Page 33 of Oh Boy!
Nathan
It took almost two days of travel, two connecting flights, and not enough hours of sleep to arrive at Sally’s doorstep Down Under. We needed a one-on-one, and this time, she wouldn’t get rid of me that easily. Thus, I ignore my wayward hair and the dark circles under my bloodshot eyes; I should have checked into a hotel first to take a nap!
I take a deep breath and stare at my suitcase that’s full of dirty clothes that are more appropriate for wintertime in Paris. Australia welcomed me with summer weather and smiling people. Good omens. We’re not on a break and never were! My knuckles slowly rap on her door, which is the exact opposite of my heart’s tempo. What would have happened if Rupert hadn’t been kind enough to clue me in on myfaux pasand Sally’s schedule? I frown when I register that my second attempt to make my presence known remains unanswered.
“Damn, where are you, babe?” I grumble to myself, drained. Staring at my shoes, I weigh my options and replay Rupert’s instructions in my head… Maybe the warm weather enticed her to go out with her new coworkers instead of eating dinner at home, as he claimed she always did? Lost inside my head, I’m oblivious to my surroundings until a familiar voice brings me back to the now.
“Nathan?”
My head swivels so fast that I hurt my neck, but I smile at the most beautiful sight there is. I close the distance between us and wrap her in a hug, tightening my hold with each breath. Her scent permeates my nostrils, and I decide that it’s going to be my new drug.
Her hands press against my chest. “You’re crushing me!”
“I’m sorry. I’m not sorry. I mean...” I take a step back to give her some space and take her in. Her hair is loose, and small waves cascade down to her shoulders. “You cut your hair,” I mumble stupidly.
She nods and suddenly glares at me, as if remembering that she’s supposed to resent me, then opens her mouth to speak. Considering the crease between her fair brows, I resolve to interrupt her before she gets a chance. Who cares that her next-door neighbors arrived in the meantime and have ringside seats to our reunion? “I came here to remind you that I’m nothim, Sally.” Her eyes widen as she quivers. “To be honest, I don’t know who the hellhewas… the fucker who carelessly broke you.”
She hasn’t budged, but her neighbors have gone inside. I don’t mind pouring my heart out in front of an audience as long as she grants me the opportunity.
“I want to be there for you, but you’ve gotta let me in. You were almost there, but our last encounter messed with your head. I know now that it triggered something from the past, but I’m nothim, babe. I’ve missed you so fucking much.” She takes a timid step forward, entering my personal space. Animated, I carry on. “You appease me… We make sense together in so many ways.”
The corner of her mouth quirks up, yet the thunder in her eyes hasn’t vanished.
“I’m not an overbearing alpha that needs to control what you think or feel; I want you to be yourself around me. Good and bad days included. You are my Phi, my golden mean… Without you, my world isn’t right. I need you in it because I’m a selfish asshole who’s certain that you belong by my side, no matter what.”
My dark eyes capture her blue ones, and I can’t stop the rapid flow of words that leave my mouth at the same pace that blood rushes throughout my exhausted body.
“Still, I don’t want you to feel compelled to confess what happened. What was true in Colorado still stands. Your reasons to practice Krav Maga don’t concern me, unless it’s something that’ll make you feel better and that you trust me enough to share. Until then…”
“Shut up!” Her command is delivered so abruptly that I finally come to a stop. I tense, distraught. “You are…” She pauses, the back of her hand brushing mine. “You are one of the most selfless people that I know, Nathan Price.”
Who am I to contradict her? Shaking her head, she pins me with her penetrating gaze. “Krav Maga is… one of the ways I reclaimed my voice thathestole.”What?I don’t utter a peep and welcome her touch as her other hand caresses my stubbled cheek. I will my dick to stay calm, although it’s getting the wrong signals from our renewed proximity. “He was my shrink. The person charged with guiding me through tough times… He came highly recommended by friends of my parents.”
She’s on a roll, tears pooling, cheeks flushed, and voice shaking, but she goes on.
“Yeah, I silently endured bullying at school growing up, which in turn, led to my ugly-duckling syndrome… You see, I was a weird-looking nerd. Too short when I was little. Then too tall as a teenager… and way too skinny until I hit puberty after everyone else. Anyway, Itrustedhimon so many levels, and he betrayed me. I fell under his spell, and he played me, fucking me in both a literal and a figurative sense. I willingly let him because I trusted him. I unsuspectingly let him because I was initially doing better. I cluelessly let him because I believed in us, in spite of the age difference.” She shrugs. Bits and pieces of what she disclosed that first night we were intimate come to mind; didn’t she say that she was barely twenty at the time? “I never told my parents because I was too ashamed, so I decided to leave Canada and found a job in the US.”
It’s amazing that she’s opening up to me, at last, and isn’t embarrassed that we’re standing in the middle of the hallway. My hand covers hers on my cheek.
“I’ve never trusted any man after that… Well, besides Rupert, who was never boyfriend material and who’d rather bang you than me.” I frown and pretend I didn’t hear that. She then proceeds to share the triggers that Rupert already revealed. I nod, unwilling to spill the beans that her friend is the reason why my stubborn ass traveled all the way here. “So, the doc basically ruined me… What kind of shrink does that?”
“A fraud.” Maybe later she’ll tell me that she filed a lawsuit, but for now, I say, “You don’t have to say his name… That was then.”
“This is now… and, as much as I fought it, up until now, you’ve been nothing but worthy of trust. I shouldn’t have lost my shit like that when you mentioned Paris and your job.”
“That’s okay, Sally. I get it. Talking to me would have been an option, but that’s in the past. I, too, have my fair share of fucked-up issues that you should be aware of… Not that it’s a contest, but since we’re putting our cards on the table…”
“Deal.”
“I’m not trying to scare you off or anything. You’ve put up with so many of my idiosyncrasies already. My selfishness, for example.”
“Come on, Nathan! You and I both know that’s one of the key components to your success. Not because you put everything else aside or walk all over people, but that drives your desire to excel, and I respect that.”
“Wow! Thank you. I don’t think anyone’s ever said something that nice to me.”
She chuckles quietly. “Just know that if you screw me over, you’ll have to face my revenge.” The fragile girl that inhabited Sally’s body moments ago vanishes before my eyes. I’m left with a strong woman. Not a perfect woman, but she’s perfect for me;kintsugiagain… which tells me that she might very well be my true soulmate, legend or not.
“I won’t, but I understand. I’m here to win you back, okay?”
“Thank you for letting me be your Phi.” At last, she smiles. My heart skips a beat when she leans closer to my ear, giggling before whispering,
“You stink.”
