Page 96 of Let’s Be Real

Me: I happen to know I’ll never find out. You’re attached…like a parasite.

Ade: I like to think we have more of a symbiotic relationship.

Me: Like sharks and those little annoying fish that attach themselves to them?

Ade: No, Sammie. Like coyotes and badgers. They’re hunting buddies. Look it up. It’s cool.

Me: You’re obviously the badger.

Ade: Obviously.

Nate swept my hair to the side, kissing my neck. “Is my brother still going on and on about how right he was?”

“Of course.” I tipped my head, capturing his lips with mine. Since that night in room ten, I couldn’t get enough of him. Well, it had been that way before, but then I’d been doing my best to convince myself it wasn’t. That was over now.

We’d spent every night together since. There was a niggling doubt in the back of my mind that maybe we shouldn’t have gone from zero to one hundred, but we’d been in a relationship for months; we just hadn’t called it that. If anything had changed, it was that we had both dropped what little guard we’d had around one another.

I was afraid. Deathly. But knowing Nate was right there, doing it with me through his fear, made it easier for me to do the same. I’d been miserable without him. Being scared every day was leaps and bounds better than the alternative.

Nate hummed as he read my texts with Adrian. “A badger and coyote? Since when is he an animal expert?”

I put my phone down on his kitchen island and circled my arms around his neck. “He collects random facts so he can pull them out when he wants to win an argument. It’s his way.”

He tugged me closer, his palm sliding over my backside. “So you’re a coyote?” The corner of his mouth hitched. “I always thought coyotes were cute.”

“Shut up.” I laughed, giving his chest a shove with absolutely no force behind it. “You’ve never had a single thought about a coyote in your life.”

“I’m sure I’ve had at least a single thought about them.” He gave my butt a light tap. “I’m ready to head out. Are you still sure you want to come with me?”

“I’m sure. As long as she doesn’t mind.”

“She doesn’t. I told you that.”

I touched my lips to his. “Just making sure.”

He said he was okay, but his grip on my hand was tight as we rode the elevator down to the parking garage. And when he shut the passenger door after I’d settled inside, I watched him stand at the back of his car through the side-view mirror. He took several deep breaths, his hands braced on top of his head.

Visiting Louise was never easy on him, but lately, he’d returned looking worn out and wrung dry. He’d told me she was getting worse, that he suspected she was nearing the end. He hadn’t asked me to come, but I hated the idea of him doing this alone. His brothers had no interest in being around her, and I didn’t blame them—she’d burned those bridges herself. But Nate had it in his head he needed to see this through, so I was determined to be there with him.

The drive to Louise’s place was short and quiet. He kept his hand on my knee the whole way, and I kept mine on top of his. I wasn’t confident I’d be great at comforting him if he needed it, but I hoped my presence was a little bit of a relief.

“Do you think I’m an idiot for coming here?”

“No,” I replied without a beat of hesitation. “I’d do the same. If my mom or dad were sick, I’d be there for them, despite it all.”

He huffed. “I don’t know if that’s a good thing.”

“Probably not. I don’t know if you taking on Louise’s final days is a good thing either. But sometimes you just have to do it and deal with the consequences after.” I squeezed his hand. “I’ll be there. Now, and later, if you need me.”

He took in a shaky breath. “Oh, I have no doubt I’m going to need you.”

I liked that. Not Nate feeling needy, but that he knew he could come to me. That he wanted to. He was so vastly different from the other men I’d dated. They wouldn’t have dreamed of ever showing a sliver of weakness, dealing with shitty days and their fear of not measuring up by plowing through the streets of Denver, yelling at waiters, or criticizing the length of my skirts. Nate would never.

Louise’s nurse let us inside her apartment. Nate’s hand was warm and firm around mine as he led me to his mother, propped up in a hospital bed beside a large picture window. She watched us approach with shrewd eyes. The sharpness in her gaze was in stark contrast to the rest of her, which was so muted she nearly blended in with her white sheets.

“Hello.” Her voice wobbled.

Nate brought me to the side of her bed, his hand sliding to my back. “Hey, Mom. Do you remember me asking if I could bring Samantha?”