"Arlen, I don't want to. I have no one to dress up for."
"You can wear it for me then. I'd have said wear it for Key but you'd look too wonderful and I don't want to share my husband." Arlen said as he dragged me into the La Senza. We were both dressed comfortably. Matching tie dye crop hoodies and black jeans, I had a beanie on, burying my dark hair. La Senza. I haven't been here in a while and I had enough pieces to wear in the comfort of my home and not for something sexy.
Arlen doesn't let up and I felt myself giving in. Ten minutes later I had couple hangers of underwear, lace romper, velvet chemise, lace garter, sheer cami with lace trimmings and matching shorts, velvet booty short with fishnet and the final one that caught my eyes was a high waist faux leather booty short with strap out sides and removable leg garters.
"I thought you didn't have anyone to dress up for." Arlen teased, a smug look on his face. I wanted to reach out and smack him.
"I don't."
"What about the guy you're talking to on lovematch? don't you want to send him something cheeky?" Arlen asked and I let out a huff.
"What if he's a pervy old dude?"
"He's not. We've seen his profile and he shows a bit of himself on his status updates." Arlen said and I sighed. Lovematch had a new update and with it came posting of your status, kinda like instastory. Nate doesn't post anything with his face on it but he does videos of him walking, shoes, the sky, his hand around a cup, and one time, he posted a cute video of the biggest dog I've ever seen.
He definitely didn't look like an old man and he doesn't text like one either. I was actually excited about our call today, we've been texting all week. Little jokes here and there, asking about our days and that one time where Nate couldn't sleep, we talked about the saddest films we've ever watched. His was Leon the professional and mine was marriage story. The pain, the lack of joy, how they fell out love with each other. It was like watching one of my greatest fear play out.
I haven't told Arlen about the phone call, I didn't want to jinx it yet.
It was also sort of exciting to think about. I could put on one of these pieces, take a picture and send it to Nate. In his profile, under likes, Nate had just simply put lace, so he might like this.
"Oh I can see the wheels in your head turning. Are you really going to do it?" Arlen asked, walking up close to me. He was smiling widely, brown eyes looking bright. He was so happy about this that it somehow showed in his eyes.
"I'm not." I said but it came out weak.
"Ohhhhhhhh! You're definitely going to do it. Oh, he's gonna bust a nut. Have you seen you in lingerie?" Arlen asked and I chuckled. Arlen had only seen me in lingerie once and he never let me forget. It's been two years already.
Arlen also picked out a couple of items before we both walked over to the counter to pay for it. We picked up lunch from one of the restaurant close to the house. Jaden had opted to stay home and work on some assignments instead of going with us to the mall. Thankfully. Imagine Arlen and I picking out lingerie while Jaden was waiting outside. There were some things Jaden shouldn't know and shouldn't have to know about me and my best friend.
We got home in record time and I quickly took my bags over to my room, stuffing them in my closet. I then walked out and over to Jaden's room, knocking on the door before pushing it open. Jaden was fast asleep, pen in hand and head right on his book.
I ran my fingers through his hair, smiling down at him. It was a bit past two and knowing Jaden, he'd have only snacked on bread instead of making something. I shook him gently.
"Jay, lunch is here." I said, softly.
"Hmm?"
"Come on, buddy. Let's go and eat, you know Arlen has a black hole for a stomach." I said and this time Jaden opens his eyes. I took a step backwards, smile still on my face as I watched him wake up, stretching a bit.
Lunch with Jaden and Arlen was pretty good. I liked watching Arlen and Jaden interact, they act like they've been friends for so long, ribbing at each other, bickering and joking. Time flies as we sit and talk, we watched a couple episodes of Cursed and by six I was already preparing dinner. By nine, I was ready for the call.
"I'm gonna make a call. If you need me, I'll be in my room." I said and Jaden hummed.
I pulled up the Nate's profile and hit the audio button, pressing the phone to my ear. My heart was beating really fast. I shut the door to my room once I was in and got on the bed, instantly reaching for one of my pillows.
Oh my god. I was really doing this.
What if this was a bad idea? What if he is a really weird gu-
"Hello."
Oh.
Oh. I was not expecting that. His voice was deep, warm and inviting, gravelly. The sound went all the way down to my toes.
"Cil?"
No one had ever said my name like that. No one had never been able to make my name sound this way. All soft and pleasing.
"Hi." I said, my voice and bit shaky.
I heard Nate let out a loud breath. "I'm so happy you called."
"You are?" I asked and mentally kicked myself. "I said I was gonna call when I was comfortable enough." I said, smiling.
"You did and I also remember you saying I might sound like kermit." Nate said with a chuckle.
"Not kermit, no." I said with a little laugh.
"Well, you sound exactly how I thought you would." Nate said and I raised a brow. What?
"What did you think I was going to sound like?"
"Like a pretty prince." Nate said and his words startled out a laughter out of me. I couldn't stop it and I didn't want to. Oh my god, he was just as cheesy as he was in his texts.
"Oh my god. You are too cheesy. Do you seriously talk like this all time?" I asked.
"All the time?" Nate huffed. "I don't know what you're talking about." he chuckled.
"Oh wow. You do."
"It's called being a gentleman."
"Being a cheesy gentleman, you mean." I countered, giggling.
"Okay, you win on that front." Nate said. "How was your day? What did you do?" he asked.
"It was good. Made breakfast, hung out with my best-friend. He and I had a field day at La Senza." I said, my eyes widening when I realized what I said. And from the quick inhale I heard through the phone, Nate knew exactly what La Senza was.
"Did you have a good time? What else did you do?" Nate asked.
"I bought a couple things and then we came home and had dinner with my brother." I said. I got off the bed and walked over to my closet. I took out the La Senza bag and laid out the items.
"I'm glad you had a good day. I spent the entire day in meetings, one after the other. I haven't even had dinner yet." Nate said and I pulled the phone away from my ear so I could look at the time. I let out a silent gasp when I see the time and held the phone against my ear.
"It's almost nine thirty. You have to eat now, go and cook something."
"I can't cook and I'm at work."
"Still?" I asked. "Do you work this late all the time?"
"No, I make sure I leave by five no matter what but I just didn't feel like going home yet."Nate said and I frowned.
"Is something wrong? Do I need to fight someone?" I asked and this time Nate laughed.
"No, angel. I've just got a lot on my mind." Nate said and no, my heart did not skip a beat at the nickname. No. that can't be right. I haven't even seen this man yet. What the fuck was happening with me?
"Want to share?"
"Next time." Nate said and I nodded.
"Okie then." I said. "I've always wanted to say thank you for not texting me crudely or asking me for dick pictures."
"Shit. I got so many of those too. I should also be thanking you too." Nate said.
We talked on the phone for a couple more minutes, Nate making me giggle more and more until I got more comfortable. I couldn't stop smiling, even after the phonecall, even after I brushed my teeth and got ready for bed.
Even after the message I got from Nate.
waitwithnate: good night angel. You sound as lovely as I thought you would
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I know it's been a while but I'm working on setting a permanent update schedule
What do you think about this chapter? About Nate? 🤭