Delphic Song

Chapter Three

As if he sensed me watching him, he glanced over at me. Our eyes met.

I took a sharp breath. His eyes were… there were no words to describe them. Blue, green, hazel, staring straight into my soul. They were deep, searching… and wise. I could see years of knowledge and awareness in those striking eyes. I felt a shiver run up my back and turned away.

I felt, rather than saw, Nate’s gaze life off me. “It’s not peaceful like it is in the country,” he continued like nothing had happened. He squinted slightly against the fading sunlight. “Out here, I feel free to do anything I want. Does that sound stupid?”

“Not at all.” I peeked over at him again. He was staring off into the distance, but I felt my stomach drop and my skin tingle when I realized how close we were sitting. My gaze strayed to where his hand rested on the grass between us, only two inches from mine. My fingers twitched as I thought about how badly I wanted to grab his hand.

A feeling washed through me as I debated grabbing his hand. I couldn’t identify it at first, but then I realized it was guilt. Guilt for feeling these things about this amazing guy I had just met, when only last night there was that instant when old feelings for Liam had resurfaced. I was instantly transported back to that moment he and I had shared. On the kitchen floor, his shirt sticking to his stomach as time stopped…

But that wasn’t really a moment, I reasoned with myself. No. Not at all. The only thing happening in that moment was you noticing how nice his abs are. Which is perfectly okay!

The more I looked back on it, the less special it seemed and the more silly I realized I was being. Liam and I were the closest friends, and sometimes there were awkward moments. And sometimes it dawned on me how hot he was. It didn’t mean anything! And I was probably only feeling guilty because I cared about Liam as friend and I didn’t want him to feel left out. Yeah, that was it.

But this… whatever it was with Nate… this could go somewhere. I mean, we hadn’t run out of things to talk about all day! That was definitely something special. And the way he had just looked at me… I turned away, suppressing a girly giggle.

I realized that I had just been lost in thought, and quickly searched for a new topic. I cleared my throat, self-conscious. Had he noticed how long I’d been looking at him?

“So, are you staying in town?” I blurted out.

A smile twitched at his lips. “I don’t know yet. But…” he met my eyes again. “I hope it’s for a while.”

The sun had reached the tops of the trees by the time Nate decided he probably needed to be getting home. We trudged up the hill to the weighing stand, each with a bag of apples on our respective arms. Nate had tried at least one of the six different kinds of apples we produced, and liked all of them. He had also insisted on getting plenty of all different varieties, which resulted in lots of heavy bags to lug around. It only took five steps for my shoulders to start burning; I knew that by the time we had reached the stand they would have doubled in muscle bulk.

Nate, of course, seemed to have little problem with the weight. He looked like he could keep this up all day.

We were chatting easily as we walked. I was surprised at how effortlessly we got along – and how quickly it happened. It had only taken four hours for me to feel almost as comfortable around him as I did around Payson or Liam – and that was saying something. I thought back on that first moment when he had asked for help, and I’d felt that wave of calm trust sweep over me like a blanket. I guess it was friends at first sight – unless it turned into something more.

And at this point, I hoped it would.

“So, do you go to that school – what is it – Fryeburg Academy?” Nate asked me, adjusting the strap of his bag on his shoulder.