Page 28 of A Lot Like Forever
“My thoughts exactly,” Faith muttered.
“Ladies.” The deep voice from behind them sent a familiar lick of anticipation through her, and she turned to make way for Nate to pass the girls their drinks. They both smiled and thanked him, and Faith had the sudden urge to stake her claim, make it clear that he was off-limits.Only when Nate turned and looked into her eyes, his gaze wicked as he winked at her, she realized she didn’t have to. He’d been polite and charming to them, but the only one he was paying real attention to was her, and it would have been impossible for her friends not to notice what was going on between them. Whatever the hell that might be.
“You’ve slept with him already, haven’t you?” Cara hissed when Nate excused himself and sat back down across from Sam.
Faith laughed. “No. He thinks of me like a little sister; nothing is going to happen.”
“I call bullshit,” Anna said, draining almost half of her drink. “You two are eyeing each other up like a kid looking at candy.”
Faith sipped her drink for something to do, wishing she didn’t feel so guilty. She did want Nate. Bad. Always had, always would. And there was no way she could hide it from her friends.
“Let’s just say that Nate has always been my fantasy guy,” she admitted, keeping her voice low. “It’s not something I ever thought I’d act on, and after Cooper?” She shrugged. “The idea of his hands on me is kind of scary.”
“You know who my fantasy guy is?” Cara asked.
Faith and Anna shook their heads.
“Chris Hemsworth. The difference is that he’ll never know I exist and yours is ready to rip your clothes off.”
They all laughed and Anna grabbed Cara’s hand. Faith was pleased she’d asked them out; she’d needed their company. “We’re going to dance. Just have fun with Nate, okay? Don’t worry about us. In fact, pretend like we’re not even here.”
“Thanks for the drinks!” Cara called over to Nate before the girls disappeared through the crowd.
Faith watched them go, quickly sipped most of her drink, and then turned back to the table. Sam had his head bent close to his girlfriend’s, listening to something she was saying, and Nate was staring at Faith.
“What happened to your friends?” he asked.
“They’re off dancing. Man hunting.”
The look on Nate’s face was priceless, the line of his mouth tightening. “Are you going to join them?”
She finished her drink and placed it down on the table. “No.”
“Good.” He knocked back the rest of his and slammed it down on the table. “I’ll get us all another round then.”
Sam got her attention as Nate disappeared again. He looked more mellow than he had before, but she guessed his girlfriend probably had to take credit for that.
“You okay?” he asked with big-brotherly concern.
“Fine. Great, in fact,” she said.
“Nate sorted out your ex yet?”
Faith prickled just at the mention of Cooper. “Not that I know of.” Maybe Nate had? The truth was, so long as Cooper never came near her again she didn’t really care.
“I’ll talk to him about it when he gets back.”
Nate was back before she knew it, her drink in front of her and his hand sliding down her back again. She’d come to crave his touch, the indent of his palm against any part of her enough to make her shudder. She wasn’t sure what it meant, but she liked it.
“Thank you,” she said, taking a welcome gulp of alcohol.
“You’re welcome.”
“Stop making eyes at my sister and slide me my beer,” her brother grumbled.
Faith saw the way Kelly touched his arm, smiling to herself as she gave him a look that said,Enough. Faith hadn’t seen her brother in a serious relationship before, and she liked that it was someone else keeping him in line for once. Fingers crossed he managed to hold on to her.
They chatted about nothing in particular, and Faith leaned across the table for a bit to talk with Kelly again, but Faith was so aware of Nate that she found it almost impossible to concentrate on what she was saying. His body was warm against hers when he shuffled closer, his mouth so tempting when he spoke to her, her eyes dropping to focus on the fullness of his lips every single time. The more she tried not to think about him like that, the more she wanted him.
