I found it on the fridge.
I pulled the post-it note out from under a magnet, smiling. Most people would have thought the post-it didn’t need a magnet, but I knew Nat had a fear of leaving a note for someone and it getting blown away or something because the glue wasn’t strong enough to hold it. So, she always double-stuck them, asshe liked to say. If it was on a fridge, she also used a magnet. On the counter? She’d also lay something on top of it, whether it was a pen or the edge of a notebook—just something to keep it from flying away.
I grinned thinking about it as I read the note:
Tim,
Last night was so great. Sorry to run out this morning, but I had an early class. I’ll see you at the party on Friday. Saturday will be great, too, and I’ll be done with exams so I can enjoy the Fourth of July with you and your family like always.
Love,
Nat
Party? What party? I frowned and plopped down on a stool at the counter. I glanced at the calendar.
“Oh, shit.” I’d forgotten to tell her the party was off.
Were Nat and I going to be together at the fireworks show? We’d be sitting with my family like we usually did.
The thought made me nervous, and I paced the condo while I made myself some peanut butter toast for breakfast.
I couldn’t push it from my mind as I got ready for work. I didn’t think I was ready to ‘out’ our relationship in front of my family and the entire town. Gossip spreads like kudzu in a town the size of Indigo Falls where everyone knows everybody.
I had to talk to Natalie. She needed to know the party was canceled, and I had to see her before the fireworks show. Ihadto.
CHAPTER NINE
Tim
Natalie’s exams couldn’t have come at a worse time. I stood in the kitchen thinking of how often we’d taken breaks for quick nourishment between bouts of the most amazing sex I’d ever had in my life.
I’d grabbed for her over and over again. That had never happened before. I was a fuck and leave kind of guy. I never stayed over at a woman’s house, and I never let them stay with me.
But Nat? My God. I’d never wanted her to leave. Ever. I’d wanted to lock my arms around her and keep her with me forever.
A weird thought ran through my head of that creepy nursery rhyme about Peter, the guy who kept his wife in a pumpkin shell and never let her leave. I snort laughed and picked up my phone to text Natalie about it. She got me. I never had to worry about her thinking I was strange or unusual in any way.
She thought I was completely normal. Well, either that or we were both… unique in the same way. I grinned. God, I loved that girl.
I was turning to put a dish in the sink as the thought ran through my mind. I loved Natalie. I wasin lovewith Natalie.
I dropped the dish and watched it break into several pieces as I leaned on the counter, shocked.
I closed my eyes. This wasn’t good. Icouldn’tlove Natalie. It was too… dangerous. The last time I’d been in love was with Annika, and I couldn’t ever seem to forget what happened with that.
I started pacing around my condo, wondering if I’d made a horrible mistake. I couldn’t survive having something like what happened with Annika happen with Natalie. What if she cheated on me?
God, just the thought made me want to hurl.
I couldn’t even eat breakfast before I left for work, and I’d never been so thankful to have several projects to balance at once when I got there. I did my best to bury myself in all the work and not think about my relationship with Nat at all.
Of course, that only lasted until I got in my car to drive home.
After I got there, I sent her several texts, but she didn’t respond. I knew she was incredibly busy with exams. She’d told me she’d be in the library and pulling all nighters and things I hadn’t had to do since graduating a couple of years ago. I still hated not being able to communicate with her. I felt like if I could just talk this through with her, I’d feel so much better.
Frustrated, I tossed my phone on the couch and ran my hands through my hair. This sucked. I was basically left to my own thoughts for the next couple of days. And they weren’t great.
I kept sending her texts, which I realized was going to be annoying once she turned her phone back on. I just hoped she looked through some of them. The last one I sent her was to tell her I’d canceled the party Friday, but I wanted her to come anyway so we could talk about things.
