Oreo’s head popped up at the foot of the bed, casting a judgmental stare in my direction. She knew I was making a big mistake, but if I let Nathan stay any longer, this wouldn’t be a hookup anymore. My teeth sank into my bottom lip as the words refused to surface. Nathan would have to settle for the way my head nodded.He sighed, kissing my ear before sliding out of the bed and finding his clothes.
The urge to watch him get dressed and leave was almost unbearable. Instead, I buried my head under the blankets until I heard the door close. It didn’t take long before the soft pressure of my cat standing on my chest drew me back out.
“I know, girl. But I can’t go there again.”
Oreo hopped from the bed and stood near her dishes, looking up longingly at me before letting out a pathetic little mew. The smile that stretched my face felt small and forced. I couldn’t even find joy in my pet at the moment.
When I finally found the energy to crawl out of my bed, I fished a pair of boxers from my drawer and pulled them on. Oreo grew impatient and was circling my legs, almost tripping me as I made my way to the cupboards. I fed her and then sat on my bed, flicking on the small wall lamp. With the sun setting, I had an urge to head to the beach and witness it. With the way I was feeling, having chased Nathan out of here, maybe it wasn’t the best idea to go wallow in loneliness.
The only sound in the camper was Oreo lapping at her water dish, and the quiet made my chest fill with a dull ache. This loneliness was a choice. I was doing it to myself.
I grabbed my phone and pulled up my group chat with my friends. Scrolling through the missed messages, I felt like an outsider looking in. Most of them were Art and Tilly arguing,interspersed with Daniel telling them to knock it off. It almost felt like an obligation to ask them to do something, so instead of messaging the whole group, I pulled up Daniel alone.
Me: What are you doing?
I waited for several minutes for a response before the dots started dancing.
Daniel: Are you done with your fuck-boy yet? I can’t handle Art and Tilly by myself.
I snorted a laugh before setting down my phone and closing my eyes. I didn’t want to be done with Nathan. Not ever. It was time to re-establish the lines.
Chapter 21
Nathan
“Looking at your performance in school, you look like a promising candidate.”
I couldn’t help the strained smile. I’d heard it a million times. Most jobs that I applied to and got an interview for ended the same way. It was a nice way of saying no without saying no. I knew this song and dance like the back of my hand. I hated the rejection. It was ridiculous how often I dealt with this. Why put me through the whole interview process? Most times, they had their minds made up before they even talked to me. They wanted someone with experience and not someone right out of school.
“Thank you for the opportunity to interview.”
The man on the other end of the line chuckled, making my stomach curdle. “No problem. We’ll let you know in the next few days if we want to interview you further.”
That, of course, meant that I wasn’t going to hear anything. Mom had wasted everyone’s time by having them bring my laptop out here. It was great to see them and it still bothered me that I had no idea what Aiden talked to Chase about, but at least Chase and I were in a different place now. He seemed less guarded. Iunderstood why he’d been so afraid to show me where he lived. It wasn’t glamorous by any means. Not that it was any better living with my parents. At least he was on his own. Where were his parents? I hadn’t seen Mr. and Mrs. Dawson since I’d been back in town.
No one talked about them either.
For a town as small as Ocean Shores, that seemed weird.
After getting off my call, I laid back in bed. Max bounded into the room, followed closely by my uncle. Uncle Drew brought me a glass of iced tea and set it on the nightstand before sitting next to me on the bed.
“So what’s the plan, kid?”
“What do you mean?”
His smile was wistful as he stared at the window for a moment before he leaned down to scratch his dog behind the ears.
“I just mean that you’ve gotten really close to Chase again. Do you plan to leave him behind?”
My heart constricted. “I’d never do that. I didn’t mean to do it, to begin with.”
Uncle Drew nodded. “What has he told you?”
I grabbed the tea and took a big drink, letting the cool liquid soothe my throat before I answered him. “He hasn’t said a lot. We’re back to hooking up, not that you want to know that, but he finally let me take him home.”
My uncle smiled at that. He patted my leg before he stood and shooed the dog from the room. “That’s a start. I hope he tells you everything soon, then.”
That had my attention. What else was Chase hiding? I also wondered if he would finally let me explain why I hadn’t come back that first summer after I left for college.
