Patience

The warm water fell all around us as Nate and I stood naked together in his shower. He poured shampoo into his hands and lathered it up before softly massaging the soap into my hair. I closed my eyes as the water washed away the shampoo and the lingering dessert still stuck to my body. I opened my eyes and seductively stared at Nate as I ran my hands slowly down his naked body until my touch was too much for him. He started to kiss my wet neck, then slowly traveled down my body, exploring every part with his mouth. I closed my eyes and braced myself with my hand up against the glass door.

After our thorough shower, Nate stayed downstairs while I dried my hair with a fluffy towel and walked upstairs to my bedroom. I couldn't wrap my head around the absolutely insane roller coaster Nate and I had been on. That night, we had catapulted off the track into another stratosphere. We were in sync, body and soul, which was almost too good to be true.

I threw on some comfy clothes then brushed my wet hair before heading down to the family room. As I turned the corner, I saw Nate sitting in front of the couch on the scatter rug near the coffee table while a romantic fire burned in the fireplace. I walked up from behind him and saw the two damaged ice cream containers on the coffee table that we had salvaged during the kitchen cleanup before our shower.

Nate heard my approaching footsteps and glanced up at me with a welcoming smile. As I plunked down beside him on the ground, I placed a small smooch on his lips. He leaned back against the frame of the couch, wearing sweatpants and t-shirt, and held out a spoon for me. We both began to dig in and eat the half-melted ice cream out of the cracked containers.

"I think it almost tastes better out of the container. Who needs a bowl, really?" I asked, while scooping ice cream into my mouth.

"Jenna says that, too," Nate said with a genuine smile.

"I saw the other bedroom, it's really cute for her. Does she visit much?"

Nate's whole body became still, including his hand that held his spoon, which paused half-way to his mouth.

"At one point, I thought my mom and Jenna were going to have to live with me," he said with hidden emotion behind his soft tone.

"It was that bad?"

Nate simply nodded his head, then took a bite of his ice cream.

Silence filled the air, the only sound heard was the roaring fire.

"They're lucky to have you," I said, leaning over as I placed my hand on his thigh to support him in my own little way.

A few seconds later, he placed his container down and became very quiet. He hesitated with his words.

"I have to tell you something. I've been waiting for the right time, but..." he said with regret.

I knew this was all too good to be true. The other shoe was about to drop. I let my guard down for a few seconds and had become complacent. I forgot when a good thing happened to me, usually something bad followed. As Nate struggled to find his words, I couldn't take it anymore.

"Just tell me," I said, placing my ice cream down.

I had instantly lost my appetite from the stress of the unknown.

Nate hemmed and hawed and put his hand to his mouth. He hesitated many times, started to say something, then stopped. The buildup to whatever he was about to confess was simply torture.

"You really can't do this to me, not now! If Lily told you something, just tell me!" I pleaded.

Nate's face went blank, then confusion set in.

"Lily?" he said, taken aback by my best friend's name.

I just stared at him as my eyes bulged out of my head.

"Oh my gosh," he said, finally snapping out of his indecision, "We really need to get on the same page here."

"What does that mean?" I asked completely confused.

He moved closer to me and put his hands on my shoulders and stared into my eyes.

"Nick, I love you. I want to make us, this relationship, work," he said with relief in his face. "There, I said it. I thought I could be the better person and step aside, and do what's best for you, but I'm selfish. What happened in there tonight," he pointed towards the kitchen, "that was freaking amazing. I can't lose you again."

I had never seen Nate quite like this. I couldn't help but start to nervously giggle.

"What's so funny?" he said.

"I'm sorry," I put my hand out so he could just give me a second to compose myself.

"I don't think what I just said was funny," he shook his head, almost retreating into his corner like a wounded puppy.

"Nate, come here," I said, grabbing his t-shirt, "I'm just nervous and relieved. You have to understand, I am always thinking worst case scenario and the things you just said caught me off guard for a second."

I shook my head, trying to absorb all his beautiful words he had just confessed to me.

I can't believe this is happening," I said in shock.

"Well, it is," he said reaching out with his hand to touch my face.

"Just being here with you right now, after missing you for so many years...I've just," I paused and looked down at the ground, "I've just loved you for so long, I just can't believe it's finally real."

I felt his arms pull me into his chest to comfort me. He planted a sweet kiss on the top of my head as we sat in silence, holding one another as the fire continued to crackle in the background. At that moment, I started to not mind his quiet house.

The next morning, I woke up in Nate's bedroom, naked under the covers. As the early morning sunshine beamed through the unshaded windows, I noticed the walk-in closet light was on as I woke up and got my bearings. I glanced at the clock, it read 5:30 am. I threw my head back down on my pillow, shoving Nate's pillow on top of my face, blocking the light from my eyes.

"Good morning, sunshine," Nate said as perky as one could be for having such an, "active," night.

"Why are you up?" I mumbled underneath his pillow.

Nate walked over to the bed and sat beside me, removing the pillow away from my head.

"I have to go to work," he said.

"Call in sick and come back to bed," I said, patting my hand on the mattress and opening the covers for him to join me.

"Believe me, if I didn't have an important meeting, I would," he said, leaning over and giving me a quick kiss on the lips before standing up.

I plunked my head back down on the pillow.

"But what am I going to do all day? I don't have a phone or my guitar. I mean, what do you expect me to do?" I asked irritated and cranky.

Nate reached into the top drawer of his mahogany nightstand and retrieved a basic flip phone.

"Lily said you could call her on this. Literally, it's a phone and nothing else," he emphasized as he handed me the phone.

"She didn't trust me with a real phone?" I asked, disappointed that Lily knew me too well.

"She said you would say that," he said, laughing as he headed for the bedroom door.

"And by the way, I reset the password on my computer so don't even bother," he glanced over at me as I pretended to pout just a little.

"I'll see you later," he said, smiling at me with his perfect dimple that seemed to make everything right in the world for just a few seconds.

After Nate's car pulled out of the driveway, I turned my focus on the phone. Slightly nervous, I waited a few minutes before calling Lily. I didn't know if I was prepared to hear the fate of my career. Finally, I gathered up enough courage to make the call. I started to sweat a little as I waited for Lily to pick up.

"Hello?" Lily said, finally answering the call.

I panicked after I heard her voice and remained silent.

Lily repeated with, "Hello?"

"Lily, it's me," I said hesitantly.

"Wow, I didn't think Nate had it in him. But I give him credit, he really is keeping you under lock and key," she blurted out immediately.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, the press has no clue where you might be," she confessed.

"Is Walt disowning me?" I asked as my voice cracked a little bit. This was the question I most feared to ask, because I wasn't sure if I would be able to survive the answer.

"Walt is...mad," she paused and took a breath, "But he's over it. He's too busy with Reed. You know, he's like a hot commodity right now. Walt is trying to capitalize on that and deflect from your situation."

"So how am I going to get out of MY situation?"

"It takes time to plan things out. We only have one shot to get it right."

"Do I want to even know?"

Lily went on to detail the plan, which included a one-on-one interview with some big reporter TBD at a later date. Her voice seemed surprisingly upbeat as she repeated one important point over and over, be patient. My job was to make sure no one found me until out all the details were planned out or things would turn uglier for me. I just needed to wait until the time was right to show my face in public again.

Lily wrapped up the conversation by making sure I understood I was to only communicate with her, and only her. Walt was off limits, and my father, too. This broke my heart, because I had seen or talked to my dad every day since my mother's death. Even though I was disappointed, I ended the call with Lily believing my fate was in the best hands possible.

As I dressed for the day, I made a conscious effort to stay away from Nate's computer, even though I loved a challenge, and I probably could've cracked the password. Deep down, I didn't really feel like seeing my life scrutinized, minute-by minute, on social media. Truthfully, I wasn't hating my time away from Nashville. Being back in North Carolina and staying in Nate's cozy home, almost seemed like it was meant to be. I decided to spend that day being productive and tidy up around the house. I ended up in the kitchen looking for dinner ingredients in the fridge and the pantry. I was no chef, like my father was, but I felt confident I could whip something up that was semi-decent and edible for us to eat.

After assessing what was in stock, I settled on a simple stir-fry. I found rice, peppers, onions, and a couple chicken breasts, along with some spices and soy sauce. Like my father always said, there was something about sautéing peppers and onions in a little olive oil that made the house smell like someone had spent hours cooking something amazing. When Nate arrived home, my dad's sentiment was correct, he legitimately thought I had cooked a four-course meal for him from just the smell alone.

I added the stir-fry to the brown rice and then plated the food as Nate stood back in the doorway to the kitchen. He flashed a huge grin my way with his dimple instantly appearing, making my body tingle all over as he stared at me.

"What?" I asked, feeling a little self-conscious.

"Nothing," he said, shaking his head quickly dismissing my question.

"Well, don't just stand there, come eat," I said, turning my back to him to bring the two plates to the kitchen table.

"I have a little surprise, first," he said mischievously.

I placed the plates down on the table and turned back around to look at him.

Nate stood closer to me, holding a guitar in one hand and a small shopping bag in the other.

"You didn't?" I said shocked.

"I asked Mr. Whethers if I could borrow one for a few days. Don't worry, I didn't say anything about you. I told him I was thinking about taking lessons," he said. "He was more than happy to lend it to me."

He handed me the guitar.

"It's yours...and I bought you some notebooks and pencils," he said, handing me the bag from his other hand. "Maybe you can write..." he said supportively.

I immediately placed the guitar and bag on the floor and jumped into his arms.

"I can't believe you did this for me. This is the best surprise," I said hugging him tightly.

"I have another surprise for you after dinner," he said mysteriously.

"Oh, really..." I said as I loosened my grip and looked at him with flirtatious eyes.

"Well, that too, but something else," he said as he leaned in for a kiss.

As our lips touched, our magnetic connection overpowered any plans I had for dinner. We couldn't keep our hands off one another as he scooped me up and carried me to his bedroom. In the back of my mind, I wondered what Nate could possibly have up his sleeve for later on.

Living as a recluse definitely had some advantages.