Page 112 of Before We Were

Jake looks between us, his eyes narrowing slightly, picking up on the electricity crackling in the air.

"So," Nora says, casually reaching for a strawberry off Jake's plate. The way her lips close around it has my pulse racing.

Is this what it's come to? Jealous of a fucking strawberry?

I swallow hard, trying to rein in my spiraling thoughts before they betray me.

"What's the plan for the birthday boy today?" she asks, her smile faltering slightly as she looks at Jake.

He shrugs, standing to clear his plate. "Actually, I've got to help Mom out later. But maybe we can hang out tonight after dinner?"

"Sure," she says, her smile not quite reaching her eyes.

He leans down, presses a quick kiss to her head, and leaves, the front door clicking shut behind him with a finality that echoes in my chest.

And just like that, it's the two of us.

The silence stretches between us. I want to say something—about last night, about everything—but the words catch in my throat like thorns.

"Are you—" I start.

"I'm heading—" she says at the same time, both of us cutting each other off.

We pause, the moment awkward as a teenage slow dance.

"You go," I say quickly, my heart racing like a trapped thing.

"No, it's nothing. What were you going to say?" she asks, her gaze locking with mine, holding me captive.

I hesitate, rubbing the back of my neck where tension coils like a spring.

Fuck it.

"I was just thinking, while Jake's out and Ollie is with Mia... maybe today we could take the boat out?"

Her eyes soften, and for a moment, there's a flicker of hesitation that makes my stomach drop.

"Or do you have plans?" I ask, knowing she doesn’t.

"Actually, you're in luck because today I do not." Her tone is causal and she’s fighting back a smile.

Relief floods through me, though I can't say why. Maybe it's because we'll be alone for longer than five minutes. Or maybe it's because she wants to be alone with me. Whatever the reason, I'm just glad she said yes.

"Well, I have to head down to Sonder for a few hours to help Nick with something. But I'll be back around 4 PM. We should catch the sunset." I make a quick move toward the sink to clean up the mess Jake left behind.

"Nate.”

Her voice stops me mid-step, like a hand on my chest. She's moved around the kitchen counter, now standing directly in front of me.

"Are you... okay? Last night??—"

"I'm good." The lie slips out too easily but I can see she doesn't buy it.

Her eyes narrow, and her voice softens to velvet.

"Does it happen a lot?" She's careful, too careful, like she knows I'm made of glass, and one wrong touch will shatter me into pieces too small to ever put back together.

Now it's my turn to hesitate. I hate this conversation, hate that she sees this part of me, but I force out, "I'm handling it."

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