Sixty-Six - Right now. Right here

"Are you sure you can walk on your own?" Amir asked for the umpteenth time as Gabriel got off the van.

It was quite weird actually. Ever since the shooting, Amir had been so loving towards Gabriel, any stranger who sees how he pampers the injured man would think they were immensely in love with each other.

Gabriel slapped Amir's hand away, a frown on his face. "I am fine. Okay? Stop acting like I am dying."

"You almost died actually."

" You don't have to remind me, " Gabriel replied gruffly, his legs resuming a sort of irritated walk towards the entrance of their new abode.

"I can tell he is still in pains," Amir killed the silence that befell their midst as they all watched Gabriel approach the locked door.

"I think you are being dramatic." The van beeped as Sebastian got off it and had it securely locked. "Too dramatic." The bunch of keys in his hand jangled as he swirled the key chain hole over his index finger.

"Really?"

Chloe snickered where she stood quietly while she waited for Nathaniel to finish what he was doing. She was a witness to how extra Amir has been and she found it ridiculous that Amir's question wore a bit of uncertainty.

"Do you know where it all went wrong?" Amir's eyes darted to and fro before his thick brows lifted into an arc.

"I knew something was wrong when you sang him a lullaby. "

"He was finding it hard to sleep, " Amir clapped back and Sebastian just waved him off dismissively while murmuring something about delaying someone.

"Do you also think I have been too dramatic?" He threw the question to Chloe when he noticed Nathaniel was too busy to even see him.

"Well..."

"Be honest with me here."

Chloe drew her lower lip in as she thought on how to frame her response. "Mmm... Honestly, you have been acting like you have had some kind of crush on Gabriel."

The man's eyes darkened, his hairy arms crossed instantly. "What kind of answer is that? Why would I have a crush on... You know what? Just forget it and focus on making up with your man."

" We are not fighting."

He scoffed. " Yeah right. You guys think we are stupid right? It is obvious you are not on good terms, so make up already. Bye."

" We are not..." Amir's back already facing her, he waved to her and Chloe sighed. Her and Nathaniel might have not talked intensely since the shooting, but that didn't mean they were on bad terms.

Or were they?

Chloe was on the verge of groaning loudly into the night when she quickly realized Nathaniel was still behind her. As she turned to face the tall man, she began to wonder what could have actually warranted the silence between them.

Could it really be just because of how she handled the situation at that moment? Or was there more?

The silence between her and the man who kept tapping away on his phone, at that moment worsened the way she was feeling, so she decided to put an end to it.

She was actually missing him and his warm, jolting touches. She wished to continue from where they had stopped.

"Natha-"

"I think I need to ask you something." His voice slashed hers and as it did, she felt a little jump in her chest. She had been startled and at the same time, she was elated.

"Is it pertaining to that night?" Chloe asked carefully.

His head shifted to the side at an angle and his phone went into the back pocket of his jeans whose true colour was well hidden thanks to the poorly lit environment.

"No matter how much I think about it, I just can't find answers. "

" Is that why you have been avoiding me? Because you think I am hiding something?" Chloe found her question quite brazen.

"No, because I wasn't ready to ask you about it ."

Chloe wore a frown. "Do you have any idea how selfish you sound now?"

She was being ridiculously bold with her questions. A voice deep in her mind screamed that fact into her head.

But she ignored that voice and decided to opt for the angry girlfriend option.

"Do you know how crazy your silence has made me? I had no idea why you were ignoring me and I wasn't sure if my guess was right? Do you-" She adjusted her stance, crossed her arms over her chest and glared some more as her question chose to detail.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Like how?" His eyes seemed to tease her and that contrasted with the hard tone of his voice which made her jelly all of a sudden.

Oh, how much she has missed his voice.

"Like I am crazy. Like I am spewing nonsense." Chloe decided to stand firm and not show how much she was yearning for his touch already.

"You are a bit crazy." Nathaniel intensified the look in his eyes and Chloe's eyes shifted to the side, her lashes blinking furiously as she took a second to figure out a response.

"You are also a bit mysterious. Definitely naughty too."

His thick scent tortured her nostrils and when her eyes came back to land on the man, Chloe noticed that he had taken a step closer.

She was about to voice out a weak complaint when his hand felt through her back.

"I- I..."

That hand maintained a firm position in the middle of her back and Nathaniel used that to pull her into his hard chest.

Her cheeks already burning, Chloe could not bear to look him the in the face yet, so her eyes landed on his chest which was partially visible thanks to the print shirt he had on.

"Sure, you surprised me that day and I certainly have questions." His breath fanned her intensely, Chloe fell under influence and lifted her head to look him in the eyes.

"But I am not going to ask them."

"Why?"

" Because..." Chloe hissed as his hand began to draw lines on her back. "I just realized how much I've missed you."

"You didn't miss me when you were giving me the silent treatment?" she retorted.

Nathaniel wore a large grin. "I did. It drove me crazy. So, so crazy." He leaned towards her lips.

"Wait, I am not convinced." Chloe stopped him with her palm, pushing back his lips.

"How can your mind be so easily changed? Just yesterday you replied my greeting like you were regarding someone you hate."

He wore an amused smile. " Are you that angry about it?"

"What do you think?" His brows quirked.

" See, you can't just go AWOL on me without a reason. And then, when I confront you about it, you decide not to press the topic anymore. The same topic that made you ignore me for days.

That's so messed up, Nathaniel. You need to know that."

" Are you that pissed?"

Perhaps she was. It was hard to tell. There was a lot of emotions within her. It felt like the moment she was still struggling with the decision to be in a relationship.

"We should do something about that, shouldn't we?"

" We?" She glared at him with the side of her eyes.

His deep chuckle vibrated her entire body. "Who knew you can be so dramatic?" She made to withdraw from his hold but he beat her to it and pulled her into his chest in a much more firmer way.

"I have an idea."

"An idea?" Chloe asked with partial interest in her voice, her right leg tapping impatiently.

Nathaniel grabbed her hand and made for the other side of the parked van. When he had them standing at a spot he supposedly found suitable, he pulled her into him again, startling the woman who was still trying to make sense of his idea.

"What is going on Nathaniel?" She was worried as he went quiet as his arms held her in a firm hug. "Nathaniel?"

The man replied her by a quick dissolve of the hug which was followed by him gluing her back against the hard side of the van.

Chloe was not able to say his name again as the man claimed her lips as swiftly as possible.

And like the yearning person she was, her hands went behind his head and she responded to his invitation as intensely as possible.

As Chloe stood in her toes for more assess, Nathaniel had his hand already sneaking up her gown and as his fingers softly kneaded the softness of her buttocks, she found herself grinding into the man.

"Chloe?" he called as he broke the kiss to torture pleasurably, the side of her neck.

"Yes?" She had her neck craning to give him more assess.

"I am going to do one thing right now."

"Mmm." She moaned delightfully as his fingers drew soothing lines over her sensitive skin as they played with the lines of her panties. "What is that?"

The man stood straight again but didn't retract his hands. As he watched the expectant look on Chloe's face, he wore a small smile before saying, "I am going to eat you out..."

His hands dragged her panties to her mid thigh.

"Right now. Right here."