Page 10 of Nathan's Second Chance
COLT
“Why did we lose touch?”I’m not sure why I blurted out the question. It’s been swirling through my mind for several days, and I can’t keep my mouth shut anymore. “You moved away to go to college, but we didn’t even try to stay friends.” Okay, I’vebeen thinking about this for over a decade. I expected things to be different between us but not to lose my best friend entirely.
“I guess I was trying to reinvent myself at my new school and needed some separation from the old me.” He stares down at his food and pushes it around with his fork.
“I get that. People were shit to you, and you were dying to leave and chase big dreams. I always thought I wasn’t part of what you were trying to escape.” Nathan kept his head up through the endless bullying after someone outed him, but it got to him more than he ever let on. Even with a supportive family, I knew he’d been plotting to leave Elmwood. We’d often talked about it on his bedroom floor, but we were always together in our plans. I’m not stupid; I know kids’ fantasies never match reality. Maybe I figured we were the exception.
His head snaps up, and he grabs my hand. “Colt, you were the only thing I loved about Elmwood. I—” He stops and squeezes my hand. I understood how hard hiding was in a small town. “I needed space to figure out who I was when I wasn’t trying to hide so many pieces of myself.”
“I just missed you.”
“It wasn’t you.” He’s still holding my hand, and I’m not rushing to pull away. I like the softness of his skin against mine. “I never wanted to leave you. I was young and stupid. I thought I needed to escape the whole thing rather than putting pieces of new and old together.” He takes a few deep breaths before continuing, “I’m sorry, though. I wish I’d been better back then.”
“You don’t have to apologize. I just wanted to know.” He shifts in his seat a bit, clearly uncomfortable. How much do I say? It’s a perfect opening to tell him about my crush on him.
“I’m glad we somehow found our way back. I’ve missed you.” He squeezes my hand and pulls away. My fingers twitch. I want to reach out and pull his hand back to me.
“I missed you, too.”Fuck. The one sentence chokes me up, and I take a few drinks of my soda to give myself a few minutes to pull myself together.
“I’m glad we’re friends again.”Friends. A harsh reminder that our relationship has always been a friendship. I love being his friend, and I would never do anything to screw up what we have. The more time we spend together, the harder it’ll be to pretend I don’t feel something more.
“I think we need some dessert.” The suggestion is purely selfish. I need a few minutes to clear my head.
“I know an ice cream place nearby that I think you’ll love.”
“Perfect.” We toss our plates and leftover food into the nearby trash cans before Nathan points us in the right direction. My moment is gone. I swear I’ll tell him. Maybe after some ice cream. Or a lot of alcohol.
Chapter Seven
NATHAN
“I’ve always wantedto come here.” It’d been listed on one of thoseTop 10 Things to Do in Cardinal Fallslists. Usually, those lists are filled with overcrowded tourist traps, but this one already had a special place in my mind. Largely because it’s incredibly nerdy. Especially if you happen to be into architecture. Most people would rather spend a Saturday at a brewery; my friends certainly would, but I prefer the quiet of a museum. They’d come with me if I asked, but for whatever reason, I never did. And coming alone didn’t appeal to me.
“I’m happy I get to help you pop your cherry.” Colt smirks. I’m still unsure what inspired me to invite him on this outing. The idea came up in a series of text conversations about local attractions, and the next thing I knew, we had plans to spend Saturday here. Together.
“Try to behave yourself.” I suspect this is the kind of place where speaking above a whisper gets us kicked out.
“You know I can’t promise that.” We wander to the front door from the parking lot, and I show the tickets on my phone to thegreeter. So what if I paid for both of us? He’s doing this as a favor. Colt doesn’t care about the architecture, but he’s doing a great job of faking enthusiasm. The fact that it feels like a date is wishful thinking on my part.
“Amazingly, this is open to the public,” I say as we walk inside, and I stare at the vaulted ceilings.
“Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Webber, the architect who designed it, created it to be a home. It stayed in private hands for almost a century, occasionally going on the market and quickly being sold to another family. The last time it went up for sale, the A.J. Foundation purchased it and turned it into a museum. Forty of his homes still exist in the United States, but only one other is a museum like this. The rest are private homes.” He gives a little whistle and looks around the entryway. I have always loved architecture, though I loved looking at it far more than the idea of designing it myself. Besides, I never would’ve gotten through the necessary math classes.
We start walking through the house, stopping at each plaque and reading to ourselves. “So this guy was kind of a big deal?” Colt asks after reading one of the introductory pieces describing Webber’s career.
“Yeah, he was famous in his day. You had to be pretty wealthy and important to hire him.” I turn and start walking toward the kitchen. “He used his status to be a bit of a playboy, too.”
“Did I miss that sign?” He starts to backtrack. I shake my head and grab his hand.
“No, I don’t think they like to advertise that information. I’ve read a few biographies over the years.” I realize I’m still holding his hand and quickly drop it, shoving my hands into my pockets.Not a date. Not my boyfriend.
“How many is a few?”
I look away, pretending to admire one of the displays in the distance. Yep, I’m the biggest nerd here. “I lost count. Maybe two or three.” Or eight.
“I’m going to assume the real number is at least double. You used to go through books like they were water.” It’s a friendly reminder of how uncool I’d been in high school. Books were my escape, and I always had one on me. I’m still not cool, but at least now I can keep my book collection on my phone.
