Page 25 of Falling Too Soon (Seasons of Love #1)

NATHAN

D aphne was shitfaced. We’d been playing games for a few hours.

We started with Operation, which, oddly enough, she was absolutely terrible at, and moved on to what I thought was going to be a better game for her.

Turns out Monopoly was not her game either.

Neither was War, unfortunately for her. She talked so much shit through it all, even though she was losing and drinking way more than me.

I almost felt bad for her, but then she’d talk more shit and that feeling would just float away.

Daphne was laughing at, I wasn’t sure what, while rolling over the pillows that were spread out on the floor.

She was adorable, but she was definitely going to be hurting later, so I decided it was time to feed her and probably get her to bed.

“How do you feel about Chinese food for dinner?” I asked her when her giggling died down.

She sat straight up and looked me in the eye with a seriousness I hadn’t seen since breakfast. “Oh, hell yes! I love Chinese. I would kill for some lo mein right now.”

“Okay, I’ll order for delivery. Want anything else?” She had face-planted into a stack of pillows and was kicking her feet in the air. I guess I was making the decisions about food tonight.

I called and placed our order and then returned to the living room to stoke the fire, only to find Daphne was now passed out with her mouth hanging open, drooling on a pillow. The food was still a little way out, so I took a quick rinse before it arrived.

In the shower, I couldn’t help the smile that stained my face.

Daphne was so carefree and fun. We didn’t stop laughing all day.

I had almost totally forgotten that today would have been my wedding day, and that Courtney had shown up here this morning to cause a scene.

I was grateful that Daphne was here, and that she was so understanding of my situation.

Wait. Was it that she was understanding, though, or that she had totally friend-zoned me and didn’t even care Courtney had shown up?

Shit. It was my idea to be “friends with benefits,” but that’s not what I wanted at all.

Did I shoot myself in the foot by suggesting it?

My mind raced as I quickly finished my shower, dressed, and returned to the living room.

Daphne was right where I had left her, lightly snoring away.

How was she so adorable, even snoring and drooling on the floor?

Damn, I had it bad. I was staring at her like a moron when the doorbell jarred me out of my thoughts.

The doorbell also woke Daphne, but I turned quickly, hopefully without her noticing me being a total creeper.

After I collected our food and brought it to the living room, I went to the kitchen to get us some much-needed nonalcoholic drinks and plates.

I thought Daphne could use a break from the bourbon, and I’d had enough too.

When I returned, Daphne was sitting up and looked a little more with it.

“Hmmm, this smells amazing.” She practically moaned as she started going through the bags.

I had gotten a little of everything because I was pretty hungry myself and unsure of what she’d like. “I figured we could share a little of everything if that’s okay?” I asked as I passed her a plate.

“That’s perfect.” She smiled and dug in.

“Oh my God, you got egg rolls? Fuck yeah!” I smiled back at her as she stuffed the whole egg roll in her mouth and chomped loudly.

Well, I’m glad we’d passed that awkward stage.

You know when the girl pretends to eat less or more politely to impress the guy?

Or was this her not being interested in me?

Did she feel comfortable, or was she drunk, or was she not trying to win me over?

Fuck, I was going to go insane thinking about this.

I couldn’t wait until tomorrow. Tomorrow, I’d tell her how I felt.

I knew it was crazy to have feelings like this for someone so soon, but I did, and I couldn’t keep lying to myself or her anymore.

“Hey, quit eating all my egg rolls!” I teased and snatched them away from her.

She huffed at me and rolled her eyes. “Rude.” And then dug into the next dish. Dish after dish, we ate like two starved people until we couldn’t possibly eat more.

“Sweet lord, I couldn’t eat another bite if you paid me.” Daphne sighed, “That was delicious. Who would’ve thought such a small town would have such good Chinese food?”

“Seriously, that was amazing, but now I just want to sleep. The booze and this fire aren’t helping,” I laughed.

“Why don’t we watch a movie?” Daphne suggested. “Let’s get cozy, and if we fall asleep, so be it.”

“Sounds like a plan. I’ll clean up. You pick a movie.

” I gathered up our leftovers and dirty dishes and took them to the kitchen.

I returned with fresh water for both of us and the fortune cookies that had been at the bottom of the takeout bag.

“We missed the fortune cookies,” I said as I made my way back to the living room.

“Oh no, I couldn’t eat another bite right now. Let’s save them for later.” She patted the space next to her for me to sit. “I picked a real scary one this time.” She grinned.

“Oh great,” I laughed in response. “Another movie you’ll only half watch through your fingers because you’re scared.”

She slapped my arm and smiled. “Whatever. Lie down and get comfy. I wanna snuggle.”

I guess the booze was still lowering her inhibitions because Daphne didn’t usually want to snuggle.

In fact, except for the times we’d had sex, she usually kept her distance.

I didn’t need to be asked twice, though, so I fluffed up some pillows, grabbed the softest of the blankets, and laid down next to her.

She proceeded to lie down and placed her head in the crux where my arm met my body and melted into me with the softest sigh as I covered us both with the blanket.

Ten minutes later, Daphne was sound asleep, and I turned the movie off.

I was completely content lying there with her in my arms, listening to the sound of her breathing and the crackling of the fire.

I gently stroked her back and played with her hair, imagining what it would be like to do this every day.

My mind was made up. Tomorrow, I was going to tell Daphne how I felt.

I wanted to explore a relationship with her, and I hoped she’d want the same.