The day was progressing way too fast for my brain to keep up. One minute he was touching me, the next he was kissing and talking about how I think too much and now he is telling me that he wants us to go for breakfast.
“Did you hit your head last night, sunshine?” the barely contained amusement in his tone had me ramming my elbow into his side and the laugh he was struggling to tamp down on escaped him, “Breakfast is the first meal of the day, most often taken in the early hours of the morning to get the body prepared for the day.”
“I know what breakfast is,” I mumbled as I shot him a death glare.
“You could’ve fooled me.”
I rolled out of bed taking the blanket with me and held it against my body as I made my way into the bathroom. I could have walked naked, it wasn’t like I was insecure or anything but something about walking around completely naked in front of Nathan felt too intimate and I wasn’t sure if it was the right move.
I dropped the blanket on the floor right outside the bathroom and locked myself in as quickly as I could.
I stared at my reflection in the mirror or rather the person who should have been me but I didn’t recognize the woman staring at me. She looked different, better and not like the chronically stressed person that I know I am. Something about her was a little care free and happy.
After taking a long shower to clear my head, I spent the better part of five minutes giving myself a pep talk before I stepped out of the bathroom in a towel. The first thing I noticed was that the blanket was no longer on the floor, it was folded neatly on the made bed.
I tried to ignore the fact that he had made the bed and changed the sheets, something I probably would have procrastinated doing until evening.
I got dressed and I was tying up my hair when he walked back into the room. He had gone to freshen up as well and I almost rolled my eyes when I realized that once again we were practically matching in jeans and grey shirts although mine was a tank and his was a t-shirt.
He looked me over and I could tell he was thinking the same thing especially when the corner of his lips tilted up in a smirk.
“Nice outfit,” he said with a nod of his head and I refused to rise to his bait.
He walked up until he was behind me. One second, his hand was stroking my face and the next, he grabbed my chin and tilted my head backwards until I was staring into his eyes. I couldn’t look away if I tried and he knew it.
“The appropriate thing to say is thank you,” he enunciated each word slowly as if he was talking to a child, “You should try it out sometime.”
He let go of me and it took the better part of a minute for me to gather my wits. By then, he was already by the door and gesturing for me to step out.
We went down the stairs and I was the first to notice Darius standing there talking to Bea. When he saw us, he stood up from his chair and smiled widely.
“I have good news.” He said as he made his way over to us, “Karl came back yesterday.” He must have seen the confusion on our faces because he frowned, “I thought you would be more excited about that.”
“I’m sorry but who is Karl?”
“Oh, my bad, Karl is the mechanic.” He explained, “He came back last night, said his daughter’s fever broke. I told him about how y’all couldn’t wait to get the hell out of here and he says he will take a look at your car today and you can be out on the open road by tomorrow.”
I should have been excited and overjoyed by the news but all I felt was an emptiness inside me. Darius still had that proud smile on his face and I knew he was super excited to deliver the news to us- especially me- because I had been very vocal about how much I didn’t want to stay here.
“Thank you.” I said finally, “That means so much you have no idea.”
The lies flowed easily off my tongue and suddenly I became hyper aware of Nathan’s hand at the small of my back. It felt like too much and I thought he would drop it but his hand stayed firm like an anchor holding me to reality.
“If you need us to come with you-,” I began but he cut me off.
“I can handle it,” he assured me, “You can enjoy your last day here. Who knows, maybe you might grow fond of the place after all.”
I gave him the easiest smile I could muster and without another word, he was gone. I couldn’t look at Nathan, I couldn’t bring myself to look into his eyes although I could feel him boring a hole into the side of my come.
“Come,” he said finally, “It’s getting late.”
“Where are we going?”
“Breakfast like we planned,” he gently nudged me forward, “And then we’re going to do what Darius said and enjoy the rest of our stay here.”
We had breakfast at the same café as last time. Nathan placed the orders because for some reason, my vocal chords weren’t working. He ordered pancakes and milkshakes and all I could offer the waitress was a smile that I am sure came out looking more like a grimace.
I forced forkfuls of food down my throat and tried to ignore the awareness that was finally settling on me. I was going back to work with Nathan and I didn’t know what that meant for me and for him.
