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"I want to stay here forever with you, Bella, but I think we really need to find our friends," Nate finally says, and although I want to stay here locked in our embrace, I know he's right. I attempt to stand, but my legs have turned to jelly while I've been sitting on the cold floor. Before I know it, Nate is scooping me up into his arms and lifting me to my feet before gently placing me down on the ground.
"Here," he says, encouraging me to lean some of my weight against him as he throws his arm around me and leads me back toward the party.
We make our way over to the rest of the group. Most of the people in the house have started to leave, but there are still a few dozen left. "You guys ready to go home? Or do you want to stay a little longer?" Nate asks the group.
"Well, I think Harper has found herself a friend for the night." Ava laughs, "I'll see what she's up to, but I'm ready to go..'' Ava asks, swaying and grabbing hold of Tucker's hands. "Yeah, I'm ready too, baby," Tucker replies, while trying to hold her steady.
Ava heads off to check on Harper, who, as she later confirms, was more than happy to stay with her friend, at least for tonight anyway. We drop Ava off first and watch her make her way inside before heading towards my place.
"What time is it, Nate?" I ask sleepily from the front seat.
"It's almost three, Bella," Nate says, stroking my thigh.
"Three o'clock! As in three o'clock in the morning?!" I exclaim, shooting up in my seat, almost scaring the boys half to death.
"I can't go home at 3 a.m., Nana and Pops will kill me," I say in a panic.
"It's okay, you can crash at my place if you'd like, Izzy. I've got a spare room since my brother is away at college. Don't worry, Nate, you can stay too. Don't think I can't feel your eyes burning into me through the rear-view mirror," Tucker says with a laugh, placing his hands on both of our chairs from the back seat.
"If you're sure you don't mind, Tucker," I say with a sigh of relief.
"No, it's fine, honestly. My parents are pretty cool. They know that either Ava or Danny will often stay over after a party because it's cheaper than getting separate cabs."
"Thanks man, we appreciate it." Nate says, giving Tucker a fist bump.
"I'm going to text my grandparents and tell them I fell asleep watching a movie and just woke up, so I decided to spend the night at the twins' house. At least that way, they won't wake up worrying that I've been kidnapped or murdered," I joke.
Nana:, Pops:heey I fill aslep wtch film. Stray here be bk0 tommor…
Nate looks over to see what I’m writing before he snatches the phone from my hand. "Here, I’ll send it, light weight." Nate laughs.
Nana:, Pops:Hey, sorry, I fell asleep watching a movie and eating popcorn with the girls. So, I'm gonna spend the night here. I'll see you tomorrow x.
"There, that's better," he says, handing me my phone back. I must drift off to sleep, as the next thing I know, Nate is shaking my leg to wake me. "Let’s get you inside, babe."
I didn't even notice that we had stopped in front of Tucker's house. "Come on, my room is in the back. I share it with my brother Theo. We converted the summerhouse into a boys' cave a few months ago. He won't mind me using it. I often do. It just means we both have some privacy when we have friends over. There's a bedroom and a sleeper sofa in there, as well as a game console and a TV," Tucker says proudly.
"Wow." Nate looks at Tucker with wide eyes. "Now that's what I call fancy."
"Nah, it's not like that. When my grandpa got sick, my parents built a little addition in the back, so he could still feel like he had his own house and independence. That way, my parents were still able to take care of him until the Alzheimer's got too bad and we had to move him to a special facility. After that, it was just a sad reminder. Last year, before Theo went off to college, our parents said he could turn the apartment into a bachelor pad to prepare him for college life. Theo is pretty cool for an older brother and always allows me to invite friends over when he’s away at school. Since then, it's been kind of a private hangout for the group. As long as I don't break anything or make too much noise, my parents let me use it whenever I want to," Tucker explains to us both as we exit the car. He guides us both through a back gate and past the pool towards his place.
"Wow, I wish I had a place like that. Although I know what you mean about the great big brother, I'm thankful enough to have had one like that growing up," Nate replies with a faraway look and a smile. Every time he talks about Gabe like that, like the boy who hung the goddamn moon, it makes me curious. I know I never got to know him well, but everything I saw of him conveyed this antisocial, asshole vibe, so the fact that he must have been so different with Nate just blows my mind.
"Well,mi casa es su casa,brother," Tucker says with an exaggerated bow. "You're welcome anytime. I'll introduce you to the rest of the guys soon. I'm hosting a FIFA night once the new game is on sale," Tucker adds, sounding way too excited as he talks about the game night.
"Well, if you're both done declaring your undying allegiance to each other, maybe we could go inside. I'm frozen from toe to top… I mean top to toe, standing out here," I whisper.
"Sorry Izzy."
"Sorry, Bella," the two boys say in unison
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
NATHANIEL
My jaw drops as I walk in because this little 'BOYS CAVE'as Tucker described it, is huge. Probably bigger than Gabe and my whole house, and definitely better maintained.
"You can have the bedroom over here," Tucker says, leading us to the back of the house.
