Hopelessly Imperfect (Imperfect #1) (13 page)

Chapter Twelve

Asking Nate to come over for dinner hadn’t been
that
hard, but waiting for dinnertime to arrive had been torture.
Literally.

At the end of the day, I walked out of school with a throbbing headache. I’d been freaking out thinking Dad might invite Marie for dinner as well, because that was bound to be quite awkward, not for Nathan, but for me. I was nervous as it was; there was no point in adding more problems to the whole equation.

Then I thought about dinner itself. Dad was an amazing father and a respected lecturer at Harvard. However, he had no cooking skills. He could make great sandwiches, nothing more.

I must have looked quite stressed while I grabbed my calculus notebook out of my locker, because Farah stepped closer to me as I zipped my backpack. “Calm down.” She squeezed my arm reassuringly while I closed my locker door, “I’m sure you’ll have a great evening. I mean, Nathan isn’t—” she gestured with her hands, “—you know, scary or anything like that.” Her grin was completely fake. I knew she thought Nathan was quite terrifying.

“And Chris isn’t?” My tone was incredulous as I turned to my friend for a moment as we walked down the hallway.

Her blue eyes sparkled as her lips curved up. “He was the absolute definition of politeness with my parents. You know, he tried to make conversation with both of them, and he even made a few cheesy remarks to my mom. She was giggling like a little girl.” She rolled her eyes.

Now that I thought of it, I didn’t particularly see Nathan as a chatty person; and Dad was, well,
Dad
.

I pictured all three of us eating pizza in awkward silence, and I bit my lip as my expression turned sour.
Shit. Shit. Shit. This is such a bad idea.

Pain burst from my arm. Farah had just slapped me hard on it. “It’ll be all right!” She pulled up her glasses in exasperation. “Did you actually hear anything I just said?”

Eyes wide, I blinked at her, completely clueless. “I just don’t see Nathan making conversation.”

“Look,” she added gravely, “he’s the one that has to make a good impression, doesn’t he? Let him sweat a little, then!” She shook her head. “I’m sure he’ll try his best; stop worrying so much!”

I nodded for her sake. But to be honest, Nate seemed pretty unfazed when I told him my father was adamant about meeting him. Which was completely disheartening.

I couldn’t help but think about Mom. She would have been thrilled to meet Nate and pull out all the embarrassing pictures from my childhood after making something delicious. A sad smile formed on my lips as we walked out of school.

Farah was still talking, and I felt bad for not paying attention to her. At some point, she noticed because she grabbed my arm, forcing me to stop walking. “I’m sure everything will be all right, Cass.” The sincere look in her eyes made me feel reassured. “But make sure to take in every detail, because I want to know everything, okay?”

“Yes.” I rolled my eyes, grinning at her.

“Good!” Her eyes darted behind me. “Starting right now.”

I blinked, confused as she smiled cheekily. She bobbed her head, indicating for me to turn around. My heart skipped a beat as I saw Nathan leaning on his truck with his arms crossed, staring at us. A lopsided smile played on his lips as our gazes locked.

“What is he doing?” I turned to Farah, panicking.

She chuckled. “Seems like he wants to help you make dinner, silly!” Her grin disappeared while her expression turned serious. Raising her index finger, she added, “Remember, I want details!”

Swallowing hard, I ignored her and walked to his truck, completely annoyed at how my stupid stomach was rolling.
Gosh. I didn’t feel like this yesterday, did I?
I didn’t want to dwell on my answer, because it was pretty pathetic. Of course I had. I was just feeling worse since I’d kind of accepted that I liked him.

“Hey.” He uncrossed his arms and stood straight, sporting that crooked smile on his face that made him so attractive.
Ugh.

“Hi.” My voice was high-pitched. I cleared my throat. “So, I’ll see you at seven?”

He chuckled as if what I’d said was funny. “We’re working on math, remember?”

Scratching the back of my head, I murmured, “I thought we were doing it after dinner.” As soon as the words left my mouth, my eyes widened and my cheeks flushed like crazy.

Nate’s lopsided smile appeared again as he took a step closer to me. Playfully, he added, “I like this side of you.” He leaned closer, completely invading my personal space. His gray eyes were piercing.

Placing both palms on his chest, I pushed him away. “You know what I meant!” I said in one breath.

His gray eyes darkened as he stared at me. “I do, and that’s why I want to finish homework first.” He raised an eyebrow, and I found it difficult to breathe. He burst out laughing and grazed my arm as he opened the passenger-side door of his car for me. “Let’s hurry up with homework, then.”

Annoyed at his cockiness, I huffed and hopped inside. He closed the door with that stupid smile on his face. As he walked around the car, I gazed at where Farah had been, but she was gone already. That was good since I appeared to be making a fool of myself.

Sighing, I pulled out my phone and texted Dad that we were coming home to do homework, and I asked him about dinner.

When Nathan’s car roared to life, Dad still hadn’t texted back.

“Tsk. So eager to finish homework, Taylor.” Nathan shook his head, smirking.

“Whatever,” I muttered while crossing my arms and looking at the road.

Nate chuckled. “So should we pick up what we’re going to eat for dinner?”

“You’re already hungry.” I shook my head, my lips curving up while I uncrossed my arms.

He gazed at me before his lips tugged up in a bright smile. “You know me!”

I lifted my shoulders in a noncommittal way. “Sure, we can stop by the store, but I’m not sure what Dad wants to make,” I said, wondering if I had enough money to get the food we’d need. Reaching for my backpack, I pulled out my wallet and saw I had three twenties.

Without looking at me, Nate said, “I’ve got it, don’t worry.”

“I invited you, remember?”

Once again, he turned to me, and his lips tugged up. “I do.”

My mouth went dry as my heart raced.
That smile is going to be the death of me.

He found a spot in the parking lot, and we both got out of the car at the same time. My phone startled me as it rang, making Nate crack up. Embarrassed, I pulled it out and answered Dad. “Hi.”

“Hey, sweetie! So, am I meeting your suitor tonight?”

Gosh.
I clutched the phone closer to my ear, hoping Nate hadn’t heard anything. “Dad, we’re at the supermarket. What do you want to have for dinner?” I said through clenched teeth.

He laughed.
God! What is wrong with him?

“What about steak and veggies on the side? Maybe some mashed potatoes?”

That sounded easy enough. I nodded, relieved. “Okay, sounds good.”

“Remember, I’m buying. Use your credit card.” I peeked through my wallet, and the shiny blue card was there. “Dad?” I scrunched up my nose. Nate was pushing a shopping cart next to me, “It’s just the three of us, right?” When we reached the produce aisle, I gestured for Nathan to stop.

Dad sighed, all playfulness completely gone. “Yes, honey. Just us. You do know Marie will be coming over again someday soon, right?”

My stomach clenched, and I pressed my lips together. “Yeah.”
Just not today.

“Okay. I’ll see you back at the house. And honey?”

“Yes?”

“
Behave
.”

I rolled my eyes. I could totally picture him smiling as he said that. “Bye, Dad.” I shook my head as I ended the call and shoved the phone into the back pocket of my jeans as I peeked down at our cart. It was completely empty.

“Does steak and veggies sound good to you?” I glanced at Nathan.

He nodded. “I’m hungry; I’ll eat anything at this point.” My lips curved up at that.

We were walking down the aisle, all the veggies for supper in the cart, when he asked me, “Is she coming?” His brows were furrowed as he looked at me.

“No,” I murmured.

His lips were set in a straight line as he nodded. His hand encased mine for a moment before he burst out excitedly, “Let’s get some goodies.” He wriggled his eyebrows, making me laugh.

“What kind of goodies?” I marched beside him as he pushed the cart through the aisles.

“I’m thinking chips, chocolate, and maybe ice cream,” he deadpanned. I raised an eyebrow while staring at him. “What? I’m still growing! I need—” he grabbed two bags of chocolates, “—sugar and shit.”

I shook my head. “We need to get steaks.”

Nate shoved me playfully. “What kind of
shit
do you like?” An old lady glared at him as she passed us, and he smiled mischievously at her.

“I don’t eat shit,” I answered coyly, making him raise an eyebrow. “However, I do like these—” I gestured at the M&M’s he’d gotten, “and this.” I grabbed a large bag of white marshmallows from the shelf.

“Marshmallows?” He sounded incredulous.

“They’re my favorite.” I beamed at him. “But just the white ones.”

His eyes darkened as he gazed at me. Slowly, he smiled back and grabbed three large bags. “Marshmallows it is.”

After getting chocolate chip ice cream, we went to the meat section and got the steaks. I tried to pay for everything, but Nate gave the cashier his credit card despite my complaints.

He drove us to my house after ripping open a bag of M&Ms for him and marshmallows for me. Even though they were my favorites, I didn’t eat them often. I looked down at the half-eaten marshmallow in my hand, thinking about it, when the white fluffy candy disappeared out of my hand.

“Didn’t you love these things?” Nate’s voice came out muffled since he’d just stuffed the sweet in his mouth. “Because we got three bags!” He made a face as he swallowed.

“I do love them. I just hadn’t eaten one in a while. I was just thinking about that.”

He parked in front of my house and turned to look at me. Nodding to the other bags, he grinned at me. “Well, you’re getting back on track tonight.”

His amazing gray eyes were shining happily, like a little boy’s. My mouth went dry as I gazed into them. I looked at his lips for a moment as I swallowed hard.

I wondered what it would be like if he kissed me. I wasn’t too experienced with kissing. So far, I’d only kissed Tom, and he hadn’t been so amazing. Except for once at a party where I was drunk. And since he’d never kissed me like that before, I blamed it on the alcohol.

Nate was just staring at me, and I shifted in my seat uncomfortably. Biting my lip, I grabbed one of the plastic bags and opened the door to get out. The air inside the car was suffocating. He did the same and followed me as I unlocked the door to my house. I left the bag of marshmallows on the kitchen counter and started to unpack everything. When I looked up and he wasn’t in the kitchen with me, I stopped putting the food away to search for him.

He was in the living room, staring at a photograph on the wall. As I approached him, my stomach clenched as I looked at the picture. It was of Mom. It had been taken a few years ago, when she was smiling and looked healthy.

I stared at the picture, memorizing her wavy, dark hair and her vivacious, brown eyes. The photo showed a much different person than when I’d last seen alive. For a moment, I wondered if Dad was going to put her pictures away.

“You have her hair,” Nate murmured, still gazing at the photo.

“And my father’s eyes,” I said absentmindedly.

“And her smile.” Nate looked at me with a sad expression on his face. My eyes brimmed with tears. I wanted Mom to be there smiling at me like that.

He cupped my chin, and his thumb caressed my cheek. He seemed like he wanted to say something. Instead, he pulled me closer to him with his other arm. I leaned against his chest and closed my eyes for a moment as he hugged me.

A warm feeling ran through me as I stayed in his arms for a moment. Eventually, I pulled back as Nate’s gray eyes bored into me. The groceries bags were at our feet. Silently, I grabbed one and walked to the kitchen.

He followed me, and we unpacked the food. I took out a potato peeler and passed it to him with a small smile. He stared at it as though he’d never seen once before, and my smile widened. “You’re not much of a cook, huh, Rivers?”

He gazed at me intensely. “I’m a good student, Taylor.”

“Well—” I passed him the bag of potatoes, “—you have to wash, peel, and put these here.” I placed a large ceramic bowl in front of him.

“Challenge accepted.” Confidence oozed from his tone. A lopsided grin played on his face.