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Chapter 13
Colby woke with a start, jerking her head up. The first thing she saw was Nate’s grinning face just inches away. It sent her heart flying. She couldn’t look at him for long. He was too adorable. His hand was near hers and she had a vague sense that he’d been tickling her palm to wake her. It took her a moment to realize where she was and remember the night before. It was impossibly bright. Bright and quiet.
“Is the sun out?” she said. “Is it over?”
“Yes to both,” Nate said. “You should come see.”
“Do I smell coffee?”
“Yep.”
“I love you,” she said. Nate’s eyebrows shot up and he smirked. Her cheeks flamed immediately. “Oh, gosh—I was just being funny. I meant, thank you. Wow. I’m still asleep.”
Nate laughed. “It’s a little soon for that, but hey. Now I know what wins your heart: coffee first thing. I like you in the mornings.” He stood and held out a hand. “Come on, sleepyhead.”
“What time is it?”
“Almost eleven.”
“Eleven?” Colby couldn’t remember the last time she slept this long. Her hair felt like a matted nest in her ponytail and she twisted it around into a messy bun as she followed Nate to the front door. She still felt the trace of nerves, though she could clearly see the sun shining.
Outside was a strange sight. She followed Nate to the sidewalk, stepping around clusters of leaves and branches. The sun was hot and bright, the humidity making it feel like steam was rising from the sidewalk. At least it wasn’t quite as hot as it had been the day before. Water was still up over the curbs, but Colby could see a line of debris showing the highest point during the night. It had gone down more than a few feet.
“We didn’t flood,” she said.
“Nope. And all your windows remained intact.”
Colby looked back at the house and giggled at their spray-painted boards. “Still looking classy. I need to take a picture for Liz.”
A lot of the other neighbors were out in their yards, talking in small groups or picking up leaves and branches. She looked down at her pajamas, feeling a little self-conscious. But who cared right now? A few other people were in pajamas. Hopefully they didn’t have any weird thoughts about the fact that Nate stayed there. Probably everyone was more focused on the storm than gossip.
“Do you know any of the neighbors?” Nate asked.
Colby shook her head, wrapping her arms around herself. “Not really. Did you see where the big tree went down?”
“Not yet. I wanted to go walking around, but I didn’t want you to wake up alone. Maybe we can put shoes on and do a bit of walking later, just to see everything. I’d like to see where I can help today. I don’t think we can get our cars out yet. Maybe later this afternoon if it goes down enough. By tomorrow morning for sure.”
Could she spend another night with Nate here?
The night before had been…wonderful. And hard. Colby watched Nate as he surveyed the street. She distinctly remembered touching his beard in the darkness of the hall. Such an intimate touch. What had gotten into her? The late hour? The storm? Just the thought of touching him so closely made her blush now. She turned back toward the house.
“Walking later. Coffee now,” she said.
“Yes, Master.”
Colby smiled despite herself. Maybe one more night is what it would take to get him to spill. The longer he waited to tell her, the worse she imagined his reason to be. It could be worse, like more serious, or worse, as in something stupid and unforgiveable to her. She tried to keep her mind from running away with ideas of what it could be. And she tried not to be angry. It was hard when she just wanted to move on. Whatever it was, she could get over it or move past it or work through it. But him not telling her was becoming more of an issue than whatever the issue itself was.
She had wanted him to kiss her in the dark hallway. Their faces were so close, their palms pressed together, and fingers linked. Of course, kissing Nate in Liz’s empty house would probably be the start of something dangerous.
There were so many things they had never talked about, like the fact that she didn’t sleep around. She planned to wait until she got married. That wasn’t exactly classroom discussion, and all their talks had been in a classroom until the past day.
And then on top of everything, right in the midst of feeling conflicted, the app reset itself and she messaged Napper. After the time with Nate, she had thought maybe she would delete the app. Just let that relationship go and move on with the real person right in front of her.
Then there was that awkward moment when she gave him an easy chance to explain. When he didn’t take it, she felt so hurt and angry. Out of habit, when Nate had gone to the bathroom, she checked First Sight, expecting it to be glitching still. But it was up and running, so she messaged Napper. If Nate couldn’t commit, she had someone else waiting to meet her.
But now that relationship was colored with her guilt. How would Napper feel knowing that Nate slept just inches away from her? That they had held hands? Did holding hands mean anything anymore to people?
It meant something to her. But she didn’t know about Nate. Or Napper.
