One Heart
Chapter 2
Binging
Binging is defined as the "consumption of large amounts of food in a short period of time". Natalie was on the road to a binge because she had a bundle of nervous energy but did not feel like working out today before going to the loft. She could work out before she went into work. She was hungry.
She watched as the yawning Wal-Mart clerk scanned her purchases. Her trainer would kill her if he saw what she had on the conveyer belt. Two chocolate candy bars (at least she did not buy a whole pack), three types of cookies, two bags of chips (and not a baked one in sight), chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream (it was a small container), a can of cashews, yogurt covered raisins (that was healthy…dairy and a fruit), and a frozen pizza. She did have some organic veggies in their somewhere, 2% milk (anything lower than that was just plain wrong because her philosophy was that you should not be able to read a newspaper through your milk), and several "healthy" frozen dinners. Nick was surprised by all the food. He kept that thought to himself. He had lived long enough to know not to comment. Not that she was a health nut or anything but she usually did not buy ALL that kind of food at one time.
The cashier lazily pointed to the green total as he covered up another yawn with his hand and Natalie reached into her purse to pull out her credit card but Nick had paid her bill in cash before she could even get out her credit card. She looked at him with an angry turned up eyebrow. She was not happy. She did not like having him buy her stuff. She could take of herself. He just grinned and he knew he was going to get it when they got to the car. Actually, he looked forward to it.
Nick and Natalie grabbed her purchases. Natalie kept murmuring all the way to the car. Nick found it amusing. Good grief, he only bought her some groceries. If he had his way, she would pay for nothing but he knew that would never happen. They placed the bags in the trunk of the blue car and took their respective seats. Here it comes, Nick knew it. He and the vampire braced themselves.
"What the hell was that?" Natalie spewed at him with piercing blue eyes as she craned her neck towards him. She was fuming mad.
"What?" Nick decided to play dumb. He locked eyes with her. He could give as good as he got. She looked sexy when she was angry. He liked seeing her in this state.
"You did not need to pay for my food. I have my own damn money and I can very well afford to buy…" Before she could finish Nick actually leaned over to put his hand gently over her mouth. She was stunned. What the hell!
Nick leaned over and spoke calmly and gently. "Natalie, all I did was buy some food for a friend. You never let me do anything like that for you. It is a gift so just shut up already." He removed his hand, put on his seatbelt, started the car and began to back up out of the parking spot. It was not going to be pretty.
Natalie just sat there. Of all the nerve! On the bright side, he did touch her. She fastened her seatbelt but could not find words to come out. She just stared ahead. Nick sat in his seat and just grinned. She was speechless. In all the six years and three months that he had known her, he had only seen her this way on a handful of occasions. He rather enjoyed it.
Nothing was spoken all the way back to the loft. She did not know what to say. She was not used to having someone do things like that for her. It was hard because she had been on her own for so long. He was being generous and she was being prideful and stubborn. But she could take care take of herself and did not need him to take care of her financially.
The Cadillac pulled into Nick's garage beside Natalie's car. Nick turned off the ignition, unfastened his seatbelt, and got out of the car. Natalie just sat there. She knew she should apologize. However, she was going to stew and pout a little longer because she felt like it. That would show him.
Nick gathered the bags and his stuff and headed for the door. He went in without her. That should show her. Natalie heard the lift engage and was shocked. He had never done that before. Left her all alone when she was angry. Usually he tried to coax her with taunts of hot chocolate and a good chick flick. Nothing. Well, this was new.
Natalie disengaged herself and trekked over to the door and loaded herself and her stuff onto the lift. As the lifted ascended, Natalie's emotional turmoil began to wan. By the time the lift doors opened for her to exit, she knew she would apologize for her "fit".
Nick was standing there waiting for her. Smiling, nonetheless. "I wondered how long you were going to sit down there. I have your coffee brewing and am warming up a few of the cinnamon rolls for you." On cue, the microwave dinged. Nick turned his back to her and sauntered over to his kitchen. He made use of his time to prepare Natalie's meal.
She took off her jacket and deposited her stuff onto the closest table. She wanted to say something but could not. What was wrong with her? She just stared at him.
She walked over to the counter where he was working with his back to her. When he turned around, he was met with Natalie standing there with her hands on her hips and blue eyes scorching. She was about two feet away. He set her stuff on the dining table. He mirrored her mannerisms. Hands on hips and eyes scorching. "What?" He said.
"You put your hand over my mouth and told me to shut up." She spat.
"So. You were being ridiculous and you know it. I see it in your eyes."
"Well, you could have warned me." Her eyes wavered to the warm bun sitting on the table. The smell of coffee wafted to her nostrils and her anger was subsiding. Nick saw the magic of the cinnamon bun and the coffee working its voodoo. He could tell she was torn. Food or stand your ground. It was no match! He knew her all too well.
She looked down at her black dress pumps. Her hands still on her hips. "I am sorry."
"Did you say something?" Nick said.
"You heard me!" She mumbled.
Nick busted out laughing and pulled the chair out for her. She sat down like a pouting child and took in the smell of the wonderful confections on the plate. The next thing she knew a steaming cup of coffee was sitting beside her plate and someone was whispering in her ear. "You keep me on my toes!" She felt a flutter of a butterfly kiss on her ear. It sent shivers up her spine. Oh, he was dangerous but not because he was a vampire.
"I am going to take a shower and change. I'll be back in a bit." That was it. He just walked up the steps to the bedroom and left her to eat. He knew she would get over it!
Nick walked down the steps about twenty minutes later in his dark blue silk pajamas. There was Natalie at the table eating some cookies and drinking her coffee. She must have a sweet tooth today.
She had already closed the blinds and there sitting on the table was a mug and he smelled what was in it. He was a little shocked. Yes, she had poured a cup/glass of blood for him before but it was not a habit. He just took his seat and sipped. He had a stash upstairs and already fed…and well. He would need to. He had no control around her. She called to him constantly. Part of it was the blood but to his big surprise the largest part of the problem was emotional and physical. He needed to be with her…all the time. He could not help it. He was tied to her. He could not even begin to imagine what would happen if they were bonded. They had a connection without the blood bond and it was driving him to insanity. He wanted to tell her but could not seem to muster up the nerve.
They sat in silence and to his surprise she spoke looking into the mug in her hand. "I'm sorry, Nick. I am just not used to anyone taking care of me and I have been on my own for so long that it is hard for me to let others do stuff for me. Do you forgive me?"
Nick reached over and took the cup out of her hand and for the first time in awhile held her hand. He squeezed for effect, "There is nothing to forgive. I should have warned you. You need to let me take care of you sometimes." He took her hand and lifted it to his lips and placed a gentle kiss to each knuckle. Natalie was mesmerized. She closed her eyes and savored the moment because once again she knew it could be forever before she felt his touch. Two times in one day was a lot for him as of late. Did he know what his touch did to her?
Nick released her hand and when she opened her eyes, he was grinning at her. He knew exactly what he was doing. Their eyes locked. He was unguarded as she. These times were rare between them. The tension was electric and caused the hair to stand up on her arm. It went on forever. Emotion flowed between the current. Emotions that are usually locked away for safe keeping.
Nick cleared his throat after several long moments, "What movie shall it be?"
"Actually, I thought I could finish some of my work. It will probably take about an hour and then maybe we could watch "A Place under the Sun". We have not watched that one in awhile." Natalie waited for his response.
"While your working, I can return some calls. There is that fundraiser and I need to discuss some things with the director. It is 7:15 now, why don't we meet in the living room at 9." He stood waiting for her answer.
"That would be great!" Natalie refilled her coffee and retrieved her briefcase. She lifted out her laptop, some papers, and a pen. She begin to work right away on the kitchen table while nibbling on some more cookies.
Natalie finished her work in under an hour and finished off half a bag of chips. At this rate, she was going to have to workout for four hours. She stood up and stretched. Nick went upstairs to the bedroom to return his calls. He knew there were gong to be some lengthy discussions about this and that and he said he did not want to disturb her. He was considerate!
She clipped the bag of chips closed and placed it in the cabinet. She retrieved some more cashews. What was wrong with her? She seldom eats like this even during her period. However, she was going with it. She grabbed a handful of cashews and then made her way upstairs. She knocked lightly on the door as she opened it. Nick was sitting on the bed with some papers on his legs talking animatedly about the expenditures for the fund raiser. He looked up and she mouthed that she was going to take a shower. He nodded an affirmation as she made her way to the bathroom.
Once the door was closed, Natalie leaned against it, closed her eyes and put the remaining cashews in her mouth. Nick was still talking on the phone. She listened to the tilt and lift of his voice as he spoke fluent French. He was being Nicolas de Brabant. She picked up a phrase her and there. She was okay with the language and could get herself out of a pinch. He was commanding and gentle. Of course, he was. He had more money than he could spend for the rest of forever and used it to help others (including herself). She heard footsteps and a door close. He had traveled downstairs to give her some privacy.
Tears formed in Natalie's eyes because this man was amazing and he did not even realize it. She wiped the wetness and began to prepare herself for a shower. She noticed a clean towel had been left out for her. She finished her shower and put on her wonderful pink robe. It was anything but sexy but it sure was comfortable. She entered the bedroom and retrieved her red/blue/green striped flannel pajama bottoms, an old gray t-shirt, and undergarments from "her drawer". She divested herself of the robe and dressed. Then, she toweled dried her hair and decided to let her long curly locks dry naturally. She scrunched up the curls to make sure they kept some form or shape. She was not in the mood to deal with it. When she was happy, she went back downstairs.
Nick was on the leather sofa watching some news channel. Nothing was spoken as she made her way to the kitchen for some more refreshments: bottled water, more cookies, the rest of the chips, and a bowl of ice cream. Nick watched her out of the corner of his eye. He smiled. He had more blood while she was upstairs. Hey, if she could eat all that, he could have more blood himself. What is good for the goose is good for the gander.
Natalie plopped herself at the end of the couch closest to the stairs. Nick frowned. He had hopped she would sit closer to him. What did he expect? He did nothing to encourage her to sit closer. He got up and retrieved her blanket off the opposing chair. He sat back down and motioned for her to move closer to him. She was in shock for a second but shifted her stuff and snuggled close to him.
As they began the movie, Natalie ate her ice cream. Then, midway through the movie, to Nick's amusement, she finished off the bag of chips. After that, she ate six more cookies and gulped the last of the bottled water. "I'll be back. Pause the movie." Natalie went to the bathroom and then padded over to the kitchen to retrieve a candy bar.
She deposited herself snuggled closely to Nick and they finished the movie and she finished the candy bar.
As the credits rolled, Nick took in her essence. She smelled heavenly of cinnamon, chocolate, and strawberries (her shampoo). His arm was around her shoulder and lazily brushed up and down the top of her arm. Natalie snuggled even closer and held him tighter. God, he had been so stupid to put distance between them. He was like a moth to a flame. He always had to touch her. For any reason. He was like an addict. He turned off the television and DVD player with the remote and sat it down on the table. He snuggled into her now.
They sat there for a long while until Natalie yawned. "You probably should get some sleep." Nick quipped but not moving. He did not want to any time soon.
"Probably." She said quietly. She did not want to sleep alone. It was always the same. She on the couch or bed and vice versa. It always came back to sleeping alone.
Nick was trying to decide what to do. He could tell that she did not want to him to leave (and he did not) but they both needed some sleep. He spoke quietly and with a hint of sadness, "We should get some sleep. I'll take the couch." He began to untangle himself from her.
Natalie wanted to scream. They could sleep together and just hold one another. What was the big deal? She pulled away and sat up straight, "No, I'll take the couch." She was suddenly hungry again.
She abruptly got up from the couch and headed to the kitchen again and got a tall glass of milk and the rest of the cookies. She sat at the table. Nick was still sitting on the couch. He knew she was upset with him. He was just trying to do the right thing for both of them. Surely, she did not think that this is what he wanted for them. Absolutely not!
"I could…" He stopped. He could what? He did not know. He needed another drink. He would have to do it upstairs because Natalie would kill him. If she knew how much he had drank while she was upstairs. He would no longer be in this realm of existence.
Natalie just stared at him and ate her cookie and drank some milk. When she finished drinking and eating the cookie and swallowed the milk, she finally spoke. "It's fine because it was your turn anyway." She tried to smile at him but it came off as a frown. Neither was happy with the current state of affairs.
Nick walked over and to her surprise kissed her on the forehead and gently brushed her check with the back of his left hand. Then he was gone. In a flash. Just like that. Nothing else. This has got to stop!
She finished off the rest of the cookies. She groaned. She had eaten a whole bag of cookies, a bag of chips, two candy bars, one bowl of ice cream that had been piled high, a half can of cashews, and drank two glasses of milk. What was wrong with her? That was ridiculous. She racked her brain to think of the last time she had eaten like that. It did not take long. It was just two days ago when they had watched another movie. She on the couch and he in the chair.
She groaned to herself. She was going to have to really workout before work. She wanted to skip but she needed to do something. She needed to move and get out some of this nervous energy that kept racking her. It was driving her crazy!
Little did she know but Nick was upstairs and finished off two bottles of cow's blood. He groaned to himself. This had to stop.
Both Nick and Natalie had eaten a lot of food in a short period of time. It was definitely a binge…again.