Chapter 17
17
Natalie
I shouldn’t like being his baby as much as I do, but it’s amazing how views on things like that change when with the right person.
Is Nick the right person?
He’s been a great sport by staying and drinking, hanging out with Tatum and me. But there are so many people we know here that it’s usually a large crowd with everyone trying to add to the conversation.
Nick just fits right in—my life, my group of friends, my heart—like he’s always been a part of things. I listened to him regale everyone with stories from surfing with sharks to once falling for a girl who fell into his arms. His arm tightened around me, and I held him the same. In the brief span of a few hours here, we went from having fun to something more serious. I’m not sure if we’ll label it, give this relationship a formal title, but I’m not opposed to it.
It’s been a long time since I was in a committed relationship, and I wonder now if it was a good thing I waited. I know I’ll hate the geographical distance between us, but who knows what tomorrow brings?
After leaving the restroom, I stop at the end of the bar when I find him and Tatum across the room. From his looks to his charming personality to being a man with a real job that pays his bills, he’s perfect. Nick’s not just perfect on paper, but in real life.
Even with my friends, he’s a dream come true. Tatum’s always been hard on my boyfriends because she was right—they were losers. But with Nick, she laughs while showing him something on her phone.
Wait . . . photos! Incriminating photos. I run, squeezing between groups of friends and couples, guys trying to pick up women and bachelorette partiers. With my eye on the prize, I make a Hail Mary attempt to grab the phone and make a run for it. Practically diving for it, I say, “No!”
But in my haste, I didn’t calculate Tatum moving her arm to her chest and taking the phone with her. I bumble into the back of Nick, but being the wall of muscle that he is, I’m like a bouncy ball off him. Landing on the heels of my boots, I wave my arms frantically in the air to keep from tipping backward.
Tatum and Nick each are quick to grab a wrist and pull me forward so I can anchor my feet.
Angling his head, Nick stares at me in curiosity. “And I thought you falling in Catalina was a one-off. I’m reconsidering my position on this.”
I shake my head. “No need for considering or reconsidering anything of the sort. I’m usually not clumsy. Well, I wasn’t before you anyway.”
“I’m to blame?”
Nodding with confidence, I say, “Technically, yes. There’s some kind of weird gravitational pull you have on women that makes them fall at your feet.”
“Unless I catch them, of course. Don’t discount my catching skills.”
“I would never. You caught me. I’m living, breathing proof of your skills.”
Tatum interrupts to ask, “What are we talking about?”
I burst out laughing. “Nothing. Just flirting with Nick.”
She laughs as she glances around the bar. “That makes a lot more sense.” When she turns back, she looks back and forth between Nick and me. “You know, Harrison told me he’d never seen you instantly smitten before.”
Nick seems surprised. “Harrison said I was smitten? That doesn’t sound like him.”
“He said obsessed, but I softened it with smitten.”
Nodding, Nick slinks his arm around me and pulls me to his side. “I am fairly obsessed with her.”
“Fairly?” I ask, hitting him playfully in the chest.
He lifts my chin. “Utterly, head over heels, obsessed with you, Natalie.”
I’m not sure if my knees go weak from his words or from how he’s staring into my eyes like he can see forever for the first time, though the latter might just be me. Either way, my walls have crumbled at the feet of this man, and I’m letting him into my life like we have more than tomorrow ahead.
Tatum adds, “I’m just saying that I’m glad you two reconnected, and I know Harrison would feel the same.”
With Nick’s arm around me like it’s now mine to parade around the place showing him off, I say, “I appreciate that, and I think we’re going to take off.”
I give her a hug, and then she and Nick share a friendly embrace. He says, “I’ll let Harrison know I ran into you.”
“Yes, tell him hi from me. I’m going to say hi to some people I saw just walk in.” She’s about to dash off but stays a second longer to say, “Congrats, Nat.”
“Thanks. I’m pretty excited we have a job for another year.”
Thumbing toward Nick, she laughs. “I meant for him but on the loan as well.” She winks and then disappears in the mass of people crowding O’Reilly’s. It’s hard to pass up a Monday at this bar because of the great atmosphere and live band. Except it’s suddenly becoming easy to leave since Nick is here.
We hold hands as we work our way toward the exit, but talk about bad timing. I reach the door just as Dane walks in. My ex’s eyes dart from my face to my hand clasped in Nick’s. He glares at Nick before he turns back to me. “Nat.”
“Hey,” I say, my view suddenly aimed at the floor. I force my eyes up, not letting him win. I felt like shit when we were together, and though it was hard to get out from under that relationship, I did and have never felt better. My hand wraps around Nick’s a lot tighter, and I say, “Bye.”
Dane stands in the way, but I slink around him. Nick, though . . . he waits until Dane gives way. Out on the sidewalk, we start walking wordlessly until we reach the corner of the block. Nick stops, and says, “Don’t ever cower to a man. You don’t owe anyone anything. You stand up for yourself by not giving him or any other man the power to think they’re in control. They’re not. You are. Own it.” His voice is as tense as his shoulders.
“Why are you mad at me? Because I didn’t want a confrontation with an ex-boyfriend?”
“No, because you deserve better than how you just treated yourself. You don’t owe him jack shit, so tell him to fuck off and move on with your night, or better yet, your life.”
Anger rises inside me, the heat reaching my chest. “I have.” Holding our conjoined hands, I add, “See?” But I don’t feel understood, so I step back, needing the distance to get my thoughts together before speaking again. “I may have seemed weak to you, but that was me facing my demons for the first time since we broke up. What you fail to understand, Counselor, is that I don’t need to wage a war with him anymore. Like you said, I don’t owe him anything, not even another moment of my time. So when I told him bye, I meant it. Hopefully, it’s forever this time.”
I move close to a candy store entrance to get out of the pedestrian traffic and watch as he stares at me. He finally joins me under the pink and white awning, and says, “I’m sorry. I misjudged your response, your strength in that situation, and replaced it with how I thought it should go. So I was wrong, and I’m sorry for not understanding.”
Pinching his shirt in the front, I tug him closer. “I expected a fight.”
“I can admit when I’m wrong. In this case, I shouldn’t have said anything.”
I rest my forehead against his shirt. “I hope this counts as our first fight.”
His brow raises and his eyes widen. “You want it to?”
“Yes, because if so, then we can move onto the last item on your to-do list.”
I didn’t know it was possible for his eyes to go wider, but he manages it and then balks with laughter. “I give you a taste, and you want the whole damn ice cream cone.”
“You’re not wrong.”
Pointing toward the ice cream parlor, he adds, “Pun intended.”
Taking his hand, I tug him toward the street so we can hail a taxi. “Come on. We’re running out of time, so let’s get to it. Your place or mine?”
“Depends how loud you plan to be since you have a roommate.”
“Your place it is.” When I take off walking again, I’m pulled to a stop. Looking back at him, I ask, “What?”
“What picture did you not want me to see?”
I’d almost forgotten about that incident. “I’ve known Tatum all my life. She has more blackmail material than anyone else. I’m not sure which photos she was showing you, but I’m sure it involved some bad hairstyle and me looking awkward from my teenage years.”
He releases my hand and pulls his phone from his pocket. Holding it up, he said, “And here I thought you looked gorgeous the day we met.”
There on his phone is a photo of me in Catalina—hair blowing wildly in the wind, the ocean off in the distance behind me, and a smile that could light up Brooklyn. It’s a photo I insisted she take when we walked out of the bar where I said I think I just met the man I’m going to marry.
I may have been tipsy, but that encounter with Nick is unforgettable. A lot like the man in front of me now. Why am I already missing him? I barely know him. My heart knows him best. His sweetness toward me draws me in like a bee to his honey. Don’t even get me started on the sex . . . Call me shallow for loving our physical as much as the emotional connection we’re building, but damn, I love that he cares to put my needs at the forefront of his pleasure. That’s a first for me to experience, and now that I have, I’m not sure I want to let him go. As a matter of fact, I don’t.
I return to him. “Tatum gave you that?”
“Yeah, I asked her if I could have a copy.” His words are tentative as if I’ll tell him no. “I hope you don’t mind.”
I look back at the photo again. “I don’t mind. Now you have something to remember me by.”
“Do I need something to remember you by?” Lowering the phone, he keeps his hands to himself when all I want is to have them touching me. “Because I’ve been thinking that maybe we could give a long-distance relationship a try.” I open my mouth, but he’s quick to put a hand up to stop me. “I know you said it’s impossible because we’re in two different worlds. Beaches to skyscrapers. Sunny all year to changing seasons. Hollywood to Broadway. But if I could move my world closer to you, I would in a heartbeat. I can’t promise you I’ll see you every weekend, but I can promise you that In-N-Out Burger is pretty damn good. So whether I come here or you fly there, I think whatever this is between us is worth giving a real shot.”
“If you keep this up, Mr. Smug and Sexy, I’ll be a pile of romantic mush to clean up off the sidewalk.” I giggle, and say, “And I think you’re playing dirty by dragging burgers into this big life decision.”
“I know your Achilles heel—add in a mound of fries, not as a side, but on a plate of its own with extra ketchup on everything and all the added extras no matter the expense. That’s what I’ll give you if you give me . . . if you give us a chance.”
“You’re speaking my love language.” If I wasn’t already weak to him, he has me ready to take the leap. I hold my hand over my stomach because now I’m hungry, but there’s too much to talk about to skip over and lose sight of this conversation over a plate of fries. “As much as I love talking about food, can we loop back to the long-distance dating part again?”
We clasp hands again and resume walking. “Yes, what do you want to know?”
“Where your heart lies.”
“My heart has been yours since that day in Catalina.”
This time when I tug him, I’m successful. “Now you’re trying to steal my heart, Mr. Christiansen?”
“I thought I was smug and sexy.”
I bump into his arm, knocking him off track just like he’s knocked me off mine. “You’re so bad. I knew you’d fixate on that part.”
He shrugs. “Well, you did call me smug, although I’d prefer to hear more about the sexy part.” I roll my eyes, and just when we reach the corner, he steps down into the street putting us closer to eye level. Cupping my face, he kisses me, and then says, “If I get the girl, I’ll be bad every damn night if I get to spend them with you, Ms. St. James. How does that sound?”
“How can I say no to that offer?”
“I’m hoping you can’t.”
I press into the space left between us. Snug in his arms, I know what I want to say. I can’t let fears of being dumped or, worse, not being good enough for him to keep me from trying.
Angling my head on his shoulder, I look up, catching my tiara before it slips off. “Are you asking me to be your girlfriend?”
His fingers weave into my hair, holding me close, and he kisses my forehead. “I am. Will you be my girlfriend, Natalie?”
My heart is racing, but there’s nowhere I’d rather be than in his arms and work my way into his heart like he’s worked his way and settled into mine. Long distance may be something new, but for him, it’s worth the fight to make it work. “I’m yours, Nick, and have been since Avalon just like you said you’ve been mine.”
We kiss, the new commitment a part of every ounce of our embrace, and two become one.