Chapter 3
"Dammit!"
Nate looked up from his chemistry book as Jenny's bedroom door slammed open and she scurried to the bathroom, holding her hand. He set his book aside and came to his feet, slowly walking to the bathroom. The door was open when he looked in and saw Jenny sitting on the lid of the toilet seat, a wad of tissues pressed in her hand.
"Are you OK?"
Jenny glanced up at him, tears in her eyes. "I cut my hand."
Nate's eyes widened as he went to her, kneeling in front of her. "Let me see."
She tried to pull away even as his warm hands closed over hers. "No, I'm OK…"
He gently pulled the tissues away from her hand and sucked in a sharp breath at the bright red blood pooling in her palm. Her ring finger had a jagged, angry slice through it. "Jenny, what did you do?"
She looked up at the ceiling, blinking back tears. "My hand slipped when I was using my sewing machine and it caught on the needle…" She took several deep breaths. "I just need a band aid."
Nate's eyebrows shot up. "Jenny, I think you need stitches." He tugged several sheets of toilet paper off the roll and folded them before pressing them firmly against her cut.
"What? No! I don't have time to get stitches!"
"OK, OK, calm down," Nate assured her, smiling up into her eyes. "Do you have a first aid kit?"
She nodded. "Um … yeah. It's under the sink."
Nate turned and opened the cabinet door, extracting the small white box. He flipped the latches open and pulled out alcohol wipes, gauze, and medical tape. He set them on the counter and laid the box aside before tearing open one of the alcohol pads.
He glanced up at her again and frowned. "This is really going to sting."
She pressed her lips into a hard, white line and nodded quickly. "OK."
Nate removed the toilet tissue and tossed it into the waste basket by the sink. He gave her one last apologetic look before slowly swabbing the sterilized wipe across her finger.
Jenny hissed in pain and clenched her teeth, grinding them together. "Dammit, that hurts."
"Almost done," Nate whispered, unable to look at her face and see the agony he was certain marred her face.
She closed her eyes tight and leaned forward, resting her head against his shoulder as he finished cleansing the wound. He quickly tossed aside the wipe and reached for the gauze, wrapping it snugly around her finger and taping it deftly.
She took several shaky breaths, trying to steady herself when she felt his arms come around her. His hands smoothed down her back, rubbing relaxing circles against her. She could feel the muscles in her back slowly unclenching. After a minute, she pulled back and looked down at him.
"Thanks," she said softly.
Nate gave her a sad smile in return and reached up to wipe away the errant tear that fell down her cheek. "You're welcome." He looked down at her hand, cradled in his. It looked so pale and delicate in comparison. His thumb stroked her palm.
Jenny followed his gaze, looking at their joined hands. Her finger was still throbbing, aching. She took in a shaky breath. "I guess I should—"
He dropped her hand and stood up. "Right." He quickly gathered the bloodied wipes and excess first aid supplies, depositing them into the trash.
She got to her feet, feeling awkward in the small bathroom with Nate so close to her. She was getting ready to walk around him when he turned, his chest brushing against hers.
Smiling sheepishly, he took a quick step back. "Sorry."
"It's OK. Thanks again for the help. I should probably get back to work."
He cocked his head to the side, intrigued. "What are you working on?"
A bright, full on, Jenny Humphrey smile greeted him, her pain momentarily forgotten. "Do you want to see?"
He couldn't help but laugh at the contagious energy in her voice. Whatever it was, she was extremely pleased and not even a sliced finger would deter her. "Sure."
With a small squeal, she grabbed his hand and tugged him out of the bathroom and into her room. Nate paused in the doorway as she kept going, stopping to turn and face him with her hands clasped to her chest. Her blue eyes glittered with joy.
"Well?" she asked, nervous suddenly. "What do you think?"
His eyes traveled around the room, amazed at the multitude of brightly colored dresses and ensembles she had created. Fabric covered every available surface, jars of sequins acted as bookends on her shelves, and in the center of her bed was a large book filled with sketches. His eyes went back to hers.
She bit her lower lip, worrying it between her teeth. "You don't like it?"
At the hesitancy in her voice, he surged forward, holding her thin shoulders in his wide hands. "Jenny, this is incredible."
She flashed him a mega-watt grin. "Really? You think so?"
He let her go to walk around the room and inspect the articles closer, on occasion touching some of the materials. "It's amazing. You did all this?"
"Yep." There was no mistaking the pride in that single word.
Nate turned back to her, smiling. "I'm speechless."
She clapped her hands with excitement and squealed again. "Thank you!"
"Jenny, I don't get it. Why did you quit Eleanor's when you're this talented?"
The happiness melted off her face like chocolate in the July sun. "Eleanor and I had a difference of opinions."
"About what?"
"She thought it was OK to keep passing my designs off as her own." Jenny's eyes narrowed, almost challenging him to disagree with her.
"She did what?" he asked incredulously, stunned. His cobalt blue eyes widened in surprise.
"Yeah. So, there you have it. That's why I quit. But, Nate, I've been talking to Agnes—"
"Agnes?" he repeated skeptically.
She rolled her eyes, impatient. "Yes, Agnes. Anyway, she has a lot of friends in the fashion industry and she and her friends are going to model my clothes so I can find some backers to start my own company. I mean, my own line! How cool is that?"
He nodded slowly, his smile noncommittal and indulgent. "That's great, Jenny." He paused, unsure how to put the next part.
She caught on. "But?" Her hands went to her hips, defiant.
"But you're only fifteen."
"So?"
"So, don't you think maybe you should go to college first? A design school or something?"
She clenched her jaw and fixed her eyes on a spot behind him. "You know, if I wanted someone to bring me down I would've told Dan."
Nate flinched. "I'm not trying to bring you down. I just think you need to be realistic."
"Yeah, well people don't get famous being realistic, Nate. They take chances, they take risks. Which is exactly what I'm doing."
He stayed silent. She was right. He had to admire that she had the tenacity and drive to go after what she wanted. It was inspiring, really.
"OK, then, how can I help?"
She looked at him, skeptical. "You mean it? You want to help me?"
He grinned, looking around. "Well, I'm not very handy with a sewing machine, but…"
Jenny giggled and shook her head. "Actually, I could use your help with something."
"Name it."
She went to the bed and started digging under the mounds of fabric and patterns. "Looking for … this!" She pulled out a charcoal blazer with burgundy pinstripes. "I'm trying my hand at a few guys things, too, and since Dan's tired of being my life sized Ken doll—"
"Life sized Ken doll?" he repeated, uneasy.
"Basically I just need a guy that I can use for measurements to finish this. Do you mind?" She pulled out a yellow tape measure.
Rolling his eyes good naturedly, Nate extended his arms in submission. "Fine."
Laughing, Jenny approached and wrapped the tape measure around his waist, pressing it tight against the thin material of his white t-shirt. She moved the remove the tape measure and her hand brushed against his side. Nate squirmed slightly, fighting to stay in the same place.
Amused, she lifted her eyes up to his face. "Nate Archibald is ticklish?"
He shook his head, starting to move away at the devilish glint in her eye. "Don't even think about it, Jenny."
"What?" she asked innocently, shrugging her shoulders. "Now will you get back here so I can finish? I need to have this jacket done by tomorrow." She tapped her petite foot impatiently.
Still unsure, Nate walked back to her and extended his arm once more. He didn't have time to react before her fingers were digging into his side. Laughing loudly, he tried to twist away, but she stayed with him.
Giggling, her fingers moved under his shirt, tripping across his bare skin. She grinned as he laughed harder.
"Stop!" he attempted weakly, but she kept at it.
Nate managed to twist away and get behind her, wrapping an arm around her waist. He over-judged their momentum and a second later they fell onto the bed. As soon as he felt Jenny going for his side, he trapped her wrists inside on of his hands, flipping her onto her back and straddling her thighs.
She laughed up at him, her face flushed and glowing.
He kept her hands together, leaning over her. "That wasn't very nice."
"Maybe not, but it was funny." A lock of hair fell in her face and she tried to shake it away without success. Using his free hand, Nate brushed it off her cheek, letting his fingertips linger against her porcelain cheek longer than necessary.
He watched the change in her eyes. It went from happy to something darker, deeper, in mere seconds. His heart started to pound harder when he recognized the flare in her eyes.
Want.
His hold on her hands loosened, but he didn't move away. "Jenny…"
Her hand reached up, her fingers pressing gently against his lips. "Shh." She shifted beneath him, rubbing against him unintentionally.
Nate struggled to keep his body's reaction in check, but it wasn't doing much good with the way she was moving under him. He watched his hand move to her hair, tangling in the silky threads, and watching as they slid effortlessly through his fingers.
His eyes went back to hers even as he dipped his head, ignoring the warning bells going off in his head. Her eyes fluttered shut, waiting.
The front door slamming shattered the moment effectively.
"Hey! Anybody home?"
"Dan," Jenny murmured, looking up at Nate.
Was that disappointment or relief in her eyes?
He was still pondering it even as he scrambled to get off her and help her stand back up. They had just straightened their close when Dan appeared in the doorway.
"Oh, here you guys are." His eyes swept the room, curious. "What are you doing?"
Nate was still fumbling to form a coherent thought when Jenny intervened.
"Nate was letting me use him for measurements since you refuse," Jenny said pointedly.
Dan frowned. "Aren't you supposed to be at Eleanor's?"
"Aren't you supposed to be helping dad at the gallery?" she counted.
"The shipment he was waiting for isn't coming until tomorrow. He didn't need me."
"That's nice, but I need to finish what I'm working on."
"For Eleanor?"
Jenny's gaze flickered to Nate for a fraction of a second before meeting Dan's gaze. "Yeah."
