by Nancy Adams
This movie was so well done that I got completely caught up in it. When the foster parents see their house filled with beautiful butterflies, I was in awe, and when their own little boy, who had passed away some years ago, suddenly appears in their living room, telling them how much he loves them and hugging them both, I was near tears of happiness; but it turned out that these things were just in the little boy's dreams, and when he began having nightmares, those also became suddenly and terrifyingly real! A ghostly boy appears, and when the foster mom got snatched into a closet, I screamed and buried my head in Nate's shoulder like a teenager!
(I won't spoil the movie for any of my readers who haven't seen it, but trust me—it was awesome, and one of the most frightening things I've ever seen! I loved it!)
When I screamed, Nate put his arm around me tightly and just held me while I got control of myself. I felt a little silly, and hoped I didn't make him have second thoughts about me for being so scared, but when I finally looked up at him, he wasn't watching the movie; he was staring down at me, and I froze. It was one of those moments when you know, you just know, that your life is about to change forever, and when he slowly leaned his face toward mine, I caught my breath, but I didn't look away. I held perfectly still until his eyes were only inches from my own, and then I let my eyelids fall shut. A moment later, I felt his lips touch mine.
I've never felt anything softer or more wondrous than that first kiss. It was chaste, not rushing, not pushing, and it lasted for only a few seconds, but it was absolutely the most marvelous kiss in the history of men and women kissing each other. I was lost in it, and even though I knew he had pulled his lips away, I sat there, my eyes closed, my lips still slightly puckered and slightly open, just savoring how wonderful it had been—and then I felt him move again, felt his face approaching mine again, and this time the kiss held all the passion and desire that we both had pent up inside us.
I let my lips open a bit more, and his tongue found mine, danced with it in a gentle waltz that I could never have imagined possible. Every kiss I'd ever had before had been full of desire and demand, a guy wanting what guys want, but when Nate kissed me, it wasn't that way.
Was there desire? Of course there was, on both of our parts, but the kiss said so much more than that. It said, Let's go slow, let's explore this, let's be sure before we let anything go so far that we might have regrets…
I had never been kissed by any man who was anything like Nathanael Simmons, and I knew that all the way to core of my soul. His hands were on my shoulders, and then they were cradling my face, and my arms were around his neck as our faces touched; when we broke from the kiss, he didn't push me back to stare at me, but pulled me close, putting his arms around me and holding me close to him.
We stayed like that for a few minutes, and then Nate kissed my cheek and pulled back. “I think we probably should watch the movie,” he said, and something in his tone told me that he was a bit afraid things would go too far if we let them. A part of me wanted to be his so much that I almost wished we could just abandon ourselves to whatever might happen, but there was one thing holding me back.
I couldn't help but wonder what Nate would think of a twenty-two year old woman who was still a virgin.
Chapter 7
Signs Of Things To Come
* * * * *
We watched the rest of the movie, as Nate had suggested, and then made the long drive home. I wished the car didn't have the big bucket seats that are so common lately, because I would have loved to sit beside him as he drove, but we held each other's hands all the way to my house. When we got there, Nate got out and opened my door for me, then walked me to the front door. We kissed again under the porch light Dad had left on, a sweet goodnight kiss that left me weak and yearning for more.
He walked away as I opened the door, and I stood in the entryway until I saw him start the car and drive off. I closed it slowly and made my way quietly up to my room. It was well after one AM, and I was exhausted, but I took a shower before I crawled under my comforter.
I think it was at least another hour before I got to sleep.
Morning comes whether you want it to or not, and that's probably a good thing; if the rising of the sun was subject to my whims and wishes, an awful lot of people might be wondering where it is a lot of mornings! My alarm went off, and I put on makeup quickly, brushed out my hair and got dressed. I managed to choke down a cold doughnut I found in the fridge, washed it further down with a cup of coffee and was out the door and off to work.
Nate was in the office, looking bright eyed and bushy tailed as Dad would say, when I got there. He smiled as I walked in, and suddenly all my fatigue was gone, cleansed by the magic of his smile and the look of happiness in his eyes. Something special had occurred the night before, and I knew that I was not the only one to feel that way.
I closed the office door, and he rose and came to me without a word. I looked up at him and my heart leapt for joy when he wrapped those strong arms around me and held me close for a moment, then kissed me gently on my lips.
“I couldn't wait to see you again,” he said, and I started trembling.
“Ditto,” I said in reply, and then I impulsively stood on tip toes to kiss him again. He laughed into my kiss and pulled me close. We stood like that for a moment, and then he let me go and motioned for me to take the desk chair, while he sat in the other.
We started the day at the store, just like we'd already done a few dozen times, and after a few minutes I was able to focus on work once again. I did the dailies, prepared a tentative schedule for the week after next and generated the weekly reports while Nate sat quietly and waited for me to tell him to do something. As Acting Assistant Manager, he had only a few actual duties, and most of what he did was to help me keep everything running smoothly. The idea was to give me more of a feel for what being the genuine boss would be like, and it worked. He always did as he was told without a word, which meant that if I told him something wrong, I didn't know about it until it rose up to bite me in the butt!
Of course, that was also part of the plan; I had to learn my own weaknesses and make my own mistakes, so that I could learn from them. It was, I had to admit, a very good way to train someone for a job that involved a lot of responsibility.
The day went pretty smoothly, and when lunchtime came, Nate went for our usual burgers and fries. We sat together in the office to eat, and while it was comfortingly familiar, there was something new in the air, as well. Neither of us mentioned it, but we both knew we had started something the night before that wasn't going to go away.
After lunch, I spent some time on one of the registers, because one of our girls had a scheduled doctor's appointment. I chose to cover for her myself for a couple of hours, rather than call in someone to work in her place for such a short time, and it gave me some time to let my mind wander. That's the beauty of computerized registers; they don't require a lot of thought, most of the time.
I found myself remembering the night before, and how wonderful I'd felt when we'd kissed so passionately. I wanted to feel it again, and didn't know if I could wait until the next weekend, but I knew I'd probably have to. We'd decided to keep most of our personal relationship away from the store, and Nate had already asked me out for the next Saturday night. Of course, I said yes, as if there were any other possibility!
The rest of the day went smoothly. At dinnertime, we went to the Grille and ate, then went back and finished out the day like always. At ten-fifteen, after everyone else was gone, I said goodnight to him beside his car and started to get into mine when I heard him behind me.
“I just have to,” he said, and I felt his hand on my arm. He turned me gently to face him, pulled me close and leaned his face down to kiss me. We held it for a few seconds, letting the passion in it rise almost to the boiling point, and then he broke away. “Katelynn,” he said breathily, “I can't get enough of you.”
I wanted to laugh, I wanted to throw my arms around him and scre
am out that I loved him, and I wanted to cry, all at once. I wanted him, I confess, but I'd always promised myself that I would never give in to any desires, not my own or anyone else's, until I was married both legally and in the eyes of God.
It was time to make that clear, no matter what it cost me.
“Nate,” I began, “there's something I need to say...” I ran out of words, and had to start over. “I—I've never, um—I've never been with a man. I'm—I'm still a virgin, and I want to be one on my wedding night.”
I don't know what I expected. Would he just turn away from me, since I couldn't give him what I'd always been told every man wants? Would he try to convince me that I was being prudish or silly? I didn't have any idea what Nate might say or do, but I was absolutely unprepared for what came out of his mouth next.
“Whew!” he said, and a smile broke over his face. “Katelynn, I wasn't going to try to seduce you, I promise you. If there is one thing my Dad managed to beat into me, it's that a man must always respect a woman, and that the worst thing a man can ever do to a woman he loves is allow himself to compare her to women he'd had in the past. I decided a long time ago that when I finally found that one girl I wanted to be with for the rest of my life, I didn't ever want to do that, and Dad told me that the best way to avoid it is to never have anyone you could compare her to, so I have never allowed myself to cross that line.”
I stared at him. This was probably one of the sexiest, most alluring men I'd ever seen, and if I was reading him right, he'd just stood there and told me that he was also a virgin.
“Nate,” I said, unsure of whether I had the courage to complete the question, “are you saying that you're...” I trailed off.
“Yeah. I'm a virgin, too. I'm not gonna say it's been easy, I've had a lot of opportunities that were hard to turn down; but I never forgot what Dad said, and when I look at how much he loves my mother, and she loves him—well, I know that I want to have that kind of marriage, myself. What kind of husband could I be if I couldn't control that impulse?” He kissed me again, a quick kiss full of promise and hope. “Goodnight, Katelynn,” he said, and then he opened my door for me and held my hand as I got into my car.
I drove home in a sense of wonder. What were the chances that a man like that would be one of the very few who would honestly save himself for marriage? It seemed too good to be true, and yet, the simple way he'd explained his reasoning had made me accept it without a doubt.
How many married women spend some part of their lives wondering how their husbands rated them in comparison to past lovers? If Nate and I ended up together, that was one fear I'd never have, and he'd never have to wonder if he measured up to my former boyfriends. What a wonderful blessing that would be, for both of us. I was ready to believe that this was more than just a chance meeting, that we were somehow intended for one another. It was an incredible thought, but somehow, I felt that there might be truth to it.
I got home and managed to get inside, walking as if I were in a dream. Well, maybe I was; it was possible I was just plain dreaming all this, that it was all something I'd come up with in my sleep, and I'd wake up in the morning and find that none of it was real…
No! Those kisses were real, the feelings running wild inside my chest were real, and nothing and no one would ever convince me otherwise!
I made it to bed, completely exhausted, and was asleep within seconds after my head hit the pillow. I dreamed about Nate, all right, but they were dreams of happily-ever-afters and visits to my parents with our children (did he want kids? We hadn't talked about that...) and other wonderful visions of the future that lay ahead for me as Mrs. Nathanael Simmons!
I woke when my alarm went off, because no matter how late I'd been up on Saturday night, I didn't miss church from just being tired. I'd rather fall asleep in the middle of Brother Jimmy's sermon than not even show up, so it was up and to the shower before I let my evil other self convince me that it would be ok to miss just this one Sunday.
I got dressed and made it downstairs in time to ride with Mom and Dad, and since it was the first time I'd actually seen them since Friday evening, I filled them in on my date on the way. Okay, I didn't quite tell them everything; I might have implied that we only had one little goodnight kiss, okay? It's a daughter thing— you wouldn't understand unless you're a girl with overly protective parents!
We got to church, and Brother Jimmy took the podium once the singing was over. He preached that day, I'll never forget it, on the virtue of chastity, and I took it as a sign from God that I had finally met the man for me! I think Brother Jimmy was more surprised than anyone when I hugged him after the service, but, hey, what else can you do when someone hand-delivers to you a message from the Almighty?
My heart was light and dancing inside my chest as we left the church, and I couldn't wait to call Corie. She'd be blown away by all this news; I waited until we got home, though, because I didn't want Mom and Dad to overhear. I was almost to my room when the phone rang in my hand, and when I looked at the caller ID display and saw that it was Nate, my heart skipped three beats in a row!
“Hello?” I said.
“Katelynn, it's Nate. I know you go to church, so I thought I'd wait until you should be out to call you. Are you busy?”
I shook my head before I remembered that he couldn't see me. “No, not at all! We just got home.”
“Well, I was wondering—I was thinking maybe we could get together for a while this afternoon. If you want to, I mean...”
“Yes! Yes, I'd love to.” I couldn't believe he might think I’d have anything else to do, at least anything I wouldn't drop for him.
I could hear the smile in his voice. “Great! I'll be there in twenty minutes, okay? Dress casual!”
I smiled right back into my own phone. “I'll be ready!”
I called out to Mom that Nate was coming to pick me up, then rushed upstairs to change into jeans and a shirt, freshen my makeup and brush my hair. I was ready in less than fifteen minutes, and went back down to wait.
Mom was in the kitchen. “Sounds like you've found an admirer,” she said with a grin, and I fought to keep the blush out of my face.
“I really, really like him, Mom,” I answered, and the grin became a smile. “He's just—Mom, I've never met a man like Nate. He's sweet, respectful, and so romantic, and he says he can't get enough of being with me, and I feel the same way!”
She looked at me, and I saw the thought before it came out of her mouth. “KK—just don't rush things too much, okay? You're young, you’ve got lots of time to see how this goes.”
“Mom, relax. One of the things we've talked about is that we both want to save ourselves for marriage. If it turns out that he's not the one, I'll still be saving myself when I meet the right guy.”
Her smile almost split her face in half.
Nate pulled up a few minutes later, and he rang the doorbell again. Just like Friday night, Dad met him at the door, and they chatted for a moment while I stayed in the kitchen with Mom. I gave them about two minutes, then made my entrance, and we left only a few seconds later.
Nate opened my door as he always did, and we drove away from the house.
“Have you had lunch yet?” he asked, and I shook my head. “Good, because I've got a surprise for you!”
“What kind of surprise?” I asked, thinking he'd found yet another new restaurant, but he only smiled and put a finger to his lips.
“If I tell you, it won't be a surprise. Just be patient with me for a few minutes, and you'll see!”
I smiled. This was one of the things I loved about him, that he could be so spontaneous. So in control of the moment. I sat in my seat and watched the town flow past us as he drove, and then we were out of town and headed into the countryside.
He made a right turn, and it dawned on me that we were heading towards Lake Maloney. I kept quiet, anticipation eating at me and making me wonder what he was up to, but he only watched the road as he drove. A few more turns brought par
t of the lake into view, and he pulled up to a beautiful area that overlooked it, parked the car and said, “We're here.”
He got out and I waited for him to open my door. When he didn't appear for a moment, I looked around and saw that the trunk was open, and he closed it as I was watching, then came to my side of the car. He opened the door with one hand, because the other was holding a big picnic basket with a blanket draped over his arm.
“A picnic?” I asked with my usual flair for brilliance, and he smiled.
“I thought it might be nice. Just you, me, nature and a big bucket of fried chicken and corn on the cob!”
I took his hand and followed him down to a grassy strip beside the water. The day was sunny and beautiful, and I couldn't help but smile as he set the basket down and spread the blanket.
“Please be seated, my lady,” he said in a mock British accent, and I laughed as I sat down. He joined me a moment later, setting the basket onto the blanket with us, and reached into it to produce a bottle of Sparkling Grape Juice and two glasses. He poured us each a glass, handed me one and held his up.
“Katelynn,” he said, “I've been doing a lot of thinking this morning—well, ever since I took you home Friday night, to be honest. I feel like we've got something special happening between us, and I don't think I've ever felt anything like it before, so I want to tell you that—that I want to know as much about you as I possibly can, I want to be with you as much as I can, and so—so I want to ask you if you're feeling anything like what I'm feeling.”
He sat there, his glass raised as if for a toast, staring at my face as I looked at him. I wondered how I should answer him; should I admit that I was already in love with him? Should I say that I was also feeling like this was something new, something I'd never experienced before? I looked into his eyes, and the honesty that had always been one of my strongest personality traits took over.