18 Hours To Us

by Krista Noorman

  Olivia was already through the line at the restaurant and seated at a table by herself when they arrived.

  “I’m going to sit with her,” Trinity informed them. “Maybe you should give her some space.”

  It broke Natalie’s heart that Olivia was upset with her. She wished she knew why. And the last thing in the world she wanted was to give her space. She wanted to fix whatever was wrong and get back to normal.

  “What’s that all about?” Colton asked.

  “I don’t know.” Her eyes burned with tears.

  “Hey.” Colton put his arm around her and squeezed. “Don’t cry.”

  She wiped away an escaped tear and placed a chicken salad sandwich and chips on her tray.

  “Did you girls fight?”

  Natalie shook her head. “I don’t know why she’s mad at me.”

  “I’m sure you’ll work it out.”

  “I hope you’re right.”

  Natalie hadn’t planned to fall asleep, but she had been weary from the long day of walking around in the heat and wiped out emotionally. When the bus hit a bump, she jerked awake and discovered herself tucked against Colton’s chest. She could hear his heart beating under her cheek, feel the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed and the warmth of his arm wrapped around her shoulders. She lifted her head to find his eyes closed, a contented smile on his face.

  Across the aisle, Trinity was giving them a goofy grin and a thumbs-up, but Olivia was in a world of her own, her head leaning against the window as she stared out at the passing landscape.

  Natalie hadn’t expected Olivia’s reaction to Colton spending the day with them. In fact, she had expected the opposite, since Olivia had been the one teasing about the two of them and telling her it would all work out. But Olivia seemed to have changed her tune, and Natalie didn’t understand why.

  And what did she mean when she said “You’ll find out soon enough”? What was Olivia not telling her?

  Colton shifted, and she sat up. He opened his eyes and frowned at her. “You didn’t have to move.”

  “I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you,” she said.

  “I like sleeping with you.”

  She blushed a little.

  “Not like we haven’t done it before.” His sly grin deepened the shade of pink in her cheeks.

  Natalie peered out the window, anxious to change the subject, and noticed they were traveling on the Hampton Bay Bridge, as they had on the day of their arrival. “There’s the underwater tunnel up ahead.” She couldn’t bring herself to look at him again. “Still scared?”

  “I wasn’t scared,” he answered defensively.

  “Whatevs.”

  The bus entered the tunnel, and Colton leaned close to her ear. “Will you meet me tonight?”

  She angled her head toward him, nearly touching her ear to his lips. “Where?”

  “The Ferris wheel at nine.”

  “Why?” Her eyelids slid closed at the feel of his breath on her neck.

  “Just meet me.”

  Natalie swallowed hard. “It’s probably not a good idea.”

  “It’s the best idea I’ve had all day.” His whispered words sent goosebumps racing across her skin.

  She turned her head, their lips millimeters from touching.

  “Say yes.” His gaze fell to her lips.

  She couldn’t deny him anything when they were close like this. “Yes.”

  The blare of sunlight as they exited the tunnel brought them back to reality. Colton straightened and sat back with a look of satisfaction.

  “Can I walk you back?” Colton asked.

  “You don’t have to do that.”

  “I want to.” His fingertips traced along the inside of her forearm, across her wrist, and into her palm.

  He’s going to hold my hand. Right now. In public.

  But as quickly as the thought came, he moved his hand away.

  Grant and a couple friends walked toward them as they headed for the elevators. “Awww, look guys, it’s Nat King Cole.”

  “What’s that?” Colton seemed only mildly annoyed.

  “That’s your couple name. Get it? Nat …” He pointed at Natalie. “King Cole.” He pointed at Colton. “Like that singer from the olden days.”

  Natalie was not amused. She wanted so badly to tell him to stop calling Colton that.

  Colton rolled his eyes and led her past them.

  “Hey!” Grant called after them. “Where have you two been all day?”

  “Jamestown,” Colton answered matter-of-factly.

  Grant and the guys laughed. “You went on that field trip? Oh, now I know something’s seriously wrong with you.”

  “Why do you have to be like that?” Colton stopped and turned toward his friend.

  “Like what?”

  “I don’t have to spend every day with you guys. What’s the big deal?”

  “It’s nothing to me.” Grant touched his hands to his chest. “But it’s a pretty big deal to your girlfriend.”

  “That’s none of your business, G.”

  “It is when she makes it my business.”

  Colton’s eyes narrowed. “What does that mean?”

  “It means she keeps crying to me about it. If you don’t want her, cut her loose, man. You’re not doing anyone any favors by lying.”

  Colton took a step toward Grant. “I didn’t lie to her. I told her exactly where I was going today.”

  “Whatever you say.” He motioned for the other guys to follow him.

  “Grant, come on.”

  Grant waved Colton off as they walked on through the lobby.

  Colton groaned and pressed the elevator button.

  “I knew it was going to be like this,” Natalie said.

  He turned to face her.

  She motioned back and forth between the two of them. “This is messing up all your friendships and making everything weird.” Not that she was fond of Grant or any of Colton’s friends for that matter, but she didn’t want to be the one to cause the end of a lifelong friendship either.

  “I don’t care about any of that,” he said seriously.

  “You and Grant have been friends since you were kids. I don’t want to cause trouble there. You should go talk to him.”

  “Our friendship has been changing a lot this year. It isn’t the same as it used to be. And once we graduate, things are going to change even more. We’re going different directions in life. There’s no getting around it. It’s inevitable.” He stared off down the hallway even though Grant and their buddies were long gone.

  She chewed on her bottom lip, feeling guilty for causing a rift in their friendship.

  “I’m just glad we’re friends.” He put his arm around her as the elevator door opened.

  She smiled up at him. “Me too.”

  Colton took a step toward the elevator, but she stopped and spun out from under his arm.

  “You don’t have to walk me to my room. Really, it’s fine.”

  “I told you I would,” he replied.

  “I’ll just see you tonight, OK?”

  He pursed his lips and nodded. “Nine o’clock.”

  “I’ll be there.” The elevator doors closed between them, and Natalie sighed. Part of her was afraid that if he came up to her room, she might be tempted to let him kiss her again, and that could never happen as long as he was still with Lexi.

  The smell of popcorn wafted through the air as Natalie entered the little amusement park a block from the boardwalk. All evening, she had been going over and over the conversation she needed to have with Colton. But she was afraid that when the time came, she wouldn’t be able to put her thoughts into the words she had so carefully considered.

  An uneasiness had settled in her stomach too over whatever was bothering Olivia. She had said no more than two words to Natalie all evening, despite Natalie pressing her to talk. They had fought lots of times over the years, but always over silly things. This felt bigger, and she wished Olivia would
just tell her what it was already.

  When Natalie spotted Colton standing next to the Ferris wheel, tickets in hand, aquamarine shirt making the color of his eyes pop, she almost turned around and headed back to the resort. Because all of the things she wanted to say to him flew straight out of her mind in that moment.

  “Natalie!” he called.

  Too late to run away now.

  His expression softened as she approached, his eyes giving her a once over. He tapped the expensive watch on his wrist. “I was starting to think you stood me up.”

  “Almost did,” she admitted. She couldn’t help it. He brought out the honesty in her.

  “Well, I’m glad you’re here.” He took her hand in his, leading her into the line for the Ferris wheel. “You look really pretty tonight.”

  Trinity had let her borrow a pair of khaki shorts and a teal blouse with a double ruffle across the top that only covered one of her shoulders. Looking at the two of them, one might think they dressed to match on purpose, like those cheesy couples she had sometimes seen and secretly wished she were a part of.

  “Thanks. You too.” She shook her head. “You look nice, I mean.”

  He smiled as they stepped up and took their place on the Ferris wheel. The operator moved the wheel around, raising them a little higher with each new set of riders.

  “There’s something I’ve been wanting to say to you,” Natalie began.

  “I have something I want to say too.”

  “Go ahead.” She was relieved, too nervous at this point to say what she came to say anyway.

  “You know I like you and—”

  “Colton.”

  He squeezed her hand and continued. “No matter what happens the rest of this week, I want there to be an us when the week is over.”

  As the wheel lifted them again, Natalie took in a deep breath and let it out. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. It was what she had imagined and fantasized about in a million different scenarios over the years. But it wasn’t right. He shouldn’t be saying things like that when he still had a girlfriend.

  Her stomach dropped as the Ferris wheel began moving around more rapidly. “So, my parents had this huge fight during a really bad storm once.” It wasn’t what she had planned to say first, but it came blurting out.

  “One of your bad memories?” There was sincere concern in his eyes.

  She nodded. “The reason they were fighting was because my dad found out my mom had slept with another man.”

  His jaw dropped. “Whoa, seriously?”

  “Yeah.” She scrunched up her nose, hating that she had to talk about it. “He was someone my dad considered a friend. And once the truth came out, that friendship was ruined. It was really hard for him.”

  “That sucks.”

  She nodded. “I’ve seen firsthand what cheating can do to a person—”

  He help up his hand. “I know where you’re going with this, but Lexi and I have been falling apart for a while now.”

  Natalie let out an exasperated puff of air. “But you haven’t broken up with her, have you?”

  The shake of his head was so subtle, she almost missed it.

  “Right, so, you’re still together. And you kissed me. And you keep pursuing me. All while you have a girlfriend.”

  “I know.” He looked down, ashamed.

  “Lexi doesn’t deserve to be cheated on. No girl does. If you aren’t getting along anymore, you should be man enough to tell her it’s over before you kiss another girl. And I don’t want to be the other girl in this scenario. Especially after seeing what my dad went through. It’s kind of a deal breaker for me. ”

  He rubbed his fingertips back and forth across his brow. “I’m really sorry. You deserve better than that.”

  “So does Lexi.”

  “I know that.” He shook his head. “This is not how I saw tonight going.”

  “I just needed you to know how I feel.”

  He shifted in his seat to look at her. “I’m going to make it right, OK? It’s just … it’s complicated. We’ve been together on-and-off for the past four years.”

  “You do what you need to do.” She hoped he would, because there was no chance for them if he didn’t.

  He lifted his hand and cupped her cheek.

  Her stomach flipped at his touch. As much as she wanted another kiss, she wanted to be sure she was the only one he was kissing.

  “I promise not to kiss you again,” he told her.

  Her mouth fell open a little. Not what she was hoping to hear.

  His lips curved up to the right, showing off the dimple. “Until I’m free to.”

  24

  Secrets and Fears

  The sun was hiding behind the clouds and the air was cooler than the rest of the week had been. It was like the weather knew how Natalie was feeling and decided to match her mood.

  The day was made for shopping, and it was clear by the foot traffic in the shops that every other vacationer had the exact same thing in mind. Cloudy and cold meant emptying funds from wallets.

  The entire day felt off, especially shopping with Olivia, who kept her distance from Natalie and Trinity, browsing racks on the opposite side of stores, walking so that Trinity was between them, only speaking when spoken to. Natalie never would’ve imagined a day with her best friends could be so awkward.

  On top of that, she hadn’t seen Colton all day, which saddened her. They hadn’t spoken much after their Ferris wheel conversation. It had been a quiet, slightly uncomfortable walk back to the resort, and it left her unsure of where they stood. Were they still friends? Did he really understand?

  A part of her wished she had kept her mouth shut about her mom cheating, because things had been going so well up until then. But deep inside, she knew it was how she truly felt. As much as she had grown to care for him, she knew it was the right thing to say and hoped he would take it to heart.

  As the girls browsed the racks of clothing, Natalie found herself wondering where Colton was and what he was doing. At lunch, she wondered if he had made things right with Grant. And when the end of the day neared and they headed to the amusement park, she wondered if he would be there again. With Lexi. Or if he had finally told her how he felt.

  The answer to that last question made itself known when Natalie left the amusement park restroom and rounded the corner past one of the concession stands to find Lexi and Grant off by themselves in what appeared to be a heated conversation. Natalie stepped back and moved around the other side, staying out of sight, hoping to hear what they were fighting about.

  “We can’t keep doing this.” Lexi pushed Grant’s hand away from her arm. “If Colton knew about us, he would never forgive me. Or you.”

  “You think I haven’t thought about that?” Grant ran his fingers through his hair. “He’s my best friend.”

  “Exactly, which is why we have to stop.”

  Grant took Lexi’s face in his hands and gazed into her eyes. “I can’t stop thinking about you. I don’t want this to end. Don’t throw away what we have. We’re too good together, baby.”

  “Grant.” Lexi lowered her head as she grabbed hold of his forearms.

  “These past six months have turned my world upside down.” He moved closer.

  “Please don’t.”

  “Screw Colton. He doesn’t appreciate what he has.”

  Lexi looked into his eyes then.

  “But I do. I know what I’ve got, and I would never take you for granted, like he has.” He leaned forward then and pressed his lips to hers.

  She didn’t fight him off. Quite the opposite, in fact. They were all over each other. So much that Natalie averted her eyes then left as quickly as she could.

  Now what? She had no idea what to do with this new information. They’ve been going behind Colton’s back for six months? Should she tell Colton? If she did, that would be the end of him and Lexi, she knew that for sure. But should she really be the one to tell him? No! Lexi and Grant should
tell him. But how could she make that happen?

  Natalie was on her way to rejoin Olivia and Trinity, when she suddenly turned on her heel and marched back to the cheating couple.

  “Hey!” Her single word startled them apart.

  Lexi looked panicked and swung her arm at Grant, slapping him across the cheek. “How dare you.”

  He held his cheek. “What was that for?”

  “For kissing me.”

  Natalie shook her head in disgust. “Nice try. I heard your conversation before. I know what’s going on.”

  Lexi glared at her. “You have no idea. And it’s none of your business anyway.”

  “Colton and I are friends and—”

  “Since when?” Lexi snapped.

  “Since our trip down here, and no matter what you think, he cares about you. Both of you. And if you care about him, you will tell him what’s been going on.”

  “Stay away from Colton,” Lexi demanded.

  “You obviously have no respect for him or your relationship, so why do you care if I’m friends with him?”

  “We’ve been together for a long time.” Lexi put her hand on her hip. “You don’t know anything about him after two days together in a car.”

  “I know a lot more about him than you think I do.”

  Lexi glared at her. “I doubt that.”

  “None of that matters. What does is the fact that you betrayed him.” Natalie looked at Grant then. “You two have been best friends since you were kids. Is she really worth risking that?”

  “Screw you!” Lexi cried.

  “We’re not just fooling around,” Grant replied. “I’m in love with her.”

  “What?” Lexi’s head whipped in Grant’s direction.

  “I love you, Lex,” he declared sincerely.

  Tears filled Lexi’s eyes. “Are you kidding me? You love me? I told you I didn’t want anything serious.”

  “I can’t help it that things changed for me.” Grant wrapped his fingers around her wrist.