| Isabella |

Arriving home, after spending the whole weekend with Nathan, felt strange. After our date Friday night, I stayed over and then spent the entire day in bed with him Saturday. Today, Sunday, we would have spent all day in bed again but we decided to get up and go out for lunch. Afterwards, it was time to go home, he had work to do and as much as I just wanted to go back to his apartment, Racheal probably thought I was dead or something. Seeing as I hadn't been in contact with her since the nude-sending incident.

I set my purse down on the kitchen counter, sighing and smiling to myself. I look around, the apartment seemed empty, maybe Racheal was still with Hunter. I run my fingers across my lips, thinking of the way Nathan kissed me when we said goodbye before. He'd been different this weekend, I saw flashes where he seemed cold or wary but then it was gone and he was . . . sweet again. It was hard to believe that he could be so . . . normal.

He'd always had this way of pulling everyone woman within a mile radius around him towards him, but it wasn't through the typical charm associated with a "ladies man". No it was through this, calm, collected manner he had.

But these past few days, that exterior seemed to melt away. He smiled, he laughed and he kissed me like it meant something to him. I hoped I'd see more of that side of him from now on.

I start moving around the kitchen, going to grab a glass of water when I hear a noise come from the other side of the apartment.

"Izzy? Is that you?" Calls Racheal's voice and I smile, she must not have heard me come in.

"Yes!" I call back. I get a glass just as a loud thud echoes behind me. I turn and scream as I am nearly tackled to the ground by a shrieking Racheal.

"Your back!" She shouts, squeezing me tightly and jumping up and down. I laugh, trying not to faint from being unable to breathe- her death grip was inescapable.

"Hi." I wheeze, patting her back awkwardly with my one free hands.

"Let me look at you!" She pulls back, releasing me and looking me up and down. She smiles suddenly, looking very smug. "Yep, definitely, I knew it."

"What?" I ask, raising my eyebrows.

"You. Got. Laid." She says pointedly and then she giggles like a mad woman. I blush instantly, my cheeks hot as I make a face at her.

"Jeez." I mutter and I gasp as she grabs me again and jumps up and down in celebration. She tugs on my arm.

"Come on, lets go to the couch and you can tell me all about it!" She says, dragging me across the apartment and shoving me down on the couch. She plants herself next to me, a grin plastered across her face, her eyes wide. She looked a little crazy and I had to fight the urge to laugh.

"It's really not that exciting." I start and she immediately whacks me on the arm. I squeal. "What?"

"Do not play this down young lady." She scolds. "You had sex with Nathan Price, this is very fucking exciting."

I grin suddenly, a girlish happiness suddenly fluttering inside me at her words. "Okay, your right, it's really fucking exciting!" I say, and we both shriek, clasping our hands together.

"So, details! Please, I'm dying over here!" She says. And I smile.

"Well he came over Wednesday night and he was pissed at first because he claimed all he wanted was friendship." I begin and she laughs at that. "But then he kissed me, and he kind of admitted he had feelings for me and then we did it."

"Oh my god, how was it?" She asks, her face bright.

"Amazing." I sigh. "I'll tell you I haven't ever, you know, like that before. God, I never thought I'd say this about a man, but he kind of blew my mind."

"Oh wow, well I thought you looked very well fucked over, but that just proves it." She says, like she won a bet. My cheeks heat up again.

"Yeah well, that wasn't the last time either. He had me over for a date Friday night and then, we did it again. And then in the morning, oh then in the kitchen later . . ." I begin trailing off as her eyes widen slowly.

"Oh no, please continue." She says and I smile awkwardly, convinced the blush on my face would never go away at this point.

"Well let's just say that it was . . . just a lot and then we went out to lunch today and now I'm home." I rush out the rest of the words and she giggles at me.

"Oh what about the shower? Hmm?" She asks and she doesn't need me to answer, I knows she knows by the guilty look on my face. "Jesus woman."

"I know, I know." I say, rolling my eyes and fidgeting with my hands.

"Oh my gosh, honey, it's okay." She says, still laughing a little. "All couples go through that whole thing, you know, the 'honeymoon phase'. It's no big deal."

"Oh, no, no, we're not dating." I start, but she just shakes her head.

"Hmm, no I think you are." She insists and I open my mouth but I can't get a word in. "You two are doing it all over the place, that's how Hunter and I were in the beginning." She then smiles to herself. "You know, actually, we still are that way, in fact last night-" she begins but I start shaking my head.

"No, no, that's okay! You don't have to tell me." I say and she just winks at me.

"Well anyway, I think it's time I meet Nathan for real." She says standing suddenly. I jump up too. "Omg! We should turn it into a double date with Hunter!"

I grin, even if I didn't particularly like Hunter, I liked that idea. And it was a good way to maybe show Nathan dating wasn't such a bad thing.

_

I fidget with my dress in the full length mirror in my bedroom. It was a red, crushed-velvet color and it clung to my body like a second skin. Lucky, however, it wasn't too low cute and it was just the right length.

After Racheal decided that a double date was necessary, she called Nathan for me, which confused the hell out of him. He had no idea how to respond to someone who did all the talking, but honestly, neither did I. And before he could say no she'd told him how happy she was this worked out, informed him I would text later with the details and to have a good night. She swiftly hung up on him then and I can only imagine how shocked he must have been.

He called me later that night and I explained everything, which made him feel better I think. Then we set the date for Tuesday night, dinner and a dance club afterward (Racheal's delightful idea). Hunter was thrilled, and I was shocked Monday when he stopped by briefly to see Racheal and wasn't a complete dick. Maybe she really was changing him.

Then we went shopping and she had me buy this dress, insisting it was perfect and that Nathan would "just die" when he saw me. I rolled my eyes at that.

"How's it going in here, almost ready?" Calls Racheal, entering my room. "Oh shit, that dress it perfect."

"Are you sure, it so tight." I say, turning and running a hand through my curled hair. She nods vigorously.

"Definitely." She says and I smile, reassured. I did like the way it fit my curves. I look over her outfit, cute tight pants, a fancy top and high heals.

"You look hot too by the way." I say and she beams.

"I love this shirt." She steps forward to the mirror, fluffing her hair. "It's just revealing enough but still leaves something to the imagination."

I laugh, stepping into the high heals I'd pick out with to go with the dress. I grab my clutch and join her in front of the mirror. My high heals make me nearly her height. We both give our reflection a once over.

"We look good don't we?" Asks Racheal and I nod.

"Oh yes, for sure." I say and she giggles. Suddenly the doorbell rings.

"Oh that's Hunter probably." She says, dashing off. Even in high heals, she could still run. I look over myself one last time, then shut off my bed room lights and follow after her just as she opens the door.

Hunter bursts in, grabbing Racheal in a big hug and she squeals loudly. He kisses her and I look away, resisting the urge to make a fake gagging noise to mess with him. When they finally stop kissing and settle for simply remaining tangled in each other's arms, Hunter looks to me.

We all stand in the entry way to the apartment for a second awkwardly before he begins to speak.

"You look nice this fine evening Isabella." He says, voice heavy with sarcasm, and Racheal elbows him. I guess he still needs a little changing. He chuckles. "What? I meant it."

"You look nice too." I say shortly and he grins cheekily.

"So, I'm excited to meet this new dude of yours." He says and I roll my eyes.

"Well he's a lot more mature than you are so, just be warned, you're going to feel inferior." I say and Racheal gives me a look this time.

"Honestly you two need to work whatever this is out." She says pointedly. "Let's be civil this evening hm? Tonight is about getting to know Nathan Price."

"You've got to be shitting me." Says Hunter loudly. "That's who you dating?"

I look to Racheal, how did she forget to tell him.

"My dad is always going on about what a cool guy he's supposed to be, but I'll tell you, what impresses me the most about that guy is his car collection." He says and I snort loudly. " That and the women he sleeps with-" he pauses, looking at me. "Well, it did impress me, until now."

"Hunter!" Racheal shrieks, punching him in the arm again. I just roll my eyes for the millionth time. Thank god the door bell rang again.

"Ah, the man of the hour!" Says Hunter, and before I have a chance to open the door, he beats me to it. Hunter yanks the door open to reveal Nathan on the other side, looking incredibly handsome as always, his hair perfectly styled, a sharp black tie against crips white shirt.

"Nathan Price!" Booms Hunter, grabbing him before he has a chance to speak and pulling him into the apartment.

"Oh my god Hunter." Groans Racheal and she drags him toward the living room. I laugh and then turn to Nathan, whose watching me very carefully.

"Hi." I say, walking to him and he immediately reaches for me.

"Hey." He murmurs, pulling me against him. "Who was that?"

"Racheal's boyfriend." I say and he grins.

"The jackass?"

"Yep. That's the one." And we both laugh, before he catches me by surprise and kisses me sweetly. I have to stop it from going too far, knowing Racheal and Hunter are just in the other room. We break apart, and he rests his forehead on mine.

"I've been craving that for so long." He mutters and I smile.

"We've only been apart two days silly." I say and he shakes his head gently.

"I know, I just really like kissing you." He says, pulling back to look me up and down. "Especially when you wear something like this. Shit Isabella, you look amazing."

I giggle. "Why thank you." I say softly, stepping forward again to kiss him quickly. "You look really handsome, as always." I whisper, earning a grin from him before I tug on his arm, leading him towards the living room.

We round the corner to find Racheal standing there, a smile as wide as the Cheshire cats plastered on her face. Hunter stands just behind her, also grinning. Subtlety had never been their strong suit. She steps forward, hand out stretched. He takes her hand shaking it.

"Hello, I'm Racheal!" She says brightly. Still smiling like a lunatic. "I'm Izzy's best friend, and sir, I'll have you know right here and now, if you hurt her in anyway I will rip your balls right off!"

I nearly keel over right there and Nathan coughs a little, like he's trying to stifle shocked laughter. He nods. I hear Hunter mutter 'Jesus' under his breath.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Nathan, but I think you already knew that." He says, his tone somewhat unsure, even if he was smirking a little.

"I'm serious, I'll rip 'em. Rip 'em right of." She says, not giving up that easy. I laugh.

"Okay, and Nathan that's Hunter." I say, continuing the introduction, Hunter steps forward. "Hunter, Nathan Price."

They both shakes hands, greeting each other. And then, we were on our way. Hunter and Nathan seemed to get along very well, surprisingly. They bonded quickly the second Hunter saw Nathan's sports car, which caused Racheal and I to share a knowing look. We then all drove to the restaurant, which was very classy, as were all things Racheal has to do with.

The entire place was dimly lit with cool lighting, light jazz music playing in the background, with rich-looking people everywhere.

We ended up being seated in a booth right next to the stone waterfall, with blue lights twinkling in the rock. The water fell into a small pool at the base of it, which never got too full for some reason.

"Nice pick babe." Says Hunter, sliding into the booth on Racheal's side.

"Thanks." She says, giggling as he leans into her. I turn to Nathan and I catch him watching me.

"What?" I ask and he shakes his head a little.

"Nothing." He mutters, smiling. He turns to his menu but warmth creeps up into my cheeks when I feel his hand come to rest on my leg. Just where his thumb could run over the bare skin on my knee. I try not to collapse on the spot and I'm suddenly grateful for the dim lighting so no one could see how flustered I looked.

I look over and he glances to the side, meeting my gaze. A smirk plays on his lips and I roll my eyes lightly.

The rest of dinner went surprisingly well. Hunter was nice, Racheal was also civil and Nathan actually seemed to enjoy talking to people for once. He was still reserved, but I could tell it was doing him good to be with people his own age, doing things people our age normally did and not talking about business.

_

Hello Lovely Readers!

I hope you enjoy this chapter update and stay turned because another one will be coming shortly! Exciting things are about to happen, my plans are falling into place (haha), anyway, I hope you're having an amazing morning, day or night!

XOXO

-Keara Rose