And with that, she was smiling again.
Warmth spread in my heart, the love for my friend growing. This was something new, something I had never experienced but had read about and seen in movies. The best friend warning the guy. Caroline was already friends with both Andrew and I when our relationship began, so I had missed this experience then.
“So, you two…” Caroline began, diving in, now that her brain was working again. “When did all of this start up? Did it happen one day here, or was it an office tryst one night type of thing?” Caroline smiled and waggled her eyebrows.
I could feel the blood flooding to my face, and my eyes widened. Nathan froze mid slice, clearing his throat before continuing.
Her expression returned to the one of shock that had frozen on her face before “Seriously? In the office? In your office?”
I nodded, swallowing hard, too embarrassed to speak.
“Wow, you’re my kinky idol now, Lila.” She leaned back against the counter with a smile.
“What? I…he…” I stammered in protest.
“I bet it was hot.”
“Of course it was hot,” Nathan answered, turning to look at Caroline, and speaking freely for the first time. “Look at her. She is fucking gorgeous and sexy as hell. Sin should be her middle name.”
Caroline stared as he spoke, the grin spreading on her face. “So, have words of love been shared?”
At the mention of love between us, Nathan stopped what he was doing. My eyes were glued to his back, watching the muscles in his shoulders and back tense.
“What did I say?” Caroline asked, her head moving between the two of us, startled by his sudden shift.
I was used to his mood swings, but Caroline was used to the mask. He turned from his spot against the counter and his eyes found mine, holding my stare for a moment before he moved to the sink and washed his hands.
“I think it’s about time you took over. I’m going to go change,” he declared as he dried his hands.
“All right. Thank you.” I hated that his mood had soured.
As he walked past me, he stopped and leaned down, placing a quick kiss to the top of my head, surprising me, before heading up to his condo.
Caroline stared after him. “What the hell was that?”
I let out a sigh as I headed to the sink and washed my hands before moving to finish cutting the chicken Nathan had started. I tried to explain to her as best I could. “Nathan is…complicated…and damaged. What you see on the outside, at the office, is just a fa?ade. Like pretty new siding over an old dilapidated house.”
Caroline considered this for a moment, mulling over everything. “But, you consider yourselves boyfriend and girlfriend, right? Dating?”
I bit my lip, trying to find the best way to describe our status, or lack thereof. “No, our relationship is…undefined. The only word we use is ‘mine.’”
“Well…it may not be a declaration of a relationship, but it is a claim, I suppose. You only see each other?”
“Yes. Every day, actually.”
“Every day? Do you sleep in the same bed?”
“Yes.”
“Every night?”
“Yes.” My hand slowed down as I continued to cut into the food, realizing just how pathetic it all must sound to her.
“Wow…just…I don’t know, Lila. I see now why your insomnia has gone away if you’re sleeping with him every night.” Her brow scrunched in concern. I could see the sadness in her eyes. “This is not what I was expecting you to tell me tonight.”
“I didn’t want to keep it from you, but the way things happened between us was unconventional.”
“So, that night at the bar, that was after the office romp?” she asked, and I nodded. “I wondered why he was acting so weird. He didn’t like Andrew near his girl.”