In Waves | ✔️

71 | fantasy

Knowing that Alex has left the hospital, I open Nate's door without hesitation, my stomach leaping into my throat when I catch him in the middle of dressing. "Oh my gosh, sorry! Wait—" I glimpse his bare butt as he tugs up his boxers. "Is that a tattoo?"

He spins around with a grin, a faint flush in his cheeks. "Nope."

"Yes it was! Let me see!"

"You want to see my ass?" His fingers toy with his waistband, dipping under his V-lines. "Gee, DeMarco, buy me a drink first."

My eyes roll. "C'mon, since when do you get shy? It's not like I haven't seen it before, crab butt."

Nate sighs out a laugh and turns, lowering his boxers just enough for me to see the inked outline of a little alien head, like something you'd idly draw in a notebook.

"Satisfied?"

"No, what's the story here?"

He pulls up his boxers and walks over to the chair, picking up a pair of jeans, his broken arm limp at his side. "I went to a party where some random guy was doing tattoos. Wes dared me to get it. The end."

I watch him struggle to get the jeans on with one hand, holding off on offering my help. "Sounds like some party."

"Yeah I wouldn't know. Barely remember it," he mutters, finally conquering the jeans and yanking up the zipper. "But I knew the next tattoo I got would be a hell of a lot more meaningful."

"And it is," I say, now watching him attempt to put on his shirt. "And I guess you did tell me I'd only know if you had more than one if I got you naked. Now I know."

I succumb and walk over to help him when he gets caught up in the shirt, carefully moving his cast through the arm hole.

"But you didn't get me naked, did you?"

I catch the glint in his eye as I smooth down his shirt, and I can't help looking down at his crotch as if I've got X-ray vision.

"I'm fucking with you!" He chitters a laugh. "I really would have to be a psycho to get a dick tattoo, c'mon."

I push him away and instantly feel bad when he winces, pulling him back with the tenderest touch. "No fair. You can't get me mad when you're hurting."

"You're right. Totally my bad you like taking your annoyance out on me."

"Only when you're the one causing it!" I laugh with him. "And why're you getting dressed anyway?"

"I'm going home."

"Already?"

He happily nods. "The doctor said I'm good to go. They're getting the discharge papers together, I'll go and see Rob, and then I'm outta here."

"But it seems too soon," I say, my fingers locking together. "What if you take a turn? You should be monitored for a while."

"My mom's a nurse, Lia. She's got me covered."

I chew on the inside of my cheek so hard I taste a hint of blood. "So when will I see you again?"

Nate's smile dwindles, piecing together my shattered mood in five seconds. "I guess that's up to you," he says softly.

It's almost like I can see a sentence being written between us, fitting into the gap - where do we go from here? The special circumstance is over. He'll go home, and Matt's rule will be back in place, and the road ahead is winding and crisscrossed and so complicated I want to scream.

He steps forward, offering an answer when I come up empty. "I'll see you when I see you, okay?"

"Yeah," I breathe, soaking in the simplicity of those words. "I'll see you when I see you."