AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“One to ten, how much are you freaking out?”
I glance over, but all I can see is her profile. “I’m not freaking out.”
Her cheek lifts with a smile. “Bullshit, Stevens.”
“Fine. I didn’t think we’d do this.”
“Do what? Sit on a beach after you apologized profusely for being two minutes late?”
“I didn’t—”
Her cheek lifts higher.
“Profuselyis a mischaracterization,” I mutter.
Her laugh is light and mesmerizing.
“I didn’t think you’d call,” I admit.
“Yeah, me either.” She looks over. “I can blame it on the wine, if you want.”
“Was it the wine?”
“I showed up sober.”
“How do I know that’s not because you spent the morning at a recovery center?”
A small indentation, like a comma, forms in the corner of her mouth. “Is that your way of asking me how the visit with my mom went?” Her gaze turns back to the lake. “It was fine. The place she’s staying is really nice. There are these gardens…you feel like you’re standing in the middle of a floral shop. Except better, because they’re all still alive and there’s trees and bushes and grass and everything, too…” Her voice trails. “She seemed relaxed. Content. It was nice to see, especially after the last conversation we had, after I picked her up from the hospital. But I wasn’t surprised. It’s always been that way with her. High highs and low lows. I never know what to expect, and that’s maybe the worst part. It’s a rollercoaster.”
“You can’t react to the future, to what hasn’t happened yet,” I reply. “You can only live in the present and learn from the past.”
“That was pretty insightful, Liam.” Her elbow nudges my side. “Maybe you should take your own advice.”
“About us?”
“And about football.”
“I don’t want to talk about football.”
“Okay.” She reaches into her bag again and pulls out a tube of sunscreen. I watch as she applies streaks of the white lotion in long, rhythmic sweeps. “I hang out with guys all the time, and it means nothing,” Natalie tells me.
I snort. “Okay.” I think it’s her way of telling me not to read into this get-together, but all it accomplishes is annoyance. Now I’m irritated I’m here and frustrated by the circumstances.
She leans closer and swipes sunscreen on my face, one straight line beneath each eye, just like the black ones I wear during games. War paint, as Matt always calls it. He’s dramatic like that.
“I just meant,” Natalie says, holding my gaze as she leans back and tosses the sunscreen on her towel. “That we both know what this is. We’re for now, not forever.”
“For now, not forever,” I echo.
“Yeah.” She shrugs, then stands. Her dress comes up and over her head, leaving her standing in a bikini that shows a lot more skin than it covers. “Come on. Let’s swim.”
I stand as well, shrugging my shirt off and enjoying the way her eyes trail over my torso. There’s something intimate and special about seeing someone you’re attracted to give an indication they’re attracted to you. It’s like communicating in a code only two people understand.
Natalie bends over and grabs the sunscreen. Holds it out to me.
I arch a brow. “You aren’t going to offer to apply it?”
She rolls her eyes, tosses me the tube, and starts walking toward the lake’s edge. I watch her walk, hips swaying and hair bouncing. We’re surrounded by strangers. The sun is shining and the surface of the lake shimmers.
