I squeeze my eyes shut, allowing myself to just feel him around me again and wondering why I waited so long to talk to him. Fear? Stubbornness? It doesn’t matter anymore. I take a deep breath and relax my hold on him.
“Don’t pull away.” Nate speaks softly, but I can hear the emotion in his voice. “Please don’t pull away from me.”
“I didn’t mean to…” I shake my head. “I didn’t expect to be so…overcome.”
It’s the hormones.
“I knew I would be,” he says. “I’m glad you made the first move. I was trying to figure out how I was going to restrain myself.” He runs his thumb over my cheek and leans in slightly, stopping just short of our lips meeting.
I grab the back of his head and press my lips to his. I feel his tongue in my mouth as he groans, wrapping his arms back around my waist and holding me tightly. I finally break away, breathless.
We stand there, staring into each other’s eyes as a few flurries swirl around us. Nate runs his hand over my cheek again and shivers.
“Damn, it’s cold,” Nate says. “Maybe we should at least get in the car? Maybe go get something to eat?”
“Um…” I glance at Nate and then back at the car. I am a little hungry for the first time all day, but the last thing I want to do is take him to a restaurant where everyone will know me and ask about him.
“
What’s wrong?”
“Let’s get in the car.”
“All right.” He gives me a look but then gets in the car after placing his bag in the trunk. “How far is it to your house?”
“Half an hour.”
“So, are you hungry or not?”
“Let’s just find something at my place.” I start the car and pull out onto the main road to head back to Accident.
“What is it?” Nate asks. “You don’t want to be seen with me?”
“Um…well, it’s not exactly that.” I let out a long sigh. “I’m just not ready for people’s questions.”
“Would you know people at the restaurants around here?”
“I pretty much know everyone who lives in Accident.”
“Really? How many people live here?”
“Um, a little more than three hundred, I think.”
“Wow. I thought Cascade Falls was a small town.”
“Cascade Falls is a thriving, gangster-run metropolis,” I reply, and Nate laughs briefly, then glances at me nervously.
“I guess I shouldn’t laugh,” he says. “I’m not really sure how you feel about all of that.”
“It’s not like I was shocked to hear it from you,” I say. “I’d already figured out some of it. That stuff with your father though…that was a bit much.”
“I’m not even sure what to say,” Nate whispers. “Even knowing what caused it, I feel like an idiot—a crazy idiot. I think…I think I always knew he was gone, but I just couldn’t quite accept it. I wasn’t ready to lead this family. I’m still not ready.”
“Everyone else seems to think you are.”
“They don’t have a lot of choice.”
“Really? Are you sure about that?”