Chapter 4

When Natalie and I got back to her place, I shut the door and put her up against the wall.

Her back hit it with a soft thud.

I braced my hands on either side of her head, trapping her in.

Natalie jumped, eyes wide like a startled deer, her cheeks flushed so red it looked like she could wring water from them.

She twisted and turned, trying to escape, but I blocked her every move.

"Nat," I said.

I leaned in close, my mouth right by her ear, lowering my voice so only she could hear.

"It's been a whole day, you know.

"You haven't even glanced at me, not once. Haven't said a single word to me.

"Come on, talk to me, will you? Just tell me what's up."

Her breathing was all over the place, her long lashes trembling nonstop, but she just wouldn't say a word.

"Not gonna talk, huh?" I teased.

I let out a soft laugh.

I said, "All right, let me take a guess.

"Were you reading one of those steamy stories on your phone yesterday?"

She snapped her head up, her face flushed with shock, shame, and a hint of anger.

"You're making that up. I was not!" Natalie shot back, and her voice came out fast and shaky.

She tried to deny it, but her flustered, guilty eyes betrayed everything.

Seeing her like that, the last of my doubt was gone.

So that was what this was all about.

No wonder she got so flustered!

No wonder she was blushing and avoiding me all day!

That silly girl must have been reading something like that for the first time, and I walked in on her right at that moment, and then we ended up on the floor together.

Her poor little heart had probably shattered into a thousand pieces.

I couldn't hold it in, and I cracked up.

"Still saying no? Then why is your face that red? And why have you been dodging me?" I teased.

"I was..." Natalie started, and she could not finish it.

She was so panicked she looked ready to burst into tears.

Seeing her that cute and that close to crying, my heart went soft and every bit of my temper drained away.

I let out a sigh, my tone softening as I gently ruffled her hair.

I said, "Alright, alright, I'm done teasing you.

"So what if you read it? It's not like it's some big secret. We're not kids anymore."

But instead of calming down, she looked even more miserable, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

"But the guy in the story. His name is Ryan," she said, barely able to get it out.

I stared at her.

"And the girl. Her name is Natalie," she whispered, her voice shaking.

I stared harder.

I was totally stunned.

Were those stories really that immersive these days?

Were they using our actual names now?

Wait a second!

It suddenly hit me!

Yesterday, after Natalie snatched her phone back, she was tapping away like crazy.

She wasn't reading it.

She was deleting it!

I asked, "Hold on. That story. Does that mean...

"Did you write it yourself?"

She instantly went pale.

Then, just as quickly, her face turned beet red.

She looked at me with her lips trembling and nothing coming out, and then she buried her face in my chest like an ostrich.

I was finished.

I was never going to live this down.

It all made sense now.

Nobody was going to believe this one.

My childhood best friend had written a steamy story.

And the leads? Me and her.

Seriously?

With her warm weight against me and that muffled, half-crying voice in my shirt, I felt like laughing and like my chest was caving in at the same time.

I gently patted her back, soothing her like she was a little kid.

I said softly, "Alright, alright, it's okay.

"For the record, it was pretty good. Next time, make sure I don't catch you."

She gave me a weak little punch in the chest, barely even trying.

"It's all your fault!" she whined, her face buried in my chest, voice muffled and pouty.

"Alright, alright, it's all my fault. I'm the bad guy, happy now?" I said, trying to make her feel better.

I held her close, breathing in the sweet scent of her hair, and for the first time, I felt a sense of contentment I'd never known before.

So this silly girl had been into me all along.

She just hadn't even realized it herself.

And me.

I looked down at the girl in my arms, and there was a voice in my head that couldn't be clearer.

I had gone and fallen for her.

I had fallen for the silly girl named Natalie Evans, and I was never getting back up.

It looked like both sets of parents had called it right, and neither of us was getting out of this one.

"Natalie," I called out.

"Hmm?" she replied, her voice a little flat.

"I like you," I said.