Chapter 28

Olivia

I woke up the next morning, feeling a lot better after a good night of sleep. With a yawn and a stretch, I slowly crawled out of bed and quietly padded down the hall to head to the kitchen.

When I passed by Nathan’s room, I saw that the door was open and his bed was made. Figuring that he was already awake, I headed downstairs.

But when I went into the kitchen, he wasn’t there. It was a weekend, so I didn’t expect him to be working on Alpha duties.

Finally, I peered around the corner to the living room and felt myself soften when I saw the scene in front of me.

Nathan was fast asleep on the couch with a book lying open on his chest and one hand hanging over the edge of the couch. His chest was rising and falling gently while his face was relaxed in an incredibly cute way.

I couldn’t help but smile as I saw the way that he was sleeping. It seemed rare these days to see the young Alpha appearing so sweet and innocent, and it reminded me of the day that I found him sleeping on the porch.

I decided not to wake him, and headed back into the kitchen to make my coffee.

However, it wasn’t long before I heard the sound of feet shuffling, and looked up to see him walking into the doorway with a sleepy look on his face.

“Morning,” I said, feeling my face turn red in his presence as I thought back on my impure fantasies I had of him the night before. “Coffee?”

Nathan nodded glumly and headed over to the coffee maker. The room was silent as he poured his cup of coffee, leaving it black, and then leaned his back on the counter and faced me while he took his first sip.

“I… I’m sorry about yesterday,” I said quietly, averting my gaze to the floor. “I slept on it, and I realized that I was being childish.”

Nathan stared at his coffee cup for a few moments before a slight smile took over his lips. “I’m sorry, too,” he said gently. “Even if we’re not really mates, you’re still my best friend. I should have been on your side instead of making you feel attacked.”

It felt good to hear Nathan apologize. When we were kids, we always bickered and needed Alvin around to mediate for us. Maybe now that we were grown up, we could handle our disagreements in an adult way.

Suddenly, Nathan looked up from his coffee and shot me a smile. “Do you want to go out today?” he asked. “I want to make up for what happened with your dress. I was thinking we could go shopping.”

My eyes widened slightly. “I don’t really have the money right now…”

Nathan shook his head. “Didn’t I already tell you that I would cover the cost the last time we talked about it?”

“But Nathan, I—”

“No buts,” Nathan said with a chuckle. “Go on and get dressed. Let’s leave in twenty minutes, alright?”

I felt a bit embarrassed, but I obliged nonetheless and ran upstairs to get changed out of my pajamas. After a quick shower, I put on something comfortable; just a pair of leggings and a tight sweater. I spent a couple of minutes putting on some mascara and fixing my long hair, and then I checked over my results in the mirror.

When I was a teenager, I was completely flat with awkward body proportions. It took a long time to finally fill out, but now I actually was happy with my body. And I couldn’t deny the fact that the pregnancy was already enhancing my curves.

In my tight leggings and sweater, I had to admit that my body looked good. And when I headed downstairs and met Nathan at the door, I could tell right away from the look on his face that he thought so, too.

“What is it?” I asked, noticing his red face.

Nathan just shook his head. “Um… Nothing,” he said. “You just look… Different from the way you used to. It’s still an adjustment for me.”

I opened my mouth to say something, but before I could, Nathan quickly turned away and opened the front door. I followed him out to the car, and felt my heart skip as he walked around to the passenger side and opened the door for me.

“T-Thanks,” I mumbled as I got in. I swallowed my nerves as he closed the door and came around to the driver’s side.

Soon enough, we were on our way. The car was quiet, as it seemed that neither of us had much to say. Maybe it was shyness, or maybe it was because we still didn’t know each other very well after ten years of being apart.

“So…” I said, scratching my head. “Where are we going to shop?”

“There’s a shopping center not too far from here,” he said. “It’s in the next town over.”

“Really?” I cocked my head. “I don’t remember there being a shopping center anywhere nearby.”

I glanced over at Nathan, and he seemed to be smirking a bit. “It opened after you left,” he explained as he held the steering wheel with one hand. “You’ll like it. It’s a nice place.”

I smiled a bit. The car went quiet again, and finally I decided to lean forward and fuss with the radio. I flipped through the stations, most of which were either just static or talk radio stations, as I searched for music to listen to.

“Try 98.3,” Nathan said as we went around a curve. “They play some pretty good mu—”

Suddenly, Nathan gasped. I felt the car lurch as he slammed on the brakes, and the sound of the car tires screeching filled my ears. His arm shot across my chest to keep me from whacking my head on the dashboard, and I felt myself slam back into my seat with a groan.

“What happened?” I muttered, opening my eyes, which I had involuntarily squeezed shut.

Nathan said nothing. In front of the car, just a foot or two away from the fender, stood a female deer; a doe. And she was pregnant. Her round belly bulged enormously, as though she was just days away from giving birth.

If Nathan hadn’t been paying attention, he might have hit the poor thing and may have even killed her and her baby.

I felt my breath catch in my throat. The doe stood so still and peacefully in front of the car, just looking at us.

Neither of us spoke for several long moments, until the doe finally leaped off into the woods and disappeared.

Nathan let out a deep breath, and so did I. As I did, however, I realized that there was still pressure on my chest.

My face turned bright red as I looked down.

Nathan’s arm was still held across my chest from the sudden stop, but it wasn’t just that.

“Um, Nathan…” I swallowed, feeling my heart pound.

Nathan’s eyes followed my gaze to find that his hand was cupping my breast.

“S-Sorry.” Nathan quickly pulled his hand away and started driving again.

We were awkward for the rest of the ride after that, with only the music on the radio to fill the silence. I didn’t know how Nathan felt about it, but secretly, I couldn’t deny the fact that my panties were a little wet from his warm touch.