The Bodyguard (Book 1 in the Original BOC Series) ✔

Chapter Twenty-Four

Nathan turned his head away a bit, but kept his eyes on Ben.

"If this is how we are going to have our heart-to-hearts from now on, I'm not gonna lie, Ben... that's pretty fucked up," he replied, raising his brows. But when the older man kept the glare stoned into his expression and said nothing, Nathan knew that this was time to joke.

Nathan groaned through a sigh, and shrugged his shoulders.

"What? What'd I do?"

Ben straightened from leaning on the porch, reeling his head forward. He gave Nathan a hard look as he answered, "Gosh, Nate. I dunno? Maybe you can tell me why Hallden's niece is giving you goo-goo eyes and talking like no one else is in the room, but you?"

When Nathan said nothing, just stood there, he pressed on.

"Or maybe you can tell me why it is that you have such desperation to keep that girl for yourself when you have a responsibility to be taking care of?"

Ben craned his neck more and raised his brows, "Or what about the fact that you ignored my advice when I had told you to just. Back. Off." His head tilted, shrugging, "Well?"

Nathan held his jaw shut tight.

His hands were shoved into the pockets of his jacket and shrugged in return. He glanced up at his friend, mumbling, "I don't know what you want me to say, Ben."

"How about you just answer me this one question, Nathan... is that girl in love with you?"

Hearing that question, Nathan felt uneasy.

He rolled his shoulders back to ease the tension in his back, but it wasn't doing any use. His brows twitched down before looking up at Ben again. It was rather difficult for him to open his mouth and speak.

"Is she?"

Without a word, Nathan nodded.

Ben nodded slowly, "Mm-hm." With his brows quirked up, he added, "And she told you this?"

Nathan nodded again.

"I warned you, Nathan. I warned you that she was going to, but you wouldn't listen! You now have this girl at your feet and could at any moment be waking up next to you tomorrow morning!" he cried exaggeratedly, waving his arm in the direction of the house.

This was where Ben paused a moment after catching Nathan flinch and look away at the open scenery. He felt his chest tighten with worry and hoped that feeling was wrong; that he had mentioned that last sentence hypothetically.

"Nate, did you sleep with Mara?"

Ben stared hard, watching the setting sun's orange and pink rays hit Nathan's face and only accentuated that deep thoughtful frown of his. When he wouldn't answer, Ben leaned forward, repeating, "Nate... did you sleep with her?"

Nathan swallowed hard and solely turned his head to Ben, breathing out, "Yes."

Ben's eyes widened and inhaled deeply through his nose, slapping the rim of his cap upward, "God dammit, Nathan!"

He grabbed at the hat roughly and threw it at the wall of the house, turning back to the silent man and continued to shout, "GOD DAMMIT, BOY!" 

Nathan stood facing forward again with his eyes closed and brows lowered.

Ben continued ranting and paced in a circle, "What the hell did I tell you?! I told you to stay away from her! That you were going to end up hurting her! Mara isn't like those other women you've been with before Nathan! She's different!"