Nothing Less

Chapter Twenty-One.

I make a promise to myself to never be that kind of dad. I want to be a cool dad and if Tessa goes around lying about my shirts, I can't be one.

So no, maybe omitting is just as bad as lying.

"I found your sister's Facebook page and I looked through it. I saw her husband and his gazillion certificates and awards. I saw your beach vacations and your yellow bathing suit."

Nora's face pales and she sits in silence as I continue.

"I saw her big house and the brand new car he bought her and I saw the guy who had his arms wrapped around you."

Nora's breath catches in her throat. "Why? Why did you do that?"

"Do what? It's Facebook, it's public property." I defend my stalking with the lamest excuse I could have mustered. That's a horrible answer. And very poor excuse for being a creep.

Nora shakes her head and moves further away from me. "How long ago was this?"

"Just today, when I was waiting for you to come back." Was it just today? Time doesn't seem to make any sense since I met this woman.

"What else did you find?" She questions, her hands slightly shaking. I look down at them and she immediately stills them.

"Nothing. You don't seem to have a Facebook."

She nods, not meeting my eyes. She totally has a Facebook. She's not lying because she's not speaking, but she's certainly not being honest.

"What exactly were you hoping to find?" She asks, her eyes on her hands clasped in her lap. She's moved further from me now. Not so fast...

I grab her arms and pull her back to me. She doesn't stop me, but she does sit up, her thighs framing my waist.

What exactly was I hoping to find? I don't freaking know, maybe I was hoping to find out about her secret identity or a secret boyfriend? I don't know what I was looking for, but if I didn't feel like she was hiding something, maybe I wouldn't have had to look at all.

Is dating always like this? This squeezing feeling that no matter what is happening, there's always something hidden around the corner waiting for your happiest moments to occur so it can crush you and take them away?

"What are you hiding?" I ask her, my voice level, unlike my head right now.

Nora shakes her head. "Why do you assume I'm hiding something?"

I roll my eyes at her and put one arm behind my head so I can get a better look of her on my lap. My other hand is resting on her leg.

"Maybe because you are. You don't want me to meet your sister? You have some secret Facebook page. You won't talk about your ex-boyfriend or any other relationships for that matter and you've shut me down when I've tried to understand why you hide so many things from me." I sigh and lift my upper body to rest my back against the headboard for more support.

"You know what? You wanna meet my sister? Let's go then. You can meet her after I get off work tomorrow. What time is your shift tomorrow?" She says, giving in so easily. Something is most certainly array here.

I nod. "I'm off at two."

She nods. "Good. It's settled then. Now stop snooping around my shit unless you want me to expose yours, too."

I furrow my brows and look up at her. "My shit? I don't have any shit to expose."

Nora laughs, "Oh yes. You do."

I grip her hips and push her forward on my body so her butt sits right at the bottom of my stomach. Wrapping my arms around her back, I pull her to lay on my chest. "Explain," I kiss at her, right beneath her ear.

"You and Dakota. I would say that's sure something to talk about. You hide your relationship, whatever is left of it, from me. You don't answer her calls when I'm around. That's pretty shady for someone pretending to be a Saint over there."

This woman is absolutely insane. I turn her cheek so she has no choice but to kiss me. "I don't have anything to hide from you, aside from the fact that Dakota and I are friends. She wants more, I think, but I can't give her more."

I take Nora's face into my nervous hands, "You've taken it all from me. There's nothing left to give her. You have it all."

She softly kisses me against the corner of my mouth.

Nora's mouth grows fierce. Her tongue makes smooth circles on mine. "Hm, that sounds good," she says into my mouth.

"You sound good," I mutter and I'm glad she doesn't seem to notice, or care. Her mouth is hot on mine. 

(I'll update again tomorrow. What are your plans for this weekend? I'm going to be writing and organizing my house :P My house in LA is starting to feel like home <3 )