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“Come on. You know exactly why that matters.”
“Why are you talking like this? As if you can’t wait for the conversation to be over.”
“Because I can’t.”
I simply stared at him. “Seriously?” I stood. Nate didn’t attempt to pull me back down, so I moved over to the chair across from him. “So this is the closed-off Nate I keep hearing about?”
“You say that as if I didn’t warn you myself.”
“Sure, but. . .”
“But?”
“I guess I didn’t believe you. Or thought you’d be different with me.”
He frowned. “I’m trying to be different with you, but there’s just nothing more to say here. I shouldn’t have brought it up and would love to go on the wine cruise with you. We can talk about my plans, the ones that don’t include college, and my future. Specifically, our future. Now will you come back and sit on my lap again?”
Nate said all the right words. Yet, there was something lacking in his pretty speech. No matter what he said, Nate had closed me off. Maybe on the cruise I’d learn why.
“I only moved because you stopped playing with my hair,” I said in lieu of pushing him away even further. I had the sense that wasn’t going to work.
“I only stopped playing with your hair because you wouldn’t kiss me.”
“I wouldn’t kiss you because you stopped talking to me.”
“Not true. I’m talking to you now.”
I smiled. “Why do I get the feeling I’m never going to win with you?”
“Because you won’t.” He said it so straight-faced, I almost believed him. “Now come over here, get on my lap, and let me finger you until you scream my name so loud the neighbors can all hear you.”
“Tempting. But only on one condition.”
“Mmmm. I’m not a fan of conditions.”
Again, I couldn’t tell if he was joking or not. But it didn’t matter. I was giving him a condition anyway. “Don’t default to shutting me out, Nate. Even if it’s something you do with other people. I’m not other people,” I said as authoritatively as possible. He needed to understand that particular point.
“No, Zoe girl, you certainly are not. I don’t volunteer to finger other people.”
I smiled. “Deal?”
“I’m trying.”
It was all I could ask for. “Then so am I.” Standing, I was barely close enough for Nate to reach out his hand and grab me when I found myself hauled onto his lap. And just like that, the discussion was over. Because when he said he would finger me until I called out his name, the man wasn’t joking around. I refused to think about the amount of practice those hands must have had to open my pants so damn quickly. Instead, I focused on what he was doing with those hands and congratulated myself on coming home from work early.
If this wasn’t worth a half day, I couldn’t imagine what was. And it was only the beginning of our day.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
nate
No beer on board.
Which wasn’t a big deal. I didn’t need alcohol to have a good time. I’d gone a year without anything more than a few sips of the stuff smuggled into camp for us. More importantly, I was on a boat with Zoe and the sun was shining, even if a fall chill was in the air.
Problem was, the lack of beer on board seemed to bother Zoe.
“I am so sorry.”
