By the time I park my car outside my house that Saturday evening, the sky is a colourful pallet of pastel pinks and a warm orange, washed across the horizon. A gentle breeze sways the branches of the trees, the night shadowing the sun setting in the corner. I take out the keys from the ignition and pocket them. I turn to face Nathan, his eyes already on me.
We soak up the silence with the peaceful beating of our hearts. Nathan takes my hand in his, resting his arm on my knee. The moment feels perfect. No distractions; No one telling us what to do- just us being ourselves.
"Are you sure you're mom won't be mad at you?" asks Nathan, his fingers still interlocked with mine. I lead us into my house and throw my jacket onto the sofa, twisting around to catch him off guard, my arms wrapping around his neck.
"She won't find out," I drop my voice to a seductive whisper, the mood set by the dim lighting. Nathan's eyes follow mine, my attention far from his eyes as I marvel his lips.
Accentuating his muscles by the flex of his arms, Nathan leans forward and takes my body in his with a secure hug. My chin rests in the crook of his neck, my hands falling to his waist. "You seem sure of that," his breath fans against my ear, releasing untamed butterflies to erupt in the pit of my stomach.
"I am. But it was a risk I had to take. I never want to lose you again." I slide my body away from his, our eyes level. "Why did you leave?" I ask, needing to know the true meaning of his last minute departure. If I have done something wrong, I have to find a way to make it right again.
Nathan's lips let a sigh slip through, his eyes down casting to the ground. "Does it really matter? I'm here with you now, aren't I?" His fingers extend to stroke the side of my face. I reach out and lace my fingers with his, holding his hand in mine.
"That girl said something about me being the reason you left," I pick up on the comment I had heard before, the answer unknown to me and spinning my mind with puzzlement. "I thought it was the new school that made you leave, what was it about me? What is it you haven't told me?"
Nathan migrates to the sofa, sitting down with a weight forcing his shoulders. Evident by the decline of his eyes from mine, I know this is deeper than a simple sentence. The true reason he left must hold more meaning and possible regret than I ever imagined there being.
"You can tell me anything," I promise with the place of my hand supportively on his shoulder. The touch of my skin on his draws his attention back towards me, turning his body to face mine. I cross one of my legs over the other. "I'm here," I tell him, nodding with reassurance.
"Paige, don't blame yourself for this, but you were the reason I had to leave..."
"Had to? I don't understand."
"You kept telling me to be myself. I knew I had changed; I was not being the person I wanted to. However despite my best efforts, I couldn't find a way to be my true self, well, when I wasn't with you. Paige, when I was around you, you in my arms, I felt safe and happy being who I was. You brought the best out of me," his smile grows with every sentence, a genuine happiness radiating from his face.
"But..."
"But," he exhales, a shadow covering up his smile. "But when I realised you weren't available, I knew I couldn't be with you. I knew, if I couldn't be with you, I wouldn't be able to be myself. I hated the person I had become. So, when I remembered that the collage was still an option, I thought it would be best to leave and start fresh and to be myself in a new area with new people. But..."
"But?"
"But it wasn't that easy," his eyes cloud with a sadness decaying the once happy expression on his face.
"Why?"
"I was away from you," he answers, repositioning himself so his hand cups my face. With the stroke of his thumb across my cheek bone, a rush unsettles the butterflies now racing inside my tummy. "I thought running from my problems would help me, so I could start again. But truthfully, I can't be away from you. I discovered that there is no one else in the world that can make me feel the way you make me feel. No other girl can make my heart race as much as mine does when I gaze into your eyes. If I cant be with you," he pauses, meeting my eyes again. "Then I don't want to be with anyone."
By this point my eyes were about to open and a river of tears was about to flood down my cheeks, however I restrain myself with my teeth digging into my bottom lip, not wanting to ruin the moment. Nathan doesn't hesitate to continue, now both of my hands in his.
"Paige I was foolish enough to let you go, I came back with you because I can't bare the thought of living with the same regret of how I felt the first time. Once you told me the true story, that you never had true feelings for Josh, I knew I had to find a way to make you mine."
"Nathan I-"
"Paige listen," he pauses, the air thickening as I find it hard to breathe. "I love you."
A single tear rolls down my cheeks. "I love you too."
The moment is sealed with a kiss. No ordinary kiss. As Nathan leans in, he takes my small frame in his body, climbing on top of me, hovering above me with his lips connecting with mine. A surge of power overwhelms me into grabbing the back of his neck and deepening the kiss further than it's ever gone before.
Responding with even more passion and dominating lust, Nathan doesn't hold back, holding me as if I was going to disappear unless he pressed me tight against his chest. The miraculous sensation that floods through my veins, racing my heart which spins my mind, feels like the most amazing feeling I have ever experienced.
"I know I am falling for you," he breathes heavily between each kiss, almost breathless with every intense second. I have never been this close to someone before, maybe physically with Josh in the past, but I've never felt this much emotional love for someone.
"I already have."
The rest of the night consists of our bodies sharing a love only my dreams have experienced before. Nothing in my life has felt more perfect. Not even the guilt of deceiving my mom came to mind as our heavy breathing fills my bedroom. Nathan still has his arms wrapped around me as the morning rays of sun shone through the gap in my curtains, his bed hair adorable as it is cascaded across his face, shiny with lip gloss stains.
He shuffles closer, detecting the light shining over his closed eye lids. My name mumbles from his lips, still pink and as plump as of last night.
"You awake?" I whisper, ruffling up his hair with my hand. His eyes flutter open, my smile meeting his.
"Morning babe," his lips lock with mine, morning breath not even strong enough to come between us. "When does your mom come home?" He asks with a husk deepening his- already sexy- voice.
"Later today, 5 pm maybe. I'm not sure, but she won't be back this morning."
"Good to know," he grins. Reclaiming my body, he caresses my side, repetitively kissing my lips and neck. "Want me to make breakfast?" He turns to get out of my bed, my eyes wondering as he pulls on the clothes he had been wearing the previous day that had been dropped to the floor.
"That'll be nice."
Turns out Nathan can cook the best scrambled egg, as well as French toast and home made orange juice. After devouring the meal within five minutes, I licked my lips clean and went back up stairs to shower.
"I think I'm going to see my family," Nathan tells me from the stair case as I reach the bottom, my hair wet and body dressed.
"That sounds like a good idea, they will want to hear from you if you are staying. That is, unless you want to go back." I couldn't bring myself to look at him, it too painful to even admit the truth of how his trip back home may only be temporary. "I know you really wanted to go to that collage."
"I know. I guess we'll have to see how it goes."
"We?"
"Yeah, my girlfriend and I," he speaks with his lips kissing the back of my hand.
It is unbelievable to hear that word and feel as if I belong with someone. All of my other boyfriends were never like what I have with Nathan. He said he can only be himself with me; I can only be my true self with him.
"How about this," Nathan begins. "I come with you back to school on Monday, see how it goes. If I feel as if I can accomplish my goals without the collage back in Washington, then I'll stay."
"Good idea."
"But no matter where we are in this world, nothing can tare us apart."
"Cheesy," I comment, giggling at how he grins back at me. With a quick wink, Nathan leaves through the front door and I watch as he turns the corner on his way back to his mom and dad's house. It will be nice for Bailey to see him as well, I know that their sibling bond is very strong.
I receive a text from Nathan later on in the afternoon. His message flashes up on the screen of my phone, under the contact of Babe💕💕💕💕
Spending the night at home. Will pick you up for school tomorrow. Love you xx
Love you too xxxxx
I prepar my own dinner, eating alone in front of the TV, waiting for the late arrival of my mom. Soon enough, a couple of hours later, mom walks in through the front door with her bags hanging from her arm. I rush over to help her and let her embrace me in a loving hug.
"I missed you Paige," she starts off my saying.
"Yeah, yeah, missed you too. Now tell me about this weekend!" I urge with an enthusiastic laugh.
"It was amazing, let me put the kettle on and I'll tell you all about it."
It turns out that my mom had an incredible time with her boyfriend: they went out for dinner both nights and spent most of the day going out to country parks and spending every minute together.
Hearing how wonderful her time had been made me reflect on how extraordinary my own night went with Nathan. However I can't mention any of it. Not because of how inappropriate the details are, but it is due to the fact mom knows Nathan had moved away, so explaining to her how and why he has returned would be difficult.
Inevitably she will discover he is home, however for now, I keep the spotlight on her.
That night Igo up to bed early.
School will definitely be interesting tomorrow... I'm sure Josh will be amused by Nathan's presence, as well as wanting to rip his head off. However confronting Josh about the ticket will be fun. If Nathan was not the one to send the letter to me, then it must have been Josh. He wanted Nathan to come back to fight him, the only reason he wanted me to go.
Little does Josh know, me and Nathan are officially dating. I wonder how he will humiliate Nathan now the tables are turned.
And with that thought, as well as the image of me and Nathan together from last night, I fall to sleep with a smile on my lips and a flutter in my heart.
A/N-
PATHAN IS OFFICIAL!!!
I know you have ALL been waiting for the announcement: Paige and Nathan are dating!
(Don't say 'finally' 😂 lol)
I've made you all wait this long to build their relationship up, nothing can pull them apart now.
Please tell me if you liked this chapter. It was mostly focused on Paige and Nathan. I didn't describe it in too much detail as I don't know the age range of my readers, and mostly because I don't want my book to be reported if the scenes are too inappropriate 😂😉
Anyway, I wonder how it will go with Josh the following day-
More coming soon... Xx