Enjoying the Chase (Guarded Hearts 2)

His face relaxed and a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him impossibly closer to me, gripping the back of his hair so he couldn’t pull away from me.

“Oh, okay, good. I was worried.” His eyes raked over every inch of my face as one hand traced up my back slowly, gripping the back of my neck lightly as his other arm tightened around my waist, crushing my body against his.

Every inch of my skin broke out in goosebumps as my breath caught in my throat. Just the way he looked at me made me feel special, needed, and beautiful. I wasn’t sure what he saw in me, but I silently prayed that he always saw it and always looked at me this way.

I smiled and went up on tiptoes, pressing my lips to his softly for a second before pulling away when I heard DJ running towards the kitchen, shouting excitedly about Nemo and Dory being in the book too. Nate stepped back and leant against the counter a couple of feet away from me. A smirk resided on his lips that made my skin prickle.

~ Nate ~

Calm down, Nate. You’re doing fine. Take a deep breath. The kid is not going to hurt you, he’s just a kid! I discreetly wiped my sweaty palms on the leg of my jeans as DJ came running into the kitchen, waving the magazine I bought him, a big grin on his face.

“Momma, Dory’s in here too, and there’s a bit you have to colour and a maze!” he practically shouted.

I laughed quietly that something so small and cheap could make a kid smile like that. My ultimate goal was that it’d make him like me too. I looked him over as he showed Rosie the pages, talking at her a mile a minute, while she just smiled and nodded, doing a great job at faking enthusiasm.

He was a really good-looking kid, but, then again, with a gorgeous thing like Rosie for a mom, he was bound to be a looker. He had the exact same shade of reddish-brown hair as hers, and her big brown eyes. His face was a different shape to hers and his skin was slightly darker, more like a natural tan. Rosie’s skin was pale, so he probably got his complexion from his father’s side.

DJ turned to me, smiling, and my lungs constricted. I hadn’t been expecting to meet him today so I’d had no time to prepare myself, no topics of conversation ready. If I’d had some forewarning that this meeting was going to happen, I would have had Ashton teach me a few things about interacting with him.

I racked my brains thinking about all the things that Rosie had told me about him; he liked to talk a lot, he loved anything Disney, he liked going to the park, and animals. He had a huge obsession with Toy Story.

My gaze settled on his plaster cast on his arm. Anna’s picture of Buzz and Woody on it was amazing.

“Wow, DJ, I love your cast. Did Anna draw that?” I asked, willing my voice not to show how terrified I was of him. Well, I wasn’t scared of him exactly – he was just a child – but I was terrified I was going to screw up with him. What if I said something wrong, upset him or Rosie, or he just plain old didn’t like me? I would end up losing the girl that I was falling deeper and deeper for every single day.

DJ beamed down at his arm proudly. “Yeah, Auntie Anna drew it on there. Do you like Toy Story?” he asked.

Auntie Anna – that sounded so cute. I immediately wondered if I would ever be Uncle Nate to him. “I love it actually. Toy Story 3, the new one, that’s my favourite.”

Just calm your heart rate down, Nate! You’re going to make yourself look like a punk if you keep being on edge like this. I cast a quick glance at Rosie to see if I was doing okay, she smiled reassuringly. She looked a little in awe at the moment, a little taken aback, and I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

DJ frowned, pouting. “I haven’t seened the third one. I likes the second movie though. Want to watch it after dinner?” he asked, his face brightening.

Rosie groaned. “Again? Can’t we watch something else?” she pleaded.

“Actually, I’d like to watch the movie, DJ,” I chimed in quickly, smirking at Rosie as she scowled at me.

DJ smiled, bobbing his head enthusiastically.

Rosie rolled her eyes. “Go read your magazine then, Baby, while I start dinner.” She waved towards the door, signalling for him to leave. He smiled and skipped out, swinging the book in his hand as he went. “You want a drink?” Rosie offered.

“Sure, I’ll make it.” I shrugged and opened the cupboard, pulling out a couple of mugs.

She smiled and went to the freezer, pulling out packets, wincing slightly. “I’m really sorry I’m making you eat this stuff. I usually only allow junk food once a week. You had to choose the day that I’m not cooking properly, huh?” she joked.

“I love alphabetti pasgetti,” I joked, using DJ’s wrong word that he’d said earlier. She laughed and threw the frozen packet of fries at me.

A little while later we were all sat around the table. I could barely force the food down my throat. The kid was making me nervous. I discreetly wiped the sweat that was starting to bead on my forehead, trying to calm my breathing.

He was staring at me. His eyes hadn’t once left me since we had sat down. I couldn’t sit still under his intense gaze. I massaged the back of my neck and shifted on my seat, smiling nervously. I needed to say something, break the ice a little more; he was obviously curious about me and who I was. I cleared my throat and Rosie snickered quietly to herself, clearly amused by my unease.

“So, er, what did you do today? Anything good?” I asked DJ, ignoring how my voice cracked when I spoke.

He smiled and nodded. “Mary took us to the park, and I saw a rabbit!”

“Oh yeah? What did it look like?” I asked before I could stop myself. What did it look like? Damn it, what the hell is wrong with me, it looked like a rabbit, you jackass!

DJ dropped his fork and proceeded to show me how big the rabbit was. “It was this big, and brown, and it just sat there eating grass. Then it ran into the trees, and I wanted to run after it, but Mary told me I wasn’t alloweded, so it gots away,” he said, pouting slightly. I smiled. The kid rambled like his mother. Cute. He turned to Rosie. “Do you think we could gets a rabbit, Momma?”

She almost choked on her food as she shook her head firmly. “We can’t, Baby, they don’t like animals in the apartment. You should ask your dad though,” she answered, smiling wryly.

DJ nodded and shoved a whole chicken nugget into his mouth, struggling to chew it where it was so big, and I couldn’t help but laugh. “I’ll ask him tomorrow,” he mumbled with his mouth full.

Rosie winced. “Baby, can we not talk with our mouth full? Remember we said we were going to eat nicely in front of Nate?”

I smiled, bemused by her comment. She actually thought she needed to impress me? I’d considered that to be the other way around, if I was honest.

DJ put his hand over his mouth, smiling sheepishly as he carried on chewing the huge mouthful he had. I forced some food down, trying not to make myself look like even more of a moron by choking in front of them. Rosie’s foot brushed against mine under the table, sort of hooking behind my ankle. That one small, intimate gesture seemed to relax my body tenfold.

“So, are you doing anything good with your dad this weekend?” I asked, looking at DJ curiously. I couldn’t wait for this weekend; I was taking Rosie out for dinner tomorrow night and was also hoping to convince her that she wanted to spend the other two days with me too.

DJ nodded, practically jumping in his chair. “Yeah! Daddy’s taking me to the zoo, and he said he’s gonna ask if I can feed the guins! Those are my favourite,” he chirped.

Guins? I looked at Rosie curiously.

“Penguins,” she explained, nodding along with DJ.

I smiled in understanding. “Oh yeah? That sounds great. I wish I was going to the zoo.”

“Maybe you could come too. Daddy already asked Momma to come, but she said no, but if you want to come you can. I’m sure my daddy won’t mind!” He looked at me, hopefully.

I swallowed, unsure what to say to that. I was pretty sure his dad would mind if I tagged along. “Er, that sounds nice, DJ, but I’m busy this weekend,” I replied.

He frowned. “Oh.”

“Maybe we could go some other time though. Well, if your momma wants to that is…” I trailed off, wincing. I’d just overstepped the mark again. This was already a big deal for her that we met, and now I was planning a family day out without consulting her? I sucked at this.

Rosie’s eyes widened in shock. “Umm, sure,” she mumbled, making it sound more like a question. I wanted to punch myself for putting pressure on her. I needed to stop or I was going to frighten her away by coming on too strong. “Is Nanna Juliet going to the zoo too?” Rosie asked, looking away from me, blushing slightly.

DJ shook his head. “Nope, just me and Daddy. He said I had to try and gets you to come too. Daddy said he misses you, but that you don’t want to see him because you don’t love him no more,” DJ said casually.

Rosie’s eyes narrowed, her whole body seemed to tense up. “Daddy told you that?” Her hand tightened on her fork.

DJ nodded, carrying on with his food, obviously not noticing her change in mood. “Uh huh.”

Rosie had turned pale. “Daddy shouldn’t say that to you. I’ll always love your daddy because he gave me you,” she said quietly. “Daddy and I just aren’t suited to be together like a boyfriend and girlfriend,” she explained.

He cocked his head. “Why not?”

Rosie’s eyes flicked to me for a second and I didn’t know what to do, I felt a little like I was intruding on a private moment.

“Daddy and I just don’t get along when we live together; we’re both happier on our own.”

DJ didn’t say anything, just carried on eating. Rosie sighed and picked up her plate, looking extremely embarrassed at the turn in conversation. She headed to the sink and stood with her back to us, obviously calming down.

“What other things did you do today?” I asked DJ, trying to change the subject.

He grinned; all thoughts of his dad now gone.

When we’d finished eating we went into the lounge to watch a DVD. Rosie groaned and shot me an accusing glance when DJ picked up Toy Story 2. After putting it on, she sat on the two seater sofa next to me, purposefully leaving a respectable gap between our bodies. DJ sat on the floor, his eyes glued to the screen, waiting for the movie to start. After about ten minutes, he jumped up and ran to his room. I watched him curiously. I really wasn’t used to kids at all; they moved around so much, it was a little unnerving.

He came running back into the room with both a Woody and a Buzz figure in his arms, jumping on Rosie’s lap, making her yelp with surprise. She shifted him slightly, getting comfortable, and then watched the movie as if nothing had happened. I didn’t see much of the movie; I was too busy watching Rosie and DJ from the corner of my eye. He was using his toys to act out little parts of the movie, saying their lines quietly as he did so. I could feel the goofy smile on my face, but I just couldn’t stop it. My girlfriend and her kid were absolutely adorable.

“Wanna be Buzz?” DJ asked, holding out his toy to me, his eyes not leaving the TV.

I laughed, a little embarrassed, not having a clue on how to actually ‘play’ with a child. “Sure, Kid,” I mumbled, hesitantly taking it.

Rosie was smiling at me, obviously loving how uncomfortable I was with this. Following DJ’s lead, I made Buzz fly when I needed to, mostly, I didn’t do that much, just watched Woody talk and chuckled at the kid’s acting skills.

The whole time Rosie was just looking between the two of us with a shocked, confused expression on her face and all I could do was hope I was doing the right things. If I wasn’t then hopefully she’d tell me where I went wrong so I could learn for next time.

“Baby, want to skip the bath tonight and play for a little while, seeing as Nate’s here?” Rosie asked, once the movie had finished.

“Yeah!” He grinned excitedly, jumping up and heading over to a red plastic box in the corner, grabbing it and tipping the contents all over the floor. I smiled excitedly. Lego was my thing as a kid.

“Can I play?” I asked, hoping he’d say yes.

He nodded and held out a flat Lego board for me to start building on. I smiled happily and moved to sit on the floor in front of Rosie’s legs. Not long after I joined in, DJ abandoned whatever it was that he was making, in favour of helping me build the robot I was constructing. His expression was awed as we joked around and worked together. Once the robot was built, we made him one exactly the same, and then smashed them both up by having an epic robot battle.

Just before seven Rosie stood up. “Time for bed, Baby.”

I raised one eyebrow suggestively, silently asking if she meant me. She laughed and slapped me on the back of the head playfully, and held her hand down to DJ, who was pouting and crossed his arms over his chest.

“I don’t want to go to bed. Can’t I have an early night? I wanna play with Nate,” he said, frowning and looking at me pleadingly.

I smiled a little proudly that he seemed to have accepted me a little.

“Do you mean a late night?” Rosie countered.

“Yeah, please, Momma?” He gave her the begging face and she shifted uncomfortably on her feet. DJ turned to me. “Nate, can you ask her if I can have more time? We can finish the war,” he whined, giving me the begging face.

My eyes widened. It was an incredibly cute face; I didn’t want to say no. I looked at Rosie, unsure what to say. “Er… I think Momma said it’s time for bed, Kid. We can play that another time, okay?” I offered, hoping he wouldn’t beg me because, if he were my kid, I would have given in already and agreed. He certainly knew how to tug on the heartstrings!