I Only Wanted You Pt. 03

"I'll keep this on my desk and treasure it," I had told her, which earned me a kiss.

So... Natalie's parents. Those people had once again managed to dominate her life, and by extension, mine. I was really annoyed at them. Nat and I would have to deal with them, somehow, though in truth, it would probably have to just be her. I don't think she wanted me trying to save the day, or to rescue her. She'd made it very clear that she needed to handle some things herself.

Scenarios ran through my mind, starting with the absurd. What if they tried to kidnap her and take her away? I dismissed that as crazy, though it wouldn't quite go away. Extremists wouldn't be called that without occasionally doing extreme things.

I thought if they yelled at her, or tried to bribe her, or anything like that, she could stand up to them. She already had, before she moved away from them, and had only become stronger and more sure of herself since then.

But, man, I hated the idea of them yelling at her, or calling her awful things. The thought made my blood boil, to the point that my coworker asked me if I was feeling okay.

I had to force myself to relax, to put my mind back on my job. But stray thoughts kept intruding. The optimist in me wondered if they had changed. What if they were going to apologize? To say they were sorry? I had to admit that it was at least possible, however unlikely.

There was nothing for me to do except admit that I was largely a helpless passenger on this unpleasant ride. Whatever was going to happen with her parents, it was going to happen without my influence.

And happen it did, the very next day.

***

I came home from work, a little later than usual. I let myself into my apartment, and was surprised to see Natalie curled up on my couch, asleep. She'd shown up unexpectedly at my place plenty of times, but she'd never fallen asleep like this. Given the situation, I was immediately on edge.

I hurried over, kneeling on the floor next to her. "Nat?" I said softly, gently rubbing her shoulder.

She woke up with a start, staring at me blearily. Concerned, I searched her face; her eyes were still a bit red, her face still tear-streaked. She sat up and said "Rob!" in a voice full of emotion. She reached for me and I took her in my arms.

"Something happened," I said after a while, stroking her hair.

She nodded against my chest. "They found me. They didn't send a letter. They actually came here."

"It didn't go well, I take it."

She gave a half-sob, half-laugh as she shook her head.

"Are you okay? Did they hurt you?"

"Only in here," she said, pressing her hand over her heart.

I held her gently by the shoulders. "Do you want to talk about it? If not, I won't push you. We can talk whenever you're ready."

"I do want to, but it's so hard," she swallowed, then sniffled. "How can they be like this? I just don't understand."

I gave her a tiny shake of my head. "I don't know what to tell you."

She stayed silent for a while, just sniffling and holding me, but it didn't last forever.

She spoke softly. "After Monica's wedding, I decided I don't want to get married. Like, ever."

"Wait." My heart skipped a beat at this total, unexpected shift. "What?"

"I thought of my parents and how messed up they are and it just put such a bad taste in my mouth. The thought of marriage just makes my skin crawl."

Now I was really worried. "What are you saying? What does this mean for..." I had to stop and swallow the lump in my throat. "For us?"

Her expression suddenly changed. Her eyebrows shot up, her eyes went wide. "Oh, no. I just... just blurted that out. I... I love you Rob. I want to be with you. You're my best friend. You support me, you love me." Her expression softened and she looked away. "I just can't do the marriage thing," she said hoarsely, then cleared her throat.

That eased my mind, but the emotional turmoil was still thundering through me. "Okay," I managed. I was really glad I hadn't brought up any of my thoughts on marriage. "I can work with that."

"Maybe I just need time to sort things out," she said, taking my hands in hers. "I'm so sorry. I don't know what you think about it because I've never brought up the subject. I was afraid of it... of all this. I can't be like them. I just can't."

"You wouldn't be," I said, my throat tight. "We wouldn't be."

She looked at me, her eyes full of tears. "Logically I know that. I watched Monica and her husband at the wedding. I watched her parents. I've seen your parents... the way they act together, and with you." She pressed our clasped hands to her chest. "I know it's possible. I'm just having such a hard time seeing that for myself."

I tried to take a calming breath, but it was ragged and choppy, so I had to try again. Finally, I was able to speak. "Take the time you need, Nat. I'm here. I love you, and I want to stay here, by your side, no matter what."

She hugged me tight. "I love you, Rob."

That night, she slept over, thought we didn't even try to have sex, not with the heavy atmosphere of the day's events. We just cuddled together in my bed. Nat was exhausted by the emotional toll of the day, and I was content to hold the one I loved, the only one I wanted, until I joined her in sleep.

Somewhere in the middle of the night, I woke up. She was shaking, and crying.

"Nat?" I whispered. "Are you awake? Or are you having a nightmare?"

"Not a nightmare," she said, her voice thick with emotion. "A realization."

"About what?"

"Remember what Monica's dad said at the wedding? His speech? The quotes about love?"

"Yeah, I do."

She turned to face me in the dark, quiet night. She clutched my hands in hers, holding them between us. "It was about feeling love. After talking with my mom... she did most of the talking... fighting, really. After that, I realized..." She trailed off, and had to try a couple times before she could continue. "I realized I don't feel love from my parents." She sobbed, but tried bravely to go on.

"But I do feel it from you."

My heart too full for speech, I pulled her close and held her.

Epilogue: We Look Forward Together

Three years later, Natalie graduated from college. She beamed as she gave me a huge hug.

"Took me long enough," she laughed. "But now you can't say you're the only one with a college degree in the house."

"Pfft, as if I have ever said that." I gave her a big kiss. "But congratulations. Does this mean they'll finally give you that promotion at work?"

She shrugged. "I've technically already been doing it for a month. The timing was right, and they figured I wouldn't quit when I was so close."

She wore the cap and gown and had her hair in a loose ponytail but I was so attracted to her it was almost painful. "Let's go home and celebrate," I whispered into her ear.

"Ooh," she giggled. "What does my big handsome man have in mind?"

"Well, we haven't had sex in every room of the house yet. I figure there's still a couple places left."

She snorted. "I am not having sex in the laundry room. The bed will do fine." She glanced around conspiratorially, but there was nobody close enough to overhear. "I thought about waking you up for morning sex, but you looked so peaceful."

"What! I hereby order you to never, ever, do that again. Wake me up and fuck me, Nat!"

Laughing, she took me by the hand and led me to her car, then drove us to our house. It was reasonably close to both of our jobs, in a good part of town. On the way, she glanced over at me. "I had a good dream last night."

"Did it involve sex?"

She rolled her eyes. "You wish. There are other kinds of good dreams, you know. We were on a beach somewhere. It was either sunrise or sunset. I'm not sure. And I think we were getting married."

"Oh," I said quietly. "That is a good dream."

She gave me her secret smile, the one reserved only for me. "Yeah. It is."