Chapter 14
The only person that had ever taken me out on a date was Matt.
That fact alone explains one hundred percent of the reason why it's taken me four hours to get ready for tonight.
Whenever I'd go out with Matt, whether it be to the mall or to dinner, he never cared what I wore, what makeup I chose, or what I looked like at all, quite frankly. After years of repeating casual wear, I had made a uniform out of jeans, a blouse, and whatever shoes I happened to be closest too at the time. It was a routine of comfort and never style.
But every nerve and cell in my body was telling me that Nate Chester was going to have a higher expectation than that. He wasn't a jeans and sneakers type of guy - he practically lived in Dolce and Gabbana. I knew he wanted a girl in a nice dress with classy shoes.
The girl he met at the club.
Granted, I was still in my comfortable stage back then. By now, I had traded in my Mary Jane's and invested in a very expensive pair of Jimmy Choo's. Meanwhile, my wardrobe had drastically changed from high necklines and flowy cuts to cleavage revealing hip-hugging pieces. I had to admit - I kind of loved it. I embraced it. I always thought I felt and appeared a bit boring when I was with Matt. Because I never had to try, I never did. As long as Matt was okay with it, what did I care? But I wasn't going to be that same wallflower anymore.
Nope, New York City has turned Haley Monroe into a woman and it felt absolutely fabulous.
I stared at my reflection: sultry curls past my shoulders, cherry red lipstick, cutout black dress, and a pair of slick patent nude heels. No longer was I just a new temporary intern at Forward magazine, I am THE intern at Forward magazine. The one that wrote articles readers were buzzing about. I was tempted to call Madison and tell her all about it, but I couldn't get hands to reach for the phone.
I wanted to keep this to myself. A little secret I could hold sacred forever in my heart.
As promised, Nate had a car waiting for me exactly at nine o'clock outside the apartment complex. I half expected him to be in the backseat when the driver opened the door, but when his figure wasn't sitting there, it only made me more anxious to see him.
I'll admit, I had a strong attraction to Nate. He definitely knew how to sweep a girl off her feet and keep her on her toes. If there weren't various obstacles standing in the way of us becoming what we could be, there was no doubt Nate and I would be more than just co-workers. But something was always holding me back, something refraining me from being completely comfortable with him. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't thankful for all these roadblocks. It was terrifying thinking about being anything more with him.
I barely knew Nate.
"We're here," The driver announced as the car slowly comes to a halt.
I hadn't even been paying attention to our surroundings the entire car ride since I was wrapped up in my thoughts. I grabbed my clutch and stepped out the door once he opened it for me.
"Thanks for the ride," I tipped him.
The ground was bumpy once I felt it underneath me. It was a bit chilly and it smelled of sea salt. When I looked around, I realized we were on a dock at the edge of an island. I could faintly see the cityscapes that outlined the Manhattan from here. But for some reason, the water itself was deserted. There weren't any boats from what I could see.
"You made it."
I turned around to find Nate looking...
God.
Damn.
Fine.
He had gelled his hair to the side, smiling with a freshly shaven face, and stood in a black tux with a rose in one hand. His eyes were glistening as they trailed my figure up and down.
"You look-"
"Incredible," I finished for him. I had so much more to say but it was the first word that popped into my mind.
"Yeah," He agreed, while pulling me in for a hug. "Well, I look incredible."
I rolled my eyes.
"But you look breathtaking," He finished. He holds the blood red flower to my face. "For you."
I grabbed it and sniff it's heavenly aroma, "It's beautiful, thank you."
"Anything for you."
I blushed. "Where exactly are we having dinner? It doesn't look like anyone's here."
"Look again," He pointed behind me.
This time when I turned to the water, there, floating at the end of the dock was a white yacht, lit up from end-to-end in bright white lights. It possessed golden trims and detailed carvings to complete its luxurious feel.
My jaw dropped. "What the-"
"I know, it's a bit much for a first official date," He mentioned humbly. "But considering how many times we've been interrupted, I figured no one could reach us out on the water."
"Nate, I don't even-"
"Then don't," He held a hand out to me. "Let's go."
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"So, you're still not going to tell me what the number four signifies?" I asked Nate again, pointing to the ink on his finger that had been driving me crazy since we first met.
Nate leaned an elbow against the table and cocked his head to the side. "No, for the thousandth time. Are you going to keep asking me until I have to push you overboard?"
I laughed through my nose since my mouth is full of what was the best (and most expensive) champagne I'd ever had. "Isn't it weird to get a tattoo placed on the most obvious part of your body and not expect to give people the story behind it?"
He cleared his throat. "Number one, my finger is not the most obvious part of my body - it's clearly my front cover airbrushed face."
I didn't even bother holding back a laugh at his playful arrogance.
"Number two," He continued, holding two fingers in my face. "Tattoo's are personal. I don't have to give people an explanation if I don't want too."
I rolled my eyes. "Okay dramatic Debby." I hear my own slurred words all too clear.
He chuckled in a sound that was about two octaves higher than regular, a quirk I noticed that only came out when he had a few drinks. "It's Debby downer not dramatic Debby."
I paused. "Oh. Oops."
We both took a few minutes to laugh.
I had to admit, this was by far the best first date I've ever had. From the start till now, we had been at ease. Our conversation's flowed, we laughed non-stop, and everything in the world outside of this boat seemed to vanish into thin air. Forward didn't come up once during any of our conversation and for good reason. We kept it personal in order to try and get to know one another without the boss-and-intern relationship hanging over our heads.
When it all came down to it, I was having a blast. I hadn't talked to someone with this much fluidity in awhile. It felt good to let our guards down and take a step into one another's lives. So far, we've covered everything from birth, to his past of screwing up jobs and giving his family a bad name.
"Honestly," I said, after taking a huge gulp of golden goodness. "I don't remember seeing your name in headlines as much as you say."
He scrunched his face. "That's because you live on the other side of the country. I don't think you get any in-city news from New York over there."
I frowned. "Well, I mean, if you really screwed up a multi-billion dollar business, I'm sure your name would have popped up somewhere."
"I didn't take the whole company down," He defended. "The scandalous hook ups with socialites, occasional DUI's here and there - I just made my family look bad. Which is worse, depending on how you look at it."
I pointed a finger at his direction. At least, in my vision it was his direction. "And how do you look at it?"
He shrugged and takes a swig before saying, "I've grown up. I had my fair share of mistakes and I don't need anymore."
I let his thoughts consume him. I could see from the reflection in his eyes that he had been waiting to let that out. Surprisingly, Nate had allowed himself to show a vulnerable side. But along with that, he also didn't bother hiding the fact that he had money.
Everything about this romantic setting screamed extravagance - the floating paper lanterns that lit up the deck our table was resting on, the red rose petals that covered every inch of the floor, a Grande piano with a personal pianist playing softly in the background, and last but not least, the mouth-watering five course meal that I had devoured without any shame.
Oh, and did I mention the four hundred dollar bottle of wine we had already finished?
"This ex of yours," Nate began a few minutes later. "What was the one thing he did wrong in your relationship?"
I shrugged. "It wasn't one thing. It was multiple things. He was boring, never wanted to do anything, and talking to him was like talking to a brick wall. I couldn't get any emotion out of him."
"Then why did you stay with him for so long?"
I shrugged again. "I thought I deserved it. I was a closeted bookworm and never went out. I didn't bother making friends in college. I kept to myself and I thought being someone that mirrored who I was, was the best I could get."
As the words came out of my mouth, I realized that I had faced a truth I had been denying since the breakup. I continued while he listened. "I've changed a lot from who I was when we were together. Now, thinking back, I can't believe I wasted so much of my time with someone like him. And it's also why I can't believe that I'm on this date with you - never in a million years did I think I'd be capable."
He swallowed and picked at his sleeve cuffs. "You don't deserve that, you know. You have a very independent spirit and need someone who can respect that."
I smiled at him. "I know that now."
"Did your parents like him?"
I rolled my eyes. "Gosh, they worshipped the ground he walked on. It might have been because he had perfected being a kiss ass. It's annoying. My mom's still not over it."
"Yikes," He winced. "That's the worst."
"Tell me about it."
The wind blew and it cooled my skin, creating the perfect body temperature for me to fall into.
"You're thinking about something."
I blushed at the fact that he had been staring at me the whole time. "No, I'm not."
"Ah," He wagged a finger at me. "Spill it. What's on your mind Haley Monroe?"
A smile found it's way across my face. "I'm shocked."
"At what?"
"I'm actually having a good time."
He held a hand over his heart and gasped. "Haley Monroe actually enjoying my company? Pierre must have slipped something in this champagne."
I giggled, the bubbles floating in my chest. "On second thought, you're right. I'm not."
He snapped his fingers. "Damn. I knew it was too early to joke about it."
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I let my hands glide against the smooth glossy wooden railing and soaked the salty air with my lungs. The wind was steady and cool as the yacht rocked back and forth against the calm waters. Goosebumps rushed over me when I engulfed the breathtaking view of the city scape with twinkling lights dancing before us. The sounds of the busy streets were too far for us too hear - it was calming to finally be surrounded by some silence.
"My mom used to love coming out here," Nate thinks aloud next to me. "Close to the city yet far from the chaos. It's like looking at it from a different perspective."
I sighed, letting the scenery sink in. "It's a gorgeous view, one I've never seen before. Your mom must come here to escape often. I know I would."
"She used too," He responded quickly. "Now she watches it from up above."
I turned my head to him and find that he's looking up at the stars.
"She's the brightest star in the sky."
I followed his gaze and looked up, surprised to see a bright shining orb beaming brighter than the rest. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"
"It's alright," He shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets. "You didn't know."
I gulped. "Does she have something to do with the number on your finger?"
He smiled when he looked at me. "You guessed it. It's the number of years she battled cancer. Worst four years of my life - I never go a day without forgetting what we went through as a family. It motivates me to be happy and thankful for each day I have left."
My breathing grew heavy. "I-I'm sorry."
He questioned. "For what?"
"For being such a bitch to you this entire time."
"You weren't being a bitch to me. Things aren't exactly working out in our favor. I don't expect you to be happy-go-lucky about it."
I sighed. "After tonight, everything stops right?"
"If that's what you want."
I nodded, affirming this. "It is. Not because I don't like you, in fact I like you a lot. But it'd just be easier for the both of us if we-"
Then, I felt his soft lips crushing against mine, hands cupping my face and his body leaning into mine. Everything I felt the first time we kissed came back. The chills, the warmth, and the passion. Slowly, I start kissing back, closing my eyes and letting my arms wrap around his neck. It wasn't the alcohol this time. Nope, it was all Nate Chester.
"Wait," I broke us apart, the both of us panting for air. "You swear after tonight, nothing happens. We can't do this anymore."
"I know," He pressed his forehead against me. "I know. Don't worry."
I let out one last breath. "Okay."
And we kissed the night away.