Chapter 14 #2
Those lips on mine. My hands on the lapel of his suit.
The crowd disappearing into nothingness at the engagement party.
As wrong as it might have been, everything about that moment felt right.
I sink deeper into his lap, inching closer in the hopes of feeling a trace of what I felt that night as Nate’s eyes grow hazy.
Realization hits me as my head draws closer with a tilt to the right. I push off his lap, finding my way back on the floor. Nate seems to register it a moment later when he turns off to the side, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly.
We were this close to kissing again—outside the bounds of our fake engagement.
“I’m—”
He doesn’t have to finish before I cut him off.
“Why a famous engineer?”
The whiplash catches Nate by surprise, but he answers, nonetheless.
“My late grandfather was a pilot, and whenever my family would fly with him as our captain, he’d give me his hat and show me around the cockpit.
I never cared much for anything except the buttons.
They looked cool. I wanted to click them and see what they did.
That’s when I knew I was going to make planes. ”
“You really liked clicking the buttons that much?” I ask in shock.
Nate nods in response.
“You know, now that I think about it, your story checks out. They say most skills are transferable, and given that you’re really good at pressing my buttons…”
He pulls back in mock offense. “Is that a way to speak to your fiancé?”
“Fake fiancé,” I correct with a taunting gaze as I lean forward.
Nate draws closer as well, grabbing the safety glasses from the top of my head and lowering them to the bridge of my nose. His hand brushes the side of my face, sending a spark of electricity down my neck before tucking a loose piece of hair.
“Fake anything doesn’t have chemistry like we do.”
I punch him in the gut, and he falls back on an elbow, laughing and clutching his abdomen like I did any damage. The thing is, I couldn’t have. The man is as hard as a rock.
“The only chemistry we have is taking place in that lab. Now enlighten me, Mr. Archer. Aside from bringing me these pastries, what do you want? We ate, and we’re done, so why are you still here?”
I’m asking him that question when I should be redirecting it to myself. The problem is…the more time we spend together, the more obvious that answer becomes.
“A man can’t spend time with his fiancée?” he probes.
I want to roll my eyes, but all I can do is smile.
I should hate him, goddammit. And I’m sure I did at one point, but it’s getting harder the more I get to know his character.
“You’re taking time away from my chemistry. I’m basically being held against my will,” I say, even when I no longer feel that way. At the start of this conversation, I’m sure I did, but now, not so much.
“What will get you to stay?” Nate lifts a brow, challenging me.
My eyes light up at the suggestion. We might be playing a game, but I’m not above bribery.
“Anything?” I ask.
“Anything,” he confirms.
I mull over the possibilities, thinking about what I want. And, as sad as it sounds, I realize all I want is more time.
Time to spend with the people I love.
Time to enjoy my life.
Time to do work.
The issue is, I can’t do the first two without taking care of that last one. A large stretch of time is wasted on my daily commute. With an hour to get to school, and an hour to get back home—I could be spending that doing something else.
“Pick me up from my volunteer shift next Saturday and drop me off back here so I can get some work done?” I ask with a slight hesitation in my voice.
“Volunteering?” His eyes light up in interest.
I nod with a smile. “Evelyn and I do this thing every two weeks where we walk a class of kids through a small science experiment. It ends at around four o’clock, and it takes me a while to get back to the lab on the subway.”
Nate tilts his head to the side, seemingly puzzled. “You could have asked for anything—a trip to the Bahamas, a fancy dinner, a car even—and this is what you land on?”
When I nod a little too enthusiastically, he straightens. “Consider it done,” he says, and I can’t help but feel like I’ve won. “But on one condition. Tell me why it is that—”
Nate doesn’t get the chance to finish his question when an incoming phone call cuts him off. Mom is displayed over a picture of him kissing her cheek. Sadness crosses his face, and he stares at the screen in contemplation, but he lets it go to voicemail.
“How come you didn’t answer?” I ask.
He lets out a long sigh, brushing a hand through his hair. “I’ve been avoiding her.”
“Why?” The question comes out with a scoff. It takes me aback completely because there’s nothing I wouldn’t do to be in his place.
“With everything happening in the news, I know she’s going to have her questions.
When it comes to love, my mom doesn’t mess around.
She’s been trying to set me up with her friends’ daughters for years, and now that I’m supposedly engaged, she’ll want to meet you.
I can’t lie to her, Vivienne, and I can’t introduce my family to someone who’s leaving in five months. ”
The words sting, but I can’t blame him. The deal between us is temporary, and his family life is permanent. Messing up that dynamic will have lasting consequences for him, especially with how much he seems to care about them.
I close the pastry box and push it his way, but he only slides it back to me.
“They’re yours—keep them. Eat them. Share them with your roommates when you get home. Feed them to the seagulls and rats. It’s up to you.”
I crack a smile, and before I know it, he’s up and standing. He salutes me goodbye, leaving me all alone in this janitor’s closet.
I sink back against the wall with a groan, staring at the closed door.
A strange emptiness settles now that he’s gone when I feel like it shouldn’t. I should be ecstatic, over-the-moon happy that I now have the rest of my day to focus on my chemistry. But I won’t lie, I’d rather be in his proximity than in the lab.
The banter. The flirty remarks. It’s lighthearted and fun. Honestly, I like the way he makes me feel. I’ve been going through the motions of life for so long. He changes it up.
My phone buzzes, and a warmth blooms at the sight of his name.
Nate: Enjoy the rest of the sweets, Wifey.
Nate: I’d like to say they were good, but they don’t compare to you. If on the sweetest scale you’re a ten out of ten, then those cakes were a solid zero.
I roll my eyes at the flirt that he is, but I’m smiling equally as hard.
He’s good at this, I won’t lie. And while I could tell him to stop—to abide by the first rule of our arrangement—I no longer care as much. This is what I needed—easygoing and playful teasing to counteract the negative.
Vivienne: Get lost, Nate.
Nate: The only place I ever get lost is in your eyes.
A cackle escapes me, and for once, I’m genuinely looking forward to when I’ll see him next.