Page 38 of Falling Too Soon (Seasons of Love #1)

DAPHNE

I was in a haze as we made it back to Lexi’s apartment. I don’t remember the drive or walking up the steps. I was standing in the bathroom, taking off my makeup, replaying every moment from the night over again in my mind.

“I need to see him,” I said, almost to myself under my breath.

“Who?” Lexi snapped. “Marcus? No fucking way.”

“No, Nathan. I need to see him, Lexi. I missed him.” I was staring at the mirror but not really seeing anything, thinking about how he came to my rescue at the club, a small smile pulling at the corners of my mouth.

“Babes, I think we’ve had enough excitement for one night. Let’s get in our jammies and get some ice on that wrist.” Lexi reached out and touched my hand that was holding onto my now throbbing wrist.

“I’m fine, Lexi. I promise.” I finished taking off my makeup and had Lexi help me out of my corset. Once we were in our comfy clothes, she joined me on the couch with a bag of ice.

“Here, humor me and put this on your wrist.”

“God, fiiiine. Anyone ever tell you that you’re a bit of a bully?” I laughed and took the ice from her and placed it on my swollen joint. I was definitely going to have a bruise by morning.

After we settled on the couch, I pulled my phone out of my bag to see a single message from Nathan.

Nathan

Hey, are you okay? Can I see you?

I sat up a little straighter and smiled. Nathan had the uncanny ability to make me smile no matter what I was going through, and that made my next decision an easy one.

Me

Hey, yourself. I’m okay and yes, I’d like to see you too.

His reply came almost immediately.

Nathan

Are you at Lexi’s? I’ll come to you.

I turned to Lexi. “Nathan is coming here.”

“You two are impossible. He texted me while we were in the cab too, but I told him to give you the night. Stubborn ass. Just like you.” She rolled her eyes, but the smile on her face gave her away.

Clearly, she was on board with Nathan and me, or she wouldn’t have conspired to make that meetup happen in the first place.

Lexi had a tough exterior and put up emotional walls like no one I had ever met, but deep down, I knew there was a romantic soul just dying to get out.

She stood up from the couch. “If things are going to get X-rated, please go to his place. I don’t need your fluids all over my couch.

” She faked a scowl and stomped off toward her room.

Okay, maybe the whole romantic soul thing was a stretch.

Twenty minutes later, there was a knock on the door.

I checked the peephole, still a little shaken up from my run-in with Marcus.

I kept telling Lexi (and myself) that I was fine, but in reality, I was not okay.

Marcus and I had a very tumultuous relationship, but it had never gotten physical before.

I never felt truly scared of him before tonight, and I did not want to ever be alone with him again.

I opened the door and the sight of Nathan standing there cracked my heart wide open.

Until that moment, I thought my heart wasn’t ready.

I had thought giving Nathan a shot would be a colossal mistake because I believed I was broken beyond repair.

But seeing him standing there and the concerned look on his face stripped away all of my hesitations. I practically leaped into his arms.

“Oh God, Baby, are you okay?” Nathan wrapped his strong arms around me and carried me inside, kicking the door closed behind him.

I nodded into his neck, but words escaped me.

He placed me down on the couch and looked me over, touching almost every inch of me to check for injuries. “Please tell me you’re okay. ”

I took his face in my hands so he would focus on my face. “I’m okay, Nathan. I’m better now that you’re here.”

“When I saw that asshole’s hand on your throat, I wanted to kill him, and if anything serious had happened to you, I would have.

” He was deadly serious, and the thought of him actually killing Marcus should have scared me or been a turn-off, but it wasn’t.

Not even close. I was on fire for this man.

I was obsessed with how feral he was in the club when he saw Marcus hurting me.

Something flashed in Nathan’s eyes. “Enough of this shit. You’re mine,” and then he met my lips.

He was ravenous, devouring all of my willpower to stop him, not that I truly wanted to.

“Ahem.” The sound of a throat clearing made me freeze.

With our mouths still together, I shifted my eyes to see Lexi standing in her bedroom doorway with her arms crossed over her chest. “As much as I love a free show, if y’all are gonna fuck, can you please move this party somewhere else?

I happen to like this couch, and I don’t want to have to replace it. ”

Nathan pulled away from me and chuckled. “You wanna get out of here?” he asked with a boyish grin.

Self-doubt was starting to creep back in, but I decided to say “fuck it” and go with him, anyway.

“Yes.” I barely got the word out as I was being lifted off the couch and tossed over Nathan’s shoulder.

He started striding to the door when I realized I needed to grab a few things.

I at least had to grab my phone and maybe a toothbrush and a change of underwear.

I was laughing as I tapped him on the back.

“I need to grab a few things. Give me a minute. ”

Reluctantly, he did as I asked and set me down.

“Okay, but make it quick. We have some lost time to make up for. You made me wait entirely too long to have you in my arms again.” He placed a chaste kiss on my lips and swatted my ass when I turned to walk away.

“I’ll be out front,” he shot over his shoulder as he walked out the front door.

When Lexi and I were alone, I couldn’t contain my grin.

Was this actually happening? Was I really going to throw caution to the wind and jump into something with Nathan?

My smile fell because now that he wasn’t standing directly in front of me, I could think more clearly.

All the reasons not to do this came to the front of my mind at that moment.

“What?” Lexi asked when she noticed the change in my expression.

I put my hands over my face, “What am I doing, Lexi? Marcus is clearly not over me, and I need to make sure he understands we are done before I get into a new relationship. Plus, I still don’t really know Nathan. He could be just as bad. Marcus wasn’t all bad in the beginning either, remember?”

Lexi pulled my hands away from my face. “You stop that shit right now. You’re scared, and I get that, but Nathan isn’t Marcus.

Will things be all sunshine and roses with him?

Who knows? Maybe things will fizzle out or he’ll turn out to be a total psycho like Marcus, but you’ll never know if you don’t give him a shot.

You can’t spend the rest of your life hiding from love just because you’re afraid it will fail.

” She let out a deep breath. “But think about it. Do you truly believe Nathan is like Marcus? ”

“No. You’re right. I’m talking myself out of him because I’m terrified of the feelings I already have for him, and I don’t want him to break my heart. The potential is there, Lexi. He could ruin me.” A fat tear slid down my cheek.

Lexi scoffed, “No man is going to ruin you. You listen to me; you’re stronger than that.

You will not be ruined by a man. Sure, your heart may get broken, but you will put the pieces back together, and you will keep going, and eventually, you’ll find the piece that’s missing.

Maybe Nathan is that missing piece and maybe he’s one of the pieces you’ll need on your path to the right one, but your person is out there.

If you don’t give Nathan a shot, you’ll never know whether or not it’s him. ”

I looked at my friend with new eyes. Who was this wise woman standing before me? This couldn’t be my “fuck and run” bestie, who almost never even slept with the same guy more than once. “Who are you and what did you do with Lexi?”

“Har, har, har. Laugh it up, but you know I’m right. Love may not be in the cards for me, but you fucking live for this shit, and I know in my soul that you will end up as the main character of your own happily ever after. And you deserve it, so get out of your own damn way and go get your man.”