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“So, Tucker and I have news.”
“What?”
“Noah is officially ours!” she squeals. “With the mess that went down with Hope and her bastard of an ex, we didn’t want to say anything, but he’s all moved in now.”
“Oh, my god!” I wrap my arms around Natalie’s shoulders, giving her a firm squeeze. “I’m so excited for you guys. How excited is Noah?”
“Ecstatic. He’s picked out all the decorations for his room and has settled in really well. I’m not sure I’m prepared to handle all the downsides of being an official parent. He’s always so well-behaved since we only get him on weekends. It’s going to be hard when he starts pushing his boundaries.”
“You’re going to do just great. He loves you, and as long as he knows you’re coming from a place of love and not meanness, you’ll be just fine.”
“Thanks.” Her smile is wobbly as she takes a fortifying drink of wine.
There’s a short silence as we both take another drink.
“I slept with Ben!” I blurt out. I don’t think I realized how hard it’s been to hold on to that little nugget of information.
Natalie chokes on her wine, her eyes bugging out at me. “What?”
I cringe. “I had sex with Ben.”
“Holy shit. Way to bury the lead!”
“I also have to tell you something else, but you have to swear not to tell anyone.”
She squints her eyes. “Does this have something to do with why you were weird at family dinner the other night?”
All I do is nod.
Natalie thinks over my ask before waving at me to continue.
“I…” This is just as hard as I thought it would be. “A couple of weeks ago, I was attacked. Someone tried to kidnap me in the parking lot of La Mensa. Ben saved me from whoever it was, and we’ve been hanging out ever since, and now, we’re sleeping together, and it’s the best sex of my life.” The words tumble from me like a dam being opened after years of doing its job.
“Well, fuck.” Natalie blows out a breath. She picks up her wine glass, knocking back the rest of its contents before filling it again. She walks into the living room and plops down on the couch without so much as a word. I follow behind her with my wine glass dangling from my fingers.
“Okay, let’s start with the bad stuff, then end with the good. You were attacked?”
“Yeah, I’m not 100 percent on the details, they’re still a little fuzzy, but I was walking to my car when some asshole grabbed me and tried to get me in his car. Ben came out of nowhere to stop the whole thing, saving my life in the process.”
“Why didn’t you tell us? Cooper needs to know what happened.”
“For starters, I was freaking the fuck out, then Ben and I got caught up in emergency surgery that same night. I didn’t have too much time to think about it when it happened. When I woke up the next day, I couldn’t wrap my head around the attack, so I just sort of pretended like it didn’t happen until I could process the whole thing. It feels a little pointless to tell Cooper now.”
Natalie’s glare says exactly what she thinks about that last part. If our roles were reversed, I’d probably feel the same way. The logical part of me knows I should’ve told Cooper the night it happened, but the emotional part of me wasn’t ready to voice how weak I was. How I let some asshole take me with barely any fight. And if I’m honest, I still don’t want to make a big deal of it. There’s nothing Cooper can do to find this guy; making a big show of telling everyone feels silly.
“Right, well, I don’t think it’s pointless, but I’m not going to push you to do things you’re not ready to do. Just know, I don’t agree with your choices. Is this why you’ve been taking self-defense classes?”
“Yeah, I started them to feel prepared in case I was ever attacked again, but now, it’s become something I enjoy doing. A lot. I feel strong, capable. Like a major badass.”
Natalie grins. Of all people, she’s the one who would understand wanting to be a badass. She’s always been headstrong and in charge of her life. She’s independent, almost to a fault, and barely lets Tucker have an opinion about what she does. But she was also assaulted and then subsequently had her house set on fire with her trapped inside. She almost died that night and still battles the scars both inside and outside. She’s a survivor. Someone I look to when things get hard. It’s why I didn’t want to bother anyone with what happened to me. Between what happened to Hope and even to Nat and Quinn, my issues weren’t nearly as important.
“Okay, now tell me about the best sex of your life.”
Heat rushes into my cheeks. I didn’t mean to tell her that part, but when the word vomit started, there was no stopping what came out.
It’s true, though. Ben is the best sex I’ve ever had. The dominating thing was hot. Seriously hot. There’s also a deeper level of connection between us that wasn’t there before. Which feels weird to say since we haven’t been seeing each other very long.
“He took care of me, Nat. After the attack, he let me be a part of the surgery, knowing I needed the distraction. Then he held me when I broke down after we got home. And then he stayed and spent the night on the couch. I didn’t even ask him to. Ever since then, we’ve been getting closer.”
