Once I was safely away from the kitchen, more like once the kitchen was safely away from me, I followed Nathan down the hall to his bedroom.
Since Max had gotten here, he had set up his bed on a mattress in Dustin’s room, leaving Nathan and I alone.
You can use the shower first. Nathan told me as we stepped into his room.
I was about to say thanks, when he added, You really do need it, you look like the definition of disaster. He chuckled.
Deciding to ignore him, I grabbed a full sleeved pajama top (because it was winter and the days were getting colder) and my long black shorts I had bought from the shopping trip, walking into the washroom.
After I had scrubbed all of the flour out of my hair and off of my body I thoroughly scrubbed shampoo and conditioner in my hair, repeating the process thrice. Once I had washed off all of my mistakes and disasters, I quickly changed into my sleeping attire and walked back into the room.
I saw Nathan quickly stand up as he heard the door open and turned to face me. About time. He muttered.
Jerk.
As he was walking past me to go to the washroom, I got my wet towel and whipped it on his butt.
I burst out laughing as he jumped about three feet up.
Getting kinky are we ? He sent me a wink, changing his painful expression to an arrogant smirk.
Gross. I said, scrunching up my face. Now go take your shower, you stink.
He shot me a glare and opened his mouth to say one of those stupid comebacks he seemed to always hold in store for me, but I was quick to stop him.
Without hesitation, I slapped my hand over his mouth, grabbed his arm, and walked him to the bathroom like a mother walking her two year old to the toilet.
I shoved him inside and slammed the door in his face, not wanting to stick around for his smart-ass reaction or whatever.
I turned and walked back to the bed, hearing his muffled laughter from behind the door.
I jumped onto the bed and rolled to my side, resting on my back as I stared up at the white ceiling.
It had been a really long day and to say I was exhausted would be an understatement.
I had after all, been interrogated by a chipmunk, stood in the freezing snow in flip flops, had held a random chick at gunpoint, saved my kidnapper’s ass, escaped six crazy men shooting bullets that could’ve ended my life, and if that wasn’t bad enough, again almost ended my life with that damn blender and practically destroyed a kitchen. And now here I was, laying down on my kidnapper’s bed instead of sitting in a corner losing my marbles.
Before I could let my thoughts convince me that I was starting to become a crazy patient and that I needed Nathan to check me into a hospital-no, an asylum-I heard the bathroom door open and footsteps walking towards the bed.
Just as I was about to sit up, I was attacked by a kidnapper. Crazy how that sentence seems so ordinary now.
I let out a shriek as Nathan jumped onto the bed and landed on top of me, crushing my body with all of his weight.
Hey princess. He grinned down at me.
Hey loser. I got out, my lungs becoming crushed now. You really need to lay off the cookies. I wheezed now, struggling to push him off.
He gave me a frown, before rolling off of me and laying down facing me.
I turned so now we were both facing each other.
Wow we were close…
Hey can I ask you a question ? He asked me.
I opened my mouth for a smart retort but he stopped me.
And don’t give me a smart-ass reply. He shot me a look.
Damn, he really could read minds.
Just say yes or no. He ordered and I sighed.
Yeah shoot. I waited for him to tell me, curious now.
Can I kiss you ? He asked me confidently, making me almost choke on air.
I mean, I know you won’t kiss me because you’re so stubborn, but if I kissed you then you won’t regret anything. He continued on, oblivious to my shocked behavior.
I think it’s because you’ve been getting closer and closer to me, and it’s been something that truly has been bothering me. You don’t have to say yes and I can back off if that’s what you want and I’ll respect your boundaries. I don’t know why I have this sudden urge but I really need to kiss you, just for a second to kill my curiosity. So will you allow me to ? He finished nervously, meeting my gaze with pure confidence still.
I just lay there for a few minutes, not able to complete a full sentence. I mean, he had really caught me off guard there.
My heart was beating loud and fast as I realized how badly I wanted to say yes. I mean, I thought I was falling in love with him, I’m not sure yet because I’ve never experienced love before, but the butterflies and the anxiety whenever he’s near must mean something. I had pushed all those feelings to the side because I knew I shouldn’t be feeling this way, but all those mixed emotions came flooding to the surface as he stared at me anxiously, his expression adorable.
I- I stopped myself and suddenly realized how little I knew about this guy. I couldn’t let him kiss me, no matter how bad my heart and body wanted that. He was a big mystery to me still and I was very confused about anything romantic. I didn’t want to end up getting hurt. He was my kidnapper and if there were to be anything between us, it would surely end in a disaster.
No. I said quickly, before my heart could change my decision.
His face fell and it killed me not to reach up and pull his face to mine.
Okay. He spoke after a while. He cleared his throat and repeated in a stronger tone now. Can I ask you why not ? His eyes masking his emotions. Sorry, you don’t have to answer that. I just thought there was something and I thought you saw it as well. He looked away now.
Who knew that the smooth-talker devilishly handsome man could get nervous ? Although he only let it show for a split second and was quick to put his guard back up, him opening up to me and choosing to be vulnerable was shocking. It made me feel closer to him…
I searched his eyes some more, before answering him. Because Nathan, I don’t know anything about you. I started, feeling his eyes snap up to mine but I continued to stare down at the space between us.
I really, really want to kiss you Nathan, and it scares me. But I can’t because I have so many unanswered questions and you won’t even let me in. I stopped to look up.