Getting Under Nathan

28: "I fell for him far too quickly."

"So what would you like to drink?" she asked. "Do you fancy sharing a bottle?" 

"Sure," I replied. I'd not really done something like this before so I let her take the lead. She seemed to know exactly what she was doing.  

"Cool. I'm a fan of red, personally, but white goes down easier without food, and I don't think Nathan would appreciate it if I sent you off to his place drunk..."  

I laughed. "White's fine." 

"Great," she grinned, and we headed over to the bar to order.  

When it came to paying, though, Louisa grabbed my arm as I went to reach into my bag.  

"This is on me," she said. "Put your purse away." 

I frowned. "Are you sure? I don't mind splitting-" 

"No, don't be daft. It's my idea and my treat. And besides, I probably owe you." 

I didn't have chance to ask her what she meant by that, as the bartender passed Louisa the bottle, sat neatly in the jug of ice, along with two large glasses.  

"Enjoy," he said. "Let me know if there's anything else I can help with." 

As we returned to our table, Louisa jerked her head back in the direction of the bar. "That's why I love this place. The staff always go beyond the line of duty and do more than the bare minimum. I always think good service can really make your night." 

"I agree," I replied truthfully.  

Louisa unscrewed the bottle of wine and then began to slowly pour it into my glass. 

"Say when," she instructed.  

"When," I said, once the glass was just over half full. She tipped the same amount into her own glass and then raised it in toast.  

"To clearing up misunderstandings," she smiled.  

I smiled back and gently knocked my own glass against hers. We both took a sip before Louisa opened her mouth to talk again, her vampire-red nails gently caressing the stem of the wine glass as she did so.  

"I just want to begin by apologizing," she said. "Nathan's probably already told you this, but I genuinely had no idea that you weren't aware of our...past." 

I nodded and stared into the depths of my own glass before looking up to meet her eyes. She was staring at me intensely, with what seemed like real concern in her eyes. 

"Yeah," I replied. "I think he was trying to protect me. But I understand that it offended you." 

"Well it did," she admitted. "Not only does it make it seem like he's ashamed of me, but it automatically makes it seem like he's hiding something untoward. And he's got nothing to hide. Nothing has happened between Nathan and me in years. Him moving to Italy was the best thing for both of us. We were both in a dark place and the separation brought us both out of that." 

I nodded again. "Yeah. I get that." 

"And so, that's what I need to apologize for. I made a really inappropriate comment that afternoon, because I didn't realize you weren't aware. As far as I was concerned, you knew all about Nathan and me and you were accepting of it. I felt so awful afterwards and that's partly why I wanted us to meet up." 

I battled between opening up and being honest with Louisa, or keeping my cards close to my chest. She seemed lovely enough, but could I actually trust her? 

"I know that Nathan has a dark past," I said. "And I know he's been with a lot of girls. But since I didn't actually know him at that point, I've learnt to accept it. His past has obviously shaped the person he is now, and that's the person I fell in love with."