Torrid Affair (6 page)

* * *

W
ednesday after class
, Delaney and I waited for Nate and Julian to arrive at our dorm. I’d packed a small overnight bag while Delaney’s bag looked as though she was planning to stay for a month. She complained she needed options. I needed this weekend to be over already. Spending the weekend with Julian’s mother and her husband seemed pure torture. I even debated going back home to my parents’ house.

I sat on top of my carry-on sized luggage and waited for Nate’s Jeep to arrive. The radio from his car blasted as he and Julian pulled up. He stopped the car and Julian jumped out and rushed to me.

“Hey, beautiful.” He leaned down and captured my lips with his.

“Hi,” I whispered.

In my peripheral vision, I noticed that Delaney had jumped into Nate’s arms and the realization that I would be spending all weekend with them sank in.
What the hell did I get myself into?

I let Julian grab my suitcase and toss it into the trunk, and I climbed into the back of the car. Nate’s scent smacked me in the face and burned my throat. It was too consuming, too powerful. His cologne lingered in the air. It was manly yet sweet. It was captivating
to say the least
.

Julian hopped in the back seat with me while Nate and Delaney climbed in the front. Del sat on her side and looked back at Julian and me as she discussed in full the apple pie recipe she had printed out. I, on the other hand, rested my head against the seat and noticed that Nate’s eyes were on me. When I couldn’t pull my gaze away from the mirror, I decided it would be best if I closed my eyes and tried to sleep. Before we were even on the highway, I’d drifted off.

* * *

L
ouisa
, Julian’s mother, was sweet, greeting us with open arms. She was petite in stature and looked a lot like Julian with hazel eyes and ash blonde hair.

“My boys.” She extended her arms as we walked up the sidewalk to the house.

Her home was a small Colonial with white siding, navy blue shutters and a matching blue door. Her husband, Warren, stood next to her with a beer in his hand. I knew from Delaney that Warren was Nate and Julian’s stepfather.

“Mom.” Julian hugged his mother. She pulled away from his embrace and held her arms on his shoulders to look at him. Her eyes twinkled with pride and adoration. “This is Brielle. Brie, this is my mother, Louisa.”

“Hi,” I murmured with my eyes lowered.

Louisa released Julian’s shoulders and threw her arms around me. “Look at how beautiful you are!” Her hands rubbed up my back quickly before she let go and looked over at Nate and Delaney. “Both of you ladies are absolutely gorgeous!” She hugged Delaney. “You must be Delaney.”

Julian carried our bags into the house and gave us a quick tour. Warren offered the boys a beer and walked into the kitchen while we followed Louisa up the stairs to the bedrooms. “Brie, you can leave your stuff here,” she stated and then opened the door to the bedroom across the hall. “Delaney, this is your room.” Instantly, my heart dropped as I realized we would be staying in our boyfriend’s rooms
with
our boyfriends. Unlike Delaney, who spent every weekend with Nate, I hadn’t had sex with Julian. We hadn't even slept in the same room together.

“Where are the guys sleeping?” I asked nervously, but I already knew the answer.

“Brie!” Delaney’s eyes widened.

“I figured you kids are all in school together. There’s no point in separating you.” Louisa smiled and rubbed her hand on my shoulder. “Why don’t you two freshen up?” Louisa looked over at us. “I’d love your help in the kitchen later.”

“Yes, of course.” Delaney agreed. I could only nod. This was going to be the longest weekend of my life.

Twenty minutes later, Delaney and I were elbow deep in potatoes. She peeled and I diced while Louisa asked us about our families. Delaney, of course, offered every bit of information she could. She started at the very beginning with how her parents met.

“It was so romantic!” Her voice held a joyous tone as she continued. “Daddy always said he knew from day one he would marry her. And when he proposed, he made sure it was a proposal she would never forget.”

For ten minutes Delaney talked, and then it was my turn. My heart raced and sweat began to form on my brow.

“What are your parents doing for Thanksgiving?” Louisa asked.

I diced the potatoes quicker.
What was I going to say?
My dad was an asshole and I personally thought my mother was naive and stupid. “Um . . . not too much. I don’t come from a big family.” I swallowed the ball of nerves in my throat.

“Do you have any traditions?”

“Is your mother a good cook?”

“Where did you parents meet?”

“Are you an only child?”

My heart raced a mile a minute as I dodged every question. I skipped around and forced myself to be vague.

“I—I think I need some fresh air,” I stuttered. “I think I’m a little light headed from the car ride.” I pinched the bridge of my nose and pulled the kitchen door open. I didn’t wait for Delaney or Louisa to say anything as I rushed out across the deck and then down the few wooden steps. I sat on the last step and buried my face in my knees. Inhaling slowly, I tried to catch my breath.

“Want to take a ride?” Nate’s voice was clear and close.

I snapped my head up. Unshed tears pooled in my eyes.

“Yeah,” I said breathlessly. I needed to get as far away from here as possible.

“Come on.” He reached his hand out for me.

I entwined my fingers with his and rushed to his Jeep before I had a change of heart.

He didn’t say a word until we were a few miles away from the house.

“You okay?”

“I’m better now, thanks.” I looked over at him and studied his profile. He had a lean jaw with high cheekbones. He was only in his early twenties but he looked much older.

“Thanksgiving has a way of making people crazy.”

“You have no idea.” I pulled my gaze from his and looked out the window. “Why were you outside?”

“I love my family, I do, but a few minutes with them is all I need. Warren and Julian usually talk about sports, which I don’t follow, and my mother has a tendency to hover, so most of the time I’m outside working in the garage.”

“Oh.”

“I saw how you ran across the deck and dropped down like you wanted to disappear.”

“That obvious, huh?”

“A little.”

“Your mother is sweet and kind, but it’s hard to speak to her when Delaney has the perfect answer for everything.” I shook my head and dropped my gaze to my lap.

“Don’t you hate how perfect they are?” I heard the humorous tone in his voice and smiled. “My parents, Julian and Delaney. They’re all so perfect and know exactly what to say. I thought Thanksgiving was supposed to have family drama.”

“I know, right? God, why are they so perfect all the time?” I rolled my eyes dramatically. “I guess you and I are the dark and twisted ones.”

“You definitely can say that again.” His tone dropped and I looked over at him. His green eyes were dark like a hidden forest.  I lifted one eyebrow, silently as if asking him to elaborate. “You don’t want to know my dark and twisted side.”

Before I had a chance to ask what he meant, he stopped the Jeep and shoved it in park. It was then that I took in my surroundings. We had pulled in to a park surrounded by trees that still bore their red and orange leaves. The grass wasn’t as green, but the crisp waters of a pond glistened as tiny ripples danced across the surface in the distance. With each pass of the wind, the red bled from the trees. Its reflection was mesmerizing.

“This place is beautiful.”

“I come here to get away.”

Unable to pull my gaze away from the vibrant fall colors, I failed to notice that Nate had rounded the car and opened the door for me.

“Come on.” He extended his hand.

We walked side by side toward the water. It was rare that I had the chance to appreciate true fall foliage like the scene before me.

“You know, she’s not that bad,” Nate said, kicking the pinecone at his feet. I looked up at him with my eyebrows furrowed. “My mother. She’s overbearing at times, and she talks a lot, but she loves Julian and me. I think this is the first time we both have both brought someone home at the same time. To her, it feels like Christmas morning having you girls there.”

“No, it’s not that. I think Louisa is very sweet.”

Nate chuckled and stopped walking to look at me. “You ran across that deck like the house was on fire.”

Nervously, I massaged my scalp. “I’m not used to the whole loving family thing.” I shook my head. “It felt consuming and I didn’t want to let her down. You know?”

“I get it.” He squatted and picked up a rock. He twirled it around in his hand a few times before he spoke again. “She’ll only be this crazy today. Tomorrow morning, she’ll have us go to the soup kitchen and serve dinner. Then her mother-in-law comes with Warren’s side of the family and she mellows out a bit.”

“Thanks for the heads up.” Nate walked over to the edge of the pond and flicked the rock across the water. It skipped three times before it sank to the bottom.  

“I never learned how to skip rocks.”

Nate dropped his gaze and picked up another rock. “Hold it sideways between your pointer and thumb and then throw it.”

I did exactly as Nate suggested, and when the rock met with the water, it sank to the bottom. “Yeah, not that easy.”

Nate laughed, and the sound that escaped his mouth made me shiver. There was something about him. I had no idea what it was, but it pulled me toward him like a moth to a flame.

“You cold?”

Before I could answer, Nate pulled his jacket off his body and settled it over my shoulders. “I should have told you to grab a sweater before we left.” He ran his hands up my arms to warm me. Little did he know that my body was overheating from his touch. My heart sped in my chest; his scent was laced around my body, making it impossible to breathe, let alone form coherent thought.

“I—I’m okay.” Nate didn’t move. His emerald green eyes were locked on mine. His tongue slid across his lips and I swallowed back any words that tried to escape. He was mere inches from me. The last time we stood this close he half-kissed me goodbye.

“Brielle.” He whispered my name but I heard it. His hand rose up from my arm and grabbed a curl that had fallen to my cheek. Gently, he twirled his finger around it and let it bounce. My eyes closed as I anticipated what he was about to do. I desperately wanted him to kiss me. At that very moment, I needed it more than I needed to breathe. His half-kiss had haunted me for the past three months.

“Plea—” I began to say but was cut short when his phone rang. Nate dropped his hand from my face and I lowered my gaze to the ground.
What the hell were we doing?

“Yeah?” he answered his cell. “No, I had to run to the store. She’s with me. We’re on our way back now.” He didn’t say good-bye before he shoved his phone back in his pocket. I went to move back but he stopped me, his hand grasping my elbow.  I looked back up at him and his eyes were dark. An expression of need flashed through them.

“We should go,” I managed to whispered.

Nate tugged on me and pulled me closer to him, his arms draped over my body and holding me flush against his chest. I fit perfectly in his arms, like a puzzle piece meeting its match, every edge lined up.

We didn’t speak. Instead, I buried my head in his chest and welcomed his warm body. I could feel his heart racing in his chest. This was affecting him, too. Whatever this was, he felt it.

Nate held me for seventy-six seconds. I knew because I counted. I Mississippi counted every second I was in his arms. Before he pulled away, he kissed the top of my head and then, in one swift motion, he let me go and we headed back to the car. I was left breathless and more confused than ever before. A few seconds in Nate’s arms and I couldn’t think. I felt high.

Never once had I felt that way with Julian. Never once was his hug so intoxicating it left me dizzy.

But I pushed those thoughts out of my head as I followed behind Nate.

We drove back to the house in silence.