Nate (A Texas Jacks Novel) (18 page)

“Ladies, glad you could come watch us out on the track. Why don’t we get you set up in a prime spot?” Holt decides to take control of the situation before anything else can happen. He looks at Halley, who’s watching his every move. He winks at her and holds out his arm for her to tuck around so he can escort her to their seats.

“Before you ask,” Charlie whispers for my ears only, “there’s supposedly nothing but flirting going on with Holt and Halley. Though, I get the impression she’s more into him than she lets on.”

“I figured as much. I feel like he likes her more than he realizes. Time will only tell, I suppose. We should definitely stay out of it, though.” I warn her quietly.

“I’m inclined to follow your advice. She’s always been our wild one. It would take a lot to tame her. Though, I wonder if she just met her match?” she continues to quietly speculate, but no way am I touching that one with a ten-foot pole. I lead her off in the direction of our friends so she can watch me in my element. Though, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous to have her here. I really don’t want to be distracted.

We get the girls situated, and then roll our bikes out and prepare to spend a lot of time flying in the wind. I look back over at Charlie and motion for her to come over. I watch her as she walks over to me, admiring her jean skirt, green t-shirt, and cowboy boots. Her hair is up in a ponytail, and she’s wearing a ball cap. She’s too sexy for her own good, and what I love about Charlie is, she has no idea that men think that about her.
I plan to keep that my little secret.

When she gets close to me, I pull her between my legs and loop my arms loosely around her back. I kiss the top of her head, and then tip her chin up to look at me. “How’re you doing?”

“I’m good,” she smiles up at me. “Though, I’m worried about you getting on this bike.” She says as she reaches behind me and smoothes her hand over the seat. “Are you sure this is safe?”

“Sweetheart, I know what I’m doing. It’s why I called you over here before I head out. I needed to hold you one more time so I could clear my head. My only worry is you sitting by yourself and some knucklehead or bike bunny coming over to bother you. Plus,” I start to say, as I give her the once-over look I love to do, “you looking the way you do,” I bite my lip, shaking my head, “that’s distracting all on its own.”

“Sorry.” She bites her lip again and gives me a shy look. “I guess I should have planned my outfit better, huh?”

“Nah, I like it. I just don’t want
others
to like it!” I give her a scorching kiss in front of our audience so they know she’s mine. I’m also hoping it does the trick of centering my mind enough to focus on my bike, my body, and the track. I hear catcalls and whistles coming from the peanut gallery behind Charlie, but I couldn’t care less. This, right here, in my arms, is exactly what I need at the moment. All too soon I release her perky mouth and kiss her softly, one last time. Looking down at her, I see she’s in a bit of a daze, but she looks happy and calm. I give her one last hug before gently pushing her away.

“One of these days, I’m going to get you on a bike and show you how to ride.”

She shakes her head, and laughs as she slowly walks away from me, backwards. She gives me a flirty wink then spins around and sashays back to her seat.
Well, that might just mess with my head for the rest of the day
. I put on my helmet, straddle my bike, rev the gears, and let her rip.

T
HREE WEEKS HAVE GONE BY
since Charlie and I started dating, and everything is seemingly going well. Even our friends are getting along great. We mostly do things as a group. However, there have been a few times when Charlie and I were able to get away by ourselves. Those times have been some of our best moments. Charlie has opened up to me about her expanding family, and her job as a Receptionist in a doctor’s office. She’s shared with me about being shy her whole life, and how she likes that I’m helping her break free of that. Even our groups of friends have helped to loosen Charlie up more. I don’t want her to completely lose her shyness, though. It would mean losing a part of who she is, and I find that side endearing. It is, however, nice to see her opening up by joining in with the group instead of holding back.

I, on the other hand, haven’t really opened up to Charlie in the way she has with me. I tell her as much as I can handle, but there’s just one thing that I’m not sure I will ever be able to discuss in detail—with anyone, not just Charlie. I don’t even want to think about it, as it makes my heart ache and miss her more. I hope that I’ve made her proud with my choices in life, in the things I do and how I live. Maybe someday the pain will subside, and I can loosen the hold that these bands have on me and how they affect me in certain aspects of my life. But for now, I choose to keep that part locked securely under key.

The morning after Charlie had given me her number, I couldn’t help myself and sent her a few text messages throughout the day. I felt like a different man; I’m not used to texting sweet words to a woman, or even checking in on one, for that matter. The only other woman I occasionally talk to is my sister. Otherwise, I haven’t done that since Heather Morgan, my old college girlfriend.

Heather and I were in a committed, long-term relationship, with plans to marry, have children, and own a business that we could pass down to our kids someday. Then life happened, and all of that was ripped away. I’m not sure those milestones will ever be on my list of future goals again, but for now, I’m enjoying what Charlie and I have together.

Right now, work is keeping me busy, which isn’t a bad thing. Mr. Cates is working us hard and showing us the business, in all its facets. I’ve made it over to see my family a few times since my last visit, and Holt came out with me the last time. I feel like everything in my life is in a good balance, between work, the home front, our friends, and my girl. But that’s all I can call Charlie at this point.

We’re taking our relationship slow, and I’m definitely utilizing my right to hold her hand and kiss her in public every chance I can. She’s still shy, sometimes, about the kissing part, but doesn’t protest much. I know she secretly likes it. There’s no pressure on us, which helps the relationship to work the way it should: fun and carefree, yet with an undeniable connection between us. We haven’t labeled it, though. For now, she’s my girl, and we date exclusively without defining exactly what we are. She hasn’t said otherwise, and I’m happy with how it’s all going, so why ruin a good thing?

Tonight, Charlie has one of her family dinners in Sacramento to attend, and I’ve decided to head to the track, where I'll meet up with the guys, and their women, shortly. They’ve been spending a lot of time with Naomi and Halley. I’m curious as to where they will end up with those women, as none of us are long-term relationship kind of guys. I have a feeling one or all will eventually fall apart.

The question is, who’s going to dive headfirst into forever?

“Charlotte, when are you going to stop hiding this new boyfriend of yours and bring him home?” Mom asks me with a frown on her face.

My fork drops to my plate with a loud clatter as the whole table grows quiet. I look at my siblings and wonder who the culprit is. “All right, who spilled the beans before I could—and before I was even ready to?”

Of course, none of my sisters fess up. I’m pretty sure I only told one of them that I was seeing Nathan.

With a loud and long sigh, I face my mother and break the news to her. “Mom, he’s not really my boyfriend. We’re casually dating, and that’s all there is to it. If it grows more serious, you’ll be the first to know.” I say while glaring at each of my sisters. Even my sister-in-law, Rachel gets the glare.

“Were you even going to tell me? You know you don’t have to hide parts of your life from me. I’m your mother. You should want to share with me. Your father and I only want the best for you, honey. We’re here to love you, and support you. You know that, right?”

“Mom, I totally know that. I just don’t want you—or
anyone
, for that matter—to blow this up into something bigger than what it is. I don’t even know that much about him yet. He’s a really nice guy. He works in construction. He rides dirt bikes, and our groups of friends have a lot of fun together. It’s only been three weeks since we’ve officially started something, and we’re still in the getting-to-know-you phase. I promise, if it escalates, I’ll bring him home to dinner.” That’s the best I can do at this point, because I know Nathan is a sweet guy and he treats me like a gentleman should. We have a great time together, he makes me laugh, and has cracked my shell mostly open.

However, I can tell that he’s holding back from me, and not fully letting go of his secrets. I haven’t met any of his family, and come to think of it, I don’t really know much about them at all.

“Sweetheart, she’s still 21-years old. We have time with Charlie, so let’s not push her. She’ll come around if and when the time is right,” Dad tells Mom. “Won’t you, dear?” He looks over at me, and I can tell he’s trying to give me a little reprieve from my family’s questions.

I nod my head in an affirmative gesture, giving him a smile full of gratitude for intervening and cutting this off at the head.

“Why don’t we talk about something else, like who’s up for a round of Monopoly?” Dad asks us with a hopeful voice, but we all just let out loud groans or make excuses about why we can’t stick around and play. I feel bad for my dad, but we can only handle his competitiveness in small doses. I know he’s just trying to find ways to interact with us and hold the family together, like Mom does with family dinners. We don’t actually mind playing these games, deep down. After all, we bet on the side to see who can beat Dad in the next game. It makes it more of a fun challenge that way. But tonight, it seems like no one’s up for the challenge. So, my dad lets it go, and the conversation turns to weddings, babies, and work.

Sitting here watching my family interact, I can’t help but feel the love and connection we all have with each other. It makes me think about Nathan and his family, and the fact that he doesn’t talk much about them. It makes me feel sad for him, knowing that he probably doesn’t have the kind of family that I’ve been blessed with. I do know that one day; I want to give him the chance to experience what I have.