Torrid Affair(16)

I looked up at him and shook my head. “I’m out of my element.”

“Why? Do you not like Italian?” His eyes widened with worry. “We can go somewhere else.”

“No.” I reached out and grabbed his hand. “This is perfect.” Julian smiled and looked down at his menu.

After dinner, we headed toward Main Street and grabbed some hot chocolate. He held my hand the entire time and made sure he asked me questions to keep the conversation going. I dodged a few the questions about my family and asked him about his life.

Julian seemed perfect. He was charming, he made me laugh, and was a complete gentleman. He was a great guy; a guy I could date. We could be together for a while and have some fun, but there wasn't any magnetic pull. Not like I experienced with Nate.

At the end of the night he walked me to my door, kissed me on the cheek, and asked to see me again. I should have said no. I should have said we were probably better off as friends, but because I knew how much it bothered Nate, I went against my gut and told Julian I'd love to see him again.



The following Wednesday morning after my date with Julian, Nate waited on the hood of his car until I parked a few spots away. He had a cup of coffee in his hand and another on the trunk of his car. I shut my car off and gave myself a quick glance in the mirror before I hopped out.

“Good morning,” I sang as I walked over to him.

“Morning.” His voice was dry.

“You're here early.” I swayed side to side to keep warm. The temperature had dropped a few degrees in the past few days. It wasn't below freezing but it was pretty chilly.

“I figured I'd get us some coffee.” He took the extra cup and handed it to me.

“Thanks.” I wrapped my hands around the warm cup and brought it to my lips. “Shall we?” I walked toward the building.

“You're not going to tell me about your date?’ I heard his footfalls behind me.

I spent the entire Saturday night after Julian dropped me off explaining how the date went to Delaney. She continued the conversation on Sunday about how we would spend the holidays together and go on double dates. I figured Del had chewed his ear off when she spent Sunday night with him.

“What is there to say? Your brother took me out, we had a lovely time, and then he brought me home.” I shrugged and continued to walk.

“Brielle?” Nate said my name in a stern voice.

I halted and turned back to him. “Okay, what gives?” I couldn’t mask the irritation in my voice. ”You have a girlfriend. In fact, my best friend is your serious girlfriend. Why do you care that I went out with your brother?”

“You’re going to see him again?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

My eyebrows scrunched together and I looked at him sideways. “Nate, you and I are friends, and who I see is none of your business. Why does this bother you so much?”

“You said it would interfere with school.”

I bit my lower lip as I contemplated how to answer this. I didn’t have time for someone like Nate. He was consuming. I would be lost within him. I knew that every second I wasn’t with Nate, I’d be stuck thinking of him. I wouldn’t concentrate on school. I would focus every fiber of my body on loving him. That was the power he held.

A fire.

A spark.

All from one fucking kiss.

“If me dating Julian is a problem, maybe we shouldn’t be friends.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t.” Nate licked his lips and waited for me to respond.

“Well, then, thanks for the coffee.” I turned and marched toward class.



Being with Julian was easy. Mindless, really. He understood that school was my priority and he never pushed the issue of wanting to be with me every single second. We met three times a week for lunch before I had to go to work. We spent Saturday night together either studying, sitting in my dorm room watching a movie, or grabbing a bite to eat with Del and Nate.

What I liked most about him was that he never pushed the topic of sex. We had been dating for a few weeks and we had never gone farther than making out. I wasn’t a prude or anything, and I had slept with men before, but with Julian it seemed different. To be honest, I didn't have the spark with him. It wasn't an instant attraction, but more like a slowly burning ember that I hoped would grow over time.

Nate and I didn’t speak to each other after our disagreement. We were cordial to one another, and while we were out with our significant others our conversations consisted of short, one-word answers. Thankfully, Neither Delaney nor Julian noticed anything off since neither knew about our friendship, but I hated that we weren’t talking.



Late November

The semester was coming to a close and I had to study for finals, but I was putting it off until after Thanksgiving. Instead, I was in the dorm under the covers curled up with a new book I had borrowed from the library.