Every Love, page 14
“Well, thanks for telling me now,” I grumble grabbing my gym bag and car key. Leaning in, I kiss her cheek.
“I want you to meet her.”
“Okay, just text me and let me know when.”
I leave kinda pissed, pissed that Amanda didn’t tell me that she was dating anyone. Not that it’s any of my business, but I tell her everything, and besides I’ve seen her get hurt time and time again. When it happens, it kills me. I don’t want that for her. I want her to be happy like I am. I guess I should have known something was up when she’s become distant lately. It wasn’t just my relationship with Elania that’s put a gap between us. It’s her seeing someone new.
Pulling into Elania’s driveway, I can’t wait to just relax tonight. Getting out of the car, I take a deep breath of air into my lungs and walk inside. The music is loud and El is in the kitchen trying to open a bottle of wine. She doesn’t see me and I just watch her for a few moments. Her hair is up in a messy mound on top of her head. She’s wearing a tight pair of yoga pants and a tank top. I can’t let her struggle anymore. Quietly, I set my stuff down and walk to her. Wrapping my hands over hers. She jumps out of her skin and I laugh lightly at her.
“Dammit, Nate, you’re early.”
“Am I now?” I ask kissing her lips. “I must have lost track of time after you sucked me off today.”
She giggles and hands me the wine. “I can’t find my other opener.”
I open it and say, “I got it. I must not be that early, unless you’re drinking without me.”
“After the day I’ve had I could use a glass.”
“What happened?” I ask, concerned that she had a bad day.
“Veronica called today, asking when I was coming back and I told her I wasn’t. So she wants me to clean out my office by the end of the week so they can get someone else in there.”
“Isn’t that a bit fast?”
“I guess, but she needs to fill the space.”
Tears fill her eyes and I grab her face, holding her cheeks in the palms of my hands. “Don’t cry, baby, I’ll take care of it.”
“How?” she snaps.
“I’ll have movers go in and pack up your stuff.”
“No, Nate, I can handle it.”
“But I want to. Let me do this for you. Then you can let that place and everything that goes along with it go. You’re doing great on your own and you won’t be working from home for long, we’ll get you an office.”
She gives me a little nod. “Well, I do have some good news. I just got off the phone with the seller for Mechanical 2 and we have a deal.”
“No shit,” I blurt out, grabbing her and basically lifting her in the air.
She hugs me and I can’t wait for this, for both of us. It’s going to be great to be working next to each other every day.
“So, he agreed to everything?” I ask.
“Everything,” she repeats.
“I have to call Nash.”
He’s gonna be so stoked. We have come so far in this business. When we opened Mechanical, we just dreamed that it would stay afloat. Now to be making good cash flow and on the path for our second spot is unreal.
Looking in the mirror, I am a nervous wreck. Today, I’m going to meet most of Nate’s family. It’s his mom’s birthday weekend and I don’t want to let him down, but at the same time, I am really worried to meet everyone.
“Damn, you are hot,” he says drying himself off from the shower.
I glance at his sculpted body and just shake my head. “What?” he asks, putting on his prosthetic.
“You’re the one to talk about being sexy. Have you seen yourself lately?”
He stands up and flexes his chest muscles at me. “I do look good, huh?”
I laugh and head into my closet, calling out “And you’re so humble.”
He laughs. “So you’re driving with me, right?” he asks.
I place my hand on the wall and balance as I put on one of my heels.
“El?”
“I don’t want to intrude, Nate. I told you that.”
“You’re not intruding. My mom loves you.”
“But she thinks she’s going to an appointment, won’t it be weird if I am there?” I ask coming back into my room. He’s buttoning the last button on his white linen shirt and I almost die. Swallowing hard, I keep my focus on the conversation at hand.
“Absolutely not. I asked her. Plus, she’s doing way better than she was when you last saw her. That’s the only reason that I get to drive her.”
“Okay,” I agree as he pulls my body close to his.
“It’ll be great. For Christ sakes, she’ll be happy to have you to distract her, she thinks she’s going to the hospital for more tests. Imagine how excited she’s going to be when I take her home.”
“Okay, let’s get going then,” I tell him.
“Absolutely, sexy, but do you have a pen first?”
I look at him strangely. What in the world does he need a pen for? I hand one to him and he pulls a card out of his bag and signs it. “Here, will you sign it too?”
“Nate…” I complain, feeling bad.
“El, you gave me the idea to buy her the new Kindle. Just write something and sign your damn name.”
I snatch the pen from him knowing that he won’t take no for an answer. We head out and the sun is warm. It’s the perfect day for a barbecue outside.
“Why, thank you,” I tell him as he opens my door.
Leaning in, I kiss him, letting out the breath I’ve been holding for a long time. In every relationship I’ve ever been in, they’ve ended badly because I’ve either been lied to or cheated on. But with Nate, I think we’ve worked past all of the crap, and because of that, we’re not gonna repeat what I’ve been through.
Deep down in the pit of my soul, my heart continues to pull me towards him and it’s telling me that he is my future. He’s done nothing but reassure me that he will never do anything to jeopardize that again.
We drive the short distance to pick up Nate’s mom hand in hand, neither of us saying much, and for me today, that’s okay. As Nate pulls his car in front of the facility, both of us are shocked to see his mom outside, and she’s not sitting in her wheelchair either. She has a walker in front of her and is just beaming as she chats with one of the nurses.
“Holy fuck, El,” he whispers putting the car in park. We look at each other, then get out of the car. Barb looks between Nate and I, then to the nurse who helps her stand up. Nate freezes and I stop next to him. We are both stunned as she begins to slowly walk towards us. Her steps are small, but her strength is apparent.
She stops right in front of Nate and reaches her arms for him. He hugs her tightly and I can see the tears flood from her eyes as she is in his arms. I myself cannot control the tears as I watch. Quickly, I wipe them away wanting to be strong for both of them.
Nate grabs my hand and pulls me over. “You are truly amazing, Barb,” I tell her as we embrace.
“My son motivates me.”
I catch Nate talking to the nurse. I’m sure it’s to work out the details of the transportation. He comes over to us and we all get loaded into his car and head off to his parents’ house. As we begin to drive, I wonder how long it will take Barb to notice that we aren’t going to the hospital.
As I wash the last of the dishes with Nate’s cousin, I grin watching Nate, his dad, and mom all reunited in their home and so relaxed. Barb has the best laugh and is funny as hell. It’s so great to see her up and in such good spirits. And to say that she was surprised when we brought her here is a complete understatement. She was speechless. Her smile was practically face-splitting as she broke down crying tears of joy.
“How long have you and Nate known each other?” Laura, his cousin, asks me.
“Just a couple months.”
“I would have guessed you knew him longer.”
“Really? Why?”
“Just how comfortable you guys are together and how much my aunt and uncle like you, especially with everything that he went through with, well, you know…”
She is referring to his ex, Arion, but I’m not even going to acknowledge anything regarding her. “Thanks for helping with the dishes,” she says with a soft voice sensing she went too far with her big mouth when I don’t answer her.
“Do you wanna head out back?”
“Oh…yeah.”
We both walk out into the back yard, and as soon as I open the door, Nate’s eyes are on mine, a huge smile is on his face when he sees me, and he pats his knee. I go to him and sit down, getting comfy in his arms.
“I missed you,” he whispers in my ear.
Gently, I kiss his cheek. “I missed you more.”
“Are you about ready to get going?”
I nod my head and get up as Nate directs me to stand. It seems to take us about fifteen minutes to say our goodbyes, but we finally do and head out. “Do you need to stop anywhere on the way home?”
“Nah, I don’t think so.”
“Good. Thank you for everything today, El. I really don’t think I could have made it through the day without you.”
“Well, I had a wonderful time,” I tell him, grabbing his hand. “Thank you for having me.
“Listen, I don’t really know how to say this, but…” he trails off and it makes me nervous.
“Just say it.” There’s an underlying tone of frustration in my voice. It’s probably because of the shit we have been through lately. I guess I’m still waiting for a bomb to drop.
“I want us to live together.”
Did I just hear him right? “But you’re closing on your place next week.”
“I know, I’m just not as excited as I was about it before, if you’re not going to be living there. Suddenly I don’t want to start that chapter of my life without you.”
His words stun me. I’m not sure how to respond. Living with Nate and having a home that is ours would truly be a dream come true. But I also know the harsh reality of making moves too quickly and what it can do to a relationship.
“What do you think?”
“I mean…I’d love that, but…”
“But what?” he asks, getting onto the freeway, clearly a little confused.
“I’m scared it’s too soon. I’m scared that it will change things for us and ultimately, be the…the end.”
“Nothing could change how I feel for you, El.” He pulls the car over and as the wheels take their final spin coming to a complete stop, he unbuckles his seat belt and turns towards me, grabbing my hands.
“You don’t know that, Nate.”
“But I do. No matter what, nothing in this world could change the way I feel about you.”
“Nate, I’ve done this, and moving in too soon can change things.”
“Not for me it can’t,” he says.
“It can and right now, I don’t want anything to change. We’ve been through so much already.”
He pauses and I brace myself, afraid of what he is going to say. I watch him, obviously hurt, staring out the window.
“Okay,” he says. “Nothing will change.”
As I sign document after document, my mind is a little preoccupied. I wish that today had a different outcome. But maybe Elania is right – maybe it is too soon for us to move in together.
At least right now, we do spend a lot of time together, basically just choosing whose place we will stay the night at. My phone rings and it’s a number I don’t recognize. I ignore the call, finishing up the last few items that I need to sign.
“Who’s that?” Elania asks me.
“I don’t know.”
Then her phone rings and I see her face change. Glancing down, I notice it looks like the same number that just called me. “I’m gonna take this.”
“Sure.”
I watch her walk out, wondering who would have called both of us. As the closing comes to an end, she comes back in, with her usual confidence shining through.
“Congratulations, Mr. Wilcox,” the closing agent says. We all shake hands and disburse from the room.
“Who was on the phone?”
“Just a client.”
I cock one eyebrow at her, not buying what she’s selling, but I let it go.
“Are you ready to go to your house?”
“I am.”
We walk out holding hands and I notice that Elania seems to be more enthusiastic than I am. You would think that she’s the one that just bought the condo, not me.
As I get into her Escalade, she asks me, “Are you excited?”
“Yeah. I guess.”
“You guess?”
“I mean, I don’t know.”
“What’s the matter?” she asks.
“Nothing,” I reassure her. Well aware that bringing up the fact that I’d rather us be moving in today is nagging at the back of my mind, I also know it isn’t going to help anything.
“Good. Then smile, dammit – this is your first place.”
“I am.” I look at her and remember how damn lucky I am just to have her. One day, we’ll move in together.
“We still need to go furniture shopping,” she says.
“Yeah we do, I’m sorry I’ve been so busy lately. Maybe this weekend?”
“Works for me.”
It’s not but a few minutes ’til we are pulling up in front of my new home. It seems like forever since I have been here. Damn, it’s nice. As Elania puts the vehicle in park, she turns in her seat and says, “I’m sorry that we aren’t moving in today. I want you to know—”
I cut her off. “It’s okay, babe.” I can see the stress on her face. As much as I want her to explain, I also don’t want her to hurt about the situation. Clearly my stress is wearing off on her. We talked about it the other night and deep down I realize that she’s only hesitant because of her past. I want to do everything possible to make her comfortable with every step we take. Even if it’s not exactly what I want, she’s worth waiting for. I’ll give her the time.
Leaning over she kisses me and then gets out of the car. I follow suit and we walk up, Elania opens the door before I can get my key out of my pocket and I’m surprised that the condo is unlocked. She walks in, stepping in front of me and then turns to me with the biggest smile on her face. Glancing around, I can tell why. The condo is fully furnished. From the living room, to dining room, everything is brand new. There are still tags hanging from the furniture.
She waits for my response, but I’m fucking stunned. “You did this?” I ask.
“Of course.”
“Why?”
“Why not?”
“Uhhh, because it had to have cost a ton of money.”
“Nate, I used the money the sellers paid me. I wasn’t about to keep that as a profit. I’m sorry that we aren’t moving in today, I wish that it was different. But I can’t make the same mistakes as I have in the past. Plus, you mean so much to me. It’s not worth risking what we have.”
I can’t even respond to her. Her words are all I needed to hear. Grabbing her by the waist, I take her pants off and lift her on one of the new bar stools that she bought for me. She reaches for my pants, freeing my cock. I am hard and ready for her. Hell, I always am lately; she does this to me. She pulls me towards her, gripping the skin of my shaft, and I glide myself inside. Her warm cunt surrounds me as our eyes stay connected.
Once I am nestled to the hilt, I grab the back of her head and begin to move. Her noises fill the room and I know that no matter what, she is my future. Moving in today or not, we will be together.
“Fuck me, Nate.”
Listening to her command, I grab the bar behind her. “Hold on to my neck,” I tell her.
She gets a good grip and I fuck her, like she asked. Hard and strong thrusts. Christ, she brings out the animal in me. Her noises heighten with my movements. My balls slap her ass and I can’t seem to push myself inside of her deep enough.
Her hands move to my back and are all over as she tightens her sweet cunt. Fuck, I’m close to coming. I can’t last long with her. Automatically my eyes shut as I lose myself inside of her. My body lets go on its own and she follows suit coming hard on my cock, her muscles tightening around my shaft.
The room is filled with our noises and this is the first spot of many that we will have sex in. I lose all control and the reality of the world slips away. Looking down at her as I slowly stroke myself inside of her, she is leaning back, still clinging to me. I look further down and watch my cock move in and out of her.
Her pussy is wrapped so tightly around me that I etch this moment in my memory before pulling all the way out. Elaina giggles as she runs off to the restroom, leaving her pants on the floor. “You should run naked more often,” I say as I readjust myself.
“If I had a treadmill, I would.”
I take her pants into the bathroom. “I have a better idea.”
“Yeah?”
“Let’s do a work out at the gym after hours.”
She laughs at me as if I’m joking, then breaks off. “Oh, fuck, you’re serious.”
I nod my head. “Nash is going out of town ’til next week. He, Amanda, and I are the only ones with keys to the gym. So I’ll tell her what we’re doing and she’ll be sure to stay away.”
“I don’t know, Nate.”
“Why not? No one is gonna see us. That place is a brick fortress.” I button her pants as she stands up and lean into her neck. “Please.”
“You really want this, huh?”
I nod my head.
“Fine, but no one better catch us.”
I take my index finger and cross it over my heart. She kisses it and takes my hand, leading me through the rest of the house. She really outdid herself. I have a hard time believing that she was able to buy everything with just the money that she made off of the sale of the house. But she’s adamant that she did, so I believe her.
“Thank you for doing all of this.”
“Absolutely. Thank you for understanding where I’m coming from.”
Leaning down, I kiss her and want to fuck her again. She stops me, pressing her forefinger against my lips and I about bite it off. “I have to get back to work. I’m sorry, but I have an appointment this afternoon.” I growl in protest, but nod my head in agreement. “Let’s stay here tonight and celebrate,” she says.
