Downhill From Here (#1)

6. Conversations and Butterflies

A/N: comment as you go and vote ❤️

Nathan's POV

"What makes you think I don't like you?" I asked, completely thrown by her question.

Another thing I noticed about Bowie was the fact that she said exactly what was on her mind. Unfiltered.

And she asked a lot of questions.

She shrugged, her knees coming together as she pulled her cat closer to her chest. The cat was old from what I could tell. "I can just sense that you're not too thrilled to be stuck with me."

"Stuck with you?" A bit of amusement flitting from my tone.

"Yeah, you can't pretend like we aren't," She readjusted her silver nose ring. "You didn't have much of a choice in being my coach and I'm apparently the...Lilo whisperer...I guess."

"I don't see this as a burden, just so you know," I explained. I didn't get where she was getting at that I didn't like her. "I can't say I don't like you, because....I feel like I hardly know you."

I watched as her timid resolve cracked and she smiled brightly at me. "You know what? You're absolutely right."

I stretched my long legs out across the floor, setting my body against the cabinets behind me.

"Ask away. Anything you want," She nuzzled her face into the cat's neck and it purred.

I thought about it for a moment. "Why do you smile so much?"

She snorted. "What?"

"You're like insanely chipper and I don't get it," I explained honestly. "I feel like you walk around with the sun in your chest or something."

"Thank you?" She questioned smiling. Her brown eyes were on me and I watched as she pushed her curly bangs away from her eyes. "I'm a bit of an optimist I guess. Ever since I was a kid I've always been a bit more...upbeat."

She pinched her brows together looking at me with a small smile, looking sheepish. I was thrown by how cute I found it.

"I'm not saying it's a bad thing," I reassured. "It's just something I noticed and I couldn't tell if it was authentic or not."

She nodded slowly, pressing her lips to the head of her cat.

"Well I noticed that you stare a lot," she said jutting her chin towards me. "Like you're always assessing and thinking. And Lilo must've picked it up from you because she does it a lot too."

I felt warm from the inside hearing that she thought Lilo picked up a trait from me. Lilo hadn't gotten much from me genetically when it came to her physical features. She looked exactly like her mother. Carbon-copy almost.

If I hadn't taken a paternity test when I had gotten her, I wouldn't have believed she was mine either.

"My turn," She prompted, tapping her fingertips on her knee. "How long have you known Lilo?" I could see the curiosity in her expression and something about the safety I felt with her made me feel like being completely honest.

"I met her when she was about a 1 year and 5 months."

"Why?" She asked, not even holding back.

"I didn't know she existed until then."

Her eyebrows raised and her mouth opened as she nodded slowly. "Oh."

It was a lot to process by the way it all sounded. I mean how could I not be there for the beginning of Lilo's life. I had already missed so much.