Nathan was here.
I would’ve thought I was still asleep on the plane had it not been for the familiar scent that washed over me at his nearness; that wasn’t something that I could duplicate in my dreams.
It took me all of two point-five seconds to snap out of my stupor before I turned around and wrapped my arms around his neck. “What are you doing here?”
“There’s a promising artist based in Miami that I wanted to come check out myself to see if they are Edge worthy.” Nathan explained.
“Really?” I tried to keep the disappointment out of my voice but failed.
“No.” Nathan replied instantly, making me tilt my head in confusion. “The truth is, I saw my beautiful girlfriend getting on a plane and realized that I didn’t want to be away from her tonight.”
A cage of butterflies unleashed itself in my belly.
“You know, if this whole CEO thing doesn’t workout for you, you should try your hand at writing love songs.” I teased.
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Nathan chuckled before he leaned down and brushed his lips against mine. “Are you ready to get out of here?”
Realization of where we are and why we’re here slammed into me harder than a wrecking ball.
Parents.
Nathan.
Here.
Together.
Did Nathan want to meet my family? Were we even in that stage of our relationship? Did I want him to meet them or did I want to keep him a secret a little while longer?
This seemed like a conversation we should’ve had before either of us hopped on a plane, but in all fairness, I never thought my two worlds would collide this soon.
The good news was I didn’t have to have all the answers at this very moment, which was why I schooled my face into something resembling calmness and gave Nathan a small smile.
“Yeah.” I let my smile spread a little wider. “Are you in a rush to head to your hotel?”
“Not really,” Nathan cast a look sideways towards me. “Are you?”
“No,” I swat his chest at the insinuation in his voice. At least I’m not the only one who couldn't stop thinking about last night. “I was just thinking about how this is my chance to show you where I grew up.”
There was a whole other side of me, a whole other life that I lived before moving out to California with Kelsey and the more I thought about it, the more excited I was to share that part of me with Nathan.
There were so many places I wanted to show him.
The childhood home that I grew up in until I was about fourteen years old.
The pizza shop my friends and I frequented on Senior Ditch Day (Even when we weren’t seniors at the time)
My old high school.
“Lead the way.” Nathan told me as he entwined our fingers and guided us out of the airport.
Normally, I’d be tired from a flight, especially with how little sleep I got the night before, but I was surprisingly cheerful and full of energy as I showed Nathan a few of my old stomping grounds, starting with my old childhood home which still looked the same despite the amount of time that passed.
Regret and embarrassment surged through me like a storm when I realized I brought one of the richest men in the country to one of the roughest neighborhoods in South Florida. I hadn’t thought much about it until we were standing in front of my old apartment door.
It was like being transported back in time as I stared at the black gum that was glued to the cracked steps, the peeling dark green paint on the railings and the trash littered around as if they were daisies.
Not really your brightest moment bringing your rich boyfriend here.
