Chapter 4 Olivia #2
“Are you comfortable, baby?” His voice is low, gentle but insistent, like he already knows the answer.
I blink at him. “What?”
He reaches across the table, tucking my hair behind my ear before his fingers settle at the base of my neck. “You keep fidgeting in your seat.” His thumb brushes over my pulse, soothing in a way that makes my body instinctively ease into his touch. “You’re tense.”
I swallow, suddenly hyperaware of how attuned he is to me—even in a mundane setting like this. I haven’t even noticed my own restlessness, but of course he has.
“I’m fine,” I reply, offering a small smile.
Nathaniel hums, unconvinced. “You didn’t eat much earlier,” he observes. “I’ll cook for you when we get back.”
He always does this—not just the watching, but the anticipating. He’s already acting on my needs before I can recognize them myself.
Nathaniel smooths out every road before I even realize that there’s a bump in the path. It’s thoughtful, instinctual, yet there’s no denying that it feels a little calculated.
He needs to be the only one who tends to me. As if the rest of the world would mishandle me, fail to recognize the parts of me that he treasures most.
A quiet buzz breaks my focus. I glance at my phone, the glow of the screen illuminating a text message.
CAROLYN
Still good for dinner?
I barely think before responding, thumbs moving swiftly as I type out a quick confirmation.
“Oh,” I say aloud, glancing at Nathaniel. “I told Carolyn and Sophie I’d catch up with them later.” Then, as an afterthought, I add, “I should probably get going soon.”
“Sure,” he says smoothly. “Let’s go.”
I freeze, blinking at him.
Let’s?
I look up just in time to see him shutting his laptop, his motions easy, fluid—as if it’s a given. As if there was never a question of whether or not he’d be coming too.
This is new.
Before, Nathaniel might have asked, a polite “Do you mind if I join you?” Always so careful in the way he inserted himself into my life. But now, there is no hesitation, no space for me to exist separately.
I push back, keeping my tone light. “Actually, we’re having a girls’ night.”
For the briefest moment, his expression flickers. Something sharp. Possessive. Gone as quickly as it appears.
“Girls’ night?” Nathaniel repeats, testing the words on his tongue.
I nod, smiling, already trying to soothe him before the tension in his shoulders can take root. “No boyfriends allowed! Even Tyler is getting kicked out of Sophie’s apartment.”
He hums thoughtfully, eyes on me.
I add quickly, “I haven’t met up with them since we got back from New York. It’ll be good to catch up.”
Nathaniel doesn’t respond right away.
Instead, he leans back in his chair, studying me. I’ve come to know that look. It’s the same one he gives to people who inconvenience him, who get in his way.
And then, just like that, his expression shifts. The tension melts into something softer, more affectionate.
“Of course,” he says, warmth lacing his voice. “You should spend time with your friends.”
I exhale in relief—too soon.
Nathaniel tilts his head with a small smile. “But then you’ll stay over tonight, right?”
I still, caught between realizing what he’s done and acknowledging how flawlessly he’s done it.
He waited for me to think I’d won. And now, he’s bargaining.
I laugh, nervous but still lighthearted, trying to brush it off as a joke. “I didn’t realize this was a negotiation.”
Nathaniel’s fingers curl under my chin, tilting my face up toward his.
“Hmm?” His voice is so unbothered—as if this were the most natural request in the world. His thumb strokes the curve of my jaw, feather-light. “You don’t expect me to suffer your absence the whole night, do you?”
I should say no, set some healthy boundaries.
But then his thumb drags over my bottom lip, eyes dark and knowing. “Come home to me after.”
Home. He always says it like there’s no alternative.
At my hesitation, he leans in, pressing his lips to my temple—soft, coaxing—before trailing down to my cheek. Then, finally, just barely ghosting over my mouth. A shiver rolls through me.
“I won’t sleep well without you,” he murmurs. “Can you really bear the thought of me tossing and turning, plagued by how much I miss you?”
I try to hold onto the thread of resistance, but then he presses a lingering kiss to the delicate hinge of my jaw, his breath warm against my skin.
“Just say yes, baby.”
I exhale shakily. “Okay.”
A grin breaks across his face—so genuine, so boyish that it would have been disarming if I didn’t already know how meticulously crafted his every move was.
“Perfect,” he says, voice warm with triumph. “Text me when you’re ready, baby. I’ll pick you up. I don’t like the idea of you walking alone at night.”
I hum in acknowledgment as I gather my things. “All right.”
Nathaniel watches me closely.
He’s pleased with himself, with me, with everything.
And when I’m done packing up, he stands along with me, stepping into my space. He leans in, catching my lips with his, his tongue slipping easily into my mouth.
As always, I melt against him.
He kisses me slow, deep—not demanding, but final.
A promise.
A claim.
When he finally pulls away, his thumb strokes my cheek as he whispers, “See you later, baby. I’ll be thinking about you.”
And then he sits again, calm and composed, as if he hasn’t just secured another quiet victory.
The walk to Sophie’s apartment is short, the crisp night air biting at my cheeks as I pull my coat tighter around myself. It feels good, though—just me, the hum of the city, and the sound of my own footsteps. An almost forgotten feeling.
Nathaniel let me go without a fight. That in itself was surprising. I’d half-expected him to insist on dropping me off—knowing full well he’d stay. But he didn’t.
I decide not to think too much about it.
Instead, I focus on the simple pleasure of moving through the city on my own. No lingering glances from classmates, no weight of expectation pressing against my skin. I let myself enjoy it.
When I arrive at Sophie’s building, I take the elevator up to her floor and walk down the short hallway before arriving at her door. I knock, and the muffled sounds of laughter and clinking bottles cut off.
The door swings open, and Sophie grins at me, already holding a beer in one hand. “She lives!”
I roll my eyes and step inside. “It hasn’t been that long.”
Carolyn, sitting cross-legged on the floor by the coffee table, raises an eyebrow. “Feels like it.”
Takeout boxes and chopsticks clutter the table. The scent of Thai food fills the apartment, warm and rich, and I suddenly realize how hungry I am.
Sophie plops onto a blanket thrown across the rug. “We figured you’d be sick of five-star dining,” she teases, passing me a box of pad thai.
I lower myself onto the floor, exhaling as I settle in. This. This is what I needed. No careful maneuvering, no whispered stares. Just the familiar ease of two people who have known me long before Nathaniel entered my life.
Or so I think.
Because as soon as I take my first bite, I feel it—the long, pointed look Carolyn is giving me between spoonfuls of her green curry.
Sophie, ever the observer, taps her bottle lightly against her knee. “So,” she says, drawing out the word, “how was break?”
I force a casual shrug, glancing between them. “It was nice.”
Carolyn rolls her eyes. “Okay… Then why do you look like you’re carrying a secret the size of Manhattan?”
I huff a laugh. “That’s dramatic.”
Sophie tilts her head. “People are talking…”
I pause mid-bite, my chopsticks hovering just above my food. “About what?”
Carolyn and Sophie exchange a glance, and my stomach tightens.
Carolyn starts carefully. “He’s being…very obvious about how he feels.”
I blink. “Nathaniel’s always been openly affectionate.” The words come out a little too quick, a little too defensive.
Sophie lifts a brow. “Liv, from what I hear, it’s more than just affection. It’s him staking his claim.”
I swallow. “You’re exaggerating.”
“No,” Carolyn presses, her gaze sharp. “This is different. Like your relationship is on another level.”
My heart stutters.
I shift slightly, forcing myself to take another bite, as if that will somehow make me appear more casual. But Carolyn is relentless, her instincts razor-sharp.
“Something happened over break,” she says. “And I think I know what.”
I grip my chopsticks a little tighter. “Carolyn—”
“He proposed.”
Silence.
A heavy, stretched-out moment of it, before I exhale, shoulders slumping in defeat. “Yes.”
Carolyn’s eyes widen. Sophie lets out a quiet “Whoa.”
Carolyn leans forward. “And you’re…” She searches my face. “Engaged?”
I shake my head. “No.”
Sophie gasps, nearly choking on her drink. “You turned down Nathaniel Caldwell?”
I shake my head again. “No.”
Sophie’s brow furrows. “But you didn’t say yes?”
“That would be correct.”
Sophie looks at me like I’ve grown a second head. “Olivia, you do know that we’re talking about Nathaniel Caldwell, right? He’s a god amongst men. I don’t know what else you could be looking for.”
I glance at Carolyn for support, and for once, I find something close to understanding in her expression.
“Cut her some slack,” Carolyn says, shooting Sophie a look. “Marriage is scary to think about at our age, especially since they’ve only been dating for a few months.”
Sophie scoffs, taking another swig of her beer. “Girl, I wouldn’t need to think twice if a man like Nathaniel Caldwell proposed to me. Hell, I might even propose to him.”
I let out a weak laugh.
Carolyn is still watching me, her expression softer now, more perceptive.
And then she asks the question—the one that makes my stomach dip, the one I don’t have an easy answer for.
“If it’s not a no,” she says gently, “then what’s stopping you from saying yes?”
I open my mouth, but nothing comes out.
Because I don’t know why the answer isn’t a resounding yes.
All I know is that somewhere, deep in my gut, something is telling me—not yet.
And that’s the scary part.