13. Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Thirteen
Nate
We got through the rest of dinner without any more shots lobbed in Samantha’s direction. If there had been, I couldn’t have said with any certainty I wouldn’t have taken a page from Adrian’s book and told her family exactly what I thought of them.
For all their money and concern over their image, they were inconceivably tacky.
Most of the people in that room knew full well Samantha was a Blackwell.
They saw her seated far from the rest of her family and had heard her father drone on about his dream daughter.
It was a public slap in the face and didn’t make any of them look good.
These days, it took a lot to upset me, but I was fairly furious by the time we were headed toward Kelly and Josh to bid them a good night.
Samantha hugged her sister, while Kelly’s hands barely touched her back. Josh, though, he took his time, wrapping her up good and tight. If I hadn’t been paying attention, I would have missed Kelly twitching and her hands balling at her sides.
“I can’t wait to see you in your dress tomorrow,” Samantha said. “The weather is supposed to be perfect.”
Kelly sniffed. “Don’t jinx us.”
I curled my hand around Samantha’s waist. “They say it’s good luck if it rains on your wedding day, so either way it goes, you’ll be lucky.”
That was when Kelly decided to smile. At me. A man she did not know.
“It was so nice of you to come all this way,” she simpered.
“Of course.” I dropped a kiss on Samantha’s cheek. “Anything for this one.”
“Aren’t you cute?” Kelly hummed then swung her gaze to Samantha. “You’ll have to tell me how you landed him. The guys you’ve dated in the past have left something to be desired.”
Josh chuckled, slinging his arm around her shoulders. He put so much weight on her she stumbled, making him laugh harder.
“Oops. Sorry, baby. I don’t know my own strength sometimes,” he slurred into her hair.
Kelly patted his hand and gingerly removed his arm. “That’s okay, sweetheart. Maybe let’s take it easy on the drinking, though.”
The look he gave her was sharp enough to cut glass. He muttered something about her not being the boss of him then stomped off, and Kelly wasted no time chasing after him.
Samantha turned to me, her eyes wide. “Well…they seem great together.”
I snorted, steering her toward the exit. “I think we win.”
She leaned into me as we walked, her fingers tucked in my belt loop. “No competition at all.”
Back in the room, Samantha took a shower while I changed into my pajamas, laughing as I slid on another pair of plaid pants. I’d never put much consideration into what I wore to bed, but now I’d always think of Samantha.
My group chat with my brothers was lively, so I leaned against the headboard, scrolling through their messages.
Ben: Has anyone heard from Nate?
Rome: Not me.
Adrian: Sammie sent me a picture this morning. She’s got him swinging from trees.
Rome: …
Ben: Like, on vines? That doesn’t sound like Nate.
Adrian: Vines in Colorado? Really?
Ben: I’m just responding to what you said. Do I look like a botanist? IDK where vines grow. They could be all over Colorado.
Rome: Have you ever seen a vine around here?
Ben: I haven’t been looking.
Adrian: Please, just stop. No vines were involved. They were rope climbing. On ropes! And zip lining. Also on ropes!
A picture of me traversing the rope course came through. I hadn’t known Samantha had taken it. I zoomed in and out, checking my expression and my grip on the rope, reminding myself how high up I’d been. It was a good picture. It’d been a really good day.
Ben: Aw, look at Natey. He looks so happy!
Rome: Seems fun. And, yeah, he does look happy.
Me: I’m here now. You can stop talking about me…and vines.
Ben: Hi, Nate! We moved on from vines.
Rome: Are you having a good time?
Me: Surprisingly, yeah. Samantha’s family is a bag of dicks, but the times in between family functions have been great. We spent yesterday and today outside doing resort activities.
Adrian: How about Sammie? Is she having a good time?
Me: Same answer. The family time sucks, but she was more prepared for that than I was.
Rome: They’re really bad, huh?
Me: I’m sure there are worse. Ours were no picnic. But yeah, they are. I can’t help thinking how much more awful growing up would have been for her without Adrian.
Adrian: Don’t spiral, Nate.
Me: Ah, you know me too well. Can’t help it.
Samantha stuck her head out of the bathroom door, steam billowing around her.
“Hey.”
“Hey.”
“Would you be offended if I didn’t wear sweats to bed tonight? I usually wear a T-shirt and boxers but covered up last night so it wasn’t weird for you, you know? I really hate being so confined—”
I held up my hand. “Wear what you want. I’m not going to be uncomfortable.”
She puffed out a breath. “Thanks, Nate. You’re the best.”
I glanced back at my screen. My brothers were still texting. Ben had looked up the types of vines that grew in Colorado and was listing them all, gloating. I texted them good night and put my phone down to charge.
Samantha emerged a few minutes later in a loose, gray T-shirt from her alma mater and men’s striped boxer shorts. Once again, I noticed the sheer length of her legs. I had a couple inches on her in height, but if we were hip to hip, her legs would have probably been much longer than mine.
When she walked, her defined, lithe thigh muscles flexed under her smooth skin.
“Do you work out?” I blurted.
She stopped at the foot of the bed, her mouth parted. “Uh, yes. Of course. Don’t you?”
“Yes, god.” I scrubbed my hands down my face. “Sorry for that. I noticed how defined the muscles in your legs are, and the question popped out.”
“Oh.” She laughed lightly and pointed her toe, flexing her leg. “They look good, right? I’ve been taking spin classes the last couple years. It’s really changed my body. Thanks for noticing.”
“Hard not to,” I mumbled.
Her eyes narrowed. “Nate Wells, do you think I’m hot?”
I closed my eyes. “Am I alive? Of course I do. You know what you look like.”
The bed depressed as she climbed onto her side. I opened my eyes, finding her kneeling, her mouth curved into a satisfied smirk and eyes alight with humor.
“What?” I gruffed, annoyed with myself for opening my mouth.
“I know what I look like. I’m more interested in hearing what you think of how I look.”
“Why?”
With a sigh, she settled on her butt, crisscrossing her legs. “There was a period when I had the most atrocious, disgusting crush on you. I was fifteen or sixteen, and you, of course, never gave me a second glance.”
“You were a kid,” I uttered, surprised and somewhat appalled by the idea.
“Right. You were nineteen or twenty, and I thought you were ungodly hot. Adrian had to ban me from drooling over you. He was so annoyed with me.” She snickered, her cheeks flushing.
“By the time I was old enough to even think about doing something about it, you were dating Rosalie. I got over it pretty quickly, but, man…teenage me would probably faint hearing you say you think I’m hot. ”
I scrubbed my jaw, unsure how to feel about any of this. “I didn’t say you were hot.”
“Not in so many words, but you agreed with me.”
“Yeah.” I let my gaze rove over her folded legs. “I guess I did.”
Out of nowhere, she flopped back on the bed, squealed, and kicked her feet in the air. It was as confusing as it was adorable.
“What was that?”
She grinned, resettling beside me, her legs stretched out in front of her. “That was for sixteen-year-old Sam. She’s thrilled Nate Wells finally looked at her.”
“I looked at you back then.” I slid my fingers through my hair, giving the strands a sharp tug. “But…you were a kid.”
“No, I know. And I’m glad you only saw me as a kid.” Her nose scrunched. “It would have been really gross otherwise. I don’t want you to think I’ve been pining over you all this time. It was a silly, fun crush that made life more exciting. I’m sure you had plenty of those too.”
I shook my head. “Not really.”
“Then I guess that was just me—boy crazy.” She smoothed her hands down her thighs. “To be fair and honest, I think you’re even hotter now.”
I raised a brow. “Even in my plaid pajamas?”
“Yes.” Her eyes met mine, and something stirred low in my gut. “Especially in the plaid pajamas. You’re always so put together. It’s bracingly intimate seeing this side of you. And it…yeah, it does it for me.”
“I—” I didn’t have conversations like this. Frank and true. Bold and out there. “I don’t know what to say.”
She laughed softly. “Sorry. I tend to have that effect on people. I’ll be quiet now.”
“No. You don’t have to be quiet. I…uh, I like how you throw me off balance.”
These past two days, I’d felt more than I had in a long time. Neutral was my resting state—a safe zone I didn’t mind staying in because the other option was too terrifying to contemplate.
But between yesterday and today, I’d gone from fury to exhilaration to arousal to sparkling joy. Knowing I could still feel in that way was a relief. It was safe for me to experience highs without a following crash—at least in the short term.
“I’ve never heard that before, but I’ll take it.” She took her bottom lip between her teeth as her gaze flicked around my face.
Heat rose from my chest along my neck up to my face. By the time her eyes met mine, my fingers were twitching at my side, and my cock was inconveniently thickening against my thigh.
All from her looking at me.
Suddenly, I was very aware we were two single adults sharing a bed. Two single adults who were attracted to one another. That awareness traveled directly from my brain to my cock, and there was no disguising the tent in my pants.
There was a pause, then Samantha scooted closer, her leg sliding against mine.
“Nate…” she whispered, and it shot straight to my gut.
“Samantha,” I replied, doing my level best to keep my voice steady and failing.
“I might make a move now.”
My lids lowered to half-mast as a shuddering breath left me. “Okay.”
Then she moved, her lips colliding with mine.
And I was done for.