Page 96 of Prove You Wrong

‘Sorry, forget I said anything. I know you’ve got — ’

Kissing him to stop him babbling, I say, ‘I’ve got to grab some stuff, but I can come over after your shift,’ with my lips pressed to his.

Cupping my cheek, he swipes his tongue over mine, but then pulls back slightly. ‘Will Chloe be alright?’

I sit back, offering a smile. ‘Mum will be home, and they can fend for themselves in the morning.’

A slow grin spreads across his face and his usual cheeky self is back. ‘I’ll make it worth your while,’ he growls, moving his head back towards me.

‘Will Chunk mind?’ I stutter as he nips above my collar bone.

‘Nah, he’s out tonight.’ Nate smoothes his mouth against my flushed skin. ‘He wouldn’t mind, anyway.’

‘Really?’ I cock an eyebrow. Even though I’m besties with Josie, I’m not sure I’d want to hear what she was getting up to after dark.

‘I don’t know, actually.’ He stands up, pulling me with him. ‘The situation’s not come up before.’

He holds me close to him and we make our way back towards the shore.

‘Do you normally chuck him out? Poor guy.’

I feel Nate shrug. ‘Never taken anyone home, so it’s never been an issue.’

My footsteps falter and his grip tightens. ‘Never?’

He drops a kiss on my head. ‘Never had anyone I wanted to take home before.’

A smile creeps at the corners of my mouth and I try not to skip, grateful I’m tucked in under his arm so he can’t see the ridiculous look I must have on my face.

He stops us and turns to me, taking both my hands in his. ‘Fuck, Ella. I’m shit at playing things cool.’He runs his teeth over his bottom lip and smiles, as if he can’t quite believe what he’s about to admit. ‘I like you. A lot. Actually more than I’ve ever liked anyone. It feels like you’ve come along and woken me from a dark and gloomy sleep. Except it wouldn’t have been sleep, figuratively speaking, I was passed out, unconscious, in a coma, my body just going through the motions … and you brought me round.’

Nate opens his mouth and then closes it again as his gaze trails out to the horizon. I squeeze his fingers and he swallows, stirring himself out of the thoughts he just got lost in.

‘I had my heart broken,’ he says, eyes lost atsea. ‘At the worst time. I crashed out of uni, spectacularly, failing everything. And my then-girlfriend dumped me because she didn’t want to be with a loser. A failure. Someone with no prospects.’

He lets out a contemptuous bark of a laugh. ‘Stacey was top of the class, netball captain, queen of the fucking world, in her eyes. She wasembarrassedto be associated with me, that I wasn’tgood enough, thatshe deserved better.’

A gasp escapes me. His ex’s words were cruel, and I grip his hands tighter, but don’t interrupt. He needs to get this out.

‘Everything broke down all at the same time,’ he continues, staring into the distance. ‘Everything I’d worked towards was gone.’ He finally looks at me, a sheen of humility in his eyes. ‘I believed her when she said I was worthless. Believed that I’d fail at everything. Put myself on a pretty disruptive path, drinking until I was blackout drunk, raging at anyone close to me, sleeping with anyone that wasn’t.’ He shakes his head. ‘But Scott and Chunk pulled me out of it. They both gave me work, a place to live … ’

‘Everyone has a past, you don’t need to worry — ’ I say, trying to reassure him.

‘Let me say this. I want to be truthful with you.’ His jaw sets with determination. ‘When I was gainfully employed with a choice of roofs over my head, it seemed — to an outsider — that I was fine. All better. But I wasn’t. I was just … numb.’

‘Nate.’ I soothe his arm and he rests his forehead on mine.

‘I drank at any given opportunity. Slept around. Buried myself in anonymous women to help me forget. And I developed rules … rules so I couldn’t get hurt again.’

‘I won’t hurt you, Nate. You can trust me.’ I plunge my hands around his waist.

His lips move to kiss my head and he lets out a sexy chuckle. ‘That’s my line.’

After a moment, I ask, ‘Who were the rules for?’ It’s almost a whisper.

‘Me. The women. Shit, I shouldn’t be telling you all this. You’ll think I’m the worst.’ His arms tighten around me. ‘But I need you to know everything.’

I bite my lip. It’s one thing suspecting someone’s had a colourful past, it’s quite another hearing all the details. But, echoing his words, I like Nate. A lot. More than I’ve ever liked anyone. So, I say, ‘You can tell me anything.’

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