“Not really, but that’s a story for another day. My road hasn’t been easy and coming home was…well, let’s just say when I got the news that my fiancé had moved on and wasn’t waiting for me, I almost lost my mind.”
“But you didn’t.”
“No. On one hand, I’d been given a second chance, the gift of life…but on the other, my partner wasn’t going to be there to share it all with me.”
“Why would she do that?” I’m completely floored.
“She thought I was dead, like my whole family did. The military made a huge mistake and they know that. I can’t really blame her.”
“Were your captors ever caught?”
“I’m told they were. Their other hideout was hit hard with airstrikes, but I do still wonder if somehow they survived and are out there.”
“What if they are?”
“I’ve kept my return very quiet. Sometimes I see people who I knew years ago and the news hadn’t even gotten back to them.”
I put my chin in my hands and gaze at Nate. Who knew he was such a fascinating person. I was drawn to him before, but even more so now. Then you add that kiss and I can see myself falling very fast for him. “Enough about me. Tell me about Elania.”
“Oh, God, I hate talking about myself.”
“Stop it. I’ve been dying to know more about you.”
“All right, let’s see…I’m from California, moved here four years ago with a guy who got a dream job and promised me the world.”
“I take it that didn’t happen?”
“No, it didn’t. He cheated on me recently and the rest is history.”
“Wow, I’m really sorry.”
“It’s okay. I’d rather not talk about it.”
“I understand. Do you have any siblings?”
“No. It’s just me. My parents both work in the school system back where I’m from.”
“Which is?”
“Tulare, California. It’s a small quiet town with a lot of farming, about an hour from the ocean. Great weather.”
“It sounds like you miss home?”
“I do, but I miss my parents more than anything.”
“Why don’t you go back?”
“Work,” I blurt out. “It’s clients like you that keep me busy. I always promise my parents after this deal, I’ll come home, but then there’s more and more work to do. The market is just crazy right now and I love the money.”
Nate’s phone buzzes and he looks at it. Then places it facedown on the table. “Well, I think you need to plan a trip home. You really have to.”
“You sound just the same as my mom.”
“It’s the truth,” he says, his phone buzzes again, but this time he doesn’t check it.
“You can get that if you need to,” I tell him.
He smirks at me leaning back, resting his arm along the back of the booth. “It can wait. I’m completely content having a conversation with you.”
We sat and talked for over an hour about everything. Our pasts, the baggage that we carry, and what we both want for the future. I’ve never had a guy listen to me so genuinely, to really want to know who I am. It was amazing to be so comfortable being so open and raw with him. Suddenly, kissing him didn’t seem so crazy after all.
“Dammit, Andrea, I told you, I can’t see you any more.”
“But—”
I cut her off, so frustrated that I want to hang up on her. “No buts. We’re done.”
She’s sobbing into the receiver like we have something serious going on and asks, “Will you at least tell me why?”
“I told you a while ago that we had to stop. You want more than I can give you.”
“No, Nate, I don’t. I’ll leave Ronnie. I just want what we have right now, nothing more.”
“I can’t tell you what to do, but I want you to follow your heart, and if you leave him, please do it for yourself.”
“I am, I promise.”
“Good.”
She sobs harder and I hate that I let it get to the point where she has become so attached to me. I never meant to let things get so out of hand.
Before we get off the phone, I have one more question for her. “Andrea?”
“Yeah?”
“You don’t think he’ll hurt you, do you?”
“No, he hasn’t laid a finger on me in years, you know that. I’m sure he’ll just shrug his shoulders. I don’t mean shit to him any more, Nate.”
“Okay, good luck.”
We hang up and it feels good to at least know she’ll be safe. It’s also comforting to know that she is making this decision for herself. It can’t be because she has some dream of riding off into the sunset with me. I get out of the car at my parents’ house. For the first time in a long time, my dad is home. I feel like work always has him traveling.
“Hey, Dad,” I call to him as he’s out front working on the yard.
“How are you, son?” he asks standing and hugging me.
“I’m good. How are you?”
“I’m great. I took all of next week off from work.”
“No way, that’s great.” This is so long overdue.
“You’re telling me. I spent the morning with your mom. It was so nice to be with her.”
“I just left there myself. I had to share some news with her.”
“What’s that?” he asks.