Page 17 of Convergence

“I don’t care if you had something personal going on. You gotta hold to your word. Especially with women,” Everett was saying in a scolding tone.

“It wasn’t intentional, man. I didn’t-” Nate started back angrily.

“It doesn’t fucking matter because it happened. It did. And she could have frozen to death out there. Did you see the state of her?”

“I did and I feel so fucking bad about it,” Nate snapped back.

“You gotta understand that women are always thinking about way more than we are, okay? While I saw her and thought ‘Oh shit, she’s going to freeze,’ she was thinking about her safety, the cold, the project,andthe two new places she saw for takeout when she took a wrong turn. She didn’t know it was a wrong turn, but I’m not going to tell her that,” Everett said, and I heard Nate rummaging through the tea that was in the cupboard when we moved in. “But what I’m saying is, you put that woman in a situation where she could have gotten hurt or- or kidnapped or somethin’ and she didn’t need to be there. She put her trust in you, and you dropped it.”

“Is that all women? Or only Eva?” Nate asked with a sigh.

“It’s all women, but right now Eva is the woman you just pissed the hell off, so you better make it right. Shit, son, how old are you?”

“I’m the same fucking age as you, but not all of us are fucking ripped cowboys from the covers of romance novels, with tons of romantic experience,” Nate snapped at Everett as the kettle whistled.

Everett chuckled despite Nate’s tone. “Nathaniel, are you a virgin?” He asked in a deep, smooth voice.

“No, but shut up,” Nate said, and I heard him coming towards the stairs. I hurried back to my bed, feeling guilty like I was a little girl eavesdropping on her parents’ private conversations.

I pulled the piles of blankets up over me and shoved the damp towels onto the floor as Nate stepped into the room with a steaming mug of a spicy smelling tea.

“Here’s some tea,” he said hesitantly and sat it on my nightstand.

I barely looked at him, still shirtless but in low slung gray sweatpants now. He had a visible Adonis belt, despite having less defined abs than Everett, and I could do little to keep my eyes from straying to his body. He had hair on his chest and a little on his belly before getting darker and leading from his belly button to beneath his sweatpants. My mouth watered, and I mentally scolded myself. I was supposed to be mad at him.

“Can I sit?” He asked, shyly.

I nodded and reached for the hot mug of tea. I let the spicy steam wash over my face and breathed it in before I took a tiny burning sip. A few sips and I was sure to be thawed and warmed from the inside out.

“It’s no excuse, but I feel like you’re the kind of person who wants to knowwhythings happen,” he started, the uncertainty audible in his voice.

“It might have something to do with me being a scientist,” I joked hoarsely.

He shot me a quick grin before continuing. “This evening I basically talked to my parents for the first time since coming here. They were trying to arrange their holiday plans and had bought a plane ticket for me to come home for winter break. I had to tell them I was not coming home for winter break because I do not get a break this year. They were beside themselves with anger. It was absolutely ridiculous coming from them,” he said, running his hands through his hair in aggravation. “They don’t give a single shit about me any other day except for my dad’s business holiday party and the family picture for Christmas cards. They didn’t even buy my ticket to get here from Connecticut. Not that I care, but it’s so ridiculous- the dramatics they employ when they need me for something. I fought with my parents for a while and then ended up crashing into bed. I had meant to stay awake but fell asleep by accident.”

I drank my tea and thought about what he had told me.

“Are you still cold?” he asked softly after a moment.

When I shook my head, the towel I had on top of my head wrapped around my hair came loose. I tossed the towel onto the floor with the other ones. “Well, my feet are still cold,” I whispered. Probably because I had been standing barefoot at the top of the stairs eavesdropping, but I’d never tell.

Nate lifted the blankets and got into my bed to sit next to me against the headboard. The clean, crisp smell of his soap curled around me as he took my cold feet into his hands on his lap under the blanket. He hissed at the chilled contact at first and shot me another apologetic glance. He let out a sigh and relaxed against my pillows and headboard. I felt slightly giddy at him being in my bed, but I played it cool.

“I’m… not so mad at you anymore,” I said quietly and set my empty mug on my nightstand.

He knocked his head back against the headboard with a soft thud and a smile. “Can’t stay mad at a guy with a villain origin story?”

I laughed. “Are you serious? I’m practically a bionic woman. And outside of my close people, I’m practically mute. You know nothing about villain origin stories.”

“Am I one of your close people now?” he asked, looking down at me.

“If the vibes are right,” I said with a shrug, but I was joking to deflect.

We were silent for a few minutes, listening to the persistent rain outside. The sound of water in the gutter near my window was like a water feature in a spa, and I closed my eyes to relax as I gathered my own story. Nate had shared so much with me, I felt comfortable but also compelled to share something personal with him in return. I wrapped my arms around me and held my shoulders, sort of hunched over and not looking at Nate.

“My dad cares about me, but… I think he cares about his routine and the safety in predictability more. He… wears the same clothes every day, eats the same food, does the same things the same way every day. My mom died like fourteen years ago and her closet is still full of her clothes.” My voice lost its strength near the end, and I was whispering. I couldn’t remember the last time I had done this much talking. I swallowed. “I think if I made talking to me or seeing me too far out of his daily routine, then he would never reach out to me and I would lose him, too.”

Nate was quiet, but he began absently stroking my calf. I hyper focused on the touch and goosebumps formed. He bundled the blankets further up my legs and held his warm hand around my leg as if to warm it up. ‌I focused on how large his hand was to be almost fully wrapped around my calf.

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