Chapter Nineteen
Lisa went inside the house and threw the takeaway on the side. She didn’t know what to do with herself.What an idiot!She kept picturing it in her head. She couldn’t fathom what had possessed her. On reflection, she didn’t even know why she had done it. Nathan could have just said, ‘No, she’s not my girlfriend.’ What would it have mattered? Why had she presumedhe needed saving from public humiliation, where there was truly none to be had? It was the thoughts of the prom that had done it. She felt so stupid. They were not eighteen any more and everything was completely different now.What a fool!She held her phone, pondering texting Felicity, but her hand was shaking too much and she had no idea what to say. How could you explain that level of humiliationin a text?
A ring at the door made her stop staring at the phone.Oh God!Oh no!Tentatively, she went to open it;oh it can’t be!She really wanted to run and hide, but if she was right and it was Nathan, she knew she owed him an explanation – she just wasn’t sure what that explanation was. Taking a steadying breath she opened the door.
With a bemused grin, Nathan smiled at herfrom the doorstep.
Lisa’s stomach twisted into knots. It was hard enough seeing him before, but now she was staring at him with the memory of that kiss still on her lips. She offered him a weak smile, while she attempted to process what to say.
‘I don’t normally have women throwing themselves at me in the Chinese, but when they leave with free food for two, without so much as ininvitation, well, then I draw the line.’
Lisa laughed despite the tension she could feel inside. ‘Nathan, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have… They were just all staring and—’
‘And you thought you’d kiss me!’
Her cheeks reddened. ‘No, I… I wasn’t thinking.’ If only that were true; really she had been thinking way too much of that moment – Nathan’s declaration at their prom– and how this time she found she couldn’t say no.
‘Thinking’s overrated, inhibitive. Sometimes you have to seize the moment, go with your gut… and that’s why I followed you.’ Nathan revealed a bottle of wine he had been holding behind his back.
‘Oh—’
‘So are you going to invite me in?’
Lisa’s mind scrambled as she tried to take in what he had said.Oh God!Shedidn’t know what to do; part of her wanted to shut the door and hide.What would Flick say?Picturing Flick and Melissa’s faces as she had told them about that hug in Wild, Wet and Windy, and their hopes of living vicariously, she realised she knew exactly what they would say and attempted to push the thoughts out of her mind.
‘Or we could just eat here… on the doorstep,’ Nathan added.
‘Eat…’ Lisa’s mind finally registered what he was there for. ‘The Chinese! Of course.’Of course, that’s what he’s here for.‘Sorry!’It’s the only reason he’s here!Lisa knew she really had to stop letting their past and feelings she thought she had buried long ago fill her head. He had wanted to ‘catch up’, that’s what old ‘friends’ – as he insisted they were – did, and he wanted toeat ‘free food’. None of his actions suggested anything other than that.For goodness’ sake, just let him in!
As she held the door open and he stepped inside, Lisa couldn’t help but notice how much more he filled the doorway than when he had entered her house as a teenager. He had always been tall, but his older, more muscular physique meant his shoulders were broader. Even through hisjacket she could see the arc of his biceps, and remembered how it felt to be held in those arms from their encounter in Wild, Wet and Windy. But it was more than the physical changes; he seemed to have a greater presence, a confidence that showed in his demeanour. The boy who had been her first love had grown into a man.
‘The food’s in the kitchen,’ she said, trying to keep the wobblein her voice on an even keel and hoping desperately that he couldn’t hear how loudly her heart was beating.
Once in the kitchen he put the wine on the side and shrugged off his jacket. ‘Corkscrew?’ he asked.
‘I’ll sort it, you take a seat.’ She needed him out of her proximity for a moment so she could refocus and gain control of her mind. Nathan Baker was in her house. After allthe time that had passed, he was right there, in her kitchen, the way he had been so many times before. Her thoughts fizzed with the information, her past and her present colliding.A catch up and free food, that’s all it is!She had a vision of them kissing by the kitchen counter, getting intimate in her bedroom, making out in the living room. Letting their teenage hormones get the better ofthem anywhere her parents could not see them. They had bribed her brother, Luke, to keep quiet about the things he had caught them doing so many times she wondered if they had actually funded his post university travels.It’s all in the past!She blinked, trying to get the images out of her head as she fetched the plates and cutlery.Oh no!Her face flushed as it dawned on her that Nathan wasalmost certainly having the same flashbacks. A glance over her shoulder and the hint of a grin on his face suggested he was. Attempting not to show that her hands were trembling, Lisa carried the plates, cutlery and food to the table.
Time had altered them both. Taking in the sight of him, more properly now she was less caught off guard, it was clear he was carrying off the casual looka bit too finely, particularly as she still had her work clothes on and her long hair pulled into a messy ponytail. If she had known she would end up spending the evening with him anyway, she would have just stuck to their first arrangement. At least that way she would have showered, got dressed up and done her hair and make-up; she would have been generally more prepared.
‘So how areyou really, Lisa?’ he asked, helping himself to chow mien and fried rice from the takeaway tubs she had placed in the middle of the table.
She couldn’t help but look at his hands, distracted by the fine hairs and firm veins that had appeared on them since they had dated; masculine, grown up hands.
Nathan stopped and waited for her answer, forcing her to focus.
‘Oh, umm… good, thanks.’ Lisa knew it was a bit of a lie but MrChung had made her look like enough of a hopeless case without her adding details. ‘Well, this looks good.’ She dished herself up some food, welcoming the opportunity for a distraction.
‘I’d heard you were back. I thought you might be avoiding me.’ Nathan smiled.
Lisa raised her eyebrows. So it seemed gossip wasn’t entirelydead in her hometown, though clearly she was more the cause rather than the recipient of it.
‘Then when I got your friend request—’
‘Sorry about that—’
‘Sorry about the friend request?’ Nathan laughed.
‘No, I mean, well, I’m not very good with Facebook.’ Lisa couldn’t tell him she had sent it after the shock of seeing Flick and then consuming too much cooking sherry,and decided to change the subject.
