Page 211 of Falling for You

‘Yeah, I do think I was meant to meet you,’ I say, fully moving my body over now so that our noses are almost touching.

Her smile broadens. ‘Why’s that?’

I think about answering, giving her some poetic ramble about life and love and what I make of it all.

But I decide to kiss her instead.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Annie

Okay, so there were a few things I was expecting to happen this weekend. I was expecting a nice meal with my parents, a good night’s sleep in my childhood bedroom and an overall morale boost about life in general, and to leave with a Tupperware of cake under my arm.

I was not expecting to have sex with Nate.

I catch eyes with him and immediately laugh, as I have done every time he’s looked at me since we woke up this morning. It’s funny; as soon as he kissed me, it was like I couldn’t stop myself. It broke down a barrier I hadn’t even known was there. Last night, I ran my hands all over him, pressing his chest into mine and kissing him hungrily. His firm hands cupped my body, held my face and gripped onto me like he never wanted to let me go. It was different to anyone else I had been with; it felt like we were meant to be together.

I know. Someone pass the sick bucket. But it’s true.

And then the next morning, I couldn’t stop myself from holding his hand, putting my arm around his waist or laughing as he kissed me. I didn’t even care that Mum and Dadwere practically somersaulting off the walls when we walked downstairs, hand in hand. It just felt like the most natural thing in the world. Like my hand was meant to be in his. It’s where it belonged.

Thankfully, the snow seemed to have evaporated overnight, leaving behind only a scattering of silver icicles, which meant that the trains were back on. The four of us had breakfast, Mum pulled out a fresh loaf of bread and we all sang happy birthday to Dad over flickering candles that proudly stood atop a glistening, gooey chocolate cake. We had coffee and cake, toast and jam, and in that moment it felt as though I didn’t have any problems at all. Tanya and Penny hadn’t just told me that they were moving out; I wasn’t going to have to find somewhere else to live; a flat share with strangers wasn’t looming at me from around the corner. Or if it was, it didn’t matter. None of it mattered.

‘Will your brother be in?’ I ask Nate, as the train pulls up to Paddington. He picks up my bag before I can protest, swinging it round his broad shoulders like it’s filled with feathers.

He shakes his head as we make our way through the station. ‘Unlikely, he’s out a lot.’

‘Oh yeah?’ I grin. ‘Out with the ladies?’

Nate smiles to himself. ‘He’s gay, so more likely to be out with the guys. He works a lot, too.’

I nod as we weave between the crowds and jump onto the tube. ‘What about you?’ I say, trying my best to sound nonchalant, even though it’s a question that’s been buzzing in my mind since he kissed me.

‘What about me?’

‘Are you out with the ladies much?’

I feel myself burn with embarrassment, but it’s something I’ve been trying to ask him all day. Was last night something he does with lots of girls? He doesn’t seem that way … but I’ve been wrong about that before. And fuck, I feel like I’ve given my heart to him now. I don’t know what I’d do if I was one of many.

Nate laughs, giving my hand a squeeze. ‘Only you, Annie.’ My heart glows.

Only you, Annie.

An image pops into my head of Nate with another girl and I feel my insides squeeze. I quickly shake it out of my mind.

He just told you he isn’t seeing anyone else. You have to trust him.

‘You look pretty happy about that,’ he smiles.

I tuck my hair behind my ear. ‘I just … well, like I said, I’m not a big dater. So last night …’ I trail off and Nate swings our combined hands around my shoulders so he’s fully wrapped around me.

‘It meant a lot to me too,’ he says, and before I can say anything he spins me back out so we’re side by side again and I laugh.

‘Are you rushing back home?’ he asks.

I smile, my hand warm inside his. ‘I don’t have to be.’

‘I only live round the corner,’ he says. ‘Why don’t you come in?’