“I know this was a lot to take in, honey. We'll talk everything over, I promise,” she whispers reassuringly, then kisses me on the cheek. I smile at her and begin to tear up—I'm pretty overwhelmed.
Nate surprises me by leaning in for a hug as our parents look on with a smile. “Great to meet you,” he says, then whispers almost silently in my ear, “Sorry, we'll never get a chance to have that threesome, Sis.”
I freeze as he pats my back once and then breaks away. He remembered. And now he will always know how attracted I am to him. I have a feeling I'm never going to hear the end of it.
CHAPTER FIVE
“I don't mean to question the relationship, it was just so sudden,” I explain to my mom as she drives me home from the airport. I usually never fly to or from college, but Pierce insisted. My biggest worry was that Nate and I might be on the same flight, but luckily his exams ended earlier than mine. I want as much time as possible to prepare myself for our interactions.
“No, I get it, I really do,” my mom assures me. “You can ask me anything about Pierce, or me and Pierce, and I won't be upset.”
“He treats you well?”
“He's wonderful. He's always surprising me with little gifts, trips, even. I don't know what I've done to deserve him.”
“Well, I think you're pretty great.” I offer dramatically.
“Oh, I didn't mean it like that! I just mean, Pierce treats me like a princess. And the house is basically a castle,” she adds, pointing to her right. I gasp at the flagstone mansion we're pulling alongside.
“Shut up. That's his house!? It's huge!”
“I know, right?” my mom replies with a laugh. “It has maid's quarters! But you'll get used to it, really.”
“There's a maid?”
“He used to have a housekeeper/maid who would cook for him, but now I do most of that stuff. I love having someone else to cook for again. The maid just comes once a week now to do a really thorough cleaning,” she explains as we pull through the wrought-iron gates leading the driveway.
“Are you still working at the salon?” She used to support herself as a manicurist at the tiny salon back in our small town in eastern Maryland.
“Nope, not anymore. I'm volunteering, though, and thinking of joining some charitable boards,” she says nonchalantly. My mom, a lady who lunches, I think, shaking my head. I don't know if I can see it.
My mom presses a button on the car's dashboard and one of the two garage doors opens. We pull inside and I look around at the huge space as the door closes behind us. If I'm this in shock about the size of the garage, I can't imagine how I'll feel about the rest of the place.
After the tour, which took over an hour because the house is so massive, my mom finally leads me to my room. My head is swimming at the lavishness of my new home. As we walk down the plushly carpeted hallway, I'm alarmed to realize that I can actually smell Nate. He must be nearby somewhere. I've been dreading seeing him again and hoped I'd have more time to settle in before our first confrontation.
“Here's Nate's room,” my mom says as we pass a partially open door. “He's out somewhere right now.” I shake my head at myself. I wish I could turn off the part of my body that's attracted to him. If anything, though, my sex dreams about him have only become more frequent and more alarming ever since he laid his hand on my thigh. “And here's your room.” I can't believe it's right next door to Nate's room. There are so many rooms in this place—I would have preferred to have a bit more separation between us.
“Whoa,” I say as she pushes the door open, and my misgivings about the room are forgotten. A canopy with a delicate white fabric settled on it hangs over the four-poster bed in the center of the room. A matching nightstand, bureau, and vanity make up the rest of the furniture. The wallpaper is a tasteful, blue and white pattern with small birds on it that complements the light, airy feel of the room. I release the handle of my luggage and head over the to the window seat and kneel on it. There's a spectacular view of the Potomac River below—the house was clearly built to play up the amazing location. I glance to my left. “Is that my own bathroom?”
“Yup—no more sharing!” my mom replies gaily. I step inside and admire the all-white tile and huge tub. I've never been in a house so nice. I can't believe I'm actually going to call this place home from now on. “You want anything to eat?” my mom asks from the bedroom.
“Um, yeah, that would be great,” I call over my shoulder.
“OK, I'll whip something up. You stay here and get settled. I'll be in the kitchen when you're ready to eat.”
I wander back into the bedroom as my mom disappears down the stairs. There is one question I have that I can’t bring myself to ask her. It's just…I know my mom worries about money, about me graduating from school with so much debt. It's not that I think she would have married Pierce just for the money, but I worry that it might have clouded her judgment a bit. They got married so quickly—can she really know him that well?
Maybe I'm just falling back into my usual pattern of co-dependency and mothering her. She's a grown woman, I can’t control what she does and I’m not responsible for her decisions…not to mention, I am hugely relieved to not have to carry around student loans for the rest of my life.
I kick my sandals off and sink back down onto the window seat. The Potomac is a dark green sliver barely visible through the bushy trees that line the back of the estate and continue down to the shoreline. I startle as a figure breaks the stillness. I recognize Nate's head as he walks up from the lower lawn to the pool, a lacrosse stick tucked over his shoulder. Sheesh—is he training already? School just ended!
I bite my lip as I watch him toss the stick on the deck and peel off his shirt. He uses it to wipe the sweat off his face, then tosses it on a chair and kicks off his sneakers. His body is just…impossible. I mean, I guess it makes sense. Two varsity sports are probably enough to give anyone a body like a Greek god, but he also has the face to match.
He jumps in the pool and I watch him swim a lap, the cool blue water cascading over his muscular back and shoulders. I need to get used to seeing him like this—and stop acting like a total freak every time we’re in the same room. This is my new normal.
“Your food's ready!” my mom calls upstairs, her voice echoing a bit in the multi-level foyer. I jump up and head downstairs. I turn into a formal dining room before finding my way to the kitchen. I stop as I realize the kitchen windows look directly out onto the pool. Great. “I can't believe Nate's already in the pool. The water's still freezing,” my mom comments.