Then there was the fact that he admitted to stalking me, though only after I had caught him and confronted him about it. Sometimes, I wondered if he ever would have come clean if I didn’t ask outright.
I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but something about the whole package seemed off about Nate. There were some suspicions, but I wasn’t anywhere near ready to let them become fully formed thoughts, let alone voice them to someone else. If I was wrong, I didn’t want it to bite me in the ass and have those ideas in her head.
“You’re right,” I said with a sigh, wanting to wrap up the call so I could finish getting ready. “I’m probably just looking for problems when there aren’t any.” I blew out a breath and turned back to my clothes dilemma. I had ten minutes to pick out my clothes, get dressed, and get my ass out the door.
No pressure.
“Wow, are you actually admitting I’m right? Hold on, let me note the date and time.” She cackled on the other end of the phone, and with my clothes in hand, I strode across the room and hung up on her.
Served her right.
But I didn’t have time to revel in my victory. I needed to get my ass in gear and get to the other side of town at the speed of light. Somehow, I got ready and was out the door in record time, but just as I went to step outside, I quickly made my way to the kitchen and grabbed the small box out of the utility drawer and slid it into my coat pocket.
I still felt like I didn’t know much about Nate, so I hoped he liked his present. With it finally tucked away, I was able to get on the road. Thankfully, traffic was light, so I didn’t have to break too many laws to get to the restaurant on time. That wasn’t something I’d want to explain to anyone I worked with.
Talk about embarrassing.
Twenty minutes later, I was sitting across the table from Nate with a smile on my face as he thanked me for being so thoughtful and planning an evening out with him. Though, I wasn’t sure if he thought I was stepping on his toes asDaddyor not. But fuck it, I wanted to do something nice for him and I would, dammit.
“It’s not a problem. I wanted to do something for you. We’re always holed up in my house, and I know it’s only been a month, but it felt special. So I wanted to do something… nice for you.”
Nate looked at me for a moment before his expression turned soft and bashful. “I should have thought more about it, realized how much it meant to you, and done something for you.”
I reached across the table and took Nate’s hand. “No, I wanted to do this. For you. For us. Besides, only one of us could have made surprise plans for tonight,” I said with a wink, eliciting a soft chuckle from him.
“I suppose you’re right about that. Or else, where would we be?”
My hand slipped into my pocket, and I played with the box inside. I still wasn’t sure I had made the right decision, but I’d never know until I gave it to him.
“I got you something. It’s nothing big,” I rushed out. “I saw it and thought of you.” I took a deep breath and slid the box across the table until it bumped into his slightly trembling hands.
“Little bird… you shouldn’t have.” The way he eyed it warily said maybe he meant that literally and it hadn’t been such a great idea after all.
I laughed at his absurdity and tried to play it off. Tried to act like I didn’t start dying inside at the thought that he didn’t like it.
“You don’t even know what it is yet.” My eyes rolled, but it was a fond gesture. Sort of. At least, it usually was. At that moment, it was more about hiding my anxiety.
Nate shook his head. “But I didn’t get you anything. Fuck,” he muttered. “I’m sorry. I’m bad at this whole”—he waved his hands around—“peopling thing. Especially when it’s a boyfriend thing.” He shifted in his chair, and I felt bad for making him uncomfortable. I wanted to snatch the box back and pretend the last couple minutes never happened.
He sat there, staring at the box as he played with it between his fingers. But he looked at it as though it was going to bite him.
It’s just a stupid little gift.
“Would you open it? Please? It’s nothing fancy. Just something that made me think of you, that I thought you’d like.”
He let out a sigh, but I saw the way his lips twitched as he seemed to fight off a smile.
“Of course. Thank you.”
He tugged on the bow on the box and opened it. At first, he didn’t say anything, then the way his eyes lit up when he saw the antique cufflinks made my heart melt.
“These are beautiful. Thank you, little bird. Truly.” His voice had gone soft with wonder and amazement, and it did things to my insides—things that made me squirm and wish we were back at my house rather than at a restaurant.
“You’re amazing, you know that?” My voice was full of wonder as he stared at me like I’d gone crazy.
Maybe I had. I was, after all, sitting in a restaurant with a man I barely knew after a month of dating, who was a self-professed stalker. A shiver ran through me as I wondered what else he could be capable of.
Nate shook his head. “If either one of us is amazing, you’re the one. You are a rare gift that I treasure.” He put the box back down and grimaced. “Me…” His voice trailed off, and he looked away, as though he wasn’t going to finish the sentence. “I’m just a pathetic schmuck who imprinted on you like a baby duck, and now I can never let you go.”
