Page 97 of The Fake
Blair points to a bridal bouquet.
“Oooh, I love it.” Gabby’s eyes go wide with excitement. “Mark it.”
Blair adds a sticky tab to the page. “Have you given any thought on how you’re going to tell him you’re ready to move forward?”
“Two words,” Vanessa says, holding up two fingers on her right hand. “Trench coat.”
I laugh at that image. “Can’t I just go over there and tell him?”
“You could,” Gabby says and rolls her eyes. “But what fun is that?”
Blair looks up to the ceiling like she’s thinking hard. “What could you do to show him you’re ready to move on? Special places, inside jokes… that jog anything?”
“You know what? Actually, it does.”
* * *
“Alright, Wes says Coach is in his office and everyone is mostly dressed. You ready?” Blair asks. “Joel’s distracting him, but you gotta get in there soon.”
I’m definitely rethinking my plan, but Vanessa opens the locker room door and I’m pushed inside. No one bats an eye at my being in the boys’ locker room. I don’t know if Wes told them or if they just don’t care, and I try not to give it too much thought as I avoid looking up or making eye contact with anyone in their varying stages of nakedness.
“Nathan,” I call out, keeping my head down.
“Chloe?” His voice comes from my right, so I angle myself in that direction and glance ahead at feet and legs until I find him. As my eyes slowly sweep up his body, taking in his long basketball shorts and bare chest. He chuckles, but his voice is concerned when he asks, “What are you doing here? You know this is the boys’ locker room, right?”
“I’m adding some truth to our first meet-cute story.”
He smirks and crosses both arms over his chest. The pose makes him look stronger and hotter than usual, which is a feat of epic hotness proportions. “The one where you walked in on me naked?”
“Mhmmm, but I thought it through, and I like the real version of how we met so this will have to be the start of a new story. Like, maybe it’s not how we met, but how I came to tell you something important.”
“Such as?” The muscles in his throat flex.
The locker room has fallen quiet, and I can feel all eyes on us. I breathe and don’t take my eyes off his. “Nathan Payne, I am in love with you. I miss you, and I was wondering if you wanted to hang out tonight?”
He smiles and the locker room erupts in cheers from his teammates. He starts to speak, but it’s so loud I can’t hear a thing.
“Maybe I didn’t think this through.”
“What?” he yells and leans forward.
Coach Daniels yells over the others, “Payne, you and your girlfriend could maybe take this outside?”
“Yes, sir.” He starts toward the door.
“AfterI talk to you and the rest of the team about the schedule for the rest of the week.”
Nathan groans and looks helpless.
I take a step back since I’m about five seconds from being asked to leave. “Sorry,” I whisper and take another step backward.
Conflicted emotions pull his face into a grimace until he says, “Fuck it.”
He reaches me in two long strides and cups my face in both hands. His soft lips press against mine, and my ears thunder with the hoots and hollers of the locker room. I put everything I have into the kiss. God, I’ve missed him. This is right, and I know exactly who Nathan is. He’s flawed. He’s imperfect. He’s my forever.
“By all means, keep me waiting,” Coach Daniels sounds as much amused as he does angry, but we pull apart.
His teammates crowd around him, giving him shit. He stands up on his toes to look over them. “I’ll call ya later.”
