Page 75 of No One Else

“But you two are dating. I’m sure she’d be receptive to it now.”

“Uh uh,” I shake my head. “I can’t take that chance.”

She laughs lightly at my seriousness. “All right, your call.”

“I mean, I wouldn’t lie to her if she outright asked.” I’m suddenly defensive, like I need to justify to her my thought process. “But I’m taking things in that regard slow. I- I can’t risk it.”

“Evan, I understand,” she says, laying a hand on my arm in a motherly way. “Whatever you think is best. And you’re right - there’s no rush. I’m sure you show her in a hundred other ways how you feel about her.”

I nod, my conscience clearing. “How soon did you and your husband say it to each other?”

She smiles softly. “With Adam, I knew after our first date. There was never any question. But we didn’t actually say the words till about a month after we started dating.”

Dad says he knew right away with Mom too. I never got the chance to ask her, though. Wasn’t concerned with any notion of love before she was gone.

I rub at that familiar pang in my chest, focusing back on Heather. “Well it’s nice to see someone who still loves their spouse so much, even after a decade of marriage.”

“We’re in it for the long haul. There are bad times, sure. The first six months after Emma was born were the hardest. But we found our groove eventually and things went back to normal. The promise of good times carries you through the bad. Just remember that if you two hit a rough patch.”

I nod again, taking her words to heart. The promise of good times. That’s what lies ahead for me and Natalie.

18

Natalie

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TONIGHT’S THE NIGHT. I’m freshly showered and shaved, my body primed and ready for business.

Serious business.

Evan business.

We had opposite work schedules Saturday and I had to spend most of Sunday working on a project for my Economics class that’s due this week. I haven’t had my Evan fix and I need it bad.

We’ve texted plenty, but it’s not the same as being with him. Seeing his endearingly crooked smile, feeling so safe in his arms as he wraps me in a huge hug, luxuriating in his kiss as he awakens every sense within me, making my body come alive.

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