Page 31 of Awestruck at Dusk
“So, would you like to come with me?” Nathan asked again.
“Yes, of course,” I replied. I kissed Nathan’s cold cheek and rested my face on the warmth of his chest for a second.
Zara’s phone rang, and she took the call in Swedish, but I heard the nameWilla few times.That nickname is going to drive me nuts.She tucked her phone back into her jeans pocket and took another smoke out of the box, lighting it up with the last burn of her current cigarette.
She offered me another, but I still had around half of mine left.
Nathan dropped his cigarette stub on the floor and grabbed another.
“Zara, I want you to stay with Billie,” Nathan said after she lit him up. He took the first puff and leaned back on the rooftop’s railing, releasing the smoke to the side, crossing his arms at his chest.
“I don’t mind staying with Billie, but I want to spend more time with William,” she said with adon’t fuck with mekind of face. And for some reason, it stung more to hearWilliamcoming out of her mouth with that edge. Like she owned the name. “There’s a ton of things we need to do and talk about, and I don’t want to use Billie’s apartment like a hotel. I’d rather stay with him.”
Nathan shook his head and bit his lower lip with an irritated smile.
“You’ll stay with Billie,” he said with a glacial tone, pointing at her with his cigarette.
Zara snorted, and a shameless smirk etched itself on her face.
“The last thing I need isanotherfather, Nate,” she snapped back. “Besides, don’t you want privacy? I will only be in your way.”
Zara glanced at me. Was she expecting me to participate in this conversation? I would rather eat my cigarette. Besides, I don’t think she would agree with my opinions. It was best to keep them to myself.
“It’s a two-bedroom apartment. We have all the privacy we need,” Nathan retorted.
Well, about that…
“I’m staying withhim,” she said matter-of-factly, looking Nathan straight in the eye.
Jesus.I guess that settled things. She would make a good lawyer, just like Nathan. She could use that determination for acting too.
The rooftop’s door shut with a loud thud, startling me. Zara and Nathan couldn’t have been any less bothered by it. They were busy glaring at each other, but Zara’s gaze had gone round and sad while Nathan’s was still feeding on fire.
“Zara!” William shouted from afar with a thousand-kilowatt smile. Zara turned around, flicked her cigarette to the side, and dashed up to William, whose long stride had almost reached us.
“Will!” He took her in his arms, hugging her with the same enthusiasm with which she embraced him. He kissed her hair, and they walked in our direction, chatting in Swedish.
What the fuck. These guys were practically engaged.
“Hey,” I replied curtly. I took one last puff of my cigarette. It had almost hit the filter, but I wanted to annoy William by doing so. I turned to the side, blew out the smoke, and flicked it away. He pressed his lips together and glanced at Zara.
“Har du rökt?” William addressed Zara with his special deep timbre that only came up when he spoke Swedish, his brows lowering.
“Ja.”
“Jag tycker inte om det,” he replied to her, glancing at me for a quick second.What?
“I don’t like you smoking either,” Nathan said to her. Oh. I knew Nathan wasn’t a fan of seeing me smoke, but he knew I hadn’t picked up the habit. It was a little something I reserved for special occasions such as these. That’s why he never said a thing to me about it. Besides, it’d been months since I last had a smoke.
On the other hand, I could ruin William’s week just by holding a cigarette. I knew that much.
“You can’t tell menotto smoke when you’re holding one in between your fingers,” she said to Nathan with a snort. “Andyouneed to fucking relax.” She poked William playfully in the chest, and I wished I had enrolled in that Stress Management Meditation course Nina offered a few months ago because all it took was one of Zara’s fingers touching William to destabilize me.
“Can I have another?” I asked Zara. Unfortunately, these were the tools I had to cope with the situation.
“Sure, sis,” she chirped, pulling another cigarette out.
William laughed softly as Zara lit up my cigarette. “I’m so glad you too are getting along so well,” he said with a smug face.
