Aesthetic by mush004 (my dearie!)

Dedicated to areebahwho

Question of the day: "If You Could Star In A Movie, What Movie Would It Be?"

"There's no fear when you're having fun."

****

"Did you specifically where the teal dress because it's my favorite color?" he asks, the next day as I'm making breakfast.

"Yeah and I think it was a win. Because if last night proved anything to me, that was that you like that dress a lot."

He smiles his devilish smile. "Especially when it was off you." I have no option but to blush to his comment. When I sit down on the table with the breakfast, he stare doesn't waver. He looks at me while he takes a bite of his egg and when he is digging his fork into the fried bacon. I squirm in my seat because his look alone causes my heart to beat faster and anticipation to sing in my veins. I thought I was hungry before, but my appetite slowly vanishes as his eyes darken. He suddenly gets up from his chair and takes 3 long steps towards me. When he's right in front of me, he leans in, keeping his hand on the side of the table till we're eye to eye, our mouths an inch away from each other. "Do you really have to go to that bike sale?"

I nod. "You can come with me if you want". My breathe comes in spurts as I can't look away from his lips.

"No, I am too tired." He says and stands up straight. I look up at him because I really thought I was gonna get kissed right now. He stares at me with a blank expression for a while and then speaks again. "I'll have a surprise for you when you come back. Meet me at my apartment at three, alright?" I smile and stand up. I'm about to get my plate when he grabs my waist and spins me around. His hands leave mine and travel to my waist as the light pressure from his lips molds against mine. I don't know what the surprise is, but I can already tell life with Nate will never get boring.

****

When I arrive at the park the bake sale is supposed to take place in, I find it full of people. Kiara is so excited to see me, you could almost taste it on her cheek if you kiss her. Claire adopted Kiara a few months ago. I didn't like the idea of her doing that out of nowhere, but I don't complain. Because if there's one thing I learned recently, that is speaking my thoughts aloud doesn't help people. It just hurts them. Naomi and Ian come close behind me and Kiara jumps in his arms when she sees him. Claire laughs but I refrain from rolling my eyes. The way they are so close makes me jealous.

Am I jealous of four year old now? No. I am jealous of Ian being more close to my niece than me.

"How are you?" I gasp when Eli steals a cupcake from the plate I'm holding. "Hey!' I try to snatch it, but  unfortunately he is more tall than me. I heave in frustration and put my arms around myself, indicating that I'm not happy with him. Eli just shrugs in response as Kiara keeps the plates full of different flavored cupcakes on the table. I look away but look back at Eli because I just caught a glimpse of Ian. And I know Ian was about to smirk.

"Why are you here?" I ask you Eli to distract myself.

"It's a bake sale, that's why." Eli shrugs as if, duh.

"I know that. I meant why are you here alone? And not with Paste?"

"Pastel is busy. Some work stuff came up. And Lav had some appointment. So I decided to come here."

"What about Jeremy? Since you're so friendly with Lavender, you must talk to him too. You could have come with him." He looks away. "Hey, is something wrong between you two?" I definitely noticed some tension between them when I went to Paste's house.

"No, it's just, I may have had a thing for Lav. That's why Jer is so distant with me. I guess he didn't get over it." He sighs.

"Did you get over Lav?" Wow, what a question I asked. I was always bad at comforting people or giving them advice. He just nods. "The way you nod isn't really convincing."

He looks me dead in the eyes with a serious expression. "I am over it. Really."

I shrug and put my hands up. "Okay, macho man. I got it." He returns back to his normal expression.

"But I don't blame Jeremy. I mean, if Nate was friends with one of his exes, I would be a little bit insecure and indifferent towards her too."

"We didn't date."

"What? Then how does Jer know you had a thing for his fiancée?"

He shrugs. "It's complicated. Okay, I got to go talk to Ian. Catch ya later." He walks off, clearly in attempt to ignore my line of questioning. I see him chat with Ian. Honestly, I thought all the doctors had a hard time catching up with life as they had continuous shifts. And here, I see Ian is always free. Does he even have a job?

Kiara comes to me and asks for help. When I go to their stall, Claire sees the cupcakes and wows. All of them start talking about the cupcakes and Kiara in me serve the people, since we're the only sensible ones who can do something productive. It's funny how a four year old can be so responsible. She always makes sure to serve the cupcakes with napkins and provide the kids with extract napkins. (She says that the kids will definitely fill their face with frosting, so they need the extras) She's honestly so adorable, I kiss her constantly. I love the fact that she acts way older than her actual age, it makes her even more cuddly.

I don't even realize how quickly the time passes because the next time I look at my watch, it's three. "Shit," I say. Kiara looks at me with wide eyes which can only mean Claire has reserved shit into the 'bad words' list. I smile at her. "Don't ever say that or tell Claire that I used that word. Alright?" She nods, to my relief. "And I have to go to Nate's, okay? Bye, darling." She pouts and it is so freaking cute, I hug her.

After telling the others goodbye-and definitely not looking Ian in the eye-I head towards Nate's apartment.

Even before I get out of the car, I hear a knock on the window. I pull it down to see Nate smiling at me. "You are late."

"I know but what are you doing outside?"

He gets inside the car before answering. "I am taking you out. To a walk down memory lane."

"But you told me-"

"No buts. Just drive where I tell you to." I don't question him but mutter bossy under my breath. He probably hears it though because he laughs. "Take a left now."

"Where exactly are we going?"

"You will see. Don't forget it's a surprise. If I tell you, it won't be a surprise anymore." I groan ana it makes him laugh again. "Here we are," he says after a while.

I look around the familiar yard that is sans the flower pots it used to have. "You brought me to your home? Why?"

He smiles and it's a I-am-holding-a-big-secret smile. He takes my hands in his, removes the key from the ignition and says, "Just come with me." We get out of the car and he holds my hand again and it makes my heart flutter. I can't see his expression but from his posture alone, I can tell he's happy.

I ask him a question that's bugging me. "If you still have the house you used to live in with your parents, why move in to another apartment?" We reach the garage and he stoops down to open the lock, leaving my hand empty of contact.

"I just wanted to live alone. When my parents shifted to Aussie, they wanted me to move back in. But I decided I'll do that one day when or if I get married." He looks up at me and I swear my heart starts beating faster because he's on one knee in a secluded place and the only thing left to make it a proposal is a ring. Get out of your head, it's too soon! Paste's voice in my head shouts. I knew I had a stupid inner voice, but now Paste's voice too? My brain is becoming less trustworthy and reliable each day. He opens the garage door and I see only one vehicle there. A motorcycle.

"Okay, Nathaniel Gray, what exactly are you planning?" He smiles that secretive smile again.

"Remember I taught you how to ride a bike in high school? Well, I thought you could take me for a ride today."

I shake my head as my eyes widen in horror. "This is your brother's bike. I put a scratch on it last time and he beat the shit out of you. Not wanting that again."

"Don't worry, I inherited from him." I look at him in question. "He gave it to me. Now, ride please." He points to the bike.

"You ride. I don't even remember how to make it start."

His grin widens instantly. "It will be hella fun to teach you again."

After an hour of bike parts information class, my brain is wheezing. So is my stomach. "I am famished."

"Then maybe you can drive us to the nearest deli." He smirks.

"You knew I wouldn't remember any of this, isn't it? That's why you brought me here today." The bastard just nods. I shake my head and sit on the bike, ready to get the hell out of this garage. Oh the things hunger makes a person do. "Come on already. We haven't got all day!" He smiles but doesn't climb in behind me. Instead, he keeps his hand on the back of my seat to steady the bike. I look at him quizzically and he prompts me to start the bike. I shake my head and he sighs.

"Just do without it, Zara. It won't kill you."

"I am not doing this without you." My stomach is in knots.

"I'm right here. Just go a few steps and I'll get in when you've got it. Okay?" I nod but I know this is a recipe for a disaster. I put my focus back on the bike and slowly let go of the clutch. But I guess it's not slow enough because the bike bucks under me, taking me further, till it lands on top of me. Nate comes up right behind me and helps me up.

I jump when I see him kick the bike. "Shit." He says.

"You've got quite an anger there, young fella." I say with the best impression of a British accent.

He chuckles. "Okay, let's try again. First you know what's the brake, right? I sit back on the bike and squeeze the lever as I think of how bossy this smartass guy is. He puts his hand around mine and squeezes again, sending chills down my spine. Surprising me, he gets behind me on the seat, his arms around my waist. I swear every single nerve ending on my back is in hypertension mode. "Now, do it again. I'm right here."

I kick the gear shift and slowly ease up on the clutch. It surprises me how steady the bike is going. Because in honesty, I am very distracted by Nate's hands on my waist. The bike is soaring as I slowly let go of the clutch and in 10 minutes we are in front of a deli with no crash.

"That was quick!" Nate gets down and I almost whimper with the loss of touch, but don't let it show. As I'm about to get off my foot gets stuck on the seat and I topple back with the bike on top of me again. I laugh and Nate joins me. He leans in to free me from the bike's clutches and as we look at each other's eyes and I can't stop myself from leaning forward and capturing his lips. I'm still on the ground in Nate's on top me and we're exploring each other's mouths, hands in each other's hair till someone clears his throat.

We both separate, getting our bearings and stand up. I see that it was the guard who well, caused to become decent human beings in public. Nate apologizes to him hands the bike's keys to him to park, and we walk inside the deli, hand in hand. Once, we are seated in a booth, the ridiculousness of the situation catches up with us and we laugh again. Nate orders for me and I don't complain or call him bossy because his bossiness has now captured a place in my heart. I just hope he doesn't break it.

A/N: GUYSSS, my exams ended todayyyyy! I am like, YAAAY! Anyways so i was reading this chapter and realized this probs needs a lil'(No a lot) of editing, so when i'll start editing the NAF, i'll edit this book too. so bear with me, plz?

anywaysss, this was a lovey dovey chapter, wasn't it!? I personally wrote this chapter for aurnee2005 bcoz she was tired of all the drama and wanted something fun and our characters to relax for once. 

So tell me wht r ur thoughts on it!?  

Do u like Zara and Nate together?

What do you think would the upcoming chapter hold?

Soooo, byeeee! and Happy readingggg!