Read Falling for You for Free Online
Authors: Lisa Schroeder
“Okay. I will.”
He pointed to my pizza. “Hey. You’re not eating. So, eat already. Because I sure as hell can’t eat this whole thing by myself.”
“I can still taste the onions. Sorry.” I pulled the crust off and took a bite to make him happy. He didn’t say anything. It felt like he should, though I wasn’t sure what. “Anyway, I feel like I’ve done all the talking. What about you? What do you like to do besides play baseball?”
“You mean there’s life beyond baseball?” he teased.
“I think so. Isn’t there?”
He scooted out of his seat. “I have to use the restroom. I’ll be right back.”
And just like that, he was gone. It was kind of weird. Maybe I was getting too personal for a first date.
I checked my phone. Alix had texted me: HOW’S IT GOING?
I replied back: IDK, I’M NOT GOOD W/GUYS.
Her response: YOU ARE SO! TOO SOON TO GIVE UP K?
When Nathan returned, he stood at the table and pulled out a pack of gum. He offered me a piece. “You ready to go?”
That’s it? Date over? I figured I’d messed up big-time. I’d talked too much and, in the process, scared him away. It was probably for the best, although a small part of me felt disappointed. Maybe with more time, we could have smoothed out the awkward bumps between us.
“Oh. Sure.” I stood up, not sure of the protocol in this situation. “Uh, thanks for the pizza. I guess I’ll see you—”
“No, no.” He shook his head and smiled. “I’m not ready to let you go home yet. I thought maybe we could drive around and you could show me the town.”
I looked outside. “In the dark?”
He leaned in and whispered in my ear. “Yes. Just the way I like it.”
I don’t think I’d ever felt such a roller coaster of emotions. One minute he left me breathless, the next I wanted to dump the disgusting diet soda all over him. Did he do it on purpose, because he liked to keep me guessing? Or was he a self-absorbedjerk and clueless about how to treat a girl? Or maybe he was a bundle of nerves, like me, and actually had no clue what he was doing.
I decided to assume the latter. After all, he had just moved here. Starting over, making friends, figuring out where to fit in—all of that had to be difficult.
He took my hand and led me through the parking lot to his fancy red VW Jetta with New York plates. So that’s where he was from. I hadn’t even asked him and I realized I should have.
We drove around Crestfield, and I pointed out places as we drove past. Like the park where I used to play when I was little. The library where I get most of the books I read. The middle school where Alix and I met. The flower shop where I work.
When we approached the cemetery, I told him my grandma was buried there. He turned and drove in.
“Are you hoping to scare me?” I asked.
“Rae, I’d never do something like that.” I felt his hand on my thigh. “You’re safe with me. I promise.”
Maybe it was supposed to make me feel better, but it actually caused the nerves I’d forced down earlier to come rushing back. If he wasn’t trying to scare me, what were we doing in a dark, secluded cemetery?
He followed the road that wound through the place until he eventually pulled over onto the side of a narrow lane. After he parked, he turned the engine off but kept the radio on.Thank goodness for the dashboard lights and the soft glow from the moon, or it would have been pitch-black.
“Nathan, I don’t know . . . ”
“Don’t tell me you don’t kiss on the first date, Rae. You wouldn’t do that to a guy, would you? Besides, we already did, remember? It’s done and out of the way.” He kissed my neck. Nibbled on my ear. His warm breath gave me goose bumps. Everywhere.
“There’s nothing to worry about,” he whispered. “Okay?”
Then, as his fingers combed through my hair, his lips were on mine. Soft. Warm. Nice. He tasted good. Sweet, like Coke and bubble gum.
And so it went. Music playing. Us kissing. My heart
He pointed to my pizza. “Hey. You’re not eating. So, eat already. Because I sure as hell can’t eat this whole thing by myself.”
“I can still taste the onions. Sorry.” I pulled the crust off and took a bite to make him happy. He didn’t say anything. It felt like he should, though I wasn’t sure what. “Anyway, I feel like I’ve done all the talking. What about you? What do you like to do besides play baseball?”
“You mean there’s life beyond baseball?” he teased.
“I think so. Isn’t there?”
He scooted out of his seat. “I have to use the restroom. I’ll be right back.”
And just like that, he was gone. It was kind of weird. Maybe I was getting too personal for a first date.
I checked my phone. Alix had texted me: HOW’S IT GOING?
I replied back: IDK, I’M NOT GOOD W/GUYS.
Her response: YOU ARE SO! TOO SOON TO GIVE UP K?
When Nathan returned, he stood at the table and pulled out a pack of gum. He offered me a piece. “You ready to go?”
That’s it? Date over? I figured I’d messed up big-time. I’d talked too much and, in the process, scared him away. It was probably for the best, although a small part of me felt disappointed. Maybe with more time, we could have smoothed out the awkward bumps between us.
“Oh. Sure.” I stood up, not sure of the protocol in this situation. “Uh, thanks for the pizza. I guess I’ll see you—”
“No, no.” He shook his head and smiled. “I’m not ready to let you go home yet. I thought maybe we could drive around and you could show me the town.”
I looked outside. “In the dark?”
He leaned in and whispered in my ear. “Yes. Just the way I like it.”
I don’t think I’d ever felt such a roller coaster of emotions. One minute he left me breathless, the next I wanted to dump the disgusting diet soda all over him. Did he do it on purpose, because he liked to keep me guessing? Or was he a self-absorbedjerk and clueless about how to treat a girl? Or maybe he was a bundle of nerves, like me, and actually had no clue what he was doing.
I decided to assume the latter. After all, he had just moved here. Starting over, making friends, figuring out where to fit in—all of that had to be difficult.
He took my hand and led me through the parking lot to his fancy red VW Jetta with New York plates. So that’s where he was from. I hadn’t even asked him and I realized I should have.
We drove around Crestfield, and I pointed out places as we drove past. Like the park where I used to play when I was little. The library where I get most of the books I read. The middle school where Alix and I met. The flower shop where I work.
When we approached the cemetery, I told him my grandma was buried there. He turned and drove in.
“Are you hoping to scare me?” I asked.
“Rae, I’d never do something like that.” I felt his hand on my thigh. “You’re safe with me. I promise.”
Maybe it was supposed to make me feel better, but it actually caused the nerves I’d forced down earlier to come rushing back. If he wasn’t trying to scare me, what were we doing in a dark, secluded cemetery?
He followed the road that wound through the place until he eventually pulled over onto the side of a narrow lane. After he parked, he turned the engine off but kept the radio on.Thank goodness for the dashboard lights and the soft glow from the moon, or it would have been pitch-black.
“Nathan, I don’t know . . . ”
“Don’t tell me you don’t kiss on the first date, Rae. You wouldn’t do that to a guy, would you? Besides, we already did, remember? It’s done and out of the way.” He kissed my neck. Nibbled on my ear. His warm breath gave me goose bumps. Everywhere.
“There’s nothing to worry about,” he whispered. “Okay?”
Then, as his fingers combed through my hair, his lips were on mine. Soft. Warm. Nice. He tasted good. Sweet, like Coke and bubble gum.
And so it went. Music playing. Us kissing. My heart