Page 23 of Falling Too Soon (Seasons of Love #1)

NATHAN

I woke up later than usual, feeling well-rested and excited for the day.

Even though today would have been Courtney’s and my wedding day, I wasn’t feeling sad or upset.

In fact, I was feeling hopeful for the future.

A future that I desperately wanted to include Daphne.

But would she want that? I knew that our friends-with-benefits situation had an expiration date, but I wanted more.

I stretched in bed, recalling our night together.

She was so responsive to me. Her pussy clenched around me every time I smacked her luscious ass.

I stroked my cock at the thought. Another stroke, and I was debating going to her and burying myself in her again, but a banging on the front door brought me back into the present.

Who could that be? Did Daphne go out and forget the code?

Smiling to myself, I got up and threw on my lowest-hanging gray sweatpants but skipped the shirt. If it was Daphne, maybe I could entice her for another round, and if it wasn’t her, well, I guess whoever it was was in for a treat.

My smile immediately fell when I opened the door and came face-to-face with Courtney.

She smiled slyly as her eyes raked down my body.

“Hey babe,” she said sweetly as if she hadn’t cheated on me and we didn’t break up, and slipped past me in the doorway.

I must have been too stunned to stop her because I barely registered she had made it into the cabin.

I closed the door and turned to face her.

Courtney was dressed in a low-cut, skin-tight sweater dress with her tits on full display.

As if that was helping her case. It wasn’t.

I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was completely over her.

Nothing she could say or do would change that.

“What are you doing here, Courtney? And how did you even find me?”

“I missed you so much, babe, and I thought we should talk. We were supposed to be getting married today,” Courtney whined.

“There’s nothing to talk about. You cheated; we’re done.

I’ve moved on.” I walked past her into the kitchen to start the coffee I was definitely going to need today, only to find it already brewed.

I glanced over to Daphne’s room. Her door was closed, but knowing she had already made coffee made me nervous about her whereabouts.

Hopefully, I could get rid of Courtney before she emerged.

I had nothing to hide from her, but I also didn’t want her to have to deal with Courtney’s crazy ass.

“Moved on? You mean with that mousy-looking bitch you were photographed with? Are you with her ?” She sneered, looking disgusted.

Mousy? Daphne? No freaking way. Daphne was a total smoke show with her curvy figure and full, pouty lips.

Every inch of her was sexy as hell, and the last word I’d use to describe her would be mousy.

“First of all, she’s not a bitch, Courtney.

Second, it’s none of your business if I am.

You lost any right to know about my life when you slept with someone else.

You cheated on me , remember?” I was losing my patience, and my voice was getting louder.

“You need to leave, now.” I moved toward her.

She had to go, even if I had to physically remove her from the cabin.

As I got closer, she threw herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck and clinging to me like her life depended on it.

“I need you, Nate. I made a mistake,” she sobbed into my chest. “I love you.” Oh God, was she crying?

I rolled my eyes up to the ceiling and took a deep breath, keeping my arms straight down at my sides.

She’s the one who cheated. Cheating was a deal breaker for me, and there was no coming back from that.

“I told you, you can’t be here, Courtney.

” I raised my voice more, “We aren’t together anymore.

” I tried to extricate myself from her embrace as she continued to cling to me.

It was at that moment that the door to the back porch opened and Daphne walked in.

Well, fuck me. This looked bad. I quickly grabbed Courtney by her wrists and placed them at her sides.

Courtney continued to struggle against me and then turned her attention to Daphne.

“Oh my God, Nathan, what the fuck is she doing here?” Courtney screeched as she stepped away from me. Daphne was still standing in the doorway, staring at us.

“Courtney, it’s none of your business what she’s doing here. Now, get the fuck out,” I shouted as I attempted to usher her to the front door. Daphne headed to the kitchen, and it looked like she had gotten the bourbon out. Good, I was gonna need that. Wait, what time is it? Didn’t matter.

“I’m pregnant!” Courtney screamed when I had her almost to the door.

“Liar. You have an IUD, remember?” I reminded her. “And even if you were, it wouldn’t be mine.”

She started sobbing again. “Well, I could be, ya know? It’s not 100% effective.”

“Get out,” I said once again as I opened the front door and deposited her on the porch.

I followed her out and closed the door. “Look, Courtney, we’re done.

You knew cheating was a deal breaker for me, and you fucked that guy anyway.

You made your choice, and us not being together is the consequence of that choice.

Be gone when I get back. I mean it. There’s nothing left between us. ”

I turned and walked back into the cabin and closed the door behind me. I leaned back into it, closed my eyes, and exhaled a breath. After a moment, I walked into the kitchen, where Daphne met me, holding out a glass of bourbon. “Drink?” she offered.

“Yeah, sorry about that. I must have forgotten to turn off my location sharing, but I never expected her to just show up,” I said as I gratefully took the bourbon from her .

“I thought you could use a drink. That seemed intense,” Daphne said with a chuckle.

“I mean, I usually don’t drink this early, but I feel like this is an acceptable reason to make an exception,” I laughed. “Sorry. You didn’t need to see that.”

“It’s no problem, and it isn’t your fault. It was pretty clear you didn’t want her here, but also, it wasn’t my place to get involved, so I figured I’d let you handle it,” Daphne said as she sipped her glass of bourbon. “Wanna talk about it?”

“Not particularly,” I admitted. “It’s been over since before she cheated, but that was the nail in the coffin for us.

She didn’t believe me when I told her it was over the first time, I guess.

Today was supposed to be our wedding day, and it looks like she had some feelings about that.

” After another swig of my drink, I continued, “Honestly, I was afraid you were going to be mad she was here. I thought maybe you’d try to leave again. ”

“Oh no, you don’t have to worry about me getting jealous.

I’m not the type, especially since you made it clear we’re just friends with benefits or whatever.

I don’t have any claim on you.” Ouch . Daphne shrugged.

“Anyway, it didn’t seem like you wanted her here, so it’s kind of a moot point.

But seriously, are you okay? With today supposed to be your wedding day, how are you feeling? ”

“Yeah, I’m okay, and you actually have a lot to do with that. I’ve enjoyed having you here, and I’m glad you didn’t bail on me. I think I’m gonna need a drinking buddy today.” I grinned. This was exactly what I needed today—a fun day with my new favorite person.