Page 87 of Nathan
Nathan: Guess who showed up at the pub I’m in?
Serena was quick to answer me back and holding my phone under the table, I read it in private.
Serena: Is it Storm with a Bollywood production of singing dancers challenging you to a dramatic dance-off?
I smiled and when more bubbles appeared, I waited for her next text.
Serena: If you’re asking me for my best dance-off tip? Here it is… if you don’t have a solid choreography, you can compensate with facial expressions. They do that in Bollywood all the time. Look mean and intimidating… it’s half the victory.
Nathan: Don’t worry. I’ve seen enough Irish dancing to know how to kick with my feet, but sorry… there are no Bollywood dancers and no Storm here. I was talking about Lucille Baker.
Serena: Did you talk to her?
Nathan: She says she received a tip to where I’d be. She won’t tell me who tipped her, but I know it was you.
Serena: Me?
A gif followed of Puss in Boots batting his eyelashes in innocence.
Nathan: Admit it!
Nathan: BTW, she asked me about the status of our relationship. Do you want me to play the friend card or tell her we’re together?
My eyes lifted from my phone when Lucille and Jacob joined us again.
“So, are you ready to answer my questions now?”
I gave a tiny shrug.
“I’d still like to know the status of your relationship with Serena,” Lucille asked with a slight lisp.
It was tempting to tell Lucille that Serena had introduced me as her boyfriend to her father, but I didn’t. Looking down at my phone, I checked to see if Serena had answered me.
“Are you texting with Serena?” Lucille asked and craned her neck to get a glimpse of my phone.
There was no answer yet, and so I turned my phone downward and played it safe. “I’m going to pass on that question. Do you have another one?”
“Ehm… yes… why do you think Serena isn’t afraid of you when everyone else seems to be?”
I looked around the table. “Who here is afraid of me?”
Liam and Brody wrinkled their noses up as if they were offended by the question, while Jacob explained, “Why would we be afraid of Nathan? He used to come around when we played rugby with his older brother Maximum. Now that’s a mean fella if there ever was one.”
We all laughed, and with a gleam in his eye, Brody spoke with his Scottish accent, “Aye, Maximum is the real beast in the Robertson family. We used to call him the Mammoth because it would take several men to stop him. Nathan might know all sorts of fancy karate moves, but Maximum is the one ye don’t want to cross paths with. At least not on a rugby field.”
Lucille frowned as I hurried to clarify, “My brother might be a tough rugby player, but he’s not a violent guy. Our whole family is very peaceful, and Maximum travels all the time to help kids in underdeveloped countries.”
“I was asking about you, not your brother.”
“Right, but the simple answer is that people aren’t afraid of me. At least not the people who know me. It’s true that I’m a trained combat soldier and that I have several black belts in martial arts. But I’m no danger to anyone.”
“Unless they’re trying to hurt him, of course,” Liam added.
Lucille looked deep in concentration. “What about the three months you spent in prison, do you want to tell me about your experience?”
“No, not really. But if you wonder why Serena isn’t afraid of me, then let me ask you this: areyouafraid of me?”
We were all staring at Lucille in silence, waiting for her response.
