Well, I am more than just a bit aggravated over my traffic tab not working for the last 2 days. I hope you guys are still reading. Shoot me a review or go to the forum 'cause I'm dying here! I like to see how many people have read each day and right now for Thursday and Friday, it doesn't say anything! GRRR! There are several topics being discussed in the forum now. The link is on my profile. Oh and I have a new pic of Nate up. I hope you like it…er...the chapter I mean. (evil grin)
OUCH!
I DIDN'T SLEEP WELL AT ALL. I was restless most of the night. At one point I woke up lying on top of Ian and he was holding my wrist in one hand and his other arm was wrapped around my body so I couldn't move. I tried to roll off but he clenched my wrist. "Ian, let go," I whispered to him.
"Jesus, Wanderer, what is wrong with you tonight? You've been tossing and turning all night."
"I can't sleep."
"Well, I need to get up in…" He lifted his head to look at the clock. "Two hours."
"Do you want me to go sleep on the couch?" I offered.
"You can't. Burns is sleeping on the couch, remember?"
"I forgot. Maybe I'll just go for a walk." I thought I might go talk to Nate. I just wasn't sure where his room was.
"I'll go with you."
"No. Never mind, it's too cold out there anyway." I decided that tomorrow I would find a way to be alone with Nate so I could talk to him about Victoria.
"Babydoll, are you getting cold feet?"
"What?"
"About the wedding. You still want to marry me right?" He sounded worried.
"Of course. Why would you even think that?"
"I don't know."
I didn't want Ian to doubt my love for him. "I love you, Superman. Never doubt that." I snuggled into his chest and he wrapped his arm around me and I finally fell into a deep sleep.
When I woke up it was late. Ian was gone but as usual I never heard the alarm. I didn't hear him get up either. I dressed quickly and went to the building. It was deserted. I went back to the house. The truck was gone. I figured that maybe Burns went on a road trip and Ian went with him. I gathered some laundry together and went to the root cellar. I was listening to music while the clothes were being washed. It was nice to be alone.
The door opened. "Tori?" It was Nate. "Oh, hey Beautiful." He stepped inside and shut the door. "How are things with you and Ian?"
"They're fine. Didn't you see him this morning?"
"Um. No. I slept in. I ended up drinking his beer and mine. I slept well. By the time I got to the building, they were gone. I ran into Evan and he said we would resume tomorrow. So, no harm no fowl I guess."
"Yeah, I think Ian went with Burns on a road trip."
Nate narrowed his eyes. "He left us alone."
"I thought you were looking for Tori," I said smugly.
"I was but she's not here. You are."
"Any port in the storm, I guess." I spoke with a bite in my tone.
"Huh?" He looked confused.
"Nate. Why didn't you tell me about Victoria?"
"Tell you what?" He wasn't going to give anything away.
I raised my voice. "You've been sleeping with her!"
He remained calm. "She told you that huh?"
"Yes, she told me that. The question is why didn't you tell me that?" I was visibly upset.
"I don't kiss and tell. You didn't see me running all over the mountain when I was spending time with you," he said defensively.
"Burns knew," I protested.
"Because of you, not because of me," he snapped back at me.
So he was telling me that Burns didn't know about Victoria?
I pressed. "Is she your girlfriend?"
"What would it matter?"
I was pulling back the tears.
His face changed from one of anger to pity as he realized the reason for my tirade. "You're jealous!"
"I'm not jealous." But I was horribly jealous even though I had no right to be.
"It sucks, doesn't it? Every time I think about you and Ian being intimate it's like someone twists a knife in the pit of my stomach. Then you come to me and tell me you love me too."
I didn't want to hear it because he was right. "Nate…" I couldn't find the words that would make either one of us feel better.
He looked at the floor and took a deep breath. "Look. This thing between Tori and I, it's just physical. I don't love her and she doesn't love me. We have nothing in common besides the sex."
He approached me and held my face in his hand. He leaned close to me. "I would drop her in a minute for you." He very slowly got closer and closer to my lips with his. I didn't move. Part of me was screaming 'NO' and part of me was screaming 'YES'. My heart was thumping in my chest. Just as he was about to kiss me, he moved his lips to my ear. "But you're engaged." He kissed me on the cheek. "You know when I flirt with you shamelessly in front of Ian, that's my way of trying to release the pain I feel."
"I'm so confused. I know I have no right to be jealous but you're right. I am. I'm sorry. I wish she had never told me. How am I supposed to keep this from Ian?"
"What? The fact that I'm sleeping with Tori? Or the fact that you're jealous?"
It had never occurred to me that if I told Ian that he might assume that I was jealous. "Oh my god. This is such a mess!"
He looked at me with a serious expression. "Do you want me to stop sleeping with her?"
"I have no right to ask you that," I lamented.
"You're right, you don't, but I love you."
"No, Nate. I don't want you to make any decision because of anything that I feel for you. I am in love with Ian and I'm going to marry him. I'll never stop loving you but you need to have a future too. And I'm sorry for pushing you towards Holly."
"It's okay." He bit his bottom lip in what I could only assume was an effort to hide the pain.
"I guess you should go find her," I said solemnly.
"I wasn't looking for her for that. I was going to ask her if she wanted to paint something nice in the wedding hall for the nuptials. You know something that implied 'love'."
"I'm sorry. I assumed…"
"I'm not like you and Ian. I'm not that high strung. We don't have sex every day. It's occasional." My face turned beet red. Sex was pretty high on me and Ian's list of priorities. We were definitely hot for each other.
Nate smiled. "Ian's a lucky guy." He backed out through the door and was gone.
I decided that telling Ian was not an option, at least not right now. I needed to get my own jealousy under control so if and when I did tell him; it would be with joy for Nate.
I put the clean clothes in the dryer and took a walk in the woods so I could think. I hated that my jealousy was so evident. I tried to think about the O'Shea family and how much they all loved me and how I would fit in with them. I loved them all. I needed to find Ian. I finished the laundry and when I went back to the house I found Ian asleep on the bed. He obviously hadn't gotten enough sleep with all the tossing and turning I had done. I didn't remember seeing the truck in the driveway, so I wondered where he was earlier. Oh well, I'd ask him later. I quietly crept out of the room and went to the kitchen to help Rachel and Nadine prepare lunch. They were making chicken salad sandwiches using the leftovers from last night's dinner. Ian slept through lunch so I grabbed a sandwich and put it aside for him. I was a little tired myself so I crept back into the room and laid on the bed next to him. I tried not to wake him but I must have because he scooted up behind me and put his arm around me.
"Where have you been my love?" he murmured.
"I was doing laundry and then I helped with lunch. You were asleep and I didn't want to disturb you."
"Hmmm. I was afraid you were off with Nate somewhere."
I panicked. "Why would you think that?"
"Well, according to you, you have no friends here except Nate and Burns. Burns is off on a road trip so…" he surmised.
"I have Victoria and Megan."
"Megan is in school and Victoria was with me," he responded.
"Wait. You were with Victoria?" I turned to face him.
"Yeah."
My brain went into overdrive. It was bad enough I was fighting the pictures of her and Nate together in my head but now I suddenly had a new picture and I didn't like it.
"What were you doing with Victoria?" I demanded.
"Posing," he answered nonchalantly.
The visions in my head went from bad to worse. Now I was picturing him naked posing for her.
My voice rose about two octaves. "Posing for what?"
He creased his eyebrows as he spoke. "We were in the dugout. She wanted to tweak the features of my face, remember?"
"Oh." I felt like a fool. "That's why I couldn't find you earlier."
"Yep. I came back and you were gone. I laid down to wait for you and I must've fallen asleep."
"I didn't wake you because I thought you might be tired considering I kept you up half the night."
"Speaking of that," he said. I had accidentally segued into last night's restlessness. I did not want to get into that conversation, so I jumped off the bed.
"I saved a sandwich for you. Come on. It's in the kitchen." I pulled him off the bed. "You know I was thinking about taking another road trip for more wedding supplies." Subject changed. I wanted to pat myself on the back.
We entered the kitchen and I retrieved Ian's sandwich from the fridge. I grabbed a bag of chips from the cupboard. He sat at the table while I poured him a glass of cranapple juice.
"When do you want to take this trip?"
"I'm not sure. Not tomorrow but maybe the day after that. I may need to take a two day trip because I'll need to rent a U-Haul again. I want to get an arbor and a couple of beds and maybe a few bunk beds."
"I thought you wanted me to build an arbor for you?"
"Ian, you've got so much on your plate already. I think it would be unfair to heap that on you as well."
"But then you'll be staying overnight," he sounded concerned.
"No I won't. Remember last time it was suggested when I come back here I spend the night and just return the U-Haul the next day. We didn't do it because Sunny wanted to go out."
"Right. It was another one of those panic nights for me," he said as a matter of fact.
"You're so silly."
"Jealousy is not silly. Anyway, I was thinking…" he said tentatively.
"What?"
"Yesterday you wanted to just stay in bed all day and I had to work. Well, there's no work today so…"
His smile was infectious. "I'll race you!" I took off running. I jumped into the bed and rolled off the other side back onto my feet. "WAIT!" I called out.
"What?"
"I'll be right back." I grabbed my robe off the door and in the bottom drawer I pulled out the black lace panties and the black silk bra. I raced to the bathroom and changed. I put on my robe and reentered the bedroom. Ian was already in his boxers and relaxing on the bed.
"What do you have on under there?" He raised himself up on one elbow.
I went to the closet and slipped on my black heels. I slowly dropped the robe and turned around.
"Whoa! Come to papa!" he said as he slapped his hand on the bed.
We made love all afternoon. We heard the ladies come in to prepare dinner but that didn't stop us. When we were both too exhausted to go again we lay there barely able to move.
"Ian?"
"Not again," he groaned.
I giggled. "Come on, one more time?" I was joking.
"You are trying to kill me," he lamented.
"I'm kidding, but I do have a question."
"What?"
"Do you think I'm sexually high strung?"
He started laughing.
"It wasn't meant to be funny."
"Baby, not that I'm bragging, but a lesser man could not keep up with you. We have sex almost every day. That's not normal."
"So, are you saying you don't want to have sex with me so often?" I pouted.
He looked around the room. "Did I say that? I don't think so."
"What about when I'm pregnant and fat?"
"Funny you should ask that question. I asked Doc about that. He said some women like sex even more because they can't get pregnant since they already are. They feel free. He also said some woman demand more sex simply because they want to know their spouse still thinks of them as sexy."
"Will you think I'm sexy when my belly is out to here?" I used my hands to make a big circle.
He smiled and he stared at my body. "You want to know if I will think you are sexy when your belly is swollen and breasts are big and round?" He leered at me and licked his lower lip.
"Ian! You're a pervert!" I hollered.
"Thinking about my wife being pregnant and sexy is perverted?" He jumped on me. "I love you, Babydoll."
We climbed out of the bed and got dressed. When we left the bedroom the living room was abuzz with people moving food from the kitchen to the dining hall. Ian and I joined in the food carrying procession.
After dinner, we joined the others in the first building. There were lots of people there tonight since it wasn't as cold as the nights before. Some of the elders hovered over a puzzle trying to put it together. There were card games starting up at two tables. One table was gin rummy with some of the younger crowd. There other table was poker. Ian sat down to play with the poker crowd that included Ian, Holly, Carl, Evan, Rachel, and Rob. Nate of course was running the pool table. He was playing Danny at the moment and trying to teach him as he went. Megan had winner and I put myself on the list after that. For now, I hovered. I went over to the puzzle table to see if I might find a piece that fit. I wasn't much interested. Victoria entered the building and came directly to me.
"Can I see you outside?" She didn't look happy.
"Sure." I wasn't sure what to expect.
I followed her as she marched outside. She turned on me sharply as we rounded the corner of the building. "You are such a witch!" she barked.
I was taken aback. "What are you talking about?"
"Why did you tell Nate what I told you?" she said with venom in her voice.
"You didn't tell me I shouldn't," I said in my defense.
"I told you not to tell anyone!" She was yelling at me. "What gives you the right to screw up someone else's life?"
"I wasn't trying to screw up anything; I just wanted to know why I had to hear it from you and not from him." I was defending myself the best I could.
"Yeah, well, he's pissed and now he doesn't want to see me anymore!"
Nate came around the corner followed by Ian moments later.
"I didn't tell him not to sleep with you. I swear!"
"How many men do you need, you parasite? You destroyed the first satisfaction I've had in six years!" She was so angry tears were running down her face. She was wiping them away with her arms. Ian started towards her but Nate stepped in front of him.
He put his hands on Tori's face. "Look at me Tori," he said as he tried to get her to focus on him. "Look at me." He kissed her once on the lips. Then he kissed her again. Then he really kissed her. It was like time stood still as I watched him make out with her. He pulled back slowly. "Nothing's going to change, all right?"
I looked at Ian and then back at Nate and Tori and I ran. I was angry with jealousy and scared that Ian would hate me for feeling this way.
"Wanderer!" I could hear Ian running behind me. He could have easily caught me but he let me have my run. I ended up in the dugout. He came to the doorway and leaned against it with his arms folded.
I was sobbing. He let me cry for a few minutes before he spoke.
"It's hard isn't it?" he said calmly.
"What's hard?"
"Jealousy." He sighed deeply and rubbed his hand slowly on his chin. "Now imagine being told that the person you love is sleeping with your own brother."
"Ian I don't want to be jealous," I lamented.
He chuckled nervously. "Then stop loving him."
"Are you mad at me?" I croaked.
"I was. When Victoria told me today I knew exactly why you were tossing and turning all night. When I came back to the house, I was prepared for a fight. Then I fell asleep and you were so adorable when I woke up. I knew you were keeping the secret from me and yet you were jealous when I said I was with Victoria. And then there was the great sex."
"Ian, I…"
"Look. I have no intention of losing you. I will have to deal with my jealousy for you and I guess you will have deal with your jealousy for Nate unless you want to go to him."
"No. Never," I answered in an attempt to reassure him.
"So, nothing happened today with you and him." He said it as a statement but it was really a question.
He knew. "How did you know that we were together?"
"Victoria was upset because he ended things after you confronted him. That was the real reason she came looking for me."
"So you didn't pose for her?"
"No, I posed for her and we talked about you and your obsession with Nate."
I didn't reply because I was afraid that anything I said would only lead to a fight.
"So did you kiss him? ... or did you sleep with him?"
"Ian, I did not sleep with him," I said adamantly.
"You kissed him," he said solemnly.
"I didn't kiss him. He almost kissed me but he stopped because of you."
"He was afraid I'd kick his ass?"
"No, he said 'You are engaged'."
"So, had he kissed you, you would have kissed him back?"
I looked down at my hands. I wanted to be truthful. "I don't know. I was hurt."
"Funny thing that jealousy. It makes you do crazy things."
I sat quietly and stared at the ground.
Ian shifted his weight from the wall to his feet. "Do you want me to leave?"
"No. I just don't understand how you can be so calm."
"I guess it's satisfying in a weird way to see you jealous for a change and having to deal with it."
"It hurts," I admitted.
He chuckled softly. "I'll bet it does."
"Is this what it's like to grow up?"
"You're asking me?' I'm still growing up myself." He laughed. "We are going to be crazy parents." He walked over and put his hands out in front of me. I reached up and took them. He pulled me to my feet.
I looked at his eyes glistening in the moonlight as it shone into the dugout. "I love you but I don't think I deserve you."
He brushed his fingers against my cheek. "I think I'm exactly what you deserve."
We walked back to the game room but we took the long way. Nate and Tori were gone. I got that queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach as I let my imagination run through their whereabouts. Ian kissed my forehead. He whispered in my ear. "Deal with it, my love."
I spent the rest of the night sitting with Ian when I wasn't playing pool with someone. Nate and Tori never came back.
Over the next few weeks, life on the mountain was busy. I went on several 'road trips'. On these trips, I purchased everything in clothing for anyone who requested it for the wedding and most of the people on the mountain did especially when they heard that I had gotten new outfits for the people at the caverns. No one wanted to look shabby for the special day. I purchased gloves and mittens and more coats. I purchased two coats for myself. One was a sporty ski jacket that was lavender in color with white faux fur trim on the hood and cuffs. Ian said I looked like a snow bunny. The other coat was a long pea coat style made of a wool blend.
I also made big buys. Burns came with me on these big trips because Ian insisted I didn't go alone. The closer the wedding got, the more protective Ian became. We ended up with a total of eight bunk beds and four queen size beds. The bunkhouse had four rooms in it. Nate decided the best way to split them was to put four bunk beds in room numbers one and two. The other two rooms would each have two queen size beds. I purchased six dressers for the bunkhouse, two for each of the rooms with the bunk beds and one each for the other two rooms. I had a total of twenty coming from the caverns besides me and Ian and his parents. Aunt Maggie did not want to come which was no surprise to me. She never liked me. Lucina didn't want to travel with her boys so she opted to stay behind as well. Jeb asked for a few volunteers to stay and protect the caverns. Travis would be in charge and a few others offered to stay. The mountain now had a total of twenty six inhabitants with the addition of Victoria and Danny. So that meant there would be an even fifty at the wedding.
Tomorrow was November first and I would be leaving in another week to go back to the caverns. We were having a baby shower for Mel. She was due in late December so it was going to be 'iffy' as to whether or not she would have the baby before or after the wedding. Hopefully it wouldn't be during the wedding. After speaking with Ian and his dad, they were sure that everything would be completed by December tenth. They had put heat into the first building and so evenings in the game room were pretty crowded.
Victoria had started a beautiful floral mural on the wall facing the door after Nate goaded her into it. She was speaking to me but she kept it very cordial. Ian was perfect. He was the perfect boyfriend, the perfect lover, the perfect confidante, the perfect coach, the perfect man. He really did become the man I fell in love all over again. As for me and Nate, well we played pool together. Other than that he avoided me and I guess I avoided him. It was difficult passing him sometimes and seeing his eyes. There was a kind of sadness that was obviously due to us not being close like we were. I say this because I felt this sadness too.
I could only assume that Victoria and Nate were still meeting each other's needs. They never showed anything other than friendship in front of the others. Victoria still played cards with Blake whenever she could. If Nate minded, he never showed it.
Baseball practices were becoming fewer and fewer as the cold took hold of the mountain. We had just finished practice and Blake stayed behind to help Ian. He turned to Blake out of the blue and said to him. "Have you ever noticed that Victoria pays particular attention to you?"
Blake had been blindsided by this comment. "No. You think so?"
"You should flirt with her and see what she does," Ian suggested.
"How would I flirt with her? She'll probably laugh at me. She's like ten years older than me."
Ian laughed. "Well, she's only twenty four and saying she's ten years older definitely isn't going to win you any points. I mean you will be eighteen next year and I personally don't see a whole lot of prospects for you on the horizon unless you want Sarah."
"Are you crazy?"
Now I laughed.
"The next time you're playing cards with her tell her looks nice. Compliment her on her hair or something. I'll drag you into a conversation about women. You say you like your women tall and older."
"Ian. Don't push him into something he may not want to do."
Blake interrupted. "Are you kidding? I think Victoria is the bomb."
That evening I was playing pool with Nate. I was getting pretty good at it but tonight I decided if I flirted with him he might not pay as much attention to what was happening at the card table. He set up the rack while I picked out a pool stick.
"You know I'm leaving next week."
"I'm sure Ian will miss you."
"Well, it's nice to know someone will miss me." I bent over the pool table and I deliberately stuck my butt out as I broke the balls.
Nate's eyes became narrow. "What is your game?"
"What do you mean? We're playing pool." I was wearing high heeled boots that I recently purchased on one of my trips. I liked wearing heels because it gave me height. Ian liked me in heels too. It was much easier to be seductive in heels and right now I was pushing it.
"No, you know what I mean. What are you up to?"
I waited for him to finish his turn before I answered. "You've just been kind of distant lately." I bent over again to make my shot. I missed an easy shot.
"You're not concentrating."
"Neither are you," I teased.
"Put your coat on. We're going for a walk. IAN!" he called out. "I'm borrowing your fiancée for a bit."
"Bring her back unscathed." Ian replied without turning around. I suspect he had been waiting for this moment. It ran through my mind that maybe Ian had set me up again. Why did he all of a sudden pull Blake into the equation? The wedding was getting close and his condition was that once I said 'I do' I wasn't allowed anything more than platonic gestures with Nate.
Nate took me by the hand and led me out of the building and he walked with me towards the root cellar. "To answer your question, I've been distant because I thought it might be better for everyone involved."
"I guess sleeping with Victoria makes it easier to avoid me." I didn't try to hide my jealousy.
"I could say the same for you," he shot back.
"It's never been easy to avoid you. My question is what if Victoria hooks up with Blake and she has no need for you anymore?"
"It sounds to me like you are asking if I am going to be upset if I lose her."
"Yes, that is exactly what I'm asking."
"Of course I'll be upset. I've got a pretty good thing going here with no strings attached. It's nothing compared to losing you though."
"I'm guessing here, but I think that maybe Victoria asked Ian to help her get Blake's attention. I didn't want you to think I was trying to ruin what you have with her out of jealousy."
"So, you're not jealous anymore. That's good."
I wasn't sure if he meant it. "I never said that."
Nate was quiet. He led me into the root cellar. He turned on the dryers to heat up the room.
Nate turned to me now. "It doesn't explain that big flirt scene you were making in the game room."
"Ian gave Blake some pointers on how to flirt with Victoria. I thought if I kept your attention, you might not notice what was going on at the table."
"Okay, you always have my attention so it doesn't explain the excessive flirting and the lack of concentration on the game."
"Well, I'm leaving next week and…"
"And you want me to miss you," he surmised.
"Only as much as I'll miss you."
"Look, I've been trying very hard to respect you and Ian as a couple. I guess when I saw Tori go off the deep end; I felt that what I was doing was wrong."
I looked deep into his eyes. "You always look so sad when I see you."
He sighed. "At least before, we were friends, even if I did push the boundaries as often as possible."
"We are friends. That's why I was so upset when I had to hear from Victoria that you and she were shacking up."
"The truth is I've been in this situation before. Victoria is not the first girl on this mountain that I've spent time with. I keep these things a secret because we are a small community. Everyone seems to know everyone else's business. I'm not trying to be a home wrecker."
I fell into that same pit that I had with Ian. "Who? There aren't that many single girls on the mountain."
"I've never told anyone before. You have to promise me to keep the secret, even from Ian."
"Ian is going to be my husband. How can I keep a secret from him?"
"Then forget it," he said flatly.
I was dying to know. "Does Victoria know?"
"No. She's not nosy like you."
"You're right. Forget it. Let's go back."
He grabbed my hand and pulled me to him. "There were two others."
"I'm listening."
"First there was Nadine."
"Ben's mom?"
"Yeah, we had a thing for a few years. I insisted we keep it a secret or I would stop spending time with her. I didn't love her. Eventually she gave me an ultimatum and I couldn't honor it."
"And who was the other?"
"Rachel."
"But Rachel's with Rob," I pointed out.
"She was with Rob when she found this place."
"You had an affair with her?"
"I'm not proud of it. Pickings are pretty slim around here. Rob never found out and they are happy now."
"So, I show up and you move onto me?" I said with disdain.
"No. Not at all. You showed up and I fell in love. That's the kicker. The ones I didn't love I was able to bed. You…" He took my hands in his and then looked up at me.
My mind was in overdrive. "You know what I don't understand?"
"What?"
"Ian. He let you walk out of the game room with me tonight. Why did he do that?"
"Maybe he trusts you," Nate replied.
"No. He's known about all the close calls I've had with you in just this last month. He keeps saying 'You wanted to kiss him'." I started to panic. If I stayed, the odds were against me and Ian knew it. I wouldn't betray him. "Nate I have to go back. Please take me back."
"Okay, if that's what you want."
"It's what I want…we're still friends right?"
"Forever."
Nate and I walked hand in hand back to the game room. When we got inside he took off his coat and tapped Ian on the shoulder. "I brought her back unscathed."
Rob and Rachel had taken over the pool table. Nate called next game. I called the game after that. When the hand that Ian was playing was over I took the opportunity to sit in his lap.
"Is everything okay with you and Nate?" he asked nicely.
I smiled sweetly. "Yes, we are still friends."
"Good."
"Have I told you lately how wonderful you are?"
"No, but I hope you keep that thought."
I whispered in his ear. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For the opportunity." He knew exactly what I was talking about and he was keeping his own jealousy under wraps. "I didn't do anything. I didn't want to."
The cards were being dealt and he was trying to concentrate on the hand but I could see by his eyes that he was pleased. "Go play pool," he murmured. I kissed him briefly on the lips and slid off of his lap.
Once Nate and I got the pool table he and I flirted shamelessly. Victoria didn't appreciate it but I was doing it for him. I didn't want Nate to lose his 'pretty good thing with no strings attached.'
At the end of the night, I did something I hadn't done in weeks. I gave Nate a great big hug good night and Victoria asked Nate to walk her to the house so she could use the facilities before going back to the cave. I smiled at Nate. I had to admit I was still jealous but tonight it was bearable.
The rest of the week went by too quickly. Nate and I reestablished our previous friendship. Ian and I were closer than ever. The two of them worked side by side on the second building. I dragged Burns with me a two times to figure out what I was going to do about food for the wedding. We found a nice Italian restaurant that was only too happy to prepare the food in trays for us to pick up refrigerated. All we had to do was heat and serve. I found a bakery that would make the perfect cake. It was heart shaped and two tiers. The cake itself was chocolate on the bottom and almond on the top with raspberry filling. We purchased a ton of beverages and alcohol for the occasion as well.
Soon it was time for me to head back to the caverns. It seemed only fitting that Nate and Ian and Burns were all there to see me off. I went to Burns first.
"Thank you for coming with me this week. I had fun," I said as I hugged Burns.
"I had fun too." He hugged me back. He pointed to Nate and Ian. "Look at them. They look like their dog just got run over."
"Yeah well, you keep a close eye on those two."
"I always do. Tell Lily I love her."
"I will do better than that. I'm going to drag her back with me when I return in two weeks."
"Too bad I won't have a bed to share with her."
"Oh! Well, you know what? If the heat is working in the second building Ian and I will sleep there and you two can have our room. I'm not going to kick you out of your own house."
"Thanks. Love you Sis."
"Love you too."
Now I turned to the two sad puppies staring at me. I went to Nate first. I pulled him away from Ian. He put his arms around my waist and I put my arms around his neck. "I'll miss you. Thanks for being my friend again."
"Thanks for keeping my secrets. Friends forever, right?"
I kissed him on the lips. It wasn't a peck. It was just a good firm kiss. "Friends forever. I'll see you in a few weeks. Be good."
He laughed as I pulled away. "Who am I going to be bad with?"
I saved the best for last. I quoted a line from a movie I had seen recently in the house. "You, I'll miss most of all."
He pulled me tight to him. "Babydoll, I hate being without you."
"I know. I do too. It's only two weeks and I'll be busy. I'll call you every chance I get. I love you."
"I love you so very much." He stroked my face and kissed me with so much passion I didn't want to leave. When I turned to get in the car, Nate had already gone. Burns stuck around and waved with Ian as I drove away.
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