Delphic Song

Chapter Five

As if noticing my discomfort, Nate put a hand on my shoulder. "Hey," he said. "Sorry if I was moving too fast. I don't want to push you." His eyes connected with mine, and a slow swell of calm washed over me, wiping away all apprehension. Gwen, you're being ridiculous, I scolded myself. I mean, what could Nate possibly be hiding? He had told me that his father had died on our first date. To me, that made him pretty darn honest and trustworthy.

"I know," I whispered. His mottled hazel eyes held mine, relaxing me. He really was beautiful, I thought. His honey blond hair was mussed up, a few strands falling into his face. His face was devoid of imperfection, no wrinkle or blemish, and his lips were curved up in a half smile. His lips. My heart skipped a beat, and I made a spur of the moment decision: I leaned into him, breathing against his mouth, "You weren't pushing me."

It was a fiery explosion when his lips met mine. When I had realized I wanted to kiss him, I thought it would be a gentle kiss. Careful. But I wasn't expecting the rush of heat I would feel, the rush that wouldn't let me pull away because all I wanted was more.

One of Nate's hands cradled my face, the other slid down my arm and wrapped around my waist. I moved closer, tightening my grip on his arm. His lips were soft, yet unyielding, and his scent filled my nose; peppermint, the musty forest, and an underlying hint of something unpleasant, something sickly sweet... it tickled at my brain, the odor familiar to my senses, but it was soon forgotten as his hand slid from my neck into my hair, fisting in it and pulling my closer. Melting into the kiss, I curled myself nearer to him, but in the midst of doing so knocked my bowl to the side.

I drew away, breathing hard. My heart galloped in my chest, and my whole body tingled. "The dinner's probably getting cold," I murmured.

I felt Nate laugh. His arm shook under my hand, and his breath danced in my ear. "You're amazing."

I blushed and looked away. How could he think that I was amazing? It was so hard to understand why he liked me. Me, the most ordinary girl he could have met. I was average all around: looks, abilities, goals, friends... The only abnormal thing that had ever happened to me was my mother abandoning me, and I didn't really make a point to tell people about that. I was so uninteresting and normal that I wouldn't be surprised if Nate got bored of me by our second date. He probably liked adventurous, wild girls, but quite frankly, sitting around on the couch eating chips and chocolate while watching TV satisfied me just fine.

"Why do you like me?" I blurted out suddenly. Damn, Gwen. You really need to think before you talk. I wanted to rewind and take back my question, but I unfortunately for me that was impossible. So I waited in tortured silence for Nate's response.

"Gwen," he said quietly. I held my breath. "I like you because you're you. Not some fickle, inane wannabe who acts like her life is a freaking romantic drama. You're just... you're just..."

"Just shut up and kiss me again," I said.

Grinning, Nate did just that.

It was late when Nate dropped me off. It had been dark for hours, but I had barely even noticed. The smile hadn't left my face since he told me that he liked me, and I'd been walking around in a blissful daze.

After we had finished making out (it wasn't the last time) we had cleaned up dinner and polished off the desert Nate had brought, despite full stomachs. It had been out of this world; a chocolate pecan torte with hot fudge and whipped cream. I had to give him credit for lugging all that food out there. That picnic basket must have been pretty heavy.

I had to bite my lip to keep from grinning ridiculously large when I thought of what Nate had planned out for us to do next. He had instructed me to change into my swim suit behind the tree, swearing he wouldn't peek, and then led me down the hill to Hillman's Hole, a small pool almost eight feet deep in the middle of the creek. We had swum for at least an hour, flirting and splashing and, yes, kissing.

I couldn't contain my grin.

As I entered the living room, I was greeted by the entire family. Liz, Dad, Joshua and Alyssa, all sprawled out on the furniture in their pajamas.

"Why, hello, stranger. You were out late," Liz said, closing her magazine and giving me a once over. "But at least you returned in one piece."

"What did you expect, Mom?" Alyssa asked skeptically, not even glancing up from her phone. "That she'd come home chopped up?"

"Hey," I said, "You told me to be back by ten, and its-" I quickly checked my watch "-ten-oh-seven."

Dad laughed. "Don't worry, Gwen Bear. There will be no grounding tonight." He tossed a meaningful glance at Alyssa. "Or chopping."

"Sounds good to me." I plopped myself down on an armchair next to Joshua. He smiled sleepily at me and snuggled closer. He was wearing his favorite pajamas; bright yellow footies with little monkeys all over them.

I ruffled his unruly blonde curls. "Hey, sleepyhead. Why are you up so late?"

"Waiting... for you," he yawned.

I smiled. "Well, I'm impressed. But I think it's time for bed." I stood up and held out a hand. "C'mon, bud."

As I led him to the stairs, I turned and said goodnight to everyone before helping him up.

"See you bright and early," Liz called after me. "No more sleeping in late crap."

"Promise," I called back. "Night."

After helping Joshua to bed, I headed to my room and stood in front of my floor length mirror. I still looked ordinary. Long, dark hair that was so impossible it was like trying to brush through knotted rope when it got tangled. My gray eyes were nothing special, just a dull, dime silver color that did me no favors. I wasn't model tall or Funsize short; I think I was 5' 6" or something like that. I was a medium height that fit into no category. Sure, I was fit, but that only lasted the summer and fall. I gained my winter pounds like most everyone else.

The only thing I took pride in about myself was my tanned skin. I had always been naturally tan, and every summer I would get even browner. I rarely burnt, and when I did, it was never bad.

But that didn't explain why Nate liked me.

Because it was obvious that it wasn't for my skin.

I didn't know why I was so convinced that Nate wasn't being entirely truthful. He had given me proof again and again, and for some reason I kept finding something else to worry about. I guess I just couldn't wrap my brain around the fact that Nate might actually like me. It was kind of a foreign concept to me, I guess. The few boys I had dated before had never been serious, just flings that lasted a month, give or take. There had never been anything more than attraction going on with those relationships. If you could even call them that.

But with Nate, I felt the attraction and the feelings. The full range of emotion: nerves, chemistry, and a certain magnetism that drew me toward him. I put a hand to my lips, remembering that pull that had first made me kiss him. There was certainly magnetism there.