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“Excellent choice, sir.”
I turned to see Natalie looking anything but pleased that we would be sharing a room. I wasn’t sure what her issue was but I had felt like she had been taking a step back from me all day. She was still as talkative and friendly as she had always been but there was a distance that had never been there before.
The evening at the brewery had been informative. I opened up with her about what I was thinking and how I felt about her and she had done the same. I thought we had turned a corner on our relationship but I must have read her and the situation wrong as she was different and distant all day.
I couldn’t figure out why and being in the same room with her gave me the perfect opportunity to find out. I hadn’t wanted to push the issue of us sleeping together but maybe this was kismet. It might allow us to talk more and then hopefully evolve into something else.
“Thank you,” Natalie said with a sigh, took the keys and walked away. I followed close behind.
She didn’t say anything as we walked out of the lobby area and to our room. We had decided to stay the night in Moonstone Beach. It was about a fifteen-minute drive from Hearst Castle, it had a lovely beach front and most of the hotels looked out onto the water and we were a close walk to the beach. I thought it would be a good rest while we figured out what we were going to do next. We had only been given the wine, not a clue but hoped that it would help us find it.
“It’s a nice room, and the view is lovely,” Natalie said as we walked into the room.
She put her luggage by the bed, the single king bed and walked out to the balcony. I followed her into the room and tried not to think about how the sleeping situation was even more precarious than I thought. Her comment and tone told me she wasn’t mad at me. I could still tell she was off and gave her a minute on the balcony to come to terms that we would be staying in the same room while I figured out what to do.
We hadn’t discussed opening the bottle but as I looked out and saw two chairs and a small table set out overlooking the water, I couldn’t think of a better spot. We had stopped for a late lunch once we left the castle and I didn’t think I would want any dinner. I wasn’t sure if Natalie felt the same way. As we weren’t sure what our next step was, it seemed like a good idea to sit, open up a bottle of wine, and see what happened.
I left Natalie outside and went and got the wine and some glasses. Luckily, the room had a bottle opener. I opened the wine before going out and sitting with Natalie.
“Wine?” I asked as I came outside.
“You read my mind,” she said and reached and took the glass I handed her. “I’m curious to see what a hundred-year-old bottle of wine tastes like.”
I laughed as I sat down across from her on the balcony and put the wine bottle down. She seemed better about the situation and it gave me hope that we could get through this. “About that. This isn’t wine from the castle. I’m actually not sure what it is.”
“It isn’t?” Natalie sat up.
She took the bottle from me and then laughed. “It was so dusty I thought for sure it was one from their wine cellar. I should have known it wouldn’t be that easy to just get a bottle from there. It might not be from the castle but I do know the significance of this bottle.”
“You do? Cheers,” I said and lifted my glass to hers.
She touched the rim of her glass to mine and we both took a sip. It was a Cabernet Sauvignon, I didn’t know my wine well but it had a rich, almost heavy taste to it. Natalie nodded her approval.
“Our parents went up to Paso Robles for their first anniversary. While they were there, they did some wine tasting. Neither was much of a drinker but it seemed like the right thing to do. They found a bottle that they liked. Kevin enjoyed it so much that he decided to get two cases. He said they would drink it on all the other anniversaries and special occasions.”
“Did they?” I asked and took another sip.
“I think so but there must have been some left as we are drinking one.”
“Do you think that was the point of having that bottle in that wine cellar?” I asked.
“That Kevin was telling us that we need to have fun, enjoy the moments while you can because you never know when they might happen again?”
“Exactly. I’ve been enjoying the moments and the time I have been spending with you,” I said, reaching over and putting my hand on top of hers.
“As your friend,” she said and slid her hand away.
I sat back in my chair and let out a big sigh. “I get it. I understand. I won’t push it.”
“Push the friendship?” she asked.
“I don’t think you can push a friendship, either you have it or you don’t. I think we do, and if that is all you want to have, then we will. I won’t push you to have anything more.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” she said loudly.
“You just said “as your friend,” You want us only to be friends.”
“No. I was just repeating what you said last night. How you were so glad that we had gotten close and how much you valued our friendship. You were the one who put us in the friend zone, not me,” she said and shook her head.
