All throughout our—admittedly lovely—lunch, they all exchanged weird glances. Ikram would look at Evie and she would nod, and he would wink, and she would chuckle. Nuri would mumble something, Jack would kick her under the table, and she would frown at him, making him roll his eyes.
And I’m here, studying all of this without getting it, forcing myself not to think about the bookcase metaphor.
Which is surprisingly easy when Nate’s entire focus is basically on me, no matter how much I try to avoid looking at him. The side of my face is burning from his gaze.
I lean against the back of the chair, crossing my legs under the table as I exhale roughly. The food was amazing and I ate way too much.
“I’m so glad I came,” Nuri says, letting her head fall softly on my shoulder. “I miss you guys so much.”
I sigh and place my head on top of hers. “I hope we can do this more often.”
“We will,” she assures.
I close my eyes, simply enjoying the moment. My best friend, here with my brother and his new boyfriend, my newest friend and…
My eyes snap open and I’m not sure how I manage not to jolt. My eyes clash with Nate’s playful ones as he brings his index finger in front of his lips, asking me to be silent.
His hand is on my calf. What is it doingthere?
Then I feel it slide lower until it reaches my ankle and he places my foot on his thigh, fumbling with the shoelace and slipping the shoe off, while everyone talks and doesn’t pay him any attention. Nate places the shoe on the floor silently, quickly taking off my sock as well.
And then, my eyes nearly roll in the back of my head and it takes everything not to moan as his strong hands start to massage the sides and soles of my hurting foot, pressing and rubbing on the sore spots. It actually feels even better than when the Asian lady at the hotel on my way from Seattle to L.A did it. She obviously had no idea what she was doing. But him? God, I’m not sure if it’s because of his profession or just because he’s naturally good at it, but I can feel myself and all my nerves melting under his simple touch.
It’s no wonder Jack can walk again, Nate’s hands are clearly magical. And I can’t help my train of thought, imagining other places his hands might feel good. Especially—
“Is that okay with you Prue?”
My eyes snap open at the sound of Jack’s voice and this time I jolt, knocking my knee under the table, and lifting my head from Nuri’s.
He might have to rub that too later…
I have no idea how long his hand has been on my foot, but it feels better and I kinda wish he’d do the same on the other one. And my shoulders. And what the hell, why not my back as well? Am I getting addicted because of a five minute or something foot massage? Should I book a spot in rehab?
“Hm?” I ask, trying to pull on my leg to get my senses back, but Nate is not letting go of his hold.
“We were thinking of moving to the beach now that we’re done with the meal? We’ve booked a covered area with four deckchairs. Ikram and I will try to go in the water,” Jack says, and I can’t miss the admiration on Ikram’s face as he looks at him.
“Oh, uhm—Yeah. Sure, it sounds great. Especially the covered part. It’s too hot out there today, and you know how weirdly I tan, right? Like I’ll burn on one arm, but actually just get darker on the other, and… Yeah, anyway, that sounds great.” I nod and smile awkwardly, and they all stare at me like I just ate sand and told them it was the best meal of my life.
Okaaay, then…
I try to pull on my foot again as Jack turns to ask for the check but Nate holds on and I quickly feel my sock being softly pulled back on.
“You can stay under the shades if you want, but I want to soak in the sun for a little bit,” Evie chirps.
“Have Inevertold you about Melanoma?” Ikram asks seriously.
Evie rolls her eyes, and I hold a giggle as I feel my shoe being put back on.What an interesting way to find out that I’m actually ticklish.
“Have you looked at me? My skin is too dark for this kind of crap.”
Ikram’s frown deepens as Nate starts to tie the shoelaces, and I hold my breath, worried Jack might just turn his head and see my foot on Nate’s lap.
“The sun doesn’t care about the color of your skin, sweetheart. Look atme! AndIworry about Melanoma.”
“I’ll put on sunscreen.”
“What about your back?”
