black framed windows, and wooden columns by the front door? I’ve seen those in magazines and they’re gorgeous .”
Nate chuckles, but his eyes twinkle as he watches me. “Yeah, sure. A modern farmhouse.”
“You’d build it yourself?” I ask as a breeze rolls across the lake and I shiver slightly.
“You’re cold,” Nate says, picking up his oar. “Let’s head back, warm up by the fire, and have dinner. I have a pizza in the freezer.”
I nod as I pick up my own oar and we both start to paddle.
“About the house: I’ll have to contract out quite a bit of it. I’m not that good,” he chuckles. “But yeah, I’ll do as much as I can.”
“I like that.” I smile. “You can really make it your own.”
A few moments later, when he pulls the canoe up onto the shore, he takes my hand to help me step out. “Let me just split a few logs for the stove inside.”
I follow him to a pile of thick logs near a small shed. He reaches inside and retrieves an axe, then he picks one up and positions it on a worn tree stump, but I catch sight of a cache of split wood already neatly stacked nearby. “You can’t use those?”
He turns the log around until it is stable on the stump. “Freshly split burns better.”
I nod. I suppose it makes sense, but that doesn’t explain why he has a stockpile of the stuff that doesn’t burn well. I don’t have much time to think on it, though, because he shrugs his flannel shirt off his shoulders, leaving him in just a white t-shirt. Then he grasps the axe with both hands, widens his stance, one leg in front of the other, and lifts it over his head. He swings it down cleanly through the log with a crack.
It's…oh God, it’s even better than I imagined. His biceps flex and his shoulders strain against the cotton of his shirt, and I’m swallowing the accumulated saliva in my mouth as he repositions another. He lifts his axe again and swings it down into the next log.
And again.
And again.
And I just stare.
I want those hands on me, those shoulders rippling above me, those thighs taut as he—
“That should do it.” Nate sets down his axe and gathers the small pile of firewood he’s created.
I don’t say anything…because…I can’t. Is my mouth hanging open?
It must be, because he’s smirking when he nods toward the cabin behind me. “Should we go inside where it’s warmer?”
I clear my throat and tuck my hair behind my ear. “Oh, right. Yes.”
I swear I hear him chuckle behind me as we make our way inside.
He adds a few logs to the stove and then comes to sit next to me on the sofa and wraps his arm around my shoulder, rubbing it gently. “Warming up?”
Honestly, I forgot I was cold. I’m still thinking about the way his triceps ached to be set free from his shirt just moments ago.
“Better, yes.” I lean into him, watching the flames lick up the sides of the logs.
He runs his fingers through a few strands of my hair. “Tomorrow, I think we should go into town. There’s a restaurant that serves the best walleye in the state.”
As I watch the fire, my eyes travel to the left of the stove where there is a small stack of split wood. They aren’t the pieces Nate just brought in. I raise a brow.
He continues to stroke my hair. “Maybe we can head over to the state park. I don’t know how you feel about hiking, but there’s a short trail that’s really scenic—”
“Freshly split wood doesn’t burn any better than what’s been sitting around, does it?” I point toward the pile.
Nate chuckles and takes a breath. “No. Arguably, newly split burns worse.”
I sit up straight and shove his shoulder with a laugh. “I knew it! You’re such a liar!”
His eyes twinkle as he peers back at me, shrugging.
My mouth hangs open. “So…so you just made that up so you’d have an excuse to seduce me with your…your wood chopping? !”
He smirks. “Did it work?”
I stare at him incredulously for a moment, stunned and impressed and turned on . Then I grin and lean in so my nose almost touches his. “Heck yes, it did.”
And at that, he takes my face in his hands and presses his lips into mine. “Good,” he whispers against them. Then he pulls away just marginally. Enough to meet my gaze. His eyes have dropped their playfulness and are suddenly much darker than they were just moments ago.
I want him.
No, I need him. I need to know what it’s like to only care how it feels.
I lean in again and kiss him like I might explode if I don’t. And then it’s almost like the fire in the stove jumps out and engulfs us both. Nate weaves his hand through the back of my hair and tugs it firmly so I have to tilt my head back as he plants his mouth on my neck, hot and passionate. My eyes drift shut as I grasp his shoulders, succumbing to the heat.
When his lips find mine again, the room around us evaporates. It’s just he and I. These are frantic, open-mouthed kisses, and for the second time with Nate, it feels like I’ve never been kissed before now. I tug the hem of his shirt and he pulls it over his head in one quick movement, revealing his bare chest, covered in a smattering of hair. Malcolm shaved his chest because he thought it was sexy, but no. This is sexy.
I run my palms across his chest, reveling in how firm and warm it is. He’s built like his physique results from the heavy lifting required for his job, not from hours at the gym, and I admire that. There’s no vanity here.
His fingers find the buttons on my shirt, and in his hurried state, he fumbles with the first, the second, the third…
“Just rip it,” I breathe, trying to shrug it off already. “I’ll buy a new one.”
And he doesn’t hesitate. He grasps the fabric tightly and pulls it apart in one swift motion. Buttons go clanking to the floor, but I pay no attention. I’m too focused on the way his bare muscles just tensed and pulled at the action.
My shirt falls to the sofa, and Nate pauses, breathing in and gazing at me with resolute eyes. I stare back at him, trying to catch my breath. But I can’t stop the smile that blooms on my lips. I’m not sure I’ve ever wanted anything more than this moment, right here.
“C’mon,” He smirks as he pulls me gently off the sofa and toward his room, slowly, without breaking eye contact.
I follow him in what feels like slow motion after what just happened. My heart is beating faster than ever though, and I’m pretty sure he can hear it in the quiet of this place as he sits down on the edge of his bed and pulls me onto his lap.
He finds my lips again, a little softer this time, as I straddle him, and then he reaches behind me to unclasp my bra, slides it off my shoulders, and tosses it to the side. Then he drinks me in with his gaze, which grows even darker, before he dips his head and closes his mouth around my nipple, swiping his hot tongue across its peak.
I sigh and reach for his shoulders again. I really am going to catch fire.
“You’re so beautiful…” he whispers, giving the other equal attention before pulling away and looking at me again.
I take a trembling breath, unable to tear my eyes from his as he grasps me behind my knees and lifts me with ease, just long enough to turn and lay me down on the bed. He climbs off briefly to unbuckle his belt and shrug off his jeans, and I start to lift my hips to do the same, but he speaks up. “Let me do it.” He gulps. “I want to do it.”
I grin and lower my hips while he crawls up the bed and slowly unbuttons my jeans. He peels them off me at a languid pace, pressing his warm lips onto every inch of skin he exposes. And I just stare at him in awe, because no one has ever admired me like this. Cherished me like this. And the last person I expected to be so gentle, so tender…was Nate.
When he finishes with my jeans, he slides my underwear off too, and then his own. I bite back a smirk when I see him, because, well, he’s not disappointing.
Quite the opposite.
He nudges my knees apart and leans over me again, finding my lips with his once more. His tongue slides between them as his fingers trail slowly between my breasts, down my navel, and finally between my thighs. He knows where he’s going and what he’s doing, because he finds the spot like a beacon, teasing for just a moment before pressing his fingers against the bundle of nerves and eliciting a small moan from my lips.
My eyes flutter shut, and I try to focus on kissing him, but all I can think about is how good he’s making me feel. I sigh against his mouth, and he lets out a softly groaned response as his lips find my neck again.
I allow my head to fall back against the pillow and I arch into the bed, and I think maybe he’s just warming me up, but he doesn’t stop. His fingers move faster as the pleasure builds. I’m close already and I let his name fall from my lips as my hips lift from the bed, begging him for more. He captures my mouth with his again and picks up his pace and his pressure, and then I’m completely shattering, losing myself for him as the room explodes into a billion sparkling pieces.
It takes me a full minute to return to Earth, and when I do, Nate is kissing my cheek, the corner of my mouth, my forehead. He’s holding my hand too. I don’t even remember him grabbing it, but now it feels so warm and reassuring in mine.
When I open my eyes, he smirks at me. “Welcome back.”
I let out a shaking breath and laugh. “I think you’ve got your extra credit.”
He chuckles and kisses me again, soft and gentle like he wants to linger for a bit, but I slide my hand down through the sparse hair on his navel until my fingers meet the length of him. He groans and pushes me onto my back again as he rolls on top of me, then he peers into my eyes carefully. “Are you on the pill? Or, I have condoms…”
“I’m on the pill. All good.” I nod as my heart speeds up again.
He doesn’t move right away, but instead runs his fingers through my hair for a slow beat, letting his eyes dart across my face like he’s memorizing every inch.
“Is this your…” I hesitate. “Have you been with anyone since…”
He shakes his head and quickly drops his lips to my neck again.
It’s confirmation of what I think I already knew, but it still hits me like a ton of bricks, so I place my hand over his heart like I might be able to hold it together if it starts to break.
I want him so badly I can hardly breathe. And I all but sigh in relief when he finally settles himself between my legs and pushes inside me, gripping my hand against the bed like he’s reminding me this is us . This is our moment. Finally .
I gasp silently at the fullness of him, and he stills for a moment, closing his eyes and leaning down to rest his forehead against mine. I run my free hand through his hair and down across his cheek. This is actually bigger for him than it is for me, and I love that he isn’t pretending like it’s nothing. But when he opens his eyes again and looks at me with that gentle, genuine gaze, there’s no reluctance there. He’s mine, and I know it immediately. I pull my bottom lip between my teeth in a grin, and he swiftly leans in to steal that lip between his own.
I’m his too.
He pulls out slowly and thrusts back in, and I gasp once more against his mouth. Nothing has ever felt so right. That’s what strikes me more than anything in this moment.
His shoulders tense as he picks up his pace, losing himself quickly too. I raise my hand to his shoulder and grip him tightly as he moves in me, and the world around us dissolves yet again. My eyes flutter shut and Nate groans, finding my neck and breathing heavily against the sensitive skin there. His movements turn frenzied, and with one final thrust, he comes undone.
I kiss his neck, his cheek, anything I can reach as he slows, and then I open my eyes to see his are squeezed shut. His hair is a mess, sticking out at odd angles, and his lips are parted as he takes deep breaths. He’s striking like this, completely lost in this moment with me, and I lift my head to kiss him again.
He opens his eyes when I lay back, and then he lowers his forehead to mine. We don’t say a word. And I think it’s perfect this way. Words couldn’t convey the way I feel, anyway.
Then, after a moment, he rolls off me and pulls me into his arms as he presses his lips to my temple. We lay like that for a long time, and I focus on the way his chest rises and falls, slower and slower.
When he speaks, it’s a chuckle. “Sorry, I knew I wouldn’t last long. It’s…been a while.”
I peer up at him and smirk. “It was perfect.”
He lifts his head and props himself up on his arm. “You were well worth the wait, Rose.”
I lower my eyes and slide my fingers through the hair on his chest. “To think, if you hadn’t come to fix that leak in my ceiling…”
“What do you think you would have thought of me if we met up after just the app?” he asks.
I raise my gaze to his. He has the kindest, most honest eyes of anyone I know. And that straight nose, perfect jawline, and hair that always seems to be effortlessly in place, except for now—which makes me feel very proud of myself. “I would have been into you immediately, no doubt.”
He chuckles.
“But I don’t know. We’ve been forced to share a lot of honest things with each other earlier this way. I’m not sure I’d know you this well in any other scenario.” I smile. “And I’m kinda glad I met the grumpy version of you first.”
“I thought you hated the grumpy me?” He tilts his head.
“The grumpy you is pretty sexy, actually.”
He wipes his hand across his face and shakes his head. “I can’t keep up.”
I laugh. “Sometimes I can’t either.”
He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear, and at the same time, my stomach grumbles. He raises an amused brow. “Pizza in bed?”
My mouth waters. “Yes please …”
It turns out, it’s not just any store-bought frozen pizza. It’s homemade by a neighbor down the street who packages and sells them at the local market. She gets the cheese from a little town across the state line in Wisconsin; where all the best cheese comes from. Then she tops it with sausage from a local farm and sauce from tomatoes she grew in her own garden. I’ve never tasted anything better.
We chat about everything and nothing while we sit and eat, clad in a few articles of clothing we’d strewn on the floor. I’m wearing his t-shirt now, which hangs loosely off my shoulders. But it’s so soft and it smells like him and I don’t think I’ll ever want to wear my own clothes again.
When we’re full, we relax back against the pillows and talk about the things Nate wants to include in his future dream home. A wraparound porch, a kitchen that looks out across an expanse of land, and a pool, which surprises me. But he says he gets way too hot during the summer, and I realize that as a human furnace, he probably does struggle.
He looks at the ceiling of the small room. “I don’t think I’ll ever let go of this place though. Is this what you imagined when I told you I had a place on the lake?”
I let out a small yawn. “Truthfully, no. But I love it.”
“You had no idea what you were getting yourself into when you accidentally joined Blindly, did you?”
“Not a clue.”
“Just a girl looking for her big spoon.” He smirks.
“And here he is.” I grin, peering over at him. “But here’s the question: does he live up to his username?”
“Find out for yourself.” He gestures to the space between us.
I plant a peck on his lips and then turn away from him and tuck myself into the long length of his body as he wraps an arm around me. And it’s heaven.
He’s so warm, and my body instantly relaxes. I slide my fingers through his and let my eyes drift shut.
Then he buries his head in my neck and whispers hot against my skin. “Goodnight, little spoon.”