Page 75 of Awestruck at Dusk
“Tobias loves you, believe me,” Cecile said, raising a brow. “He’s obviously upset that I met Jordan, but even if you hadn’t introduced me to him, Jordan told me he would’ve introduced himself. So it was inevitable, I guess. And I made it clear to Tobias I hadn’t told you anything, and for some reason, he was hurt about that too. He thought if I’d talked to you about him, that it would mean something. The only reason why I didn’t tell you anything was precisely because I’m scared of admitting how much I like him. So I told him I needed time.”
Cecile’s words resonated deep inside me. Our situations were different, but she was torn between two guys she liked. And I could relate to that, of course. But I was way pastliking.
I envied that she was still on time to make a careful decision about what she wanted—time I didn’t have. And I was already so invested in Nathan that losing him would not only be tragic but heartbreaking too. The kind of heartache I didn’t know if I’d be able to heal from.
I didn’t have anything working in my favor, just a constant feeling that tugged and demanded to be acknowledged as much as I tried to ignore it, bury it, smother it. It was useless.
As always, Cecile caught on with the emotions I failed to conceal as my thoughts kept eating at me.
“Your turn,” she said, jerking her chin at me. “Tell me everything.”
And I did. I told her everything.
Take Your Time
CECILE WASN’T SURPRISEDat all by my entanglement with William. And she agreed with me regarding Zara.
“She kept hugging Tobias,” she said with almost a snarl. “I was one hug away from jumping at her. I can’t believe she slept with William. Why is she so obsessed with them? Do you think she might have slept with Tobias in the past?”
Cecile was jealous of Zara too. And I thought it was so tragically funny that Zara had the wits to make us both go nuts without even knowing. Although Cecile liked to think Zara knew everything and somehow enjoyed herself by making us suffer in silence.
A part of me wanted to think that Zara wasn’t that bad. My conclusion was that who she truly wanted was William, and the love she showed for the rest of the Sjöberg brothers resulted from knowing them from years back, and in a way also admiring them, as they had achieved success in something she wanted to do too—acting.
“I hate her,” Cecile said with an endearingly wicked chuckle. I knew she didn’t mean it in a literal sense, but more in an:I’m annoyed by herkind of way. “She’s so pretty, though.”
Yes, I agreed with Cecile on that one.
The doorbell rang, and I assumed it was Nathan. Cecile followed me out of my bedroom and headed toward the living room where Sophie was dozing off, probably just woken up by the doorbell. I bet she didn’t sleep at all last night, just like Cecile hadn’t. And for the same reason.
“Hey, you!” I was excited to see Nathan. Ineededto see him if only to reassure myself of the decision I’d made the night before about choosing him. And by the look on his face, I knew he wanted to pick up where we’d left off.
Seeing him always felt right. That’s why it was so hard not to choose him. It was comforting, familiar—safe.
He stepped right in, shut the door behind us, and kissed me. I walked back as he led me to my bedroom, his hands on my waist and his lips attached to mine, unwilling to let me explain that my friends were right there in the living room, probably looking at us.
“Nathan,” I whispered, unlocking myself from his lips. I looked over his shoulder, and he turned around to see what I was looking at. Cecile waved her hand once.
“If you’ll excuse me, ladies. I’ll have to steal her away for a few minutes,” he said with the most charming smile ever.
“Fewminutes?” I taunted him.
“I can make this last as manyminutes as you want, love,” he said, cupping my cheeks. “And I already wasted the entire night by sleeping alone in my bed, so keep in mind I’ll have to make up for the lost time at some point during the day.”
“We’re starving!” Sophie shouted with a laugh, teasing us.
“We are! You better make it quick!” Cecile tossed in.
“Nathan will be as quick as Jordan was!” I replied as Nathan kept taking slow steps toward my bedroom. Cecile shared a few details on how good the sex with Jordan had been, how he’d taken his time with her, and how much she’d enjoyed it.
“We’ll go for a smoke on the rooftop then!” Cecile replied, pulling Sophie up from the couch. I heard Sophie ask Cecile what I meant by the Jordan remark when Nathan finally pulled me inside my bedroom and shut the door. At least they’d be entertained talking about that in the meanwhile.
“Where’s the necklace?” Nathan asked in a deep, demanding tone. I jerked my chin at the nightstand, and he moved toward it to get the ruby pendant he gifted me last night.
He picked it up and stepped behind me, pulling my t-shirt over my head in a swift move. His hands grazed my jaw and collarbones as he positioned the necklace around my neck.
“I can’t get that image of you wearing just this out of my head,” he said, softly kissing my neck. “It’s the only thing I could think of last night.”
He flipped me so I would face him, pulled my jeans off, and knelt before me.
