Chapter 25 Nora
NORA
Istir Evan’s favourite Thai curry, the aroma of coconut and lime filling the kitchen. My phone vibrates, interrupting my feel-good playlist. Nate’s name flash up on the screen. A smile spreads across my face as I tap the notification.
Nate: The conference is over. I’m heading back to the hotel to change, then going to dinner with a few of the guys. Is Evan there yet?
I lift the phone to text back, but there’s a knock at the door. My stomach pops as if I’m microwaving popcorn in there, and I practically skip down the hall.
I open the door for Evan. “You didn’t need to knock. Come in.” I stand to the side.
He closes the door behind him. “Sorry I’m late. Things took longer than expected at the Grill.”
“They always do.” I take his zip-up hoodie and hang it on the bannister. He’s more casual today as he’s been helping the guys do the install at the Lakehouse Grill.
He places his overnight bag in the hall and walks into the kitchen. “Something smells good.”
“It’s that Thai curry you like.” I turn the heat down and give it another stir.
Evan leans against the counter, his hands in his pockets. “You really didn’t have to cook for me. I could’ve ordered or just had beans on toast or something simple.”
“I wanted to cook for you. You’ve been working late. I wanted you to come home to a nice meal.” I take a quick step towards him, reach up on my tiptoes and press a kiss to his cheek.
His breath stalls.
Heat floods my face, and I turn back to the curry and stir as if my life depends on it. “I’m sorry I—”
“Don’t be sorry.” Evan places his hand on my arm, halting my frantic stirring. “You used to kiss me on the cheek and hug me all the time before….”
“I know. It’s just…” I fluff the jasmine rice with a fork, trying to keep myself busy and not look Evan in the eye.
“It feels different now?” He guides me to face him. His throat bobs as he swallows, gazing into my eyes through his glasses. “You feel it too?”
I nod, not really knowing what it is. It’s hard to explain, but there’s this electrical current that’s almost tangible between us.
Evan places a kiss on my forehead. “Let’s eat, and I’ll show you the pictures I took today. Your artwork on the wall looks incredible.”
“Have you sent them to Nate? He’ll want to see them.”
“I’ll do it now.” He pulls his phone from his pocket and ambles around the kitchen island to the dining table.
I turn off the hob and spoon the curry over plates of jasmine rice and grab a bag of mini poppadoms, holding them between my teeth as I carry our plates to the table.
“Nora, this looks amazing. Thank you.”
“Thank you for staying over. It’s nice to have someone to cook for. If it were just me, I’d have probably had a sandwich and a bag of crisps.”
Evan’s phone buzzes.
“I just need to text Nate back.” I reach for my phone and text everything I was going to say earlier before Evan arrived.
Nora: Evan’s here. Just eating dinner. What time will you be home tomorrow?
Nate: Not sure, depends on how long the meeting lasts. Why, what do you have planned?
Nora: Nothing planned. I did a test today and I’m ovulating, so the sooner you can get back the better.
My cheeks heat again as I glance sideways at Evan. Popcorn expands in my belly and my walls clench. I shouldn’t be excited about being intimate with Nate and Evan again, but my body is overheating. I lift a glass of water and take a big gulp.
Evan forks up more of his curry, nodding and moaning in appreciation.
Nate: Does Evan know?
Nora: No. I didn’t want to make anything awkward tonight. We can discuss tomorrow when you’re home. Just try to get back as soon as you can.
Nate: I’ll video call you when I’m back at the hotel.
Evan swallows another mouthful. “Everything okay?”
“Yes.” I smile, placing my phone face down on the table and pick up my fork again, forcing myself to focus on the food instead of the pulse racing through my body.
Evan watches me for a beat too long, then nods and goes back to his curry. “This is honestly unreal. You’ve ruined takeaway for me forever.”
“That was always my plan. As much as I love a takeaway, I love watching people eat my food.”
He nudges my arm with a chuckle. “You have a food kink.”
I push the chicken around the rice with my fork. “Maybe not so much a food kink…” I scrunch my nose, cringing at what I’m about to say. “But a praise kink.”
“Oh, really?” He chuckles again, a red hue creeping up his neck. “Well, you deserve all the praise for this. It’s amazing.” He lifts his hand to my cheek and tucks my hair behind my ear, stroking my face. “Like you.”
The room falls silent, even the hum of the fridge is drowned out by my quickening pulse.
With Evan next to me, gazing into my eyes, it would be so easy to lean in and kiss him.
I want to kiss him, and not because I want to make a baby this time.
This is purely for my own pleasure. It’s selfish and wrong and doesn’t feel right without Nate here.
Maybe it’s my hormones going rampant. I squeeze my thighs together as if I can make the ache there go away.
Evan clears his throat and goes back to eating. The only sound is the clink of his cutlery, and then mine. The silence lingers for too long, my body on fire at the side of him, needy, embarrassed, desperate.
After our plates are empty, Evan pulls his phone out and turns the screen towards me. “Look.”
I shuffle my chair closer as he swipes through photos—my illustrations blown up across brick walls, warm lighting catching every detail.
My chest fills with pride. “Wow, they look even better than I imagined.” Nothing makes me prouder than seeing my illustrations or Evan’s logos, or the team’s ideas come to life.
Whether it’s restaurants, billboards, or adverts. It always sends a buzz through me.
“Everyone was praising your talent today.” He nudges my shoulder again with a smile. “You’ll see on opening night when I show you off to everyone.”
I shake my head. “Evan, I—”
“You deserve to be seen, Nora. Your art does. You do.”
My chest swells. “Thank you.”
“No need to thank me, doodles. It’s all you.” Evan carries the plates to the sink without asking, rolling his sleeves up like he does every time he comes for dinner.
“You don’t need to wash up, Ev. Just put them in the dishwasher.”
“I want to help. It’s the least I can do.” He loads the dishwasher and wipes the surfaces. “You want a cup of tea?”
“Yes, please.”
We end up on the sofa with mugs between our hands, the TV on but neither of us really watching. The cushions dip as he shifts closer, our knees brushing, and this time I don’t move away.
“You want to watch anything on TV?”
“I was gonna do some work. I haven’t caught up on emails or anything today.” He lifts his laptop from the coffee table and opens it on his knees.
I flick through the TV channels looking for anything to watch, but not sure I’ll be able to concentrate with the heat of Evan’s thigh touching mine.
Evan’s laptop fan whirs softly beside me. The tap of keys is comforting, like ASMR that helps me fall asleep.
I try to focus on the TV, but my body refuses to cooperate. The warmth of Evan seeps through my clothes, as if my skin’s tuned too high. Every small shift he makes sends a spark straight through me. My nipples stiffen beneath my top, and I silently curse my hormones.
I sip my tea even though it’s too hot, burning my tongue, but I need to do something before I climb Evan like a tree and kiss him senseless.
Evan leans forward slightly, resting his forearms on his thighs as he reads something on the screen. His shoulders flex under his t-shirt, and I look away, flames licking my cheeks at how much I notice.
I have a husband. I shouldn’t be thinking about Evan’s hands, his mouth, the way he looked at me earlier when he tucked my hair behind my ear.
I press my thighs together again, a silent, desperate attempt to contain myself.
Nate isn’t here. It’s wrong. More than that, I don’t want him to touch me for some clinical purpose.
I want him to touch me for selfish reasons that I have no business wanting.
One man should be enough for me and Nate is everything I want, but now I’ve experienced what it’s like with Evan, I can’t help but crave him as well.
Evan clears his throat, breaking the silence. “You’re doing a lot of fidgeting. Can’t you get comfy?” He glances my way, and my pulse quickens.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to disturb you.”
“You’re not disturbing me.” He closes the laptop and places it on the coffee table, then relaxes back into the cushions, pulling me with him, his arm draped over my shoulder. “There. Comfy?”
“Uh-huh.” My stomach flips. I’m unable to form a sentence in case my voice betrays me with everything I’m trying to keep buried. I stay rigid, despite Evan’s best efforts to help me relax, but I’m afraid if I let my restraint go, I’ll make this awkward.
Rough pads of his fingers graze up and down my arm. It’s not helping. It’s only intensifying this desperate need building inside of me. Does he feel it too? He said he did earlier. What is it? Love, lust, want, need?
I tilt my head back, gazing up at him.
He swallows and glances down, locking eyes with me.
Would Nate hate me for kissing him? I can’t kiss him. But I inch forward anyway.
"Nora." Ev runs his thumb along my bottom lip and my mouth parts. "We shouldn’t.”
My phone buzzes on the coffee table. Both of us peer down at it at the same time. Nate’s name lights up the screen, and I let out a breath.
Evan stills beside me. He removes his arm from my shoulder, then puts it back as if he’s unsure what to do with it.
I swipe to answer, lifting the phone. “Hi.”
The screen fills with Nate’s face lit up under the hotel room lighting. Tie loosened. That familiar crease between his brows already etched in place. “There’s my dimples,” he says, his voice warm. Then his gaze shifts. “Ev.”
“Nate,” Evan replies.
For a beat, none of us speak. I mute the TV and the silence is deafening. Guilt burrows in my chest. My face hot like a kitchen stove. Can Nate tell I was just about to kiss his best friend? It’s my hormones. I’m ovulating. It has to be that.
“You good?” Nate asks finally, eyes back on me.
“Yeah,” I squeak. “We just ate. I made that curry Evan likes.”
A flicker of a smile touches Nate’s mouth. “Of course you did.”
His eyes soften, but there’s the ache of being somewhere he doesn’t want to be. “The Grill’s looking great, Ev.”
“You got the pictures I sent you?”
“Yeah. The sign above the kitchen hatch works really well.”
A giggle slips out of me. “Better now it says freshly grilled steaks, aye?”
We all laugh, Evan’s chest shaking next to mine as he laughs along with us, and the tension lifts.
Nate relaxes back into the hotel chair. “I won’t be late tomorrow.” He slips his tie from under his collar. “I’ll try to get the three o’clock train.”
“I miss you.” My breath catches.
“I know.” His voice drops.
Evan shifts slightly beside me, giving me space without leaving. The small courtesy guts me more than anything else.
Nate exhales, rubbing a hand over his jaw. “I hate that I’m not there tonight. I miss you. Both of you.”
Evan leans forward, his elbows resting on his knees. “It’s only one night, mate. You’ll see me tomorrow.”
I swallow, knowing what Nate really means. He’s sorry he’s not here while I’m ovulating.
“I know,” Nate says. “I just… don’t want to miss the window.” His gaze drops to the floor.
Ev’s brows pull together as he steeples his fingers.
My stomach knots.
Nate’s eyes lift again, holding this time, his jaw set. “We’ll talk properly when I’m home.”
Evan tilts his head towards me. “You’re ovulating now?”
I nod, relief and anxiety battling inside me.
Evan’s throat bobs. “How long is the window?”
“A few days, maybe,” I whisper.
“Why didn’t you say earlier?” Evan takes my trembling hand in his and brings it to his lips.
My heart hammers beneath my ribs. “I… I didn’t think there was any point. It’s not like we can do anything about it.”
Evan nods as if in agreement, but then turns to the phone screen. “Why not?”
Nate straightens. “Look, Ev. This isn’t why I asked you to stay tonight. I just didn’t want Nora to be alone.”
“I know. I’m glad I’m here.” Evan places his hand on my knee, massaging there. “I didn’t want to be alone either.”
My heart aches for him going back to his house every day alone while me and Nate have each other. I place my hand over his on my knee and give him a smile despite my bones vibrating inside.
Evan strokes the back of my hand and peers into my eyes. “But if there’s only a small window, then maybe we should take it.” He turns back to Nate on the screen. “Seeing as I’m already here, I mean.”
Nate undoes the top button on his shirt and says with a ragged breath, “You want to fuck my wife tonight?”
Evan shoves his glasses up his nose with his index finger. “If she wants me to.” He turns to me, eyes searching mine for confirmation.
My heart threatens to burst out of my chest, but I can’t help myself as I slide his hand under my dress. “I want you.”
The air sizzles. His hand stills before reaching the top of my thigh, and he turns to the screen.
Nate observes with wide eyes as he undoes another button on his shirt. “Let me call you back on the laptop. I need a bigger screen.”