“There’s a card from Erin, Rose and … Cal,” Jack says, holding a card out to Nathan.
The temperature in the room drops to sub-zero.
Nathan’s eyes flick to it. He stares at the card for a long moment but makes no attempt to pick it up.
Jack puts it down on the table.
“Get to it later,” he says.
“And of course there’s mine,” Craig says, breaking the tense moment, handing him over a card and what looks to be a CD.”
“I got you something too,” Scarlett says, sounding nervous.
He opens the presents. Craig has got him the Coldplay album, and when he opens it, two tickets to go see them in concert at Wembley later this year falls out.
“Shit man,” says Nathan. “This is awesome! Thanks!”
“Ah,” Craig waves him off. “No probs. It’s your thirtieth. It should have been more really.”
“No mate, this is great,” Nathan enthuses, eyes scanning the text on the tickets.
“I got you two, so you and Alex could go together.”
“No,” I say to Nathan, raising my hand in resistance. “You should go with Craig.”
“Already got myself a ticket to go to,” he grins. “Scarlett too.” She smiles, seemingly already aware of this. “I thought we could make a weekend of it.”
“Sounds great,” Nathan beams, squeezing my leg under the table. “Don’t you think?”
I nod, smiling.
I’m worried about going out in public like that here. But then the gig is in November which is ages away. And it is in London. I don’t think anyone would recognise me down there. But, then, will I still even be here to go. I shove the thought from my head. Either way I’ll be with Nathan. I’m never leaving him again.
“You not down for it?” I ask, Jack trying to stay upbeat for Nathan’s sake.
He rumbles out a laugh. “Not my scene love. Give me Cat Stevens any day.”
“My turn,” Scarlett jumps in eagerly, holding her gift out for Nathan to take.
I helped her pick his present. I know how much Nathan likes his vintage T-shirts, so she ordered him a vintage Rolling Stones T-shirt online. We got it on express delivery so it would be here in time.
“Cool, thanks,” he says pulling it out of the wrapping paper, holding it out to look at.
Putting it on the table he pulls the Metallica T-shirt off he’s currently wearing and pulls his new T-shirt on.
“Fits perfect,” he says to Scarlett, smiling.
I think that was his way of letting her know he loves her gift. What he fails to realise is he’s just left the poor girl rigid in her seat and blushing at the sight of his bare chest. I know for sure I am and I get to see it regularly.
He sees her as a little sister I think, which is sweet. I think she might have the teeniest tiniest crush on him. Not that I’d ever say anything. It’s understandable, though. Nathan has that closed off bad boy way about him that women just love, especially teenage girls, and he is really beautiful to look at. Sometimes I don’t think he realises the effect he has on women.
And I love that he’s mine.
I smile at Scarlett over the table, widening my eyes and lifting my eyebrows, giving her a ‘what are men like’ look. Returning my smile, she seemingly relaxes
It's Jack’s turn next. He suddenly looks anxious. Not like Jack at all. He picks his present up off the table and hands it to Nathan.
“Happy birthday, son.”
Nathan opens the box and inside is a watch. It looks really old and antique. “It was your Granddad's,” Jack says. “Your Nan bought it for him as a wedding present. I’ve had it for so long and it’s just been gathering dust, so I took it to the jewellers and had it fixed up and back to working.”
A truly genuine smile is on Nathan’s face. I feel a lump in my throat.
“Thanks, dad.” I can hear deep emotion in Nathan’s voice. It’s not something you hear often from him, so you know when you do he means it. Nathan puts the watch on, looking at it for a long moment.
And now it’s my turn. I really didn’t think this present through now faced with having it to give him. I feel stupid.
I don’t want it to give him now, in front of everyone. Craig knows what it is of course. It’s just Nathan is not easy to buy for, and he did brand himself with my name in Arabic. But one of the main reasons I got him this gift is because Nathan has abandonment issues.
Not that he’d ever admit it. But it goes back to his mum leaving. Stupidly, I’d never really taken it into consideration until talking to Jack. And me leaving him like I did, at that time, so soon after Sol – well even though for the right reasons, it wasn’t great for Nathan. So I got him this gift, because I want him to know how much he means to me, and that I am committed to him, everything else aside.
Everyone is looking at me expectantly. Oh God. My face is starting to heat.
Hell, why am I so nervous? I mean it’s not like I’m asking him to marry me or anything.
Craig gives me a look of encouragement.
Okay, here goes. If he hates it, thinks it’s stupid, well, it’s no big deal. I won’t be gutted at all.
Okay, well maybe just a little bit.
I reach into my jeans pocket and pull the little box out. I see his eyes widen when he sees it.
“Don’t worry,” I say hastily. “I’m not asking you to marry me or anything. It’s just – it’s a promise ring,” I explain as I hand it to him.
My face is bright red, and I can’t bring myself to look at anyone. It’s that quiet you could hear a bloody spider drop in here.
He opens the box.
There are two rings in there. One for him. One for me. Stainless steel, both engraved inside with, ‘Forever’.
Okay, I know it’s corny, but have you seen him, and I’m in love. Like never before.
“One for you and one for me,” I explain, as he sees the two rings. I was going to take mine out, but I thought it better to leave them together, so he’d get the meaning.
“I guessed,” he says smiling. A real smile. A huge smile in fact.
Does this mean he likes it?
He takes his ring, the larger of the two, out of the box, and looks at it. Looking at the engraving inside.
“You wear it on your right hand,” I say. “I mean of course you wouldn’t wear it on your left, that’s what people do when they get married. And you don’t have to wear it if you don’t want to – of course.” I’m babbling.
Shit, this embarrassing.
He looks at me. Then without hesitation he slides the ring onto the ring finger on his right hand. He takes the smaller ring, my ring, out of the box, all the while, staring at me intensely, for a long moment, and my heart starts to cartwheel. He takes hold of my right hand and gently pushes it onto my ring finger.
Is this what people feel like when they are getting engaged? Because if it’s anywhere near as intense as this, I think I would actually explode if Nathan did ever see crazy and ask me to marry him.
I gulp down.
I feel like the world has shrunk down to just us two. He leans forward and presses his lips to mine, murmuring quietly, “I love it, and I love you. Thank you.”
“Get a room!” jests Craig.
We break apart, smiling. My face is still a shade of beetroot.
“So, time for birthday cake,” says Jacks, clapping his hands together he stands.
I notice his voice is a little gruff. Then I see a sheen in his eyes as he turns. I feel a tug on my heartstrings once again.
Nathan takes my right hand in his, entwining our fingers, he stares down at our rings side by side.
Then he looks up, meeting my eyes, and smiles at me again, intimately. And I know at this moment I did the right thing getting the rings.
Chapter 29: Close Shave
It’s late when they start filtering off to bed. Jack’s the last left, but I usher him off to bed making him a hot chocolate to take with him, telling him I’ll load
the dishwasher and finish up cleaning the kitchen.
One, because he looks knackered. And two, because I’m dying for some alone time with Nathan.
Nathan thanks Jack again for the watch just as he’s retreating. Then seemingly out of the blue, he hugs Jack. I see the flicker of surprise, then genuine emotion on Jack’s face as he hugs Nathan back, and I nearly burst out crying.
I have to turn away to clear my eyes of the welling tears. I get the distinct impression hugs from Nathan to Jack happen, rarely, if ever.
Then it’s just the two of us.
Nathan goes over to the table, where I’d purposefully left Cal’s card. I might hate the guy but he is Nathan’s brother, and the card was from Erin and Rose too. He loves them, if anything.
He stares down at the blue envelope for a long moment, I pretend to not be paying any attention as I wipe the countertop clean.
Finally he picks it up and opens it. He screws the envelope into a ball and tosses it onto the table. Opening the card, I watch his eyes as they read, looking for any hint of emotion. He presses his lips together, concealing whatever emotion was trying to escape. Then he folds the card over and shoves it in his back pocket.
“Okay?” I ask, as he walks over to me.
“Yep. You need a hand?” he touches the small of my back.
“No. Just the dishwasher left to load. You go and relax.”
“I’ll help.”
“It’s your birthday. Go sit down.” I put on my best commanding voice.
“I’m helping.” He nudges me with his hip. Smiling up at him, I shake my head and nudge him back.
“I’ll rinse. You load.”
I can hardly keep my eyes off him while we work in comfortable silence. Every time he bends down to put a plate in the dishwasher his new T-shirt rides up and I get a show of his toned abs, and a bolt of lust shoots through me, and I just want to take his new T-shirt off for him again.
I’m set on lust twenty-four-seven. Being away from Nathan for so long was so incredibly hard, and now that I’m here with him it’s hard to stay away, and to not touch him incessantly.
I’ve had quite a few glasses of champagne tonight so my emotions are slightly heightened, but even still it wouldn’t matter. I just have to be near him. Touching him constantly. He doesn’t seem to mind though, and if anything he’s just as bad. He has his hands on me plenty.
We’re in the early stage of our relationship; a relationship neither of us thought we’d ever have, so whereas it’s normally all lust and sex, yeah well times it by about ten thousand and you’ll be about where we are right now.
I know it will at some point wear off, not anytime soon I hope, but while it’s here I’m going to make the most of it and enjoy it to the max. After not having him in my life for so long I don’t want to take a single thing about him for granted.
I hand him the last plate and dry my hands on the towel. As he leans over putting it in the dishwasher rack I move behind him and put my water cooled hands under his T-shirt and slide them around his waist. I hear his sharp intake of breath.
“So, it’s just me and you,” I murmur.
I can practically feel his smile. I don’t need to see his smile to feel it, I know it like it’s my own and it spreads over my skin like the warm evening air.
He straightens up and turns in my arms. Placing his hands on my shoulders, he smoothes them down my arms in a very slow deliberate movement. “Just the way I like it.”
“Is it selfish that I want you to myself all the time?”
“Not at all.” He leans down and kisses the side of my mouth, ever so gently. “I’d call us even on that score.”
His lips graze over mine as he moves central, his breath caressing my skin.
I make a noise somewhere between a gasp and a moan.
It seems to have an effect on him because without taking his mouth off mine, he reaches his hand back, shoves the dishwasher door shut, then picks me up and turns with me, depositing me onto the counter.
I love it when he takes control like this.
He presses his face into the curve where my neck and shoulder meet and runs his tongue over my skin. I entwine my legs around his, keeping him held tight against me.
“Mmm,” he murmurs. “You taste sweet.”
“I reek of garlic.”
“So do I.” He presses his lips softly to mine. His hands go to the small of my back. “But even garlicky you’re still incredibly sexy … so is this the rest of my birthday present? You, I mean.”
Biting the grin on my lips, I say, “I’m a sure thing for you every day, not just on your birthday you know.”
He grins back at me, then moves a hand to my thigh, rubbing over my jeans with his thumb, moving higher and higher.
“We should go upstairs,” I mutter, feeling all kinds of breathless the higher his hand goes, tremors rolling from my head to my toes.
“We should,” he murmurs, moving his hand up toward the button on my jeans.
“I don’t think I could ever look Jack in the eye again if we defile his kitchen.”
Nathan stops and he raises his eyebrow. “Defile?”
I laugh, softly.
“Come on, we’ll go up to our bedroom. I’ll defile you there instead,” he chuckles.
Pausing, with my hands pressed against his chest, I utter surprised, “Our bedroom?”
My heart without warning starts to thud in my chest.
He shifts on his feet, looking at the floor. “It doesn’t have to be – I just thought–”
I put my hand to his cheek, and he looks up at me. “I want it to be ours. More than anything.”
He grins and my stomach fills with fairies fluttering about.
Then he lifts me down off the counter and takes me by the hand, leading me upstairs.
When we’re heading down the hall toward our room, I suggest a detour to the bathroom to freshen up, basically rid myself of the smell of garlic.
We stand side by side at the sink brushing our teeth. I stare at him in the mirror.
“Is the beard a keeper?” I ask.
He spits out in the sink and rinses his toothbrush.
“You don’t like it?” He rubs his hand over his beard. “I thought you liked me with stubble?” The twinkle in his eye is unmistakable.
I spit out too and clean my toothbrush.
“Stubble, I like.” I turn to his side to touch is face. “With the full beard I can’t see your face properly.” I reach up on my tiptoes and kiss the hair free smooth part of his cheek. “I like seeing your face.”
“So the beard goes.” His voice is suddenly gravelly.
He slides a hand around my waist and pulls me in front of him, leaning me back against the sink. Bracing a hand either side of me, gripping hold of the sink, he leans down and he lowers his mouth to mine, kissing me, gently, slowly. He tastes all fresh and minty and yummy.
When he drifts his mouth away from mine, his eyes aglow with desire, I take the opportunity to reach over and grab a razor off the shelf, waggling it before him.
“Now?” he says.
“As good a time as any.”
“You’re going to make me shave my beard off on my birthday?”
“Call it a birthday present.”
He looks at me confused. “How is me shaving my beard off a present for me? I am kind of attached to it, you know. It keeps me warm in the cold weather.” He puts a mock-dramatic hand to his beard.
I have a flashback to being in his car with him … him telling me I had to cut my hair off … me covering my hair with my hands … Nathan yelling at me …
“You’ve got me to keep you warm now,” I say, feeling irked by the memory, and also a little frustrated. “Just call it an early birthday present for me then.”
“When is it your birthday?” he inquires, raising an eyebrow.
Okay, so I walked straight into that one. “Oh … um … tomorrow,” I raise a little smile.
“Shit,” he sighs, dramatica
lly. “I should have known this. How did I not know this?”
“Because I didn’t tell you.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m not really that bothered about it, I don’t want any fuss, and it’s your birthday today – your thirtieth birthday,” I highlight the point. “It’s more important than mine. I’m only turning twenty-seven.”
“Nothing is more important than you.” He traces my jaw with his fingertips. Butterflies swarm my stomach. “And you’re saying me having a shave is what you want for your birthday?” he reaffirms.
Smiling, I nod vigourously. Really all I want is him period.
“You’re easy to please.” A grin. He reaches a hand up to take the razor from me, but I pull it back.
He looks at me confused.
“Do you trust me?” I ask, provocatively.
His eyes pool. “With my life.”
“Let me shave you?”
He closes his eyes briefly in agreement. Side-stepping him, I put the lid down on the toilet, instructing Nathan to sit down on it. I fill the sink with warm water and get the shaving foam off the shelf. I wet my hands, then kneeling down before him, I squirt foam into my hands, lathering it up, I rub it all over his beard.