Chapter Fifteen
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
TOBIAS
The Space is quiet tonight.
Too quiet for a group who seemed eager to get here.
My fingers are still dancing across the keyboard as I glance up at my friends. We’re sitting at our favorite table, and everyone has their heads down focused on a computer.
The fact that none of them have asked me a single question since I got back from Lovers is suspicious as hell. Especially considering that I left in a hurry, ditched my best friend's party, and then she walked out of the party. They all knew she drove straight to Lovers.
Oh hell, this is probably why when I asked to move today’s writing session from Wednesday this week to Thursday, they were eager to agree.
They want details.
Yeah … something is up.
I stop typing, sit back, and cross my arms. One by one, they follow, all eyes on me.
I raise a brow in challenge, but still, no one breaks.
If they think I’m going to be the one to start this conversation, they’re insane.
Beck clears his throat and nudges Simon. Simon nudges him right back.
“For fuck’s sake,” Hero says and shakes his head. “Tell us what happened in Lovers. How is Natalie? Nora said she’s staying with you. Is that right?”
“Yeah, thanks for calling me yesterday on your drive back,” Simon says, and there is no missing the sarcasm in his tone. “I wanted to talk about the idea I have for the apartment in Colorado.”
Shit, I forgot about that.
“You know information and didn’t share it?” Beck snaps.
Zane holds up a finger. “Technically, we all knew she was staying with him when Hero told us she wasn’t staying with him and Nora. I mean, come on, where else would she go?”
I was ready for “it’s your chance” or “you have to ask her out” kind of interrogating—that’s their default whenever Natalie and I are single at the same time—but the fact that they’re worried about Natalie more than me making a move on her is sweet.
“She’s doing okay.”
“Just okay?” Simon asks.
I nod. “Yep. She’s okay. She just needs time. She’s staying at my place for now, and we also decided to write together since I haven’t finished a book in two years.”
May as well tell them everything.
“What?”
“Are you serious?”
“No shit?”
“That’s a lot of information to take in at one time.” Hero rubs the spot between his eyes. “We’ll circle back to the book thing, but let’s talk about Natalie first.”
“Are you making sure she’s stocked with ice cream and flowers and all the stuff that cheers girls up over heartbreak?” Beck asks. Everyone looks at him.
“Is she heartbroken though?” Zane asks. “She just called off her engagement with a guy who was cheating on her. Even if she’s content with it because he’s a scumbag, a part of her has to be heartbroken,” Graham says.
I let his words soak in. He has a point, but anytime I’m around Natalie, she seems fine. Really. Like the old Natalie is back.
Doesn’t that mean she’s not heartbroken?
“Oh no, he’s thinking about it. What happened? Are you not making her feel at home?”
“Oh, fuck off. She’s more at home at my house than anywhere else. I was just thinking about how … she doesn't act heartbroken, so maybe she’s not.”
“Or she’s good at hiding it.”
“Don’t say that to him. His mind will go crazy, and he'll mess this up again.”
“Again? He didn’t even take the chance to begin with.”
“I’m right here,” I say and wave.
“We know.”
“And I’m not …”
“You are. There is no way I’m letting you not confess your love this time.” Beck grabs his hands over his heart.
“Someone get him out of here. I love Natalie, yes, but just as a friend.”
“Embrace it,” Beck says as if I never said a word. “Falling in love will be the best damn thing that ever happened to you.”
“Maybe so”—I grab my notebook, ready to change the topic—“but not tonight. Not with Natalie. Now, let’s write.”
“Okay, but first.” Beck holds out his arms as if he’s going to stop anyone who tries to touch their keyboard. “Aside from what I just said, we’re all thinking the other same thing, right?”
I lean back, crossing my arms. “You mean how we all want to punch Griffin in the face until he cries?”
It might sound a slight bit childish or intense but fuck that guy.
Beck nods.
“I’m not a fan of violence, but what a dick,” Simon adds.
“Natalie deserves better,” Beck adds, and I can feel him staring. I can feel them all staring, again .
“And now we get back to work,” I say, finally changing the subject successfully.
“And you tell us why you’re just now sharing that you haven’t finished a book in two years.”
Shit. I’d already forgotten I just shared that fact too.
I tell them everything. Graham is the first to speak up.
“I think writing a book with Natalie is genius.”
The guys all nod, and then we all get back at it.
“And then they will fall in love,” Beck adds quickly, and everyone grumbles some sort of an agreement.
It's almost comical how much they’re still wishing Natalie and I will end up together.
Me and Natalie. I let the thought cross my mind briefly.
The thing is, though, I just got my best friend back. Hitting on her or doing anything to risk losing her the way I almost did before is out of the question.
Period.
* * *
“Honey, I’m home,” I jokingly shout as soon as I walk through the door that’s connected to the garage.
“I’m in here!” Natalie shouts. I follow her voice to my office and find her moving furniture around in nothing but one of my oversized shirts. We have yet to get her things from Griffin's house, and she refused to take some of my sister’s things from Lovers.
She’s pushing on my desk, and as she leans forward, the hem of my shirt inches higher up the back of her thighs. She’s on the tips of her toes, bent over in just the right spot.
Until this moment, I’d never imagined having her over my desk like this. With me behind her. My hands bracing her at the hips as I slide myself against her. Her skin soft and warm under the touch of my fingers.
Fuck. I’ll never be able to walk in here and not picture this now. Writing won't be the same. Nothing in here will be the same.
I glance at the ceiling and count to twenty, because I refuse to let myself grow hard from something as simple as her bare legs.
But fuck.
It’s hard.
Mentally and physically.
I silently curse my friends for continuously putting the idea of me and Natalie into my head. It seems this time might have stuck more than the others.
“What are you doing?” I finally manage to ask.
She stops what she’s doing and spins. “Well, I had lunch with the girls today, and it got me to thinking of an efficient way to write together. So I ordered a new desk.”
“What’s wrong with this one?” I ask with a chuckle.
“Oh, nothing. The new one is for me. I figure if I move this one to that corner”—she points to the center left of the window—“then I can put my new one in that corner.” This time, she points to the right of the window.
I cross my arms and lean against the doorframe. I know we talked in Lovers, and I should let her take the lead on her feelings because she knows them better than anyone else, but this could be a good time to ask her how she’s coping now that she’s had more time to process everything. Her feelings today could be vastly different from two days ago. Then again, the vibes she’s giving me right now say she’s happy, and I’m not about to take that from her with questions about her cheating ex.
“So, what happens to the bookshelf that’s currently placed where your future desk sits?” is what I go with instead.
“I’m not sure yet. But we move it. Or I move it because this was my idea.”
I try hard not to smile when she goes back to attempting to push my desk into the corner she planned. She grunts again, and my dick twitches for the second time, so I move to help her.
“What else did you buy?”
She laughs.
“Nat, what did you buy?”
“Not too much, and I realize that I should have asked you first since this is your house, but I don't know, it felt right to just order them.”
She straightens and faces me. “Did I overstep?”
I push the desk a few more inches and stop.
“No.”
“Are you sure? A couple of weeks ago, you were living the bachelor life, and now you have this girl following you around to your grandma’s and taking over your house.”
“I’m sure. There isn’t anything you could do that would ever be overstepping when it comes to my life.”
She starts taking books off the corner shelf, and I try not to laugh. Okay, so tonight we’re rearranging my office to be our office. I like it.
“Yeah, until you try to bring someone home.”
“What?” I ask.
“When you bring a girl home,” she says simply, not looking at me and shrugging. “I can be quiet if you need me to be. Or just call me ahead of time, and I can go to Nora’s for the night. I don’t want to impose on your bachelor ways. Not that you’re a total bachelor, but you don’t want to settle down. I get it. You like fun and no strings and?—”
“Natalie.” I cut her off before she can say anything else.
“Yeah?” She bites her lip. “That did it, huh? I overstepped.”
“No, but I’m confused as hell as to why you’re rambling, and the things you’re saying are?—”
“Things we never talk about, I know. I’m sorry.”
She closes her eyes and waves a hand in front of her face. “It won’t happen again.”
I step closer and reach up to cup her cheek.
“Open your eyes, Natalie.”
They snap open, and the glaze coating them feels like a punch to the heart.
“There is nothing, and I mean nothing, you can’t talk to me about.”
“Okay,” she says in a breath.
Her lips part as she inhales, and her gaze flicks to my mouth.
The thought of kissing her consumes me. My palms start to sweat, and my heart pounds like I’m about to jump out of an airplane.
I want to do more than just kiss her. I want to run my hands through her hair and discover the sounds she makes when I pull her toward me and press my body to hers.
Damn it, Beck. Why did you have to put this in my mind right before I came home to her? She just broke off an engagement for crying out loud.
“And for the record, I won’t be bringing anyone back to the house. That’s not really my style.”
“Oh.”
I hold her gaze a moment longer before she says, “So, if you come home late one night, don't worry because you’re out having fun and?—”
“I won’t be bringing anyone back, and I won't be staying out late. Is that clear?”
She nods.
“Is it?” I ask, trying not to let myself get too worked up at the way she’s biting her lower lip.
How can one simple action spark so much inside of me?
I step back and sit on the edge of the desk to rein myself in. My eyes slowly take her in again. They start at her face, taking in her doe eyes, tiny nose, luscious pink lips, and move down to her thighs, her bare feet, and back to her face.
She swallows and then steps one leg over the other as she adjusts her stance.
“To be clearer,” I say, “I’m not a player or bachelor or whatever you’ve been viewing me as. I’m a one-woman kind of guy.”
“But for as long as I’ve known you, I’ve never seen you date anyone for more than a single night.”
I nod. “So?”
“So, were you dating while I was with Griffin, and I never noticed?”
God, I hate the sound of his name. I’d die a happy man if she never repeated it.
“No, I wasn’t. I’ve been waiting for the right woman.”
The doorbell rings and jump-starts her into action.
“That must be the pizza. I’ll get it.”
I move faster than her and cut her off at the door.
“Not wearing that, you won't.”
She huffs, and the tension that had been building clearly dissolves. She pins me with a glare.
“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing? I’m not showing anything.”
“You’re showing more than enough.”
I turn to leave, but she stops me.
“Hey, Tobias.”
“Yeah?” I glance over my shoulder.
“Do you think we’ll ever find our happily ever after?”
I smirk and wink.
“Yeah, I think we will.”