by Box Set
“Round two. Fight!”
Cara flicked her nail against the side of the button and hung back. Ellie paced Kitana back and forth.
“Come on,” Ellie growled.
Well, might as well get this over with…
Cara charged in, but didn’t attack first. Ellie dealt the first blow, then another before Cara began her quick attacks.
“You aren’t even trying,” Ellie said.
This was a no-win situation. Cara mashed a few buttons down, delivering some damage, but it wasn’t focused. She could do better. Ellie clearly knew the move set and the mechanics, but she wasn’t as…practiced. Whereas Cara had spent a good deal of time at an arcade with the guys until Nate got his first game system.
“You waste my time?” Kitana mocked from the screen.
Ellie stepped back, hands on her hips.
“You let me win,” she said.
“N-no.”
“Again. Don’t go easy on me this time.”
“Ellie’s all bark and no bite. Mop the floor with her ass.” Tamara leaned against the cabinet.
Cara wasn’t sure about that, but since Ellie had figured out Cara’s tactics, there wasn’t anything to do but beat her. Again. And again.
They went five more rounds before Ellie finally grinned and presented her palm for a high-five.
“Way to go, girl.”
Cara glanced from Ellie’s palm to her face. Was this a trick? Was she going to get mashed in the face?
She lifted her hand and gently tapped her palm to Ellie’s.
No face mashing.
No “too slow” slap upside the head.
Just a high five.
Well, that was nice.
“What next?” Ellie asked.
“Move over. I want a go.” Tamara nudged Ellie out of the way and pulled out a couple of coins. “I should warn you, I play video games for a living.”
After six rounds with Tamara, Cara felt pretty good about her three victories. Ellie’s ribbing from the sidelines, though harsh, was funny and equally divided.
“I’m starving,” Tamara announced. “Let’s see if the boys got food yet.”
Their trio wandered around the games, back to the food area. Josh, Samir, Stephen and Nate sat staring at their phones, none of them speaking to each other. There was a strange, off-beat vibe that put Cara on edge.
She slid into the one open seat at the end of the table, closest to Nate, before one of the other girls could take it. Nate glanced at her and gave her a quick, tight smile.
“Okay, who’s feeding me?” Ellie asked. She put her elbows on the table and smiled. “Where’d Bryan go?”
“Oh, he had a work thing. Something about a server update.” Josh shrugged.
He was lying.
Josh shrugged when he lied.
Cara glanced at Nate, who was staring at the table.
Something had happened while she played Mortal Kombat. She didn’t like not knowing what was bothering her friends.
Lunch was a chatty affair. Tamara and Ellie kept the conversation going, and the guys responded, but no one seemed…involved. When it came time to decide what next, one by one Josh, then Samir, then Stephen made noises about needing to do other things, be elsewhere.
“Well, I guess it’s time to blow this popsicle joint,” Ellie announced. “Cara, it was great getting to meet you. Keep Nate in line, okay?”
She grinned and winked at Cara…like they both knew something.
Cara watched the others, who hugged who, who avoided each other. Small, social cues that were telling.
The guys weren’t even looking at each other.
She kept her thoughts to herself all the way to the car. She even waited for Nate to start the engine and belt in.
“What happened with Bryan?” It was the logical issue she could see.
“I’m sorry, Cara.” Nate sighed. “He… Between us?”
“Of course.”
“He likes Ellie. None of us realized it and I…said some stuff I shouldn’t, because I didn’t know and now he’s being Bryan.”
She nodded. Out of the three of them, Bryan was the most sensitive. He’d been raised with four sisters and as a result of being the only guy in the house, had a different take on life. Cara had often turned to Bryan for advice and understanding where Nate and Josh couldn’t see things.
“Ellie doesn’t like him back?”
“Ellie’s…got stuff going on in her life that…is hard to deal with.”
“Oh.”
And Bryan, being Bryan, would want to save her from whatever the big, bad monster was. He’d been there for his sisters, and Cara, in that capacity often enough. It was one of the things she loved about Bryan, but also something that’d gotten him in more trouble than he could handle.
“So, what now?” she asked.
“I was thinking…I’d show you were I work. Do a quick drive by some of the sights, then—pizza and a movie at home?”
“I like the sound of that.” She smiled, relieved to not have to face down any more complicated social situations.
At least this time, whatever was going on with the guys, didn’t involve her. There was enough going on with just the two of them anyway. No need to invite trouble.
Nate unlocked the apartment door, anticipation and anxiety warring within him.
Bryan wouldn’t stop texting him.
Josh wouldn’t answer.
And Ellie had sent him a subjectless email he didn’t want to look at. When the emails got long, she never gave it a subject. Probably because she used them all in the body.
All Nate wanted to do was focus on Cara. Being with her. What they might have. Figuring out things after tomorrow. He was invested in whatever they could have, yet he was being pulled in a dozen different directions.
This sucked.
“Why don’t you pick a movie?” He pulled the door shut, juggling the pizza, ice cream, sodas, his keys and the thrift store bag of books Cara had snagged.
“You know, I could carry something?” She stood back, watching him with her arms crossed over her chest.
“I got this. Pick a movie.”
He hoped it was something he’d seen before. Zoning out, sorting through what to do next, would be good for him.
“Where…are the movies?” Cara glanced around.
“Oh, no, they’re all on my media server. Just turn the TV on and it should already be pulled up.”
“You and your techno magic.” She wagged her finger at him. “I’m going to change real quick, that okay?”
“Go for it.” Though, he was going to miss the donut-print skirt. It was both long and short enough to give him ideas.
He watched Cara stroll into the bedroom and sighed.
What the hell was he going to do?
His phone buzzed. Again.
Nate rolled his eyes and pulled it out, glancing at the bazillion texts from Bryan. The last one made Nate pause.
If you don’t tell her, I will.
Where the hell did Bryan get off saying that?
Nate back-read a few messages. The her was Cara, and Bryan’s protective instincts were in over-drive. Engaging with Bryan would only continue this line of threats. Best thing to do was turn the phone off and ignore the world. Bryan would cool down. Josh would get over himself. And Ellie understood.
Did she?
Nate stashed the soda and ice cream in the fridge while he waffled on opening the email.
Cara emerged from the bedroom, the skirt exchanged for leggings. That he could get behind. Literally. They were the best thing since the tube top and yoga pants. She plopped down on the sofa, only the top of her blonde head visible, and powered on the TV.
Being in the same space with her made Nate happy. The idea of something more, of a closer relationship, was a dream come true. He was willing to do anything to keep her. That wasn’t a new reality, it was how it’d always been. And if that meant leaving HitPoint and backing away from everyone else, he’d
do it. They’d come around eventually.
Though…Ellie. Crap. He had to look at the email.
Nate turned around and set the oven to pre-heat. Since neither of them were hungry they’d opted to do a build-your-own pizza they could bake at home.
He tapped into his email while Cara click, click, clicked around the available movies on his server. Sure enough, the email was long, and now that he’d seen it, Nate had to read it.
Cara’s something else. I wanted to hate her, but she’s so…you. I can see why you love her. Which is why I think we need to take a break. As friends. You’re not going to believe this, but I do have a little bit of a heart left. It likes you. But not love-like you. You’re too nice for me to love-love you. I care about you. But I don’t want to be with you. Which is probably a relief to you. I didn’t break my promise to not fall in love with you. You’re an important friend, and I don’t want to screw that up. And I think I need to not be such a bitch to you when you’re happy. IDK what you and Josh talked about, but he’s riding my ass today. You owe me an explanation. I’m probably going to take a week off, unplug and try to get away from everyone. I’ll likely fail but gotta try.
The email went on, mostly Ellie rambling, spinning her wheels. She did that a lot, talking to hear herself talk, or in this case type out her thoughts.
Bryan wouldn’t want to hear it, but Ellie would chew him up and spit him out. She could be sandpaper on a sunburn on good days, but her prickly nature was one of the things Nate had grown to like about her.
But that was it.
He liked her.
He didn’t love Ellie. Not like Cara. And Ellie, broken pieces and all, recognized that she had to fix herself.
Damn, that woman had strength in spades. She needed someone stronger, with thicker skin, to teach her how to love. He hoped that someday Ellie found that person, because after everything she’d been through, she deserved it.
“Uh…Nate?” Cara’s voice careened up at the end, a note of panic in there.
“What?” He turned around—and froze.
No…
He’d moved those files…
Hadn’t he?
Chapter Seven
Cara stared at her clothing options.
She’d planned for video games, pizza and movies. Not…falling in love with Nate all over again and sex. She didn’t have the kinds of clothes to be attractive. Not like the women in Nate’s life now. Ellie and Tamara were smart, funny, social and beautiful. Even in Cara’s dreams, she wasn’t on their level.
Why would Nate want her? Plain, simple Cara.
She knew she was too skinny, but when she was stressed she couldn’t eat. The last few months had become a struggle to keep food down, much less bring herself to eat. Even then, for the life of her, she couldn’t keep weight on in the right places. Her butt was barely there, which was more than she could say about her boobs.
Cara pulled the rubber bands out of her hair and shook the braids out.
Nate claimed to have loved her since the days of braces and acne.
She closed her eyes and sucked down a deep breath.
The way things were going, she was preparing herself for the bad to hit. Because that’s how it went. Something good happened, she got a break, she finally figured out how to get a handle on her life and then—bam. Life put her back on her butt.
She had to enjoy this good, for however long it lasted. She’d come on this trip, thinking of it like her Cinderella night. Her break from the drudgery of reality. But…maybe things were changing for her. If they were, she had to hold on with both hands, and not look back.
Nate said he loved her. Had loved her. And that was worth believing in. No, she might not have sexy down, or even own matching underwear, but she and Nate would always have Star Wars. Nintendo. Homework at four and Saturday D&D games.
Cara changed out of her skirt and into leggings.
For the first time in her life, she needed to know how to keep a man. And she had no clue how to start. Oh, she could Google, but the advice out there would be for normal people. She and Nate were hardly normal. Maybe…maybe she could talk to one of Nate’s female friends? Ellie and Nate seemed to get on pretty well. And Tamara had a boyfriend. It would be weird, but Cara was willing to brave the uncomfortable, if it meant making Nate happy.
She might not be well-versed in relationships, but even she knew there were differences between being friends and being a couple.
Cara wiped her palms on her legs, tugged her shirt down a bit farther and set her sights on the door.
Last night, they’d fallen into whatever this was. Loving each other had taken time. Now they had to decide what to do with it. Just saying I love you didn’t mean anything, did it? They weren’t officially a couple, or were they?
Tomorrow, she would go home. She didn’t know when she’d be able to come back, and Nate hadn’t visited in over a year. As much as she wanted to just sit back and enjoy being with Nate, she needed…more. To know what they were doing, what all of this meant. If watching her mother and father had taught her anything, it was that sometimes love wasn’t enough. Dad had loved them, she’d seen it in the way he looked at Mom, but when it came to his need to gamble, the need had won.
She couldn’t be Mom in this scenario. She couldn’t love Nate, and have him walk away because they wanted different things.
Nate was still looking at his phone when she stepped into the living room. She was really beginning to hate that thing. He was always looking at it, reminding her that he had a life outside of their friendship.
Maybe she should say something? Or maybe it was work?
Nate was a freelancer, and managed his own schedule. He’d told her how crazy it could get to juggle all of his contracts. But she was only here until tomorrow.
Cara flopped on the sectional and picked up the remote.
Just turn it on, he’d said.
She hit the power button and the TV light went from red to green.
Would it be selfish if she asked for him to turn his phone off? Just be with her right now? Or would that be needy?
The screen flickered to life, and sure enough, his media server home screen showed TV shows, movies, all sorts of stuff.
Her head was too full to watch something new, which was a shame. Nate often talked about getting some movies before they were released. What was something she’d seen that would hold Nate’s attention, too?
She flipped through dozens of movie images, some she’d never even heard of before.
Cara clicked back into the main menu and poked around a few of the sub-folders.
SW_P
That meant Star Wars, right?
How many times had they watched the movies together growing up? They hadn’t yet gotten the chance to watch the new one together, and they should. It was tradition, and the perfect solution.
She navigated into the folder.
But…those were not her Star Wars movies.
Yes, they were…Star Wars-y, but not…Star Wars. At least not a version she was familiar with.
Cara had just assumed from the folder name… This? Whatever this was, it wasn’t Star Wars. At least not any Star Wars Cara had ever seen. What the heck had she stumbled on?
“Uh, Nate…?”
Title after title, she could see the Star Wars theme, but each one featured a very…tied up female. Not always one she recognized but a title here and a title there she did.
That one looked…interesting.
She clicked the particular title.
The image was…horrible, but identifiable. The slave outfit was iconic, but the triple-X title wasn’t her beloved movie. A man in a…vest, sort of Aladdin-looking, had his hand up as though he were the one responsible for restraining the slave girl.
Nate’s footsteps thumped on the wooden floor.
She should probably power off the TV or something, but now she was curious. What the heck was Nate watching? Was this a thing? She was both…uncomfortable and fascin
ated by the prospect of what this was all about.
Some sort of…parody or spoof porn?
“That’s a new way to use the force.” Cara forced a chuckle out. “Please tell me Darth Vader isn’t in this? That would be incest.”
She scrolled down to the description, horrified and fascinated now.
“Give me the remote, Cara.”
“Is this…do people watch this?” There were a lot of related titles on the bottom of the screen.
A lot.
SW_P.
Star Wars…porn?
There was a heavy tie-people-up theme going on, too. She knew Nate had to do some weird jobs at times. Was this work? Or did he like this stuff?
Oh, boy…
Cara glanced at Nate, staring at the screen in stony silence.
Crap…
If he flipped through her E-reader library, she’d be embarrassed, too.
But he’d told her to pick a movie!
“I’m sorry, Nate.” She jabbed the Home button, doing her best to back out of the screen.
The screen blipped, the big Play icon flashing once before cutting to black.
“No!” Cara stared at the remote, hitting back, stop then home, one after the other.
She knew better, and yet, in her panic the whole device locked up, stuck on a lewd image of the female protagonist tied to a wall being fondled. Cara covered her face.
This couldn’t get any worse.
“I didn’t mean to,” she chanted into her palms.
The system clicked off, the hum of electronics going quiet. The silence stretching thin.
Nate stared at the TV, because he couldn’t look at Cara.
He’d meant to move that stuff off the server. Just in case. But…he’d gotten tied up with work, and then he’d had to go pick her up…
Fuck.
He glanced at Cara, peering at him from between her fingers.
It was too late. If he could have laughed it off, that moment was passed.
Now what did he say?
“Nate? I’m sorry, Nate.”
He scrubbed a hand over his face.
She wouldn’t understand. He had to…divert this somehow. If he told her the truth, it’d scare her. He’d lose her forever when he was finally getting her.