He chuckles as we walk through the door into the check-in area.
“I don’t get jealous,” I snap.
He turns to me and picks up my hand to kiss it. “Okay.” His eyes hold mine as a trace of a smile crosses his face.
“Don’t tell any anyone that you won’t be needing clothes again.” I smirk, amused that my annoyance has been exposed.
He chuckles, leans in, and kisses my cheek. “Yes, dear.”
“And don’t patronize me.”
“Yes, sweetheart.” He turns and pulls me along.
“You’re doing it now. Saying yes, dear, and yes, sweetheart, is patronizing, Nathan.”
“Eliza, shut up,” he says, putting me firmly back in my place. “Is that better?”
I giggle, there he is, the cranky man who doesn’t listen to me ramble. “Yes, it is, actually.”
“Okay, noted.”
“What’s noted?”
“Eliza, shut up is now code for yes, dear.”
I giggle as we walk along. This is kind of fun, getting to know each other in a new light. We have so much to learn.
We walk down through security, and then out into the airport lounge. We stand and look around, a little at a loss on what to do. We’ve got three hours to kill.
“We should celebrate,” he offers.
“The bar?” I ask, surprised. It’s 8:00 a.m.
He takes my hand and pulls me toward our favorite bar. “It’s five o’clock somewhere.”
I stare out of the window of the plane with a goofy smile on my face. Nathan is reading his book with his hand on my thigh. Everything just seems so natural between us.
This is happening. This is really happening. Nathan and I are actually doing this.
He looks over and notices my stupid face. “What?”
I lean in and whisper, “Can you believe this?”
“What?”
“This.” I gesture to his hand on my thigh. “You know, you and me… naked and shit.”
Surprised, he tips back his head and laughs out loud. “You have such a way with words.”
“Well, what would you call it?”
He narrows his eyes, and his teeth catch his bottom lip. “I would like to think that this is the beginning of something wonderful.”
I smile up at him. “But we are going to be naked.”
He smiles and pulls my face to his so he can kiss me tenderly. “That we are.”
13