Page 16 of Before I Loved You

But the moment my eyes locked on her Disney Princess emerald-green eyes just now, I knew it was her. The girl I haven’t been able to get out of my fucking head because she was too busy invading every waking thought and wet dream.

As my hand enveloped her small one, I had to rein in the caveman inside me so I wouldn’t throw her over my shoulder and scream, “I found her!” in front of everyone.

I wonder if—

“What the hell was that?” Nate asks, breaking my trance.

“What was what?” I emerge from my daze and step toward the fridge, reaching inside for a drink.

“That!” Nate waves his hands between me and the now vacant entryway.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I respond before guzzling the soda in my hand. Even though Nate knows I’ve been searching for my mysterious one-night stand, this does not feel like the appropriate time to tell him that it was her. I place the cold can against my burning cheek. “Natalie, is the heat on in here? It feels like I’m in a sauna.”

She smiles knowingly. “Nope. I think it’s just you, TB.”

“Oh Jesus, you gave him a nickname?” Nate pinches the bridge of his nose.

“Of course, I gave him a nickname.”

“What does TB stand for?” Jason asks.

Nate sighs and then rolls his eyes. “Teddy Bear.”

I burst out laughing. “Oh, Natalie. You are definitely my favorite.”

“You think you’re so funny, don’t you?” Nate stands behind Natalie, his arms surrounding her waist.

“I know I am.” Her face tilts toward him, and she reaches up, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

The way the two of them look at each other is sickening.

But damn, I wish I had someone who looked at me that way.

Like their hearts are whole because they have each other.

And the word lonely never crosses their minds like it frequently does in mine.

“All right. Everyone, dig in,” Vanessa announces as she organizes the food on the marble island in the kitchen.

Jason grabs a pizza box and makes himself comfortable on the couch, so I grab one as well and sit on one of the counter stools. Nate and Natalie sit beside me, and I realize there’s no seat left for Vanessa.

“Hey, Vanessa, take my seat.” I start to get up, but she shakes her head.

“It’s okay.” She looks over at the couch where Jason is sitting. “I’ll go sit over there.” She lets out a breath, straightens her shoulders, and takes her salad with her as she strides toward the couch.

I chuckle, shaking my head, before taking a bite of my pizza. I worked up an appetite today, helping everyone move into their apartments. We spent the day moving Natalie and Vanessa into their new apartment and bringing Jason’s things into his, which was Natalie’s apartment last year.

I worked muscles I hadn’t used, even on the basketball court. Which is why I’m glad that Nate and I moved into our place at the beginning of the summer, so when I leave here, I can take a refreshingly cold shower and crash for the night.

It’s not like I have anything else to do.

Or maybe I do…

After asking Jason to hang something in Vanessa’s room, Natalie walks back into the kitchen to sit on her stool.

Why didn’t she ask the tallest guy in the room? No idea.

“So Natalie…” I clear my throat. “Have you and Sarah been friends long?”

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