29. Sabrina
29
SAbrINA
I held on to Nick’s hand like it was a lifeline. Being tethered to him felt good. It was right to leave with him, not giving the Lorsen mansion another look as he guided me toward his bike parked near the garage.
But it wasn’t how I thought this would go. It was almost surreal, to think it was all over and just beginning at the same time.
He said he loves me.
The woman he loves.
Me.
“That wasn’t how I thought it would go today,” I admitted, needing to say something.
I was desperate to ask him if he was serious, or if he’d said that in the heat of the moment.
“Me neither.” He looked at me as we walked. “I thought I’d wake up with you in my arms this morning and we’d talk about how to handle this.”
I shook my head. “I needed space to think.”
“I understand.” He stopped us at his bike and he raised his brows. “Where can we go to think—and talk—together?”
“My place. Take me home.”
His responding smile was slow and sweet. Before giving me a helmet, he kissed me and waited to make sure I was all right for my first ride.
“You were shaken up,” he commented.
“I really need to get over my phobia and learn to swim.”
He hugged me. “I’ll be right there with you to help you.”
It seemed like a minor detail to care about right now in the aftermath of watching George and Leslie put their issues out on full blast in front of us. But I knew I could count on Nick to be there for me. Not as my stalker, but as my…
He said he loves me.
I couldn’t wrap my head around that, this news that it wasn’t just sex for him either.
I got onto the bike and wrapped my arms around him, glad that my parents wouldn’t be home. Mom was catering for an event about an hour and a half away. And Dad was over at a coworker’s house, helping him with his roof—more hurricane cleanup. Weekends could be hit or miss like this, but I was glad that I’d have privacy with Nick at home.
When we arrived, I tamped down the nerves about what he’d think of my home. He came from wealth, sort of, and I was the opposite. Of course, he noticed how we were in the throes of renovations. But when he asked about it all, he wasn’t mean or nosy.
I showed him the empty house and the progress we’d made so far. Then I led him to my apartment studio over the garage.
We had yet to speak about us , about what he said or what could happen next.
The moment I said I wanted to shower, he smiled and followed me toward the bathroom. “Me too.”
I smiled, loving how easily we could be together now that he didn’t have ulterior motives with me and I had no reasons to judge him.
In the shower, where I wanted to warm up from the lingering chill of fear, we washed off the chlorine and cuddled under the water.
“Did you mean it?” I asked as he rubbed my loofah over me, washing me with such tender gentleness.
“Mean what?” he asked before kissing my brow.
“That I am the woman you love,” I replied nervously.
He grinned, so sexy and smug. “Hell yeah, I mean it.” Letting the loofah fall, he cupped my face and kissed me. “I love you, Sabrina.”
I smiled as he pecked more light kisses over my face. My cheeks. The tip of my nose. My closed lids and my brow.
“I love you, and I don’t think I’m capable of ever stopping.”
“I love you too,” I replied. “It’s bizarre. And it seems so farfetched,” I admitted, needing to be logical and not obey only my heart. “You bullied me, but somehow…” I kissed him harder. “Somehow, you got to me. I can’t imagine my life without you,” I admitted, knowing what his mom had told me was so true and real.
Nick had my heart, and despite how we’d started to connect, as enemies, this man was mine .
“I’ll never forgive myself for how I treated you,” he promised with more soft kisses over my face.
“But I forgive you,” I argued, pulling him close for another deeper kiss.
It seemed like he wanted to keep this serious, not playful, but with his erection poking at my stomach, I lost faith that I could keep my hands—or mouth—off him.
After I showed him what I wanted, to give him head under the streaming water of the hot shower, he stopped me before he could come so he could carry me to my bed and make love with me there.
Then following a long nap, we did it again.
And again.
The rest of the day was just what I needed. We talked, and talked, and talked some more. There was a lot to cover, and we didn’t leave anything out. Between us, we agreed that Tiffany would be dealt with. That George and Leslie could handle the lies and rumors on their own. And that I would not stay in the running for the intern spot.
He bristled and argued when I suggested dropping out of the program completely, worried that the Lorsen name was tainting my goals for my career.
“It’s not a matter of wanting to distance myself from the Lorsens,” I said as we lay in bed together, snuggling. “It’s a matter of wanting to distance myself from an inappropriate focus of the law.”
Instead, I told him that I’d rather transfer to another college more well-known for community justice. Or even switching into more of a criminal law track to become a prosecutor or DA.
That wasn’t all. As we whiled away the evening, we shared so much about ourselves. He talked about his dad and why he’d gone into engineering. I commented about the bullying and why I never let it get to me. He explained how lost and defeated he felt about his mom and losing his dad and not knowing what to do with his life. And I laid out all the reasons I wanted to focus only on my studies so much, to be able to help my family.
We fell asleep together, but when we woke up, I knew we had to act on some of the things we wanted.
Being together, no matter what, was at the top of our list. But before we could assume that all was well with us in love, we had to explain that our relationship wouldn’t be challenged by others.
I wanted to tell my parents.
I had yet to announce to the interview panel that I’d drop out of the running for that spot on the Lorsen & Spengler team.
And Nick had to confront what remained of his family.
We decided to start with my parents since we were here.
“I don’t know what to count on from my mom or George,” he admitted as we left my studio space.
I held his hand and smiled. “Well, I know what to expect from my family.”
He huffed. “Your dad wanting to beat me for taking your virginity and your mom hating me for bullying you?”
“Nope. They’ll just want to feed you and get to know you.” They trusted me, and they would stand by me.
Joining them for breakfast was interesting. Mom smiled, surprised, but Dad seemed shy and flustered, looking for another chair for the table.
After we all sat down, I explained how Nick and I ended up together. Still, like the other conversation I had with them just a couple of days ago, I left out the sordid, hot details. No parent needed a play-by-play account of that.
And just like I anticipated, they were all smiles and eagerly embraced Nick.
I let them talk some more as I ate, enjoying how they treated him with respect, not antagonism. My heart would explode with all the joy I felt.
“Nick, another word?” my dad said after we were done eating. He tipped his head to the side for Nick to follow him to the living room.
Nick smiled at me then kissed the top of my head before he left.
Mom grinned at me as she stayed in the kitchen with me over coffee.
“You’re determined to drop out—for him?”
I smirked. “I’m not dropping out of anything. Well, the internship, yes. But I’ll be better off and prouder of myself if I focus on what I really want to do, where my passion and interests really lay. Nick is just…” I smiled and lowered my gaze.
“Oh, Sabrina.” She sighed happily. “I’m so glad you found him. That you stayed strong to accept a man who makes you smile like that .”
And I bet I always will.
“What do you think Dad’s talking to him about?” I asked, not worried but curious.
Mom giggled. “Maybe he’s putting him on the spot and asking if he’s going to marry you.”
I laughed. “Mom. It’s way too soon. We’ve only known each other for a couple of months!”
She winked. “Your dad proposed to me a week after we met.”
I laughed, familiar with their love story. “I don’t think we’ll be that impatient.”
She raised her brows. “Bah. Never say never, darling. It might seem reckless to go so fast, but when the heart is tempted and you know… you just know.”
And I did.
Nick was the one for me, and nothing would ever change that.