Surprises

It was slightly brisk and dark out as Nate and I walked down a sidewalk near his rental house. As I followed Nate from behind, I zipped my sweatshirt up, covering my flimsy t-shirt which didn't do much to block out the early fall air. Nate instructed me to place my hoodie over my head, which made me look more like a shady character about to rob a house than a country star trying to be inconspicuous.

Luckily for us, the neighborhood seemed very quiet, no kids or adults in sight.

"Do people really go to bed this early?" I asked Nate. The sun had barely set when we headed out on our little mysterious walk.

Nate didn't bother to answer me, because he was too busy turning around to shush me.

"Are we going to your mom's house?" I whispered, defying Nate's suggestion to keep quiet as we turned onto our old street.

"Just follow me," he said very quietly while grabbing my hand and leading me towards the last leg of our adventure.

When we arrived in front of our two old houses, Nate was all business as he made me crouch down behind some trees and bushes when he saw car lights coming in our direction. Before the vehicle passed by us, he dashed towards his mom's backyard, dragging me behind him while I tried my best to keep up.

"What's the rush?" I said as we rounded the corner to the backyard.

"My mom and Jenna are gone for an hour so we don't have much time."

He released his grasp of my hand as I took a second to assess our surroundings. I first noticed Nate's old house was completely dark inside. Secondly, the once familiar backyard appeared more unrecognizable than ever. The big oak trees had completely filled in, making the entire property line disappear, and the infamous treehouse, high up in the sky, was nowhere in sight.

"Come on," he said anxiously.

Nate headed towards the area where the treehouse was located, and sure enough, there was still a ladder buried in the large tree trunks. I climbed up behind him, looking out for missing slats until I realized we were walking on a completely new, freshly-stained ladder. I glanced up and the sentimental treehouse appeared, one of the only good things Nate's dad did for him while he lived in the house.

"I can't believe this is still here," I said.

"I did some updates for Jenna. It's her treehouse now," he said with a proud smile.

Selfishly, I always thought of the treehouse as ours, but the thought of Nate fixing it up for Jenna was sweet.

"I'm sure she loves it," I said, realizing all good things come to an end at some point.

As we crawled into the treehouse, the sunshine yellow paint on the walls had vanished, and in its place was a bubblegum pink shade. The used pillows and blankets that we scrounged up from Nate's house when his mom wasn't looking were also gone. Throw pillows covered in sequins and a couple of soft, furry blankets lay scattered on the floor in their place. String lights were hung perfectly on all four walls, illuminating the entire space, which was definitely more lavish than our rustic abode.

I glanced up and noticed the finality of all the renovations, new shiplap covered the entire surface area of the ceiling.

Noticeably missing was the, N & N Forever, that Nate carved with his pocket knife. I didn't ask Nate about it, and he didn't bring it up. Maybe this was part of adulthood, being mature enough to know we didn't need a stupid piece of wood from our childhood to show how much we cared about one another.

"So...what do you think?" he asked with pride in his voice.

"It's amazing. You did a great job," I said, flashing a genuine smile while memories of our childhood flooded my brain, "Jenna must come out here all the time."

"Not as much as we did, but she likes to have a place to go when my mom is having a bad day," he said, making his difficult family life more apparent than ever. "I try to help out as much as possible without making my mom upset. She really is trying her best," he said softly.

I leaned over and gave him a peck on his cheek.

"I'm sure she appreciates everything you've done for her and Jenna," I said, trying to be supportive.

Nate leaned back up against one of the walls and told me to move closer. I scooted towards him, and he proceeded to wrap his arm around me. I nestled into his chest, a familiar spot like all those previous times before. I closed my eyes, trying to live in the moment just for a few seconds.

Silenced filled the air as he held my hand, fidgeting slightly with nervous energy.

"There's something I've always wanted to tell you. I don't know why I haven't, honestly..." he paused, realizing he just recited the infamous title of my song.

He chuckled for a second as I glanced up at him with a smile.

"Well, like the song says, Honestly, tell me the truth," I said, sitting up so he would have my full attention.

He took a breath in and out for a second.

"Here goes nothing," he said, focusing his big brown eyes on me. "It was my first time, too," he said, nervously shrugging his shoulders.

"Do you mean what I think you mean?"

He hesitantly nodded, almost like he was worried about how I would unpack this new information.

"Not even with Brenda?"

He kept his mouth closed and simply shook his head back and forth.

"She was all over you, with her boobs hanging out. I'd see you two in the hallways together, ALL THE TIME," I said, not able to completely wrap my head around his confession.

"I don't know, I just couldn't go through with it. I WANTED IT TO BE YOU." He paused, "Then when we did, I screwed it all up. I self-destructed after that. Didn't really care who I was with, trying to forget you and that night. Believe me, I tried many times...," he said, almost like he was reliving the highlight reel from his past experiences until I interrupted, waving my hands in front of his face.

"Please, stop. I don't need the play-by-play, I get it," I said, trying not to think about Nate sleeping with anyone else.

"See, it's not so easy, is it? I had to watch you and Reed together over and over. Just knowing he touched you, drives me absolutely crazy," he said passionately.

"I didn't think you were the jealous type," I said.

He leaned in as close as he could to my face without us touching.

"I want you all to myself," he said as he slowly unzipped my sweatshirt.

We kissed until all of our clothes fell off, one article at a time. Our backs ended up on the plush, soft blanket that covered the floor, which helped our naked bodies stay warm from the chill that entered the treehouse. Nate started to shush me again, this time it was the sound of my moans growing louder and louder, but even he couldn't keep quiet. Nothing would silence our intense chemistry.

We barely walked down the ladder, made our way to his old front yard, and headed back to his rental before we saw Nate's mom pull into their driveway. We practically ran back the entire way to his place as the adrenaline kicked in, almost like two teenagers trying not to get caught.

When we finally arrived back at his house, we were both breathing heavy and took a few seconds to catch our breath as Nate closed the door behind us. Safely inside, I immediately plunked down on the couch and laid my head back, exhausted from our completed mission.

"That was a close one," I said.

"Wait here, I'll be right back," Nate said, standing behind me with a funny grin as he disappeared into his bedroom.

I settled in on the couch as I couldn't help but smile and continue to smile until Nate reappeared in front of me with his hands behind his back, obviously holding something.

"What are you doing?" I said, trying to sneak a peek at what he was hiding.

"Close your eyes," he said, sitting down next to me with his arms still behind him.

"I really don't think I can take any more surprises today," I said, shaking my head.

"Just close your eyes, Nick. I promise, it's worth it," he insisted.

I hesitantly shut my eyes for a few seconds until he said I could open them.

As I regained my eye sight, I saw a piece of wood on my lap.

N & N Forever, the original carving from the treehouse stared back at me.

I started to get emotional, really emotional. Tears streamed down my face which scared Nate just a little bit, and surprised me.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I placed my hands around the sentimental gift and held it tightly to my chest. "I noticed it was gone. I didn't think you kept it. I'm so happy you did," I said through my tears.

My crazy emotions made me realize just how many feelings I had bottled up inside, suppressed for so long, about our entire relationship as friends and beyond.

"Why would you think this didn't mean anything to me?"

"I don't know," I said, shrugging my shoulders.

He leaned over and pointed to the sign.

"This is all that I've ever cared about, don't you get that?" he asked, intensely staring into my tear-filled eyes.

I simply nodded my head, I finally did get it.

When Nate decided to carve, N & N Forever, he was honestly, telling me the truth.