Page 24 of About That Rule

“I’m going to dinner with a friend,” he told them. “I’ll stop by for lunch tomorrow. Does that work?”

They both nodded in agreement, so Nate gave another round of hugs and headed out the door. Something his mother had said kept playing on repeat when he got in his car. Her hope work would keep him local wasn’t too far off, but he was starting to believe his career wasn’t only work he was coming home for.

A DINNER DATEwith Nate was nothing new. They always grabbed food together, but lately, Samantha had noticed a slight shift when it came to him. Obviously, she ignored any idea of sleeping with Nate. However, she didn’t want to wear her casual outfit of yoga pants and the oversized Jack Johnson t-shirt. Even if they weren’t having sex, she still had the urge to make him want her. It was such a game, but she was willing to play.

It was easy to reason with herself this was normal.

Like, when all was said and annulled, she and Nate would laugh and laugh about how marriage made them horny for each other. It would be a big joke they would find endlessly funny. It would eventually be hysterical how they made out like teenagers in New York. She was sure of it because nothing else would actually transpire between them. It was just more fun for them to flirt and use sexy voices on the phone.

One-hundred-precent the only reason.

Nothing more.

She had an hour before she had to leave to meet him for dinner, but she wanted to start getting ready. To shower, shave, blow out her hair, apply makeup, and get dressed would take all the time she had left.

Don’t judge about shaving. It wasn’t because of Nate.

At all.

It was part of her routine.

Mostly.

After her shower, she threw on a clean pair of yoga pants and a baggy t-shirt to get ready. She groaned in frustration as she stared into her closest for an outfit that appeared effortless but screamed sexy. A knock on her door interrupted her search for the perfect get-up.

It was probably Becca. The woman was on the hunt to figure out who had Samantha’s attention enough that she’d blow off a random double date. She was pretty persistent.

She hurried off and opened her front door, her mouth dropping when she saw Nate standing there, leaning against her doorframe. He was mouthwatering. She wasn’t sure how she’d managed to not crawl all over him in the years they’d been friends.

“Why are you out of breath?” he asked, stepping around her to walk inside her apartment.

She followed after him as he sat on the couch getting comfortable. He looked good in her apartment, like he was meant to be there. Ugh, Nate being sexy on her couch was not needed.

“I’m not out of breath.” And she wasn’t. She might have been panting, though, which was equally as embarrassing. “And I always love to see you, but weren’t we supposed to meet at seven-thirty?”

She stayed standing, hoping a light bulb would go off and remind him he was early. Perhaps he would leave so she could get ready. Rude since it wasn’t like he had his own house to go to, but she still had makeup and hair to do.

“I just left my parents and wasn’t in the mood to go back to the hotel,” he said without a worry in the world. Totally oblivious to her not ready to hang out. “Let’s just order in and watch a movie or something.”

“Yoga pants for the win,” she said under her breath.

He gave her a confused look. “What was that?”

“Nothing,” she grumbled, sitting next to him on the couch. She turned so her back was against the armrest so she could see at him. “What happened? What made you come here?”

“That obvious?”

She smirked. “I’ve known you my whole life. You never bail on a chance to go out. What’s up?”

“My mom thinks I’m not staying at her house because I’m so promiscuous I can’t go a week without getting my dick wet.”

“Little do they know the truth of your current situation,” she said, trying to make him smile.

“I have a well-deserved reputation, I get it, but even my mom believes all the noise about me sleeping around? I told her I was staying at the hotel because of work, but I doubt she believed me. Why should she? In the past, if I had an extended stay, I did get a hotel so I could fuck whoever I wanted without worrying if my mom would walk in. I never stay with her and Mark. I feel like a piece of shit. Something has to be wrong with me.” Nate closed his eyes for a second, making Samantha’s heart ache for him.

She gently rubbed her hand on his arm. “Natalie misses you, just like we all do. Knowing her, she wants to spend as much time with you as she can possibly get. I wouldn’t blame her for that. We all want your time whenever you visit. Try not to take it to heart. And when it comes to sex, who cares what you do? You’re single, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”

“But I’m not single.” There was a distant sound to his voice, as if he couldn’t believe the words he spoke.

This was uncharted territory.

Samantha wasn’t sure what to say. Instead of words, she scooted closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder. His arms came around her, squeezing her in a snug side hug. They stayed close to each other, neither saying a word, holding on tight like it was a lifeline.

Finally, Nate spoke up. “Let’s order pizza and watch a movie.”

The way he sat up with his back poker straight, it was a signal the sentimental moment was over. Which was fine with Samantha. It wasn’t like they were trying to fix Nate’s need to be single. But she could tell the intimacy of holding each other for comfort was too much for him.

“Let me grab us some beer.” She got up and scurried off to the kitchen.

When she came back, Nate put his phone on the coffee table. “I ordered the pizza.”

She sat next to him and grabbed the remote control. Turning on Netflix, she put on Schitt’s Creek. By the time pizza came, they were each a couple beers in, laughing their asses off at the show. Every episode was funny. It was like holding onto each other earlier had never happened. Just like their kiss two weeks prior. They just continue to pretend anything that mirrored a relationship hadn’t happen.

Which was fine.

Really.